In the Reclaim News release titled, "Replies
to 'Preus Steps Out 2002 ACL Meeting'" we asked LCMS Pastor Rev.
Father Stefanski, two questions:
- Is it better to call the LCMS worship service, 'Divine Worship,' or a
'Worship Service' than to call it 'Mass?'
- Is it better to call LCMS pastors 'Pastor' instead of 'Father?'
In Answer to the first question Sefanski replies:
"Both of those are inferior to 'Divine Service', which is the term
we generally use here because of its rich meaning and history in Lutheran
circles. Again, as my quote indicated, while it is perfectly all right to
retain the term 'Mass' as used in our Confessions, it's not particularly
helpful."
In Answer to the second question Stefanski replies:
"Show me where I've ever said that it is better to call 'any'
pastors 'Father' instead of 'Pastor'. Why do you insist on 'inventing'
issues?"
Hyper-Euro Lutherans, such as Rev. Father Eric Stefanski, need to be
reminded about what they teach and confess. The love for the term
"Father" instead of "Pastor" is well documented on CAT41.
The following are a few quotations from a ponderous statement by Rev.
Stefanski in which he claims he doesn't support the name "Father."
In the same statement he then gives numerous reasons why he actually does
support the name "Father" instead of "Pastor" as follows:
On Friday, July 2, 1999 Rev. Stefanski writes:
"Moreover, while a father ought to be one who is in authority,
consider this when weighing 'father' against 'shepherd' (that is, 'pastor'):
at least with 'father', the one in authority and those under authority are
of the same species! I would much rather be treated as a child than as a
sheep!
"Even as God has delegated fatherhood to/predicated fatherhood of
those whom we normally call 'Dad', so has He connected the Office of the
Holy Ministry to fatherhood, as we see in the requirements for the office of
overseer, and it is on this basis that 'father' is used as it is in the
Large Catechism...and why it came into usage in the Church in the first
place.
"Those who conclude that the term 'Father' is to be hated because
Roman Catholics use the term 'Father,' have fallen under the true rebuke
found in Jesus' words about calling 'anyone on earth your father,' as they
have gone from humbleness to haughtiness...and joined those who would say,
'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' (St. John 1:46)."
On July 29, 1999 Rev. Stefanski writes:
"EJG - aka Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski, God's servant who is headed
to be the father of an octogenarian who is my equal under grace, but who is
not charged with shepherding God's flock as I am; and who is bound to be
'Father Stefanski' or, indeed, 'Father Grabauski', because Cascione has made
such appellation a necessity under Article X of the Formula of
Concord."
On July 29, 1999 Rev. Stefanski writes:
"Rev. Fr. (because it makes me all warm and fuzzy now) Eric.
J.Stefanski Confess And Teach For Unity."
If I have to produce more quotations, there are more where these came from.
LCMS First Vice President Daniel Preus was absolutely correct when he
warned at the ACL meeting the week after Easter, that pastors were identifying
with the Catholic Church when they used the terms "Father" instead
of "Pastor" and "Mass" instead of "Divine
Worship."
Many of those LCMS Pastors associated with CAT41 like to use the terms
"Father" and "Mass."