Corrections and Update on The Murder of Lorna Vermeulen

Rev. Jack Cascione

Reclaim News stated as follows: "Eric Henstenberg, who was chosen by
President Gerald Kieschnick to direct the music for the LCMS Convention
called 'The P2K+,' is now being held in a Tarrant County Texas jail, for the
murder of sixty-one year old Lorna Vermeulen."

We thank David Strand, Director of Public Affairs of The Lutheran
Church--Missouri Synod for sending Reclaim News the following corrections.
We apologize for any inaccuracies and seek to correct them.  We also ask
Strand to make some corrections in his own statement.

Strand writes: "The article gave the impression that Mr. Henstenberg was put
in charge of all the music and worship for the entire July 2004 LCMS
national convention.  In fact, he was asked merely to serve as a participant
or accompanist at the 45-minute pre-convention 'One People--Many Faces'
Pentecost 2000+ celebration.

President Kieschnick does not know Mr. Henstenberg; President Kieschnick has
never met Mr. Henstenberg; and President Kieschnick had nothing whatsoever
to do with asking, appointing or approving Mr. Henstenberg to help with the
'P2K+' celebration, much less with the convention itself.

Rev. Robert Scudieri, a member of the 'P2K+' celebration's steering
committee, became aware of Mr. Henstenberg and his talents while guest
preaching at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Dallas.  Mr. Henstenberg was
serving as St. Paul's music director at the time. When Rev. Scudieri asked
St. Paul's pastor, Rev. John Nunes, to consider serving on the 'P2K+'
steering committee, Rev. Nunes suggested that Mr. Henstenberg be considered
as an accompanist or participant in some fashion at the 'P2K+' celebration.
Rev. Scudieri agreed.  Thus, the decision to involve Mr. Henstenberg in the
'P2K+' celebration, far from being a decision made by President Kieschnick,
was entirely a programming decision made in good faith solely and entirely
by members of the 'P2K+' steering committee.

Thus, again, there is no link whatsoever between President Kieschnick and
Mr. Henstenberg in this or any other regard.  To declare or suggest
otherwise, as all of you have done, is at best inaccurate and at worst a
breach of the truth."

IN REPLY:  Reclaim News retracts and apologizes for publishing any
information leading people to believe that President Kieschnick knew who was
playing or what was being played for the "P2K+" at the 2004 LCMS Convention.
All information Reclaim News received suggesting that President Kieschnick
was involved in any planning by the Steering Committee was obviously false.

Just because the following information was on a Synodical website and was
widely published doesn't mean that President Kieschnick had any knowledge of
Henstenburg:

"The P2K+ Celebration Steering Committee members include Rev. John Nunes of
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dallas, TX., Rev. Dr. Robert Scudieri of LCMS
World Mission, Jane Schmotzer of Lutheran Hour Ministries and Jotham Johann
Jhang, who serves as the committee's Chairman. Rev. Eric Henstenberg
(music), Phil Hohle (video), Rev. Al Buckman (learnings research), and Rev.
Glenn Lucas (stage direction) are assisting."

HOWEVER, Reclaim News considers its source for information on the
resignation of Henstenberg from Grace Lutheran Church in Arlington more
accurate than the following incorrect information from David Strand.  Strand
writes:

"Mr. Henstenberg 'was fired' or 'forced to resign' from his vicarage at
Grace Lutheran Church, Arlington, Texas.  Again, this is a distortion of the
facts.  According to Rev. Glen Thomas, vice president of seminary relations
at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mr. Henstenberg informed the seminary in
December 2002 that he was resigning from the vicarage program.  There was
nothing terribly unusual about this in and of itself; men resign from the
seminary every year for a host of reasons. According to Rev. Bradley
Beckman, senior pastor at Grace, Arlington, Mr. Henstenberg subsequently
wrote a letter to inform the congregation that he had resigned from the
seminary's vicarage program and hoped either to pursue a teaching career in
music at the University of North Texas or perhaps take further classes
toward an advanced degree in religious studies.

Whatever personal reasons may have compelled Mr. Henstenberg to resign from
the seminary and its vicarage program, the bottom line is, according to
officials in Texas and St. Louis, he resigned of his own volition.  For
Pastors Cascione and Reedy summarily to declare that he was "fired" or
"forced out" of Grace, Arlington, is a serious skewing of the facts."

WE REPLY: Reclaim News has a more accurate source than David Strand and
expects him to retract all statements that lead people to believe that
Pastors and officials at Grace, Arlington had no knowledge of serious
problems related to Henstenberg's character.

We received our information from Attorney Jim Runzheimer, a member of Grace
Lutheran Church, in Arlington TX.  Runzheimer was present at Grace's Voters'
Meeting in January of 2003, where it was announced that Henstenberg resigned
and that the Director of Education was also fired.  Runzheimer reports that
Henstenberg was "forced to resign" from the congregation.  Runzheimer asked
for the reasons for the resignation during the Voters' Meeting and the
congregational president refused to answer.

Runzheimer believes that his congregation failed to meet the requirements of
Matthew 18 where Christ says, "Tell it to the Church" and Paul says in
Romans 16, "avoid them." Runzheimer has no idea if Lorna Vermeulen would
have heeded a warning from the Voters to avoid Henstenberg, nevertheless,
the congregation should have been informed as to why Henstenberg was asked
to resign.

Runzheimer reports that privately, people in the congregation were warned to
stay away from Henstenberg and there were reports of Henstenberg's sexual
misconduct and homosexuality.  Does Rev. Beckman, the pastor of the murdered
woman, want Reclaim News to publish the names of people in his congregation
who were warned about Henstenberg and who was warning them?  Beckman would
be well advised to talk with his own member, Attorney Jim Runzheimer.

It was Runzheimer who also reported that: "There was no question in Rev.
Nunes' mind [Rev. Nunes, again, being the pastor of St. Paul's in Dallas,
where Mr. Henstenberg served for a time as music director after leaving
Grace, Arlington] that Henstenberg had been forced out of Grace."

Strand writes: "I have spoken with Pastor Nunes.  He has no recollection of
ever saying or thinking anything of the kind.  When considering Mr.
Henstenberg for the music-director job at St. Paul's, Pastor Nunes received
'stellar' recommendations concerning Mr. Henstenberg's musical ability.
Once on the job, according to Pastor Nunes, Mr. Henstenberg 'exceeded the
expectations we had of him musically.'  Pastor Nunes said it's a mystery to
him how (1) Pastor Cascione could divine or ascertain his thoughts in the
first place, and (2) how Pastor Cascione could get them so wrong."

WE REPY: There was never any question that Grace, Arlington did not inform
Concordia Seminary about the reasons for Henstenberg's resignation.  From
Strand's report, it is also clear that the Pastors and officers of Grace,
Arlington, did not inform Pastor Nunes, Dr. Scudieri, The"P2K+" steering
committee, the Texas District President, or President Kieschnick as to why
Henstenberg resigned.

Paul Strand doesn't seem to understand that he has now involved the Synod in
a cover-up of Henstenberg's moral problem.  He would have been well advised
to contact Attorney Jim Runzheimer, a member of Grace, Arlington, who was
quoted in a previous Reclaim News release about the case.  Runzheimer stands
by his report.  Runzheimer also reports that sworn affidavits would be
useful to verify Strand's report.

Runzheimer is prepared to submit a sworn affidavit to substantiate his
knowledge of facts related to these matters.

Unless Henstenberg pleads guilty, it is reasonable to assume that we will
all learn why Henstenberg resigned from Grace Lutheran Church in Arlington
and why Pastor Nunes was not told and had no knowledge of the reasons for
Henstenberg's resignation.

President Kieschnick is quick to use the Synodical media to explain that he
has no knowledge of Henstenberg in relationship to the LCMS Convention.  Yet
Kieschnick refuses to answer any questions about the false doctrine of the
Trinity distributed by Dr. Waldo Werning in a book to every LCMS Convention
delegate in 2001.

As the chief doctrinal officer in the LCMS, Kieschnick agreed that the
Praesidium should "adjudicate" Werning's charges against this writer.  Who
is the real God of the LCMS: the false god, false religion, and false
worship taught in Werning's book or the God of the Bible?  Either this
writer has broken the Eighth Commandment or Kieschnick and Werning have
broken the First Commandment.

President Kieschnick: Why won't you answer questions about the Trinity but
you want everyone know that you don't know Eric Henstenberg?

Febuary 22, 2004