About this item
Highlights
- In the last decades of the twentieth century, American Lutherans embarked on a journey fraught with peril and filled with promise: the formation of a new church intended to unite Lutherans throughout the country in a shared vision of ministry, service, and fellowship.
- Author(s): Lowell G Almen
- 250 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Christianity
Description
About the Book
Lowell G. Almen tells the story of the ELCA's birth, life, and growing pains as it sought to promote and embody Christian unity. A Dream Eclipsed is a memoir of the ELCA's first three and a half decades told from Almen's personal and professional experience. It offers a unique view of the ELCA's founding era as the church looks to what lies ahead.Book Synopsis
In the last decades of the twentieth century, American Lutherans embarked on a journey fraught with peril and filled with promise: the formation of a new church intended to unite Lutherans throughout the country in a shared vision of ministry, service, and fellowship. Congregations, leaders, institutions, publications, programs--the whole ministerial infrastructure of three of the country's Lutheran church bodies--were reborn with the ringing in of the New Year in 1988. Yet, the birth of this new church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was not universally celebrated.
From his ""front-row seat"" as the ELCA's first secretary, Lowell G. Almen tells the story of the ELCA's birth, life, and growing pains as it sought to promote and embody Christian unity. A Dream Eclipsed is a memoir of the ELCA's first three and a half decades told from the wealth of Almen's personal and professional experience. It offers a unique view into the triumphs, tribulations, and ongoing work of the ELCA's founding era as the church looks forward to what lies ahead. In facing that future, Almen writes, ""The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the whole church always must be on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), taught by the resurrected Christ, informed by the words of Scripture, and renewed in faith through the breaking of the bread.""
Review Quotes
To borrow a phrase from Dean Acheson, Lowell Almen was "present at the creation" of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and as its secretary for its first twenty years, he was a key figure in shaping the new church's life and mission. His memoir offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the ELCA's vision of Christian unity eventually was eclipsed by the stresses and strains of contemporary church life. Yet despite the ebbing of interest in that vision, Almen argues that the eclipsed dream is still worthwhile--indeed, vital--for the future of the church. --Richard O. Johnson, editor of Forum Letter, and author of Changing World, Changeless Christ: The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, 1914-2014
As a significant leader in the life of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lowell Almen has lived its history and shared a vision for unity. In bishops meetings, decision-making, and promoting a commitment to the well-being of the church, Lowell has been regarded as providing an understanding of ecclesiology that helped guide our life together. This book is an important contribution to our history and ecclesial life. --Donald J. McCoid, bishop emeritus of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, and retired executive of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Relations, ELCA
From his own unique perspective, Pastor Almen shares his "accumulated memories" of the history of the ELCA from the days before this church came into being until the present. This faithful servant's wealth of knowledge and attention to detail make this an interesting read for ELCA members and church historians alike. --Sue Rothmeyer, secretary of the ELCA
In this book, Rev. Almen artfully weaves together historical information and personal experience to tell the story of the ELCA thus far, especially its efforts to create and foster Lutheran unity. In recounting the past, he challenges the church to remain on the road to Emmaus, "taught by the resurrected Christ, informed by the words of Scripture, and renewed in faith through the breaking of the bread." An informative and thought-provoking book! --Kathie Bender Schwich, retired executive of Synodical Relations, and assistant to the presiding bishop, ELCA
In A Dream Eclipsed, Lowell G. Almen offers an intimate look at the hopes, the challenges, and the interpersonal and institutional influences shaping the origins and current realities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We are privileged to get this front-row perspective from one who has given so much to affirm the interdependence and oneness of this church in its three expressions. It is worth the read. --Stephen Talmage, pastor, Love of Christ Lutheran Church, Mesa, Arizona, and coauthor of Bishops on the Border: Pastoral Responses to Immigration
Over the history of the ELCA, the name Lowell Almen has meant integrity, order, candor, and wisdom. His life and ministry within the Lutheran church have taken him to important rooms handling delicate matters, making this volume of recollections an important contribution to the canon of ELCA history, by one of its founders. His gifts of right remembering and storytelling, along with his pastoral heart, make this an enjoyable read. --Daniel A. Witkowski, pastor, First Lutheran Church, Moline, Illinois