Carol Rutz’s Annexe

Friend of the Predigtamt

May 20th, 2008

The Story Thus Far

Courtesy of the Rebellious Pastor’s Wife.

Some notes:

1) I’ve heard about the allocation of funds to general Synod expenses for years.
2) The administration at the Mauve Mansion are behind technology wise. And it was only recently that someone from the Council of Presidents (Ohio District’s Cripe) actually brought up podcasting and subscriptions to disseminate the message.
3) It was NOT a shock to hear about missionaries being sent home. I remember Dan Conrad and his family being recalled from Venezuela some years ago. And Latin America needs them. Alas, they do not have the money like the Soccer Moms and Dads have in upscale suburbia. You cannot fund a church body on a few pesos, amirite?

May 15th, 2008

Recent Pr May details

Here is a letter that has revealed the ridiculousness of Pr May’s situation. Let’s see…if you are a Lutheran minister, you do Lutheran things, NOT Baptist things. That means that if someone has a sick child that needed to be Baptized, you do not IGNORE what Christ said in Matthew 19: “Let the little children come to Me” and of course Article IX of the Augsburg Confession. Christ did not add: “…providing that you ask your supervisors or corporate body first before the children come to Me.”

If you do not want Pr May to be a Lutheran minister, then why did you sent him in the first place?

The following is a report from Pr. James May regarding his mission work in West Africa.

Rev. Kurt Hering, Pastor,
Trinity Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
of Layton, Utah

I was sent to Ouagadougou to learn French. There are no Lutheran churches here. I was directed to take my family and worship at non-Lutheran churches. I was forbidden to plant Lutheran churches in Ouagadougou.

In my daily life I was often encountered by locals asking who I am and what I am doing in Burkina Faso. I explained that I am a Lutheran pastor and am learning French. Many people wanted to know more. In a country that is 80% Muslim and animistic, I was happy to confess my faith in the savior Jesus Christ. People wanted to know more.

I was insubordinate and started Bible studies, and the area facilitator said that the regional director would not be happy, and therefore, even though he was informed, he said that he would turn a blind eye. Later while in the language learning process a friend of mine named his first born son after me.

My regional director had expressly told me that if someone wanted to be baptized I should send them to the Baptist church and NOT baptize them. Again I was insubordinate and preferred to disobey that order rather than break a relationship by insulting him and refusing to baptize his son. The father, Etienne Sam, has used his tailor shop to publicize and distribute Good News magazines.

A second time a man came from Cote d’Ivoire and was very poor. He couldn’t afford to send his kids to school which costs about $4 per child. His youngest son became very sick with dysentery. During a two week span he ceased eating and we feared for his life. His father was a Catholic but had been attending our Good News classes. I asked him if his son was baptized and he said the Catholic Church demanded $15 per baptism and he didn’t have the money. The Baptist Church was not going to baptize the child. Again I was insubordinate and baptized him so that his parents would have the assurance that even if dysentery won, the devil would not because Jesus would make Victorien His child. Miraculously the day after his baptism he also began eating and the dysentery left.

Finally, Rev. Dr. Anssi Simojoki, the Vice President of LHF and director for the Africa region, was making a trip through West Africa and contacted me. His son is the godfather of two of our children. I offered our house for him to stay in. I received an email from Rev. Dr. Paul Mueller in which he stated that he had not given me permission to have Anssi stay in my house. I was not aware that my personal home is ruled by World Mission. Again I was insubordinate and allowed Anssi to stay at our house.

In my most recent conversation with Rev. Dr. Paul Mueller in Conakry, Guinea, he said it is due to these acts of insubordination that he has determined I am a detriment to the LCMS WM team in Africa and that I was directed to seek another call. He would not put this in writing, rather he stated that I am unwilling to live in a primitive village, and therefore should leave Africa. This is untrue. I was unwilling to move to a village where access to emergency care is unattainable during rainy season. I have a pregnant wife and four children, one of which already had a medical emergency and nearly lost her fingers. Planting of churches and visiting of those remote congregations could have been done from cities with hospitals. This request was denied.

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

By His Grace alone,
Pr. James May

March 18th, 2008

Regarding Issues Etc….You know what to do.


What did these guys ever done to you, citizens of the Purple Palace?!

Vyvyan from The Young Ones

October 14th, 2007

The Anti-Mauve Movement

Anti-Mauve Movement

The Elephant’s Child has used Says-It to create this logo in response to the overly mauve tone of the LCMS website.

You all know that I love purples. But what if a particular shade was used in such a way that it reflected an out of style aesthetic? In an effort to look current and professional-like, the color scheme of the LCMS website reflects late-Boomer dowdiness. In this case…”This is YOUR Grandparents’ Synod.” The archetypal Grandma Schmidt is not the Dr Walter Maier-listening, Jello-making, rural Hausfrau. Nope. She is the Dr James Dobson-listening, pre-packaged-cookie-buying, suburban Desperate Soccer Mom. The Synod–whose leadership is composed of these cohorts–is theologically dowdy as well with its Church Growth influences.

There is a big difference between timelessness and dowdiness. The Anti-Mauve Movement is very lighthearted but it aims to cherish the timelessness of the Christian Church. We dig the primary and secondary bold colors. Our theology is bold– why not express it with boldness?!

July 13th, 2007

Synods are Fragile Things

People are fragile things / you should know by now/be careful of what you put them through

I ended up listening to Editors’ Munich countless times the last two days. It’s the type of song that you listen to on a winter day outside, in a black coat. I’m looking forward to getting their The Back Room album soon, and I’ve got a tip that I should check out Interpol as well. Some speculate that Munich referred to the troubled history of the city, but actually it’s about relationships and the power games people play.

Funny how these lyrics fit ever since Symposia week, when I heard about how things went with former classmates and friends within Synod and outside. When you wonder whether one should add Catch 22 as part of the pastor’s library, that is when one should step back and think: Now, what is the Church for?

This week, several of my friends are heading out to the Synodical Convention in Houston. May God keep them safe on their journeys. And I hope that they remember what is really the Focus.

BTW: Professor Dale Hartmann is running for a Board of Regents seat in Concordia-Irvine. He is more than qualified to be there: he was one of the five Founding Fathers of the University and for over 25 years, he served the campus well. He is also a great friend as well. He was instrumental in my conversion to the Lutheran faith. He said to me: “Carol, when you worship, don’t leave your mind at the door.” He taught me that separating faith and reason is dangerous. Such a divorce is a false dichotomy.

So…if any of the delegates of the Convention are reading this, consider Dale. Tell him that Carol sends him greetings and lots of hugs and noogies.

May 24th, 2007

As Promised, a Piccie of Benke!

DP Benke and the Carol!

In April, I’ve mentioned about the Council of Presidents at Fort Wayne, and how I met DP Dave Benke there….and here it is! Pr Herman Otten…you’re next. :)

April 24th, 2007

Call Night at the Sem

Several notes:

To the fellow Fall Greekies of 2002…I’m proud of you and I hope that your congregations love you and respect you. You deserve the best! Prayers ascend, especially to the future Rev Porter of Minnesota.

Dennis Meeker: You deserve that applause and you and Lorna will be a blessing for Kenya. We are glad that we saw you and took you out to dinner. God has a plan for you and His people. Give them the Word. Give them the Sacrament.

Stephen and David, the fieldworkers from Shepherd of the City: Congrats! I wish you the very best in your endeavors. The Prediger and I are rooting for you!

Tall Paul: We’ll see you there in Rogers City with a HUGE appetite.

To the District Presidents: Thanks for the hilarity and for befriending me for the last several years while at Fort Wayne. (Props especially to Newton, Hartman, Krueger, and May, who I’ve known for a long time.) My husband looks forward to meeting several of you one of these days. What can I say except that I count you all as my friends, no matter your theological stance. Like I’ve told one of you: I advise my classmates to treat you guys like a kind-hearted uncle. Such is the way of the Carol.

Chris and Julie Ann “Fred” Raffa: Yay! Congrats! I love you two and think highly of you. Fred, we need to get together and hang out. I’ve just discovered this sweet sparkling red wine and it’s awesome!

April 23rd, 2007

For the District Presidents: An Intro to Linux

Today at lunchtime, I ate with some of the District Presidents, and they asked what I’ve been doing lately. I told them about my studies and projects. (To those who hang out at Threadless.com and at Fark.com, the DPs are the guys who oversee the various regions of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.) I then told them that I worked around with Linux. One guy asked why Linux is free. I replied that it allows people to tinker around the inner workings to what they want. As long one is willing to learn and have the time, Linux is a great OS to use.

Here is one video introduction to what one can do with Linux.


Granted, some of you are more comfortable with Windows XP and are hesitant with going to Vista. The thing is that one can be comfortable with Linux as well. Hope you enjoy this.

April 19th, 2007

Mighty Mouse v Superman, Synodical Edition

Prediger and I were celebrating the completion of one of my classes by taking me to Culver’s. On the way, we talked about the recent United List endorsements, and about the 1st VP nominations.

C: Who would win, Diekelman or Preus?
P: If Kieschnick gets it, it’s Diekelman.
C: Better yet, same thing, different matter: Who would win in a barfight?
P: O_o

March 1st, 2007

Lutheran Carnival XLV: Call for Submissions

On 11 March 2006, I’ll be hosting my first Carnival, so I’m taking submissions and recommended articles for review.

From what I’ve seen in prior Carnivals, I have to spotlight one or two Lutheran people/events, and then bring on the articles. Theme? Well, considering that this is “bad carol!” and I bring the lulz to the Confessionals at CAT 41’s Table Talk as well as presenting “What The Frell” moments, if you can help me provide this carnival with a huge dose of visual WTF, that would be great. One way is to go to Youtube, pick a video that you find disturbing/comedy gold/ridiculous, and comment on it. It can be theological in nature– in fact, it’s preferred that the viral video is theological. I can take others as well.

E-mail subs and recommends to this address…