Guest from the Lutheran Church in Norway

President Harrison and Pastor Torkild Masvie of the Lutheran Church in Norway

On Friday, we had a visitor from The Lutheran Church in Norway, Pastor Torkild Masvie. His story is very interesting. First, The Lutheran Church in Norway is NOT a part of the State Church in Norway. Pastor Masvie came from a long line of Lutheran pastors in Norway, but could not accept the teachings of the Norwegian State Church -- he matriculated several places and for a time ended up as a member of an LCMS parish in Illinois. After some time in the United States, Pastor Masvie had an epiphany of sorts -- his children and future grandchildren would not have orthodox Lutheranism as found in the Missouri Synod backin Norway. He wanted to do something about it -- and The Lutheran Church of Norway was born. (Here is the official website of The Lutheran Church in Norway)His visit to International Center was to garner closer relations and to seek our support (not primarily for  financial support, although LCMS Congregations do provide financial support for church plants and for the Ad-Fontes theological training center) but support of this fledgling church body in Norway to remain strong in its confession and look for ways that the LCMS could help them to do so.

The Lutheran Church in Norway faces many challenges. One of which involves the liturgy. The "traditional" Lutheran liturgy of the State Church is under copyright protection -- and as I understand it isn't available to them (besides the fact the current configuration of the liturgy is not entirely acceptable to them). So The Lutheran Church in Norway has had to develop musical arrangements for the liturgy. Here is a version of the Our Father that is sung in the liturgy of The Lutheran Church in Norway.

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UPDATE ON THE LITURGY FORM PASTOR MASVIE: "Our liturgy is actually going back to our Norwegian liturgy from before the 1970 and 1930 revision and using elements that go back, some of them to our first Lutheran liturgy in Norway. So our liturgy is more Lutheran classical than the state church. The copyright is not about wording, but about all the musicalliturgical elements of the liturgy made for the 1970 liturgy."

The main parish of the Lutheran Church in Norway is the MessiasKirche.

The Lutheran Church in Norway also has a pastor training program called Ad Fontes.

In any case, it was a delightful visit. I am sure that we will be having further conversations with The Lutheran Church in Norway. Stay tuned for more in the future.