Living Together in the 21st Century as ELCA Lutherans

The Hein-Fry series of endowed theological lectures is coordinated by ELCA Vocation and Education in cooperation with the eight ELCA seminaries to foster original scholarship and enrich theological dialogue throughout the church. This year's lecturers were the Rev. Dr. Herbert W. Chilstrom (right) and the Rev. Dr. H. George Anderson (left), former presiding bishops of the ELCA. The ELCA’s current presiding bishop, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson (center) served as respondent.

Instant communications and global travel make being together in the 21st century easier than ever. But living together in genuine community remains a complex and even elusive task. We remain a United States, but we also seem fractured into red states and blue, with both scholars and pundits debating whether we are in fact one nation. Our Christian communities are as vibrant as ever, yet we also long for a deeper embrace of life together as the beloved community.

Lutherans in the United States are not exempt from these realities, and challenges to our life together seem to abound. At the same time, Lutheranism in the United States remains vital, with a deep well of resources. The 2006 Hein-Fry Lectures addressed the challenges to “living together in the 21st century as Lutherans in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” and explored the resources within our tradition for tackling those challenges.