Page Contents SCALD V Next SCALD Past SCALDs SCALD IV (2025) SCALD III (2023) SCALD II (2019) SCALD I (2017) Resources Other Opportunities

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 V

"An Abreviated Theological White Paper on Confidentiality and Trust — An Appeal Especially to Pastors" by Eric Andrae

For all Christians – but especially for leaders in the church, such as pastors, deaconesses, and others – trustworthiness is absolutely essential in establishing and maintaining healthy and nurturing relationships with those we serve, as well as with colleagues. “Discretion in the conduct of the pastoral office is the uppermost commandment"" (Bonhoeffer). Indeed, where confidentiality is violated, it is quite likely the relationship could be irreparably harmed and ultimately come to end and, as such, souls may even be lost. How do we determine what is confidential?  Is public information excluded?  Are there times in which otherwise confidential information should or must be shared with others? - if so, with whom, and how?  What difference does the seal of private confession make?

The Rev. Eric Andræ is Campus Pastor, Outreach Minister, and ESL Chaplain of First Trinity Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA. He earned a B.A. degree in 1993 from Valparaiso University and a Master of Divinity Degree in 1997 from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO.  He has traveled, lectured, and published extensively, and earned a Master of Sacred Theology in pastoral care from Concordia Seminary in 2003.

"Threat Assessment and the Care of Conscience: Confessional Lutheran Resources for the Potential Age of ET Alien Disclosure" by Grant Eckhart

This paper argues that the Lutheran Confessions demonstrate a core pastoral and theological competency in threat assessment, specifically in their concern for the human conscience and its vulnerability to both internal and external threats. Internally, the reformers confronted corrupt theology and church practices that endangered consciences. Externally, they articulated a deep existential realism about the human condition: that humanity lives under the domination of sin, death, and the devil. This threat environment, they asserted, cannot be worsened — not even by a scenario as disruptive as the disclosure of non-human intelligent life. Thus, the Lutheran theological tradition is well prepared to meet new cosmic and psychological shocks by centering the saving work of Christ, guarding the conscience, and grounding hope in Scripture, because we have done it before.

The Rev. Grant Eckhart is campus pastor of Jacob's Porch, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. He studied at G.T.U., Berkeley, CA, and received his M.Div. from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. He is currently working on his S.T.M. at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and is known as the author of the Substack Ministry of the Weird.

"The Athanasian Creed and Lutheran Dogmatics: Good Works, Salvation, and the Majoristic Controversy" by Stephen Herr

The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church acknowledge the Three Chief Creeds or Confessions of Faith in Christ Which Are with One Accord Used in the Churches.  Along with the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, the framers of the Book of Concord include the Athanasian Creed.  Since the Reformation Era, Lutherans have named the Athanasian Creed in their confessional documents, incorporated it into their liturgies, and utilized it in the ordination vows for their ministers. 

At the same time Lutherans scrutinize and criticize the Athanasian Creed.  Modern scholarship debunked the claim that Athanasias wrote it and that it was most likely written around the fifth century – well after the other creeds.  The wave of anti-Catholicism especially in the nineteenth century among Lutherans in America, led to a rejection of  the word “catholic” in the first and final lines.  References to persons who do not keep the “catholic faith” “whole and inviolate” will “perish eternally” raised concerns of works righteousness regarding matters of faith.  These portions for the creed combined with the claim  that “Those who have done good things will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil things into eternal fire” led and continue to lead many to criticize or reject the creed on the grounds that it is in direct opposition to the classic Lutheran doctrine of justification by grace through faith apart from the works of the law. 

The most recent hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, does not include the words of the Athanasian Creed as did its predecessor volume The Lutheran Book of Worship.  While the ordination rite of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America specifically holds ordinands to teach and confess the Athanasian Creed, its use by Lutheran ministers and congregations continues to diminish.  It’s length often is cited, however, more so are the creed’s references to good works and salvation.

This paper will address the creed’s reference to good works and salvation in relationship with the dogmatic tradition of the Lutheran Church specifically around the Majoristic Controversy. Through this examination it is my hope to draw attention to the richness of the Athanasian creed for the worship, theological, and devotional life of the Lutheran Church inf the Twenty First Century.

The Rt. Rev. Stephen Here is bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod. He holds both an M.Div. and an S.T.M. from Gettysburg Seminary. He served twenty-five years as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Gettysburg, PA.

"Death and Resurrection in the Joseph Narratives: How God Makes Us to be Like Christ" by Kyle Mullins

Throughout the Joseph narratives we do not see a morally upright man who fervently clings to God's law, making himself to be favorable before God. Instead we see a sinful man brought to death through suffering and made alive through the comforting presence of God. It is through this continual process of death and resurrection that God makes Joseph to be like Christ. So it is in our lives that through suffering and the Law God kills us in order that He may raise us to new life under Christ by His saving presence.

The Rev. Kyle Mullins serves as past of Trinity Lutheran Church, Glen Savage, PA. Holds an M.Div. from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN. He is currently working on a Doctorate of Ministry degree.

"Equipped to Share: The Lutheran Confessional Tradition as Evangelism in Life and Worship" by Adam Sornchai

This paper explores how the Lutheran confessional tradition equips believers to share the gospel authentically in worship, households, and daily life. Rooted in the Small Catechism, Word and Sacrament, and the priesthood of all believers, it emphasizes faithful witness over method, fostering dialogue, listening, and relational engagement rather than persuasion or technique. By connecting catechesis, liturgy, and vocation, Lutherans are prepared to live and articulate their faith in a pluralistic, secular society. Grounded in confessional identity, this approach demonstrates how historic Lutheran practices can renew congregational life and enable meaningful gospel witness beyond the walls of the church.

The Rev. Dr. Adam Sornchai earned a BA and MA in Theology from St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY, an M.Div. from Gettysburg Seminary, and d a Doctor of Ministry at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Delaware, OH. He serves as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Windfall, OH.

Next SCALD

By popular demand, there will be a SCALD VI, but we don't know when or where yet. If you would like to receive notices related to the next SCALD, complete this form. You can also join our SCALD Facebook group (a place we post information about events).

Past SCALDS

Christian	Johnston	+Riegel	Setley	Summers

SCALD IV

SCALD IV was held 20 February 2025 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Morgantown, WV, with 18 total attendees, 11 clergy and 7 laity, representing 7 different judicatories (WV-WMD ELCA, Lower Susquehanna ELCA, Southern Ohio ELCA,  NC ELCA, FL-Bahamas ELCA, Indiana-Kentucky ELCA, and Southeastern English District LCMS). The attendee who traveled the furthest came from Miami, FL. The following five papers were presented:

• Disputation on Offering the Sacrament of Holy Communion to the Unbaptized — Keith Christian
• Confessional Reappraisal: Dialogue between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod — Thomas Johnston
• Quo jure et quo modo? The Cleric Speaking in the Status Politicus —  Matthew Riegel
• Paved with Good Intentions: Reexamining Supersessionism — Tony Setley
• The Status Intermedius in the Lutheran Dogmatic Tradition —  Jaren Summers

SCALD III

+Riegel	Setley	McClinton	+Kusserow	Collins

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.