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Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 10:01:57 -0500 (CDT)
From: Greven John ujgreven@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu

I'm John Greven, listowner of elca-l.  I have been a Lutheran for the 
last 56 years.  By strange coincidence, I've also been alive for 56 years.
My parents were both Lutherans from Germany, as had been their ancestors 
in saxony ever since the mid-16th century.  I have a good friend who 
became a Lutheran fairly recently (we're about the same age).  He can run 
circles around me when it comes to Luther, the confessions, and the 
history of the Lutheran tradition. My geness and family background are no 
match for real knowledge, so if I ever get stupid and seek to buttress an 
argument with how long my family and I have been Lutheran, I hope someone 
will fling this back in my face.

I was baptized as an infant in an LC-MS parish.  In my 30s and throughout 
most of my 40s I belonged to a parish in some other alphabet soup, and 
I've been in an ELCA parish ever since ELCA was formed.  I've been a 
member of the same parish for my whole life--St. Luke Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in Chicago.

I am a nut about liturgy (high church all get out).  

I am a retired social worker who teaches same as an adjunct from time to 
time, which gives me a few extra bucks and access to the internet.

I look forard to some good elca-talk.

John Greven ujgreven@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu
Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, Illinois

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Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 20:33:46 -0500
From: Jonathan Edward Gumz j-gumz@uchicago.edu

My name is Jonathan Gumz and I am a doctoral student in European history at
the University of Chicago.  I am also an member of the LCMS.  My home
congregation is Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, though
when I am in Chicago on weekends I attend First St. Paul's.  Trinity is the
second oldest Lutheran church in Wisconsin and is one of the three old
Lutheran Churches in downtown Milwaukee (the other two being St. John's and
Grace - both WELS).  Trinity is a confessional church with an integrated
congregation which uses _The Lutheran Hymnal_ and a high-church liturgy.
While I would describe myself as a confessional Lutheran, I am quite
willing to hear opinions other than mine on church issues and welcome the
prospect of a reasoned, non-polemic discussion offered by this list.

Since I have relatives in the ELCA, I am especially concerned with the
current directions undertaken by the leadership of the ELCA.  Though I keep
an eye on the ELCA through publications like _The Lutheran_, I feel that
magazines like this often simply reproduce the ELCA leadership's party
line.  Consequently, I joined this list because I am interested in hearing
what the laity of the ELCA have to say about current issues in their
denomination, particularly as they regard Lutheran and non-Lutheran
denominations.


Jonathan Gumz
Department of History
University of Chicago
&
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
LCMS/South Wisconsin District
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