I'm so glad you asked! Actually, I have two answers to that question. We're 20 and we're 487.

Here in Fayetteville we're 20. In fact, last Sunday we celebrated our 20th anniversary of the "chartering" of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. We had a big day celebrating the past and looking forward to the future. I personally have been here 18 of those 20 years, so I've gotten the lion's share of the blessings! And I am so thankful!

But we're also 487 as of today, Oct. 31. Let me tell you a little about that. Here's some history and some information I'd like you to know.

Martin Luther was born Nov. 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany, and died Feb. 18, 1546. He is known as the Father of Protestantism. He had studied to become a lawyer before becoming an Augustinian monk in 1505, and was ordained a priest in 1507. While continuing his studies in pursuit of a Doctor of Theology degree, he discovered significant differences between what he read in the Bible and the theology and practices of the church.

Then 487 years ago, on Oct. 31, 1517 (that's the date given as the "start" of the Lutheran Church and Protestantism), he posted a challenge on the church door at Wittenberg University to debate 95 theological issues. Luther's hope was that the church would reform its practice and preaching to be more consistent with the Word of God as contained in the Bible.

What started as an academic debate escalated to a religious war, fueled by fiery temperaments and violent language on both sides. As a result, there was not only a reformation of the church, but a separation as well. "Lutheran" was a name applied to Luther and his followers as an insult but adopted as a badge of honor by them instead.

We Lutherans still celebrate the Reformation on Oct. 31 and still hold to the basic principles of theology and practice espoused by Luther, such as (in Latin) Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Sola Scriptura:

- We are saved by the grace of God alone, not by anything we do;

- Our salvation is through faith alone; we only need to believe that our sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who died to redeem us;

- The Bible is the only norm of doctrine and life, the only true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.

Another of Luther's principles was that Scriptures and worship need to be in the language of the people. We still strive for that today in both our traditional and contemporary worship services.

Luther's Small Catechism, which contains teachings on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution, Holy Communion and Morning and Evening Prayers, is still used to introduce people to the Lutheran faith, as is the Augsburg Confession. If you're interested, these and other Lutheran confessional documents included in the Book of Concord may be ordered from the ELCA Publishing House at 800-328-4648 or www.augsburgfortress.org.

To be honest, I was actually wrong when I said there are two answers to the posed question. There are actually three. In reality we are 1,971 years old. For we Lutherans, like all Christian churches, trace our true beginning