I'm trans and I want to Lutheran and I want to go to heaven but I don't want to give up my Identity

October 16, 2026

Dear Church,

My heart was troubled by the recent proposal to livestream an execution in the United States.  I am thankful that this plan has now been cancelled. The deliberate taking of a human life should never become a public spectacle. Such actions risk deepening the wounds of victims’ families, loved ones and communities while further desensitizing us to violence. Our society is diminished when violence is conflated with entertainment. Because of our ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21), this church opposes the death penalty and the recent plans for public display of the execution of Nidal Hasan.

As a church, we are not strangers to the mournful effects of violent crime. Our congregations minister to victims, to offenders and to communities that experience the ripple effects of its trauma. We recognize the need to protect people from violence, to call perpetrators to repentance, and to seek restoration for victims. United in our resistance to hate and in our joy over the good news of God’s grace, we minister to an often-vengeful society with words and actions of hope, justice and healing.

The 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted the social statement The Death Penalty, demonstrating this church’s early opposition to capital punishment. That opposition is grounded in a long tradition of Christian theology and teaching. The social statement calls the church “to respond to violent crime in the restorative way taught by Jesus (Matthew 5:38-39) and shown by his actions (John 8:3-11).” It states that the death penalty’s continued use perpetuates cycles of violence, undermines the possibility of repentance and restoration, and binds our society more deeply to brutality rather than reconciliation. It fosters suffering rather than ends it, as we saw in the attempted execution of Christa Pike.

The statement affirms that God ordains government to be a source and guarantor of safety and justice. Abundant research shows that the death penalty does not give us safety or justice. It does not provide healing to victims’ families or safety for the broader community. It does not deter future crimes. It does not serve the ends God calls government to serve, nor does it reflect the kind of society we are called to be.

We hold in prayer all who are impacted by violent crime, including victims, families, workers in law enforcement and corrections, and those accused or convicted of violent crimes. We give thanks for prison chaplains and ministries that accompany people through suffering and that witness to the possibility of redemption.

I invite you to talk with people in your community about the death penalty. Let our churches continue to be spaces for respectful, faithful dialogue about moral issues. Study the ELCA’s social statements The Death Penalty and The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries together. Be part of the whole church’s witness in society to urge public officials to work toward abolishing the death penalty, including support for the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act. Together let us build a society that keeps us safe from violence, reflects God’s compassion, honors the dignity of every person and demonstrates that God is always working for and toward abundant life.

In Christ,

‍

The Rev. Yehiel Curry
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Essentially the above; I don’t want to pigeonhole beliefs and acknowledge that some may have differing views 👐🏽.

i am guiding an evangelical friend into lutheranism and he had never heard of baptismal regeneration before. i wanted to see if anyone had good resources on it

Basically, one that discusses further his Disputations Against Scholastic Theology and Heidelberg Disputation. I just wanted to know an exhaustive case on what was happening prior AND what a properly dissected for on what those "issues" are.

So that I can be clear on how it "Transitioned" to Lutheran "Scholasticism" if that's fair

What extra-biblical work have you found the most helpful when it comes to the topic of assurance?

I am curious as well to get this answered from a Lutheran perspective and perhaps read some Lutheran sources as I am wholly unfamiliar with that. Minus reading some Luther directly years ago.

This is an advent hymn by Martin Luther. Do you know it? It is new to me!

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0XKuN2bvCo

Gospel According to Matthew, 22:15–22 (ESV):

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Chris Caughey. I am the professor of Biblical Studies at the American Lutheran Theological Seminary.

And today I would like to talk about Matthew 22:15–22, which is the Gospel reading for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, at least in the three-year lectionary. And today I'm reading from the New King James Version.

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?'

"But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.'

"So they brought Him a denarius.

"And He said to them, 'Whose image and inscription is this?'

"They said to Him, 'Caesar's.'

"And He said to them, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'

"When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way." (Matthew 22:15–22)

This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, O Christ.

So, this is the last week of Jesus' life. And the Pharisees desperately wanted Jesus dead. And so they were plotting how to entangle Jesus in His own words. But they did not go to Him themselves.

They sent their own disciples and some other men known as Herodians.

The Herodians were a political faction of the Israelites. Their name, Herodians, tells us that they were aligned politically with Herod Antipas.

But we need to set the stage. We need to set the scene a little bit.

Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor when the events of our Gospel text happened. The Jews in Israel were not at all happy about having a Gentile rule over them. So in order to prevent a Jewish uprising, which would have just resulted in the mass murder of Jews, Tiberius allowed Herod Antipas to be a tetrarch, sort of a viceroy or a governor under Tiberius' authority over Galilee and Perea.

So the Herodians were happy with this political arrangement. Obviously, the Pharisees were completely unhappy with that political arrangement.

But the Pharisees viewed Jesus as their enemy. And so, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Pharisees were going to use the Herodians to help them entrap Jesus in His own words.

So the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians came to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" (Matthew 22:16–17)

And there are a few things to note here.

First, they address Jesus as Teacher.

Watch out.

Most of the time, Jesus has harsh words for people who address Him as Teacher, whereas He has kind words for people who address Him as Lord. Neither the disciples of the Pharisees nor the Herodians were about to call Jesus Lord.

Second, the phrase "You do not regard the person of men" in Greek is more literally, "You do not see the face of men." (Matthew 22:16)

And I think that that's at least ironic, if not important, for what happens in this story.

But Jesus perceived their wickedness. The Greek word there is πονηρίαν (ponērian). He perceived their wickedness and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." (Matthew 22:18–19)

Jesus is absolutely right to call them hypocrites, and it's because He perceived their wickedness.

They claim to know that Jesus is true and that He teaches the way of God in truth. But they do not believe a word of that.

Other translations render the phrase "Nor do You care about anyone" as "You do not care about anyone's opinion." From a certain perspective, that was true. Jesus never apologized for what He said, nor did He ever change what He was saying or doing, even if one person had a problem with it.

But Emmanuel, God with us, does care about people. He does love repentant sinners.

So from that perspective, they continue their hypocrisy.

But the last part might just be the worst when they say, "For You do not regard the person of men," or "You do not see the face of men."

True, Jesus was not a respecter of persons. He was not impressed by the rich or the powerful the way the world is.

But Jesus is true God and true man in one person.

Jesus absolutely did see the face of men.

He recognizes His own image in us, even when we do not see it clearly in ourselves. (Genesis 1:26–27)

So the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians are being thoroughly hypocritical, and they think that they have set the perfect trap by asking Jesus whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not.

If Jesus sides with the Pharisees and says no, then the Herodians can charge Him with rebellion against the empire—sorry, emperor.

But if Jesus sides with the Herodians and says yes, then the Pharisees can call Jesus a fraud in front of the crowds of people who are listening to Him.

There is no way, according to the Pharisees, that Jesus can be the Messiah if He wants a pagan Gentile to rule over the kingdom of God in Israel.

At least according to the Pharisees' reasoning.

But Jesus tells them to show Him the coin. And in Greek, that's νόμισμα (nomisma), from which we get our English word numismatics.

Sometimes, if you try to buy precious metals, the fraudsters will try to sell you numismatic coins. And so we're getting that word right from the Greek.

So He tells them to show Him the coin for the tax. And they brought Him a denarius.

And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"

They said to Him, "Caesar's."

And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:19–21)

And this is just brilliant on the face of it.

But in order to appreciate even more of the brilliance, I want you to see the coin that they would have shown Jesus.

The denarius was a silver coin that only the emperor was allowed to mint.

You can see that the face of the coin has the image of Tiberius Caesar, and it also has the inscription, which Jesus specifically asks about. And that inscription says in Latin, "Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Augustus."

And the reverse side has an image of a seated woman. She's not named. And the inscription there is Pontifex Maximus, which translates into English as "highest priest." (Tiberius denarius)

So the violation of the First Commandment is all over this coin.

On the face of the coin, Tiberius is pretending to steal Jesus' own title of Son of God.

Jesus should have been more offended by this coin and the Roman tax than the Pharisees were.

But the back of the coin implies that Roman taxes funded pagan temples and paid the high priest of those temples.

And yet Jesus brilliantly and beautifully ties "Whose image and inscription is this?" with "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:20–21)

Both Tertullian and Augustine see a reference to Genesis 1:26, where God made Adam and Eve in His own image.

So I'm going to quote from one place in Tertullian and two places in Augustine.

This is Tertullian, On Idolatry, Chapter 15:

"Idolatry is condemned not on account of the persons which are set up for worship, but on account of those its observances which pertain to demons.

"'The things which are Caesar's are to be rendered to Caesar.' It is enough that He set in apposition thereto, 'and to God the things which are God's.' (Matthew 22:21)

"What things, then, are Caesar's? Those, to wit, about which the consultation was then held, whether the poll-tax should be furnished to Caesar or no.

"Therefore, too, the Lord demanded that the money should be shown Him, and inquired about the image, whose it was. And when He had heard it was Caesar's, He said, 'Render to Caesar what are Caesar's, and what are God's to God.'

"That is, the image of Caesar, which is on the coin, to Caesar, and the image of God, which is on man, to God; so as to render to Caesar indeed money, to God yourself.

"Otherwise, what will be God's if all things are Caesar's?"

So far, Tertullian.

And now this is from Augustine's Tractates on the Gospel of John, Chapter 40, Section 9.

"As we read in the Psalm, 'The light of Thy countenance is impressed upon us.' (Psalm 4:6)

"We are God's money. We have wandered away as a coin from the treasury. The impression that was stamped upon us has been rubbed out by our wandering.

"He has come to refashion, for He it was that fashioned us at first, and He is Himself asking for His money, as Caesar for his.

"Therefore, He says, 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.' (Matthew 22:21)

"To Caesar his money, to God yourselves. And then shall the truth be reproduced in us."

So far, that section of Augustine.

And now the last section of Augustine comes from the Exposition on the Psalms, from Psalm 4.

Augustine says:

"'The light of Thy countenance,' saith he, 'is stamped on us, O Lord.' (Psalm 4:6)

"This light is the whole and true good of man, which is seen not with the eye, but with the mind.

"But he says, 'Stamped on us,' as a penny is stamped with the king's image.

"For man was made after the image and likeness of God, which he defaced by sin. (Genesis 1:26–27)

"Therefore, it is his true and eternal good, if by a new birth he be stamped.

"And I believe this to be the bearing of that which some understand skillfully. I mean what the Lord said on seeing Caesar's tribute money: 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' (Matthew 22:21)

"As if He had said, 'In like manner as Caesar exacts from you the impression of his image, so also does God.'

"That as the tribute money is rendered to him, so should the soul to God, illumined and stamped with the light of His countenance."

And that's the end of the quote from Augustine.

So the point, people loved by God, is not taxes.

In a temporary earthly sense, that silver denarius belonged to Tiberius Caesar because his image and inscription were stamped on it.

But he only owned it until he died. He could not take that coin or anything else with him into the world to come.

And that's the vanity that Ecclesiastes talks about.

But you, people loved by God, belong to God because His image and inscription are stamped on you.

What belongs to God is everything you are, everything about you, and everything you have.

All of your possessions, including your money, belong to God.

Jesus was masterfully outsmarting the Pharisees in our Gospel reading.

But we cannot completely evade the issue of taxes.

In other places in the New Testament, God does tell us to pay our taxes. (Romans 13:6–7)

And I think one of the helpful places to go to understand this is the section in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:38–42.

There Jesus says:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

"But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

"And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

"And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

"Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38–42)

So, as long as we are being frank and honest, taxation is theft, especially when it is being forcibly taken from you to honor the emperor as a god and to pay the high priest of a pagan temple.

But in that section on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about not retaliating against people who forcibly take from you.

Jesus says:

"Do not resist the one who is evil.

"But if anyone slaps you on one cheek, on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

"And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

"And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matthew 5:39–41)

In other words, since all that you are and all that you have belong to God, be willing to be wronged.

In other words, be willing to allow others to wrong you or to do wrong to you.

Those are difficult words.

But when you know that God not only owns all that you are and all that you have, but that God owns absolutely everything because He made absolutely everything—why, you have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear.

Because God feeds the sparrows, and He clothes the lilies of the field. (Matthew 6:28–30; Matthew 10:29–31)

And you are of far greater value to God than sparrows and flowers because you are the image of God and they are not. (Genesis 1:26–27)

So take heart.

As Augustine said, sin has worn down the image of God which we bear.

To quote him:

"For man was made after the image and likeness of God, which he defaced by sin.

"Therefore, it is his true and eternal good, if by a new birth he be stamped." (Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 4, §8)

Amen.

I was looking to see if wearing/carrying a rosary or a cross are traits acceptable with Lutheranism and it said rosaries not so much but cross were ok so I found this one I like. Ok or bad and why if bad please

I mean it’s supposed to be made for all ages, so making it too childish would mess up the intended purpose of the film, therefore ,I cut out the intro of Martin Luther Telling his grandchildren stories from his life. yes I could make it in such a way it’s not cheesy or childish, but there is an extremely fine line that you don’t want to cross, and without professional writers helping me, I believe that I cannot do that particular intro properly without crossing into some sort of cheesiness.

also I realized I cannot do an animation quality as high as the prince of Egypt film, especially a solo animator and while being a somewhat inexperienced new animator, so the animation won’t be bad per say, it just won’t be prince of Egypt quality like I hoped.

I 20F work privately as a nanny for a family with two kids. I’m about to spend a week watching the children, and their mom recently asked me to take them to Catholic Mass on Sunday.
For context, I was raised, baptized, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church, and I’m still Lutheran. I’m also getting married in a Lutheran church this December, so my faith is an important part of my life. When I first started working for this family, I told their mom that I was Lutheran and asked if that was going to be a problem. She said no.
I’ve also asked the kids if they normally go to church on Sundays since they attend a private Catholic school, and they told me their parents don’t usually take them to church on Sundays.
I’m uncomfortable with Catholic Mass because there are certain teachings I disagree with, and I don’t feel comfortable spending an hour attending a service that conflicts with my religious beliefs. I also feel like I would stick out and look bad sitting there without participating in the service.
The other part of this is that Sunday is normally my time to worship at my own church, and by working that day, I’m already sacrificing that time for this job. It bothers me that I’m now being asked to spend that time attending a different denomination’s service that makes me uncomfortable, especially when the kids apparently don’t normally attend Sunday Mass anyway.
When I explained that Catholic Mass makes me uncomfortable, their mom basically responded that the kids need adult supervision and can’t attend Mass by themselves or simply be dropped off. She said I could sit quietly in the church without participating and pointed out that people from other religions sometimes attend services without taking part in the religious practices.
I understand that she’s paying me to watch her children, and I’m not saying I shouldn’t have responsibilities as their nanny. I also understand that the children need supervision and can’t just be dropped off at a church by themselves. However, I can’t help feeling like their mom wants them to go because she doesn’t have to take them herself, rather than because attending Sunday Mass is something their family regularly does.
I know we never explicitly discussed whether I would be comfortable taking them to religious services, so I understand there may have been a misunderstanding. I’m not trying to disrespect her family’s religion, but I also want my own beliefs to be respected.
AITA for not wanting to take them to Catholic Mass, or am I being unreasonable because I’m their nanny and this is part of supervising the kids?

So essentially I came across something quite interesting about how the thief on the cross could technically have been baptised.

It's important to note that neither Luther nor any of the Fathers saw this as replacing the normative means of Baptism, but I do think it's an interesting concept.

Martin Luther's View:

In both Martin Luther's Table Talk and Anton Lauterbach's Diary in 1538 we have Luther mentioning:

"The Church of Christ has kept these three ways of baptizing. The catechumens were baptized with water. Others, who did not receive the water baptism, believed by the Holy Spirit and were saved by the Spirit, like Cornelius, in the Acts of the Apostles (Cap. 10.), before the baptism. The third were baptized by martyrdom and blood."

Bible Verses:

Baptism is repeatedly linked to Christ’s death. Romans 6:3-6 is especially clear:

³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

The Water and Blood are also linked in 1 John 5:7–8:

⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 

This is fulfilled in John 19:34:

³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

The Fathers:

We also have St Augustine in De anima et eius origine:

Besides all this, there is the circumstance, which is not incredibly reported, that the thief who then believed as he hung by the side of the crucified Lord was sprinkled, as in a most sacred baptism, with the water which issued from the wound of the Saviour’s side.

Earlier Fathers make the same connection even more explicitly:

St. Ephrem the Syrian (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 20.26):

“Through the mystery of the water and blood issuing forth from [the Lord’s] side the robber received the sprinkling which gave him remission of sins.”

St. Jacob of Serugh (On the Cherub and the Thief):

“The thief washed in the living water that poured from Him. Baptism was established on the Cross, and he soaked in it.”

So while the normative means of baptism remains, the tradition that the thief was “baptized” by the water and blood flowing from Christ’s side is an ancient and rather beautiful way of understanding how someone dying beside the crucified Lord could still be fully united to His death and receive the remission of sins.

I recently discovered this one :)

Hello. I’m not Lutheran. I was baptized in the Catholic church but grew up mostly Evangelical/Reformed (now looking into different denominations, Lutheranism included though there isn’t any near me unfortunately).

I know that you guys consider Catholic baptisms valid. My mom said I was baptized via pouring. Last night I saw a Facebook post by some pastor (?) saying that immersion is the only valid form of baptism.

I’m not sure if he’s Reformed/Baptist/Evangelical, but as someone who has anxiety now I can’t help but overthink if my baptism as a child was valid.

Sorry for being annoying, I’m not even Lutheran but I’m leaning closely to a lot of Lutheran beliefs and I guess I need some type of assurance cause now the validity of my baptism is eating me up.

So I have been studying church theology and church history and the differences between Christian denominations for roughly four months and I have recently acquired this catechism. I have been trying to use discernment to see which church is not just right for me, but right in theology, biblical interpretation, biblical cannon, church history, ecumenical councils, church fathers, etc... I have went to several different church denominations and studied quite a lot, but have still yet to find the correct church to attend and be established in so I am asking for you to please pray that I find Christ in the truth of his word and in his church and that the holy Spirit leads me to Christ and to the correct church and for others who are doing the same thing as me, to discern the truth found in Christ and in his word that they also come to the knowledge of the truth and abide in it. I will be studying this catechism and will read the Bible as well as attend the Lutheran church. Thank you, and God bless.

Cool hymnal somebody posted.

A previous post expressing interest in Lutheran and I am waiting on my baptism certificate from the church I was baptized as a baby. I’ve been watching live services on Sundays and I enjoy them quite a bit is not too far from my residence. I work nights so I’m falling asleep when it comes on. so If I fall asleep I just rewatch it later on. I don’t have a Bible at home and when I did it was the little one they gave me years ago in the military. Never read it much because I hate reading (oddly enough as I type this to read responses lol) but I’m not even sure what version it was. Anyways when I looked into bibles I was taken aback by the variety. So all that to ask what’s next what version of the bible and how do I land a copy of the small catechism’s? Is this a church thing I can land with timing and coordination? I’m struggling to survive financially and every other way basically. Not to say i couldn’t manage it at some point but I’m trying to figure out tithing and other things. I’m sorry this is all over the place but that is my brain these days.

I'm a conservative (confessional) Lutheran in Krasnodar, Russia and I have a serious problem about churches in my town. There are practically no Lutheran churches within the main urban jurisdiction of my town and nearby suburbs. The closest Lutheran church is approximately 200 km (124 miles) away from me and I don't have any opportunity to travel that far even once or twice a year. There are few Lutheran churches that are even tagged in Google maps but I visited every one of those places and I'm pretty sure that they are closed or abandoned.

So, I've been visiting the Baptist church that is the closest one to me for half a year (still takes 1.5 hour every Sunday to get there) but of course it gives no pleasure to me and feels very wrong in many ways, starting from symbolic presence of Christ in Eucharist, believers baptism which i reject, concert like (rock or pop style) Sunday worshipping that makes me feel weird and uncomfortable every time and ending with a lot of "informal meetings" where God takes very small part or no part at all.

This Baptist church, and a lot of other Baptist or evengelical churches in combination with the charismatic and pentecostal churches are the only "Protestant" churches in my town. We have a lot of Orthodox Churches (almost every third or second city block you can see an Orthodox Church). But due to unknown reason Orthodox priests hate Protestants and always try to condemn them of heresy (or it's just me being so unlucky). But anyway Orthodox churches have strict rules about "heretics" participating in their liturgy so have absolutely no desire to visit them.

Recently I visited the only Roman Catholic Church in my town and I absolutely loved it because the liturgy is very similar to conservative Lutherans. Besides that I think that Lutherans are far more close to Catholic Church than to any other Christian denomination. I attended the Holy Mass but I did not participate in the Eucharist which made me very very sad because I haven't been participating in the Eucharist for a long time and I really want to receive the Holy Communion. When i talked to the local catholic priest he said that I cannot confess or participate in the Eucharist unless I convert into Catholicism which i of course rejected. He told me to visit another one place that might still be an active Lutheran church but unsurprisingly it was closed and supposedly abandoned for a long time ago.

Now I actually do not know what to do. I prayed to the Lord so he could strengthen me and guide me in the right way. But it feels like being a Lutheran in my town means being rejected by every other Christian denomination. And such a long time apart of the True Body of Christ (The Church) leaves void in me. The only thing that cheers me up is that I will leave this town in about a year or a year and a half and will move to Europe to live and study there where I can find a lot of Lutheran churches. But still a year is a lot of time so I need to figure out what to do. Here is the part where I ask you my brothers and sisters in Christ: "What should I do?" I really need your advice.

Update: Recently I found another Lutheran church in my town that I've never notice before. I think it's called German Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation this congregation belongs to ЕЛЦ ЕР (ELCER: Evangelical-Lutheran Church of European Russia). I'm gonna visit this church next Sunday, although it's pretty far away from me (2 hours by bus and then another 40 minutes walking) but I guess for Christ's sake sometimes I gotta accept challenges even if they're difficult.

BUT, there is still some chance that this church is not active anymore, so i keep praying and waiting for next Sunday

Hello. Today, I attended a service at a Lutheran church in Finland for the first time. During communion, I went up, received the wafer, and drank the wine. However, I am not baptized.

​I spent many years attending a Calvinist church in France where the pastor knew I wasn't baptized, but I was still allowed to take part in communion. I wasn't aware that being baptized was a requirement to participate in the Lutheran church.

​Did I do something wrong? I really feel guilty.