The Symposium for Central Appalachian Lutheran Dogmatics (SCALD) is designed as a day of theological discussion, employing the symposium model. Presenters give papers with discussion of those papers open to all participants. It is about providing an intellectually engaging and profitable opportunity for rank and file clergy and lay theologians (amateur and professional) to test their often private ruminations in a critical and yet convivial gathering of peers.

Typically, five papers are presented over the course of the day. Sessions are not Zoomed. To date, there has been no fee for attending SCALD. Lunch is not provided, but ample time is built into the schedule for attendees to enjoy local eateries.

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We also invite you to join our SCALD Facebook group (a place we post information about events).

Questions may be addressed to Bishop Riegel (our Symposiarch).

SCALD IV

SCALD IV will be held Thursday, 20 February 2025. Tentatively, it is scheduled for Morgantown, WV. More details to come. In the meantime, you can RSVP through our online SCALD IV registration form. Stay tuned, and join our email list.

Papers

The following have been accepted for SCALD IV:

"Disputation on Offering the Sacrament of Holy Communion to the Unbaptized" by Keith Christian

Those who are unbaptized should not be offered the sacrament of Holy Communion, as it disturbs the logical, theological order of the two sacraments. Some Lutheran pastors and churches have discussed offering an "open table" of Holy Communion to anyone, including to those who have not been baptized. This disputation will review the scriptures and the Lutheran orthodox theology to arrive at a position that those who are unbaptized should not be offered the sacrament of Holy Communion and that one needs to be baptized prior to partaking of the Eucharist.

Keith Christian is a member of Advent Lutheran Church, East York, in the Lower Susquehanna Synod and serves on the Stewardship, Finance, and Property Committees. He is also a trumpeter.

"A Confessional Reappraisal: Dialogue between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod" by Thomas Johnston

Within the Lutheran theological tradition in the United States, there is no greater divergence than the interpretation of the Lutheran Confessions. The Lutheran Confessions contain the writings of Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and the other Lutheran theologians grounded in the theological statement of justified by grace through faith. While Lutherans in the United States profess this same doctrinal statement, they diverge on the best way of approaching the Confessions themselves. The Lutheran Confessions provide the framework for Lutheran doctrine and more importantly how the different Lutheran bodies approach the Confessions. Several Lutheran bodies utilize the adjective confessional to distinguish themselves from other Lutherans; however, by adopting this label, conversation between different church bodies has failed. The two Lutheran church bodies that have significant mass in the United States are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. As the United States is slowly entering into a post-Christian era, the need for fuller cooperation between divergent bodies is paramount, especially among traditions that share a common theological heritage. Given that the Lutheran Confessions provide the bedrock of Lutheran doctrine, it would make the most sense for that as the starting point of conversation. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework for inter-Lutheran dialogue between the ELCA and LCMS churches starting with the Confessions at the local level by establishing a common language. One of the implications from this project is decreasing tensions between the two church bodies and encourage further conversations.

Thomas Johnston, a recent graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, is a candidate for Word and Sacrament ministry in the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He enjoys reading and discussing the intersection of Lutheran theology and public life.

"Quo jure et quo modo? The Cleric Speaking in the Status Politicus" by Matthew Riegel

The typical arguments for and against the church's engagement (and that of its agents) in civil politics rarely consider the possibility of a de jure humano claim. Augustana XXVIII's critique of the prince-bishops' claim that they wield temporal authority de jure divino, provides a schema for thinking about the participation of an ecclesiastical institution and its agents in the political discourse of a republic, assuming incorporation confers legal personhood. If it can be argued that the church (and its agents) have a right to exercise political powers in the political estate, the question of means or method remains. Here too Augustana XXVIII's critique of the confusing of the power of the keys and the power of the sword provides a schema. This paper will argue for applicability of Augustana XXVIII near five hundred years after its penning and for its utility when understood within the context of then contemporary political theory and the organization of the church into three estates.

Matthew Riegel is bishop of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, ELCA, and serves on the ELCA's Task Force for the development of a social statement on civic life and faith.

"Paved with Good Intentions: Reexamining Supersessionism" by Tony Setley

Although rarely named outright in theological works promoting the concept, hard and soft Supersessionism appears as normative thought from the Scriptures, Church Fathers, Reformers, and most sides of the catholic faith until the mid-20th Century. This paper will explore the earlier works, with added focus on the views of our Lutheran confessions and early Lutheran theologians. It will also highlight the shift toward a rejection of the concept in modern, mainstream Lutheranism and seek to answer the question, “does any of this matter?”

Tony Setley serves as Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Morgantown. He also is the State Chaplain for the American Legion in West Virginia and a law enforcement chaplain.

"The Status Intermedius in the Lutheran Dogmatic Tradition" by Jaren Summers

This paper will detail the status intermedius as it has been discussed in the Lutheran dogmatic tradition. The paper will follow a chronological order by reviewing Luther's position(s) before discussing the Confessions in depth. Then, I will proceed to discuss what Dogmatic theologians have discussed up to the present day, including, but not limited to, Hunnius, Schmid, Jacobs, Voigt, LCMS official declarations, and ELCA declarations. I will be reviewing the dogmatic tradition as it was developed in Europe and spread throughout the US. The conclusion will show that the status intermedius has been a part of the Lutheran dogmatic tradition with several exceptions/caveats.

Jaren Summers, a recent graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH, serves as pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Tipp City, Ohio.

Format

SCALD V

Past SCALDs

+Riegel	Setley	McClinton	+Kusserow	Collins

SCALD III

After a four-year hiatus, SCALD III was held at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Morgantown, WV, on 9 November 2023. Nineteen attended: five laity and fourteen clergy. The clergy represented seven judicatories (five ELCA synods, one LCMS District, and one Episcopalian diocese). The furthest participant traveled from North Carolina. The five papers were:

• Dr. Chemnitz or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 3rd Use of the Law — Tony Setley
  
• Progression or Regression: Hymnody and the Lutheran Faith — Brian McClinton
• Enough! Seeking to Satisfy CA VII with an Articulation of the Gospel — Kurt Kusserow
• Mist in the Pulpit, Fog in the Pews: A Proposal to Clarify and Enhance Confessional Subscription in the ELCA — Daniel Collins
• Disputation on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and the So-called Virtual Communion — Matthew Riegel
  

Brian McClinton, at SCALD II, leads the gathering in singing hymns of the Christian Science tradition as an example of catechetical hymnody.

SCALD II

SCALD II, meeting in Keyser, WV, on 21 Feb 2019, saw a doubling of attendance over SCALD I, with thirty participating, representing six ELCA judicatories (WV-WMD, LSS, Allegheny, MNYS, NC, and Del-MD). There were two non-ELCA folks there (TEC and UCC). There were six laity and twenty-four clergy. One of the lay participants, a seminarian from LSTC, even road the train overnight to attend.

SCALD II papers...

•  Ask, Search, Knock. Opened? A Case for a Theology of Prayer in a "Just Do It" World — Christine Olson
• "You mean we can't sing Pass it on in Church": Hymnody and the theological importance in Christian education — Brian McClinton
  
• A (More) Trinitarian Baptism — Jonathon Jenkins
• On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Kierkegaard — James Demmel
• Shameless - and Mindless: A Proposed ‘Sexual Reformation’ in Need of Enlightenment —  Eric Crump
  

Elizabeth Hadaway, at SCALD I, delivering her paper, "The Babylonian Captivity of the Clergy Spouse," a very interesting critique of commonly held ideas about the role of the clergy spouse in light of Augustana XIV, XVI, and XXIII.

SCALD I

SCALD I met in Morgantown, WV, in 2017 with fifteen present. While predominantly pastors of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, we also had a pastor from Lower Susquehanna join us and two priests from the Episcopal Diocese of WV.

SCALD I papers...

• Suicide and the Church's Answer: A Theological Primer on the Theology of Suicide and How the Church Should Respond — Matt Day
• The Babylonian Captivity of the Clergy Spouse — Elizabeth Leigh Hadaway
• My Church Council President Is a Montanist: Is That a Problem? — Brian McClinton
• Holding Fast: Ecumenism, the Answer to the Saviors Prayer or a Betrayal of Dogma? — Mike Hadaway
• The 95 Theses 500 Years On: What's Settled, What Is Still in Dispute? — Jerry Kliner

Resources

• Book of Concord
• English translation, Triglotta ed. (https://bookofconcord.org/)
• Concordia Triglotta. St.Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House, 1921. (https://archive.org/details/concordiatriglot0000unse/mode/2up)
  
• Schmid, Heinrich. The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church., 3^rd ed. Charles A. Hay and Henry E. Jacobs, trans. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1899. (https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schmid/theology.html)
• Post-Reformation Digital Library (http://prdl.org/)

Other Opportunities

A wide variety of educational opportunities for both clergy and laity are to be found on the WV-WMD Synod's Education for Clergy & Laity page.