The year 2017 marks the 50o0th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, if one reckons the Reformation’s beginning to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther’s on October 31, 1517, nailing 95 theses for debate against the preachers of indulgences to the door of the castle church (the community bulletin board) in Wittenberg. (Any number of earlier or later dates and events arguably could be used instead as the start of the Reformation.)
In many of the significant events of the Reformation movement that followed in the sixteenth-century and beyond, God worked through people like Luther to restore to its proper place in His Church His Gospel of the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith in His Son, the crucified and risen God-man Jesus Christ, Who gives the forgiveness, life, and salvation that He earned through His Word and Sacraments–Baptism, Absolution, and Communion. A half millennium later, the matters of Who Jesus is, what He has done, and how we get the benefits of His death and resurrection still divide so-called “Christian” churches. The Church on earth is always in need of reforming, and this anniversary year of 2017 is no different: it is still all about Jesus.
This year, in different locations around the world, there are more or fewer events to mark the occasion. Events Pilgrim is involved with include the following.
- Fourth Annual Symposium in Kilgore focused on the Reformation, which again this year will feature Pastor Galler as the main speaker, Sunday, October 29, 2017, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Devall Student Center on the Kilgore College Campus.
- Family dinner and movie night screening the docu-drama “Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World”, Monday, October 30, 2017, starting dinner at 6:00 and the movie at 6:30 with discussion after.
- Reformation Day Joint Dinner and Divine Service Tuesday, October 31, 2017, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (1300 Judson Road, Longview), with a German-themed Covered-dish Dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. and the Divine Service starting at 7:00 p.m.
For details on those and other events, check the Newsletters and Calendars linked on the News dropdown menu above. For more Reformation history, anniversary events, and other media and resources (including an explanation of the anniversary logo used above), click here.
