On March 26th! Join us for an info program + free dinner at Sursum Corda Classical School.

At 5pm, we’ll have a brief program featuring our students and a presentation on our classical educational philosophy. At 5:30pm, a free meal will be provided, followed at 6:30pm by a short service of prayer and singing.

Please register to help us plan for attendees and be able to answer your questions!

“If I only had a heart” –> “Lift up your hearts!”

March 21, 2017 was when the refurbishment began to restore Oregon’s water tower, nicknamed the “Tin Man.” It was like it was given a new life, maybe even a new heart.

When we leave school from Sursum Corda, I find it appropriate that as we walk up the stairs, we look up and see the Tin Man directly in view.

Its namesake, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz lamented “If I only had a heart…” In the end, he found what was missing. At Sursum Corda, we aim to give students that which is missing. We seek to “lift up students hearts,” to fill their education not merely with facts or ideology, but with truth, goodness, and beauty. In other words, the stuff of the heart.

These come from outside of us, for inside of us cold and empty like the Tin Man. It is God who gives us a new heart. From Him we learn to appreciate what is good, true, and beautiful, and in response to be creators ourselves of that which is good, true, and beautiful in the world.

In the words of the Tin Man from the classic book, “I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. I had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart.”

Faith Lutheran Church is excited to again partner with Return to Wittenberg to host a family workshop on May 20.

This will be an encouraging workshop helping families of all types, sizes (even singles!) orient their life around the most important things. Learn how a few simple and fundamental things can lift burdens, lift minds, and lift hearts.

Dr. Arthur Eggert, author of “The Lutheran Family Altar,” will be a keynote presenter at the conference!
Other speakers will be announced soon.

After attending this conference, you will . . .

• Have a greater understanding of the vocational responsibilities inherent in the Fourth Commandment.
• Learn how the Lutheran concept of the “Family Altar” is central to a holistic Christian life.
• Recognize the Catechism as more than a tool for confirmation class–it is a blueprint of cosmic reality.
• Identify the Christian life as a cycle of oratio, meditatio, tentatio with meaningful connection to catechesis and education.
• Have a greater appreciation of the ways that classical education closely conforms with Christian reality.

The Christian family is a microcosm of God’s benevolent will for the order of the cosmos. All legitimate power in the Church and in the State is derived from God’s created order for humanity, which is contained in the fourth commandment and cosmically perfected in Christ and His Church. In short, the Family Altar is at the crossroads of reality, encompassing the spiritual and physical realms. The Family Altar is the way that Christians in their every-day lives sanctify themselves and their worlds with prayer (oratio) and the Word of God (meditatio) in the face of the struggles and discipline (tentatio) of their daily lives.

In addition to theoretical concepts, the workshop will provide practical examples and resources for the Family Altar. Practical tips will be offered for how to pray the Divine Office as a family and incorporating children into both corporate and private worship.

Additional topics on classical education and liberal arts will be offered. Faith Lutheran Church is in the process of opening a new hybrid classical school here in Oregon: Sursum Corda Classical School, with the express purpose to allow children to “lift up their hearts.”

Saturday, May 20 Conference Schedule

Saturday, May 20

1pm-3pm: Welcome & Presentations
3pm-4pm: Practical Activity: The Divine Office in the Home
4pm: Closing Vespers

Conference Fee: Adults: $15 / Students: $8

Registering is important to make sure we have enough materials for everyone!

Extra Events in addition to the Conference:

Thursday, May 18

5:30pm: Meal hosted by Faith Church Council
6:30pm: Ascension Service with Return to Wittenberg
8pm: Meet-up at Headquarters Bar & Grill
DIY Compline at ??

Saturday, May 20 – Morning

10am: Lauds Prayer Service

Saturday, May 20 – Evening

Bethany Lutheran College Choir Concert at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Madison.
5:30pm: Heavy hors d’oeuvres & refreshments – at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Madison.
7:00pm: Choral Concert featuring works by Parry, Christiansen, Mendelssohn, Brahms and others – at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Madison.

Sunday, May 21

8:00am: Matins
9:00am: Chief Divine Service for Exaudi Sunday
10:15am: Catechesis