Spr010 Matters.cdr - Concordia Lutheran Seminary

Seminar y Matter sEdmonton, Alberta Spring 2010President’sMessage26th Sacred Convocation ofConcordia Lutheran SeminaryDear friends,Let us fix our eyes on Jesus!With His grace we closed onemore academic year, the 26th. Aftertwo difficult and challenging years,CLS has seen the Lord guide andstrengthen its mission andendeavours in constant faithfulness.This school of prophets, school ofservants for Jesus’ sake, is and willcontinue to be a blessing for thechurch as it forms men for the HolyMinistry and reaches out to pastorsand lay people in the church forongoing theological education.God has opened a new variety ofwindows for service in the church, asCLS has been put in contact withstudents of different aspirations:M.Div., colloquy, Pastoral AlternativeTraining, Open Studies, and apossible “certificate program”(currently in study). In a new era ofalternate delivery all our faculty hastaught six courses in the classroomthat have been transmitted viadistance technology to students inPresident’s Message cont’d on p. 2Three pastorsand four vicarswere sent out fromConcordiaLutheran Seminarythis year at the2010 SacredConvocation. Afterfour years ofworking onassignments,student workassessment,Hebrew and Greekexegesis,ConcordiaLutheran Seminaryrejoices inpresenting threecandidates for theoffice of the Holy Ministry (Dan Barrto Immanuel in Tomahawk, AB; JeffDul to Trinity in Churchbridge, SK;and Ling Pui Yeong to Trinity inToronto, ON). Another graduatereceived the degree of Master ofDivinity (Roger Schremmer).Having completed two years ofstudy, the four vicars received theirplacements for one year of intensivepractical learning under thementorship of an experiencedpastor. These are Stephen Bartlettto Zion/Immanuel in Rimbey andUsona, AB; Steven Hoffman to Trinityin Winkler, MB; Michael Montague toThis year’s M.Div. graduates (l to r): Dan Barr, Jeff Dul, RogerSchremmer, L.P. YeongConcordia Convocation cont’d on p. 2INSIDE THIS ISSUE:President’s Message . . . . . . 126th Sacred Convocation. . . . . 1CLS webcasts . . . . . . . . . 2Paying off CLS debt . . . . . . 3Adopt-A-Student. . . . . . . . 3Licenses to Preach . . . . . . . 3Mission Symposium . . . . . . 3Take Wing . . . . . . . . . . 4Open Studies/Distance Education . . . . . 4Guild Executive Changes& Membership . . . . . . . 4Board, faculty, staff, volunteers . . 4

PAGE 2Rev. Les Stahlke, this year’s recipient of the Doctorof Divinity degree, presented a 3 volume, 1606edition of Catalogi Hæreticorum from to theSeminaryRedeemer/Shepherd of the HillsMission in Didsbury and Airdrie, AB;and Timothy Schneider to Bethany inCampbell River, BC.Over 230 people gathered forworship, praising God for theworkers who have come to be sentout to the church. The Seminarygranted an honorary Doctor ofDivinity to the Rev. Lester Stahlke ofEdmonton, founder of LutheranAssociation of Missionaries andPilots and the president ofGovernanceMatters.com Inc. TheFaith in Life Award was presented toMrs. Margaret Towriss of PortCoquitlam, BC, retired schoolteacher and principal.The ceremonies took place onMay 7th at the Tegler Centre, CUCA.The Rev. Thomas Kruesel, third vicepresidentof Synod, member of theBoard of Regents, and pastor ofBethanyLutheranChurch,CampbellRiver, BCpresentedthe addressfor theservice. Afree-willoffering ofover $5700was gatheredfor theSeminary’sstudentfinancial aidfund.Dr. Colleen Hammermasterrepresented the Laity of the Church inher address on FoundationsGuest speaker Rev. Tom Kruesel greets Mrs.Margaret Towris immediately after shereceives the Faith in Life AwardProfessor Jonathan Kraemer speaks to the new vicars as they prepare toreceive their assignments. The vicars left to right: Stephen Bartlett,Steven Hoffman, Michael Montague, & Timothy SchneiderCLSEMINARYMATTERSPresident’s Message cont’d from p. 1Canada and the U.S.A. at the sametime. Courses and lectures havebeen web cast nationwide for laypeople and pastors.A new approach since last fall onformation and assessment hasproven effective and is beingimproved. More windows are beingopened; more challenges are infront of us. LCC has far morevacancies than our seminaries arecurrently supplying. More joint,nationwide recruitment is urgentlyneeded. Financially, donations andendowment earnings have gone upthis year. Thanks to all of you andthanks to God, in the name of LCC!Our goal is, with rigorous budgetingand with your help, to pay off CLS’accumulated deficit of roughly$150,000 before the end of nextyear.We joyfully announce the arrivalof the new administrative assistantto the president, Mrs. Rhonda Buck.She will start working this summer,filling a position that has beenvacant for 1 year and 4 months. Ithank all our staff, faculty, andvolunteers for the extra effort madethis year and a half to cope with thissituation.With cordial greetings fromEdmonton,Dr. Manfred Zeuch, PresidentCLS webcastsfor the2010/2011 yearDid you know that some of thekey events held at (or sponsored by)CLS can be viewed on CLSTV fromanywhere in the world with a decentinternet connection? Go tohttp://www.concordiasem.ab.ca/CLSTV.php to join us for events such asguest lectures and convocations,and the year end graduation.SPRING 10

CLSEMINARYMATTERSWe are rejoicing! Donors fromacross the country have respondedover the last year and a half to thenews that Concordia LutheranSeminary suffered from financialshortage. Hearing the need,individuals, companies, andcongregations gave hundreds ofthousands of dollars to cover thecosts of running this graduateschool. Through their giving peopleare expressing their excitement forthe seminary’s mission and goals,its reason for forming students, theproclamation of the Gospel and theministry of God’s grace in this world,especially in Canadian LCCchurches.The response came in donationsfrom $10 to $500,000. People aregiving out of their gifts and out oftheir tithes. People are givingsacrificially, sharing not just extramoney that could have been usedfor that regular latté, but giving adonation that takes money awayfrom their regular buying power.Even with the generous support, westill need to gather in more money.As President Zeuch mentioned, weare obligated to pay off the deficit ofroughly $150,000 incurred over thelast years’ economic downturn.Paying off CLS debt before 2011Rev. James Avery, Director of the CLS Missionary StudyCentre talks to Rev. Rolen Syens, featured speaker at theSeminary’s first Mission Symposium, before an audiencethat took in presentations, exhibits, and opportunities totalk about missions in the Lutheran Church.Thankfully, it appears that somesurplus will be left over in this year’sbudget to pay more than half thedeficit, but we want to eliminate thedeficit completely.Concordia Lutheran Seminarydepends on the direct donations ofsupporters; the Synod provides justa small portion of the funds neededfor the budget. The Seminaryreceives no government funding.Over $50,000 a month is needed tocover on-going expenses. Thatdoesn’t include special contributionsto endowments ormoney for capitalprojects. Endowmentshelp seminaryadministration withbudget forecasting byproviding normallyconsistent earnings.Capital funds arebecoming increasinglymore important now thatour building is twentyyears old and starting toshow maintenanceAdopt–a–StudentMost Seminary students come tothe Seminary already havingcompleted a degreeprogram taking three orfour years. The studentswhether married or singlecome to Edmonton for twoyears, go to a church forvicarage for a year andthen return for a final yearat the seminary inEdmonton. The transitions,although oftenburdensome, help studentsto come to terms with reallifepastoral situations. Thevicarage congregation,Synod, and the seminaryclosely supervise andparticipate in thePAGE 3needs.The bottom line (as accountantslike to say) is continuous need forsignificant contributions by donorswho see the vision and want tosupport the mission of ConcordiaLutheran Seminary. That’s thereason for a response card andenvelope included in every mail-outsent by the Seminary. Throughfaithful on-going support CLScontinues to send out pastors as“servants for Jesus’ sake.”First year students completed courses that qualified them toreceive licenses to preach. Left to right, Cody Cooper, ToddGuggenmos, Vince Moore, Mark Schultzformation of the seminarian as afuture pastor.The Seminary’s Adopt–a–Studentprogram connects communitysupporters with specific students.The seminary identifies the studentto adopt and encourages him tomake contact with supporters bysupplying information about hisstudies and himself, includingbiographies, background andphotos. The seminary askssupporters to communicate with thestudent and to pray regularly for him.Hopefully, too, the student shareshis living situation and the adoptersupports the student materially aswell. All of the donations giventhrough the Adopt–a–Studentprogram go to the adopted student.SPRING 10

PAGE 4“Take Wing,”sponsored by theGuild, links secondyear students withchurch hosts,benefiting both thestudents and theirsponsor churches.The program providesreturn airfare and astipend for eachstudent for a weekendat an LCC parish. Thisyear students left onFriday, February 5 andreturned February 7.The students who travelled out ofthe seminary were Steven Hoffmanto Trinity Evangelical, Winkler, MBwith Pastor Alex Klages, JamesProphet to Grace, Drumheller, ABwith Pastor Curtis Boehm, StephenBartlett to Prince of Peace, Calgary,AB with Pastor Keith Haberstock,Tim Schneider to Prince ofPeace/Killarney Park, Vancouver, BCwith Pastor Mark Chiang, andDarren Dressler to Bethany,Patrick Moore is the newPresident of CLS Guild. Patrick(known as Pat) and his wife Lindalive in Fort Saskatchewan andattend All Saints Lutheran Church.Pat has been active with the Guildsince its inception, including pastpresidency. The Moores are knownfor their hospitality and especially forproviding their backyard barbecuefor the Guild executive social in latesummer. Other executive membersinclude past president MarilynJansen; co-secretaries, LillianBulman and Ellen Raaflaub; andtreasurer, Hilda Schoepp.As it has done for years, the Guildcontinues to provide direct supportSPRING 10Take WingStudents Steven Hoffman, Darren Dressler, Timothy Schneider,& James Prophet receive pins from Guild President, PatrickMoore (2nd from right), for their participation in Take WingGuild ActivitiesCampbell River, BC with Pastor TomKruesel. Because they havepreaching credentials, they wereavailable for pulpit supply in theirhost congregations. They had a fullweekend of activities: meeting withyouth, fellowship groups, andweekend potlucks, as well aspreaching.to the students and their families byraising funds for them, collectingand distributing food, and providingprayer and social support to them. Aspecial thank you goes out again toGuild supporters and especially theGuild representatives from thechurches. People from acrossCanada have responded generouslyto the membership drive. Manymembers add donations to theregular $10 membership fee,making a substantial increase to theannual revenues of the Guild. Theyalso bring or send in specialpackages for the students includingfood stuffs for the student foodhamper.CLSEMINARYMATTERSOpen Studies/Distance EducationOnce again, CLS plans to offer aclass or two from the regular M.Div.program as synchronous, onlineoptions for Open Studies students.The course offerings aren’t finalizedyet, but if you are interested intaking a class alongside some firstyear seminarians, have a completedBachelor degree (any discipline),and have a home internet connectionsuitable for 2-way videoconferencing, contact Jeff at theseminary for more information.Classes completed in the OpenStudies program (whether oncampus or via video conference) areapplicable to the Graduate Certificatein Theological Studies (GCTS).Seminary Board of RegentsRev. Mark DresslerMr. Christopher Klarenbach, Vice-ChairRev. Thomas KrueselMr. Jonathan MayanRev. Robert Mohns, SecretaryMrs. Roberta NixonRev. Paul Schallhorn, ChairRev. Don Schiemann (ex-officio)Seminary FacultyDr. Stephen L. Chambers, Dean of StudentLife / Director of Financial AidDr. Edward G. Kettner, Academic Dean /Director of LibraryProf. Jonathan Kraemer, Assistant Professor /Director of Vicarage & Field Work /Coordinator of Co-Curricular Unit ProgramRev. Dr. Manfred Zeuch, President / Dean ofChapel / Worship ChaplainSeminary StaffRev. James Avery, Director of MissionaryStudy CentreRev. Daniel Deyell, Director of DevelopmentSandra Esperanza, Development SecretaryJane Huber, Library TechnicianDavidMitchell, Director of MusicJeff Nachtigall, Registrar and Director ofAdmissions & RecruitmentRay Smith, TreasurerRhonda Buck, Administrative Assistant to thePresidentRev. Dr. Forrest Stroup, Pastoral Care ChaplainRev. Daniel Deyell, EditorConcordia Lutheran Seminary7040 Ada Boulevard, Edmonton, AB T5B 4E3Phone: 780-474-1468; Fax: 780-479-3067developmentdir@concordiasem.ab.cahttp://www.learngrowserve.ca