Latin American Luther Academy

From 21-25 October 2013, the Luther Academy held continuing education for pastors from six Latin American countries: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela. This was the first time the Nicaraguan Lutheran Church attended a Luther Academy conference. They would like to host two Luther Academy conferences in Nicaragua over the coming year. The Nicaraguan Lutheran Church is a mission of the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC).



Dr. David Scaer, Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, lectured on "Law and Gospel." Rev. Roberto Bustamante, New Testament Professor at Concordia Seminary Buenos Aires Argentina, lectured on "Confessional Lutheran Identity."



Every evening, the lectures closed with vespers.


A subgroup of the Luther Academy conference met to discuss theological education in Latin America. The churches represented discussed the unique challenges of theological education and the specific needs of Latin American Churches.


The Spanish speaking Lutherans total about 40,000.


Rev. Sergio Fritzler, President of Concordia Seminary Buenos Aires Argentina, presented on the different programs offered at the seminary for pastoral training.



- Posted by Rev. Dr. Albert Collver on 23 October 2013 using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:La Antigua Guatemala,Guatemala

Malagasy Lutheran Church Briefly

The Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM -- Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy) is remarkably similar to the Missouri Synod (LCMS) and at the same time different. The Malagasy Lutheran Church originates in the mission work done by the Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) begun in 1866 (The Malagasy Lutheran Church is only about 20 years younger than the Missouri Synod.) The Norwegian mission work began a couple of years after Queen Ranavalona I, a great persecutor of Christians, died in 1863. Her son, King Radama II, opened the door to more mission work. The northern part of Madagascar became Protestant under the influence of the London Mission Society (LMS), while the southern part of Madagascar became predominately Lutheran. Roman Catholicism made inroads into Madagascar by the French, who eventually succeeded in colonizing Madagascar in 1895, some 253 years after the first Frenchman landed in Madagascar in 1642.



Many of the Norwegian missionaries died within two years of arriving in Madagascar due to malaria and other tropical fevers. The cemetery above is from the first Lutheran church established in Antananarivo in 1871. Buried there are Lutheran missionaries from South Africa. In many cases, the church has become risk averse focusing on relatively risk free mission endeavors, while forgetting the sacrifices that the saints and martyrs of the church made to bring the Gospel to the nations.


The church in Antananarivo was established near the place Queen Ranavalona I executed so many Christian. The king of Madagascar desired a Lutheran church be established so that he could keep a better eye on them -- to ensure that the Lutherans were not promoting foreign political ideas that might threaten his reign. Today this congregation ("The Rock") has at least 3,000 people in worship on Sunday. Many of the city parishes of the Malagasy Lutheran Church worship between 3,000 and 10,000 people on any given Sunday.



Pictured above is a new congregation built within the past couple of years in Antsirabe. The sanctuary seats about 3,000. Total worshipped number right around 9,000 on a Sunday. Attendance numbering in the thousands is virtually unheard of in America and Europe.



The Malagasy Lutheran Church uses a hymnal for Sunday worship. The liturgy is very similar to what is found in the Lutheran Service Book. A good portion of their hymnody is the same as found in the Missouri Synod's hymnal -- translations of German and Scandinavian hymns. There also are a number of original Malagasy hymns that are Christ-centered. Some of their hymns are based on their unique context, for instance that a number of the Malagasy have engaged in ancestor worship:

Hymn 409

1. "O children who are gone astray, come back!" Your Father calls you; We will respond freely without any constraint. "Here we are. We confess that we are not good, and we are wounded by the enemy; Heal us because our way of living is corrupted."

2. "Oh, we have sinned and deserved to die and to be condemned forever! Our ancestors have worshiped the dead and we have followed them. O Father look at us and save us so that we may become Your children. We, who now now down our head before You."

3. "I will heal your going astray O my children! I will not also make my face sad for you." That what we want to hear in our heart is that You are our Father who comforts Your people."



The translation of the above hymn comes courtesy of Dr Robert Bennett's book I Am Not Afraid. This book is a wealth of information about the Malagasy Lutheran Church.




The Malagasy Lutheran Church is one of the fastest growing Lutheran Churches in the world. More than one new congregation opens each week, most of these new congregations quickly are worshipping in the thousands. Yet they use the liturgy and the hymnal. This demonstrates that the traditional liturgy and hymns can be used in a rapidly growing church and is not a deterrent to church attendance.


The church also has radio stations around the country. The Lutheran radio station in Antananarivo is one of the most popular in the city. They would like to partner with KFUO to exchange programs and resources.


The church is working to establish Lutheran schools.


Seventeen of twenty-one Malagasy Lutheran Church bishops met with Drs. Collver and Quill to develop closer relations between their church and the Missouri Synod this past week. The Malagasy Lutheran Church desires that the Missouri Synod assist in areas such as theological education and mercy projects. The church does not ordain woman and is vociferously opposed to the sexuality decisions made by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and the Church of Sweden (CoS).

There is much that the Missouri Synod could learn from the Malagasy Lutheran Church. Some Malagasy Lutheran pastors even said they could teach the Missouri Synod how to revitalize their congregations.

As the Malagasy Lutheran Church approaches 4 million members in one of the poorest countries of the world (the average Malagasy lives on $2 a day), we see a vibrant church that faces many challenges. Both the Missouri Synod and Malagasy Lutheran Church have much to offer each other. May The Lord bless this growing relationship.

- Posted by Rev. Dr. Albert Collver on 19 October 2013 using BlogPress from my iPhone

Early Struggle for Christianity in Madagascar

The Andohalo Cathedral on top of the hill in Antananarivo, Madagascar marks the place where Queen Ranavalona I executed a number of Christians during her 33 year reign from 1829-1861.


At the beginning of he reign Queen Ranavalona I outlawed Christianity and executed convicted Christians by crucifixion, spear, throwing off the cliff, burning alive and poison.



Keith Laidler in Female Caligula describes how Queen Ranavalona executed Christians:

"The seven Christians stood together in the bright sunlight, bound with strong ropes, singing a hymn to their foreign Saviour as the spearmen advanced. Around them a crowd of jostling men, women and children, more than 60,000 strong and dressed in togas of various hues, yelled and jeered at the forlorn expression of faith by the condemned. Hucksters moved through the crowd, calling out their wares, selling snacks and drinks for the entertainment, and noting too a distinct sense of disappointment in their customers. The mob was angry. They felt cheated: they had come to enjoy the destruction of the hated sect, to see its adherents run screaming and panic-stricken from the spears, not watch them taking their slaughter meekly like so many placid sheep. There was little entertainment.

It had been the same just moments before, when a score of the Christians had been burned alive, the same calm acceptance of their fate, the same hateful hymn singing. Nevertheless, they cheered enthusiastically as the spears were driven home and, one by one, the men and women fell and writhed on the sandy ground, their hymn fading slowly into silence, replaced by the groans and shrieks of the dying. Above the still-squirming bodies, on a ridge, a score of crosses stood in mute witness, carrying their ghastly burdens, some of whom still lived despite the day and a half they had hung upon the wood. The stench of the charnel house pervaded the natural amphitheater where the grotesque show was taking place, and the baying, blood drunk crowd, the massed ranks of soldiery and the crucifixions, silhouetted along the skyline, gave the unmistakable impression of Rome at its worst."



So suffered the first Christians in Madagascar -- about 150 years ago. In 1866, the Norwegians arrived and planted the first Lutheran church in Antsirabe (230km south of Antananarivo). The first Lutheran church was planted in Antananarivo (pictured above -- no far from where the Christians were martyred) in 1871.


View from Ambatovinaky Lutheran Church ("A Rock"), the first Lutheran church in Antananarivo.

- Posted by Rev. Dr. Albert Collver on 18 October 2013 using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Madagascar

Antsirabe Blind School

On Wednesday, 16 October 2013, Drs. Collver and Quill visited the Antsirabe Blind School operated by the Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM).



The blind boy pictured above is working on arithmetic. The girl in the lower corner when asked the question, "When asked who is Jesus?" She answered, "Jesus is the Son of God." The school makes a point of teaching the Small Catechism to the children.



This little blind girl is just now learning how to communicate. When she arrived at the school she knew no words. Now she can name the parts of her body: head, ears, mouth, et al., and her ball.



One problem the Antsirabe Blind School is the lack of resources. Formerly the school was supported by the Norwegians, but recently the Norwegian government cut the aid to the school because it teaches Christianity. If the school agrees to stop reaching religion, they could continue to receive aid. Pictured above is maize, which is the food eaten by the poorest of the poor in Madagascar. The children are frequently hungry.



On the left, some boys are washing their hands before lunch. On the right is pictured the kitchen which uses a wood stove to cook the corn.


Our interpreter and sometimes English teacher for the blind school and another teacher at the blind school.


Here is a view of Antsirabe from the hill overlooking the city.

Both Drs. Collver and Quill were moved by seeing the children at the blind school. It was wonderful to see the Malagasy Lutheran Church engaged in caring for children in need. The greatest gift the blind school provides is not the life skills but faith in Jesus!

- Posted by Rev. Dr. Albert Collver on 17 October 2013 using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Làlana Rainitovo,Antananarivo,Madagascar

Pastors Conference in Madagascar

Approximately 35 bishops and pastors gathered for a pastors conference at Faravohitra ("The Last Hill"), a former boarding school for girls, now conference center in Antsirabe, Madagascar.



At the end of the dry season the Jacaranda tree was in bloom on the compound.



Leaders from around Madagascar attended the pastors' conference which discussed: 1) The Inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, 2) The effects of post-modernism on the understanding of the Scriptures and on the Church, 3) The current state of World Lutheranism, 4) the work of the LCMS around the world, 5) Possible areas of cooperation between the LCMS and the Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM).



Bishop David Rakotonirina helped plan the conference themes.



Dr. Harison and his wife Domoina, who host two LCMS Mercy Medical Teams (MMT) a year, made all the local arrangements for the conference.


The Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM) founded in 1866 by Norwegian Missionaries has approximately 4 million members. The two churches look forward to discussing areas they can work together.

- Posted by Rev Dr Albert Collver on 16 October 2013 using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Antsirabe,Madagascar