Letter of Encouragement

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

”And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)

Dear Friends of Corpus Christi,

We regret to inform you that Corpus Christi 2021 will not take place as a physical conference this summer. We had planned for the conference to take place 19 to 23 July. We understand this news is especially hard to hear given we could not meet as usual last year. With ongoing travel restrictions and all the uncertainties, planning an international conference is nearly impossible. We have decided instead to concentrate our efforts on an online programme around the same time as the conference in Wittenberg would have taken place (but shorter). This may include in-person gatherings locally as well, where possible.

As you know, the summer conferences are at the core of our work to bring biblical and churchly renewal to young adults all around Europe. I think we can all agree that the past conferences have encouraged us greatly. Each conference has strengthened our confessional Lutheran identity and rooted us deeper in faith in Jesus Christ. We had a buzz. We had seen our conferences grow year after year—in large part due to your efforts of volunteering and spreading the word. Now we have a challenge set before us. How do we do the work of Corpus Christi when we can’t do what Corpus Christi does best, i.e. organise conferences?

We ask for your prayers!

Let us thank God for all the memories and opportunities we have had to play games, sing Lutheran hymns and learn the scriptures.

Let us pray for direction as we enter this new normal. How do we navigate this changing world?

Let us raise our voices in saying, we wish to meet again in person, Lord!

Let us pray for patience.

While we in the Board continue the work in a fashion adapted to current circumstances, nobody of us needs to be idle. God has given us multiple opportunities to serve Him and to receive His gifts. Please reach out to us with your thoughts and suggestions, especially if you are in a position to help with the online conference.

Corpus Christi has contributed to strengthening confessional Lutheran identity and to rooting young people deeper in the faith in Jesus Christ. Corpus Christi remains committed to do this in the years to come.

You need encouragment, so here it is!

1. We encourage you to focus on prayer and on Bible reading. We encourage you to go to your congregation’s divine services. We encourage you to foster a spiritual life. If you need help with how to do your daily devotions, check out Rev. Wolfmueller´s Devotional Challenge Book: http://www.wolfmueller.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Devotional-Challenge-Book-Mar-8-with-cover.pdf

2. We encourage you to get more involved in your local congregation. Talk to your Pastor and ask him what opportunities exist under current circumstances. Don’t be hesitant! Get together and talk with others of your age group and of other age groups. The older are wiser. The really older are really wise. Or organise events locally or regionally with other young adults. – If you don’t have a local congregation, contact us. We can try to help you to find one.

3. We encourage you to make use of good online resources. Check out the website or YouTube channel of our speaker from 2019: https://wolfmueller.co/ or John Kleinig´s YouTube channel.

4. We encourage you to read good theological books. Again, Pastor Wolfmueller gives some recommendations on his website. We were also planning to distribute “Truly Alive – The Encouraging Richness of Biblical Lutheran Doctrine” by Wolfgang Hörner at this year’s conference. You can still read it as an eBook or as a PDF for free: http://sola-gratia-verlag.de/Sola-Gratia-Verlag.005-E1-21.pdf Another recommendation: “The Benedict Option – A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation”, available in different languages.

5. If we can support you in any of your endeavours, let us know! If you want to organise a Corpus Christi style event, let us know. Also, we need continued support for our work. If you have ideas, if you want to get involved, please contact us!

In all we do individually and together, we have hope. We have hope because Christ is risen from the dead! He has conquered our enemies sin, evil, death and the devil. We are liberated citizens in His Kingdom!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

God’s blessings and all the best to all of you,

The Board of Corpus Christi

Devotions

Regional Corpus Christi Events

What is Corpus Christi?

Corpus Christi is an independent Evangelical Lutheran association promoting churchly and biblical renewal among young adults in Europe.

We offer:

• Solid, biblical teaching by excellent international speakers
• Rich, liturgical, Christ-centred worship
• Fellowship with an international group of Lutheran young adults