On October 31, 1517, Fr. Martin Luther, Augustinian monk in the Catholic Church and university professor, publicly invited discussion and debate on several controversial theological and ecclesiastical subjects by tacking a list of 95 theses onto the church doors at Wittenburg, Germany.

As a way of joining in the observance of that event and the ongoing reformation of Christian faith communities, Scott and Michele Moon, Maryville, have invited Dr. Craig Nessan, an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and Academic Dean of Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA, to come to Maryville. Scott serves the pulpit at the First United Methodist Church, Maryville.

There are three scheduled events which are open to the public.

At 7 pm, Friday, October 6, Nessan will present his paper, recently published in Tikkun Magazine, which provides a critique and repudiation of the anti-Semitic writings of Martin Luther.

Then at 7:45 pm, Saturday, October 7, Nessan will team up with Fr. Paul Turner, ecumenical officer for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese at the Conception Abbey Guesthouse, Conception, to speak about a jointly-issued document by the ELCA and a committee commission by the National Catholic Bishops titled “Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry, & Eucharist.” A reception will follow. Compline, an evening service of prayer, precedes the presentation at 7:15 pm in the abbey.

On Sunday, October 8, Nessan will preach at both the 9 and 11:10 am worship services at First United Methodist Church, 102 North Main, Maryville, on the topic of “The Church: Ever-Reforming.”