Listen up, my Lutheran readers:
Is anyone out there interested in organizing a blog carnival? I've visited one online Lutheran Carnival, but the midway is pretty scary for anyone who doesn't belong to the Sturmtruppe of Lutheranism's rightest wing.
Here's how carnivals work: A carnival is a roundup of blog entries on a particular topic. The organizer picks a theme and a deadline, sends out a call for posts, accepts submissions and then, on the designated date, posts links to the posts. It's like a blog magazine.
I propose a carnival around the theme "Lutheran Spirituality." What does this mean? Is it an oxymoron? How do we nurture it in our faith communities and in ourselves? I will shoot for a publishing date of March 31th.
I haven't set up a separate blog page, and I don't even have a clever name for this project, if it actually gets off the ground. (Suggestions cheerfully accepted.)
Let me know if you'd like to participate, and spread the word to your blogfriends or other non-blogging friends who nonetheless want to join in.
25 comments:
I'm not a "blogger", but I would love to participate in a "Lutheran Carnival for the rest of us"! Your blog is a joy to read!
I'm in.
You might want to promote it on some of the carnival indexes. I know of http://blogcarnival.com/bc/ but I also think there are more out there. Now -- how do you want people to send you links to the posts they want considered?
I'm violating my Lenten Blog Fast by commenting on your blog today, but I love the idea. There isn't much energy or organization to the rest of us Lutherans out here in the blogosphere. A carnival would be great.
You know, I don't think that Internet fasting is all it's cracked up to be...in the last couple of days, as I've struggled with my own feelings of inadequacy and aloneness, I've come to suspect strongly that we're all out here talking to one another because God has put us here to do that -- that we need one another, and this is a new way we can help one another.
Anyhow...I am going to whip up a separate blog page tonight just for carnival announcements; I'm going to accept submissions via e-mail -- mine's in my Blogger profile -- you can either e-mail me your thoughts or let me know you're going to be posting on the subject on your own blog. If this becomes a regular going concern I'll put out a call for hosts.
Hmmm....I'm starting to feel...ministerial again, instead of like a first-class ****-up who can't find my fanny with both hands.
Sounds interesting and a lot of work for the organizer.
Can you call it something besides "carnival?" Or is that the blogosphere name for that sort of thing? I only know the so-called Lutheran Carnival and I thought that was like looking at grace in the fun house mirror. Oops, an ungrace-like characterization, perhaps. But "carnival" brings to my mind the idea of a bunch of booths at the fair, and the Lutheran carnival didn't seem parallel to this in my mind.
Where am I missing the boat???
I am in...I am already toying around with "Benedictine Spirituality for Lutherans" as a topic.
Thanks for this idea! You ROCK!
BTW...How about calling it "The Lutheran Majority Blog" to emphasize that mainstream ELCA Lutheranism is the norm.
Ok, that sounds snippy, but I think we need to emphasize our uniqueness in this whole thing.
I'm thinking of calling ours a Sideshow -- I mean, the Other Lutherans can keep their name, and and their moral superiority. We'll be the Lutherans who know who we are -- the Fat Lady (that's me), the Dog-Faced Boy (that might be me too), etc., etc....flawed folks saved by grace. And we'll be talking about ourselves, not about them.
Or how about The Lutheran Midway?
I'm going to extend an invitation to folks in the ELCA, the ELIC and "all other Lutherans of good will."
I'll point some Lutheran bloggers I know your way. I might be able to come up with something too.
As the editorial host of the latest edition of the Lutheran Carnival, I can assume you are speaking to me...anonymously on your blog. You certainly are free to form your own carnival, but could you show us grace and love by slamming me in person? You couldn't possibly have read much of what was written in the nineteen carnivals. What did we ever do to you? By the way, I was raised in the ELCA - a member for over 30 years - and only recently left for a more peaceful synod. Are your comments proving my departure? I wish you only peace and God's grace, which you already have. In fact, I will be happy to plug your carnival when it is ready. Peace!
Well, tkls, I can't really slam you when I don't really know you -- but if you detect some defensiveness on our side of the fence (and it's not just me), it might have to do with conservative Lutheran bloggers who refer to our denomination as the "E*CA," who otherwise cast aspersions on our Lutheranism or even our Christianity, and who generally take a Rush Limbaugh approach to inter-Lutheran relations.
Our carnival is not going to address any of that, this time or in the future. It's going to be about matters of faith and life from a Lutheran perspective. Period. Proposed contributions that in any way involve or allude to inter-Lutheran, conservative v liberal, more-Lutheran-than-thou slapfighting are not going to be considered for inclusion.
While I appreciate your offer to promote our carnival, I think we're fine doing our own word of mouth, thanks. Maybe once we're up and running and you can see where we're headed as far as topics and tone, you can decide if it's something you want to promote among your readership.
Thanks for your quick response. I do appreciate it. I hope you can understand my confusion at your seeming intolerance and prejudice of some Lutherans. I think you are not liking just few blogs and then generalizing that dislke to many blogs. I work hard not to disparage anyone directly, but to address issues. This is something that I have had to work at, for it is my goal to establish dialogue with all Lutherans and other Christians. It is hard not to generalize! I know that firsthand. :) It is our human tendency, unfortunately.
I think that you are flat wrong to refer to confessional Lutherans as pietistic, since that is the one thing we detest the most.
Yes, our Lutheran Carnival asks that contributors agree that the Book of Concord is a correct exposition of scripture. But that is hardly something new! That has been the definition of a Lutheran since....Martin Luther himself.
If you limit contributions to only those who agree with your point of view...well, I guess that is your right. But don't you then end up looking like Rush Limbaugh yourself? That is a risk we all run when we feel passionately about something, I guess.
Again, best wishes to you.
Hmmm...I've just followed our guest's link to one of his blogs, and judging from the objectivity of his post describing our carnival, I think I'm justified in declining his offer to do us any favors. I suppose now the character slicing and dicing will begin over there. Whatever. Any LCMS bloggers of good will can participate if they keep to the topic and refrain from the sort of neener-neener-neener rhetoric I'm seeing over on "Katie's Beer," et al.
There is something strange going on here. I read these back and forth comments twice and I don't see where this person is getting the target of the amunition from. Things were criticized that weren't even mentioned. A blog was to be promoted that hadn't yet been ever developed. Then it was disparaged, when it hadn't even been made......??????
I have inocently, as a person new to blogs and blogging a few months ago, gone to Lutheran blogs, not knowing that some were of different denominations or philosophies, and asked questions, posted comments and opinions and, quite frankly, I was criticized rather than welcomed. There is a big difference between someone explaining nicely a difference in theology and someone telling me that would "never be allowed to happen here"(from a pastor.)
I truly wanted to know more about why these branches of Lutheranism have differeces. Rather than getting an explanation, I've been put down for asking a question, expressing an opinion, and because I'm female.
The common denominator seems to be a defensiveness. This defensiveness seems to have developed into a wall. This wall seems to allow no love to go through it. The wall doesn't allow us to see that what we have in common is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's try to remember that we are to worship our Lord, not our denomination. Let's try to remember that he came for "the least of these."
Here's what I think will happen:
I'm going to do up my carnival blog page, explain the theme of the first issue and the "rules of engagement," and wait for entries.
I am going to edit the entries for content, to keep the us-vs-them stuff out of the carnival.
Then I'm going to publish the carnival.
People spoiling for a fight will read it and say, "This isn't any fun," get bored and leave.
People not spoiling for a fight will read it and say, "Hmmm...a Lutheran blog carnival that's not about us-vs-them. What a concept! Maybe I'll read the next one."
Good plan, but it sounds like a lot of work. Keep us posted.
BTW, regarding the possible name using "Midway"....I used to belong to a church called Bethlehem Lutheran In the Midway. Or something like that. St. Paul, Mn. You might want to avoid confusion in case they have a website.
What about "The Via Media: A Lutheran Blog Carnival"?
i've love to. march 31 is my birthday.
LP: Good idea...but I figured that it might be confusing to Via Media Episcopalians.
I wanted to get this going so I just picked a name -- I figure this is just, like, a beta version anyway, so we may come up with something better in the future.
Timothy: Thank you. And you're certainly welcome to join in our project if you'd like.
Cats: Kewl!
Great...the Anglicans get the BCP and the cool name! I am SO jealous!
Well, we could get all Teutonic and call it "Das Mittelwege," but that sounds like some kind of unpleasant medical problem: "Darn! I was up all night with Mittelwege again!";-)
"Darn! I was up all night with Mittelwege again!";-)
You know, some antibiotics will clear that right up! ;-)
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