Prologue:
Who let this bird in here? Reflections from First Call.
 by Anthony Bateza, M.Div. class of 2006
If I had known this is how the morning would turn out, I would not have dressed up. My sartorial sense that day was motivated by my laundry situation - I was fresh out of clerical shirts and opted for a shirt and tie. Once the tie was on, the suit seemed like a great idea.
So, a few hours later, there I was, dapper as could be, chasing a swallow around the sacristy.
The bird's evasive maneuvers were impressive... [ Read more ] |
| Seminary Sampler offers a taste of LSTC
Is there someone you know who is or should be considering seminary?
LSTC invites all those exploring a call to ministry to the March 14-16, 2010, Seminary Sampler to attend classes, meet with others discerning their call to ministry, talk with students and faculty, learn about financial aid and the candidacy process, and worship with the LSTC community.
To learn more or to register, visit
|
| "Shared Earth: Interfaith Conference on the Environment" to find common goals for healing the earth
Scholars, interfaith workers, and environmental activists of all faiths will gather on March 18 and 19 at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 1100 East 55th Street, Chicago, for "Shared Earth: An Interfaith Conference on the Environment."
"Shared Earth" features four keynote speakers addressing care of creation from their faith's perspective. [ Read more ] |
| CONFERENCE FOR YOUTH MINISTRIES WORKERS
Youth in Mission sponsors "Sacred Stories: Youth Faith Formation in an Interfaith World"
 "Sacred Stories: Youth Faith Formation in an Interfaith World," Youth in Mission's second annual youth ministry workers' conference, on April 12-14, 2010, at LSTC, will help youth ministry workers find and develop new approaches to interfaith issues facing our youth.
The conference's keynote speaker will be Hannah McConnaughay, Program Associate in the Outreach Education and Training Department of the Interfaith Youth Core.
Conference registration is open through - March 12, 2010. Fees are $90/person plus housing and transportation costs. [ Read more ]
|
 Want to take a class but don't have 15 weeks to spare? Take an intensive Maymester course at LSTC
LSTC will offer four courses during "Maymester," May 17 - 28.
Three are week-long courses that meet every day, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a break for lunch. The fourth will meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from May 17 - 28, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Choose from:
- Ministry in Urban Congregations, May 17 - 21
- Preaching and Pastoral Care: Weddings, Funerals, Baptisms and More, May 17 - 21
- Nature Writing in Theological Perspective, (Mondays Wednesday, Fridays), May 17 - 28
- Discernment and Spiritual Formation with Youth & Young Adults, May 24 - 28
|
Eighty and counting!
In the final months of Equipping the Saints for Ministry, we are inviting LSTC board members, alums, and friends of the seminary to consider making gifts/commitments from lifetime assets. For many of us it is the only opportunity we will have to make a five- or six-figure gift to a ministry we care deeply about.
At this time we have reached a total of 80 new planned gifts, ranging from $10,000 to $4,000,000, for endowed scholarships, lectureships, and faculty chairs. A few brave souls have designated their estate gifts for facilities, knowing that everything from windows to boilers eventually have to be replaced/renovated. Every planned gift helps us get a step closer to long-term sustainability, as LSTC moves towards a healthier balance between the percentage of our mission funded by annual gifts and the percentage funded by our endowment.
In the midst of what many are calling the "Great Recession" many LSTC donors have nonetheless been willing to designate a percentage of their estate for this and other ministries they care deeply about.
Please call or e-mail Ashley Spell at 773-544-3710 aspell@lstc.edu if you would like to discuss your planned giving with an LSTC gift officer or one of our colleagues at the ELCA Foundation. |
|
LSTC Honors Distinguished Alumni/ae
On February 9, the LSTC community and friends gathered for a banquet and celebration in honor of this year's four Distinguished Alumni/ae Award winners. The event was sponsored by Andy Tecson, LSTC's legal counsel. Mr. Tecson's jazz trio, "Church Jazz," also provided musical accompaniment for the evening.
We are now encouraging nominations for next year's Alumni/ae Awards. If you know an outstanding graduate of LSTC or its predecessor institutions, please take the time to fill out the nomination form, which can be found here: http://www.lstc.edu/alums_friends/alumni_awards.html.
The four 2010 honorees:
Mission Leadership Award
The Rev. Dr. Richard Bliese (M.Div., Seminex 1981; Th.M., LSTC 1992; Ph.D., LSTC, 1995)
President and Associate Professor of Mission
Luther Seminary, St. Paul Minn.
Biblical Interpretation Award
The Rev. Dr. Mercedes Garcia Bachmann (Ph.D., LSTC, 1999)
Professor of Bible
ISEDET Buenos Aires, Argentina
Churchwide Service Award
Bishop Robert Rimbo (M.Div., Seminex, 1976)
Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA
New York, N.Y.
Stewardship of Creation Award
The Rev. Dean Stewart (M.Div., LSTC, 1975)
Pastor, Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Moscow, Idaho |
|
Rural immersion redux
Thanks for sharing your LSTC experiences on rural immersion.
Pastor Mike Lawyer (1986, M.Div.) wrote:
My wife and I went on [rural immersion] while I was at LSTC. Morrie Neidenthal was the faculty leader who went with. I had a great time. Some of my classmates ended up taking their first call in Nebraska. I was at LSTC from 1982-1986. I also did the trip to "Copper Country" in the U[pper] P[eninsula]. That was a great winter experience. The pastor I stayed with had a cabin that he took us to. That was my one and only hike with snowshoes. When we got to the cabin we had to dig down to get to the front door!
Both of those experiences helped me discern that I wanted to minister in small town settings. All three calls I have served have been in small town or rural settings. My first call was to Milledgeville, Ill., where I stayed for 12 years. My second call was to Mt. Morris, Ill., for six years. I am presently serving in Orion, Ill., (south of the Quad Cities), a town of about 1,800. I came to Orion in June of '04. I will be taking a sabbatical during July and August this summer.
I would strongly encourage students to take the "rural plunge." They were wonderful experiences for me in my spiritual journey at LSTC.
The Rev. Keith Brozek (1987, M.Div.), of Grace Lutheran Church, Hebron, Neb., wrote:
Yes I did go on a rural immersion when I was at LSTC. It was back in the 80's. It was from that experience that I ended up serving my internship at Kountze Memorial, in Omaha, Neb., then on to Hastings, Neb., following my senior year at LSTC.
I am originally from Chicago and would have never dreamed of going to Nebraska if it were not for the rural immersion. I have been in Nebraska my whole ministry since 1987.
To read the rest of Matt Stuhlmuller's blog on his rural immersion experience in January 2010, go to
|
| Opportunities at LSTC
"Preaching the Stewardship of Money" presented by the Rev. Gerald Hoffman March 13
"All life is a gift of God. Stewardship is our grateful response," is Pastor Jerry Hoffman's approach to stewardship. On Saturday, March 13, starting at 9 a.m., Hoffman, director of the Center for Stewardship Leadership at Luther Seminary, will lead the Tithing and Stewardship Foundation workshop "Preaching the Stewardship of Money" at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 1100 East 55th Street. Cost is $10 per person or $25 per congregation. Workshop materials and lunch are included in the fee. The event is free to all current seminary students. Register at http://tithing.lstc.edu/events.php
Religion and science seminars explore the future of creation and the inner self
The Zygon Center for Religion and Science at LSTC is sponsoring two courses from February 1 thru May 4. "The Future of Creation: Foundations for a Just and Sustainable World" addresses ways scientists and people of faith can work together to develop effective, equitable, and sustainable responses to environmental degradation. Each class session features guest lecturers who are scientists, leaders in environmental organizations, theologians, or biblical scholars. The course meets Tuesday evenings in Room 350 at LSTC, 1100 East 55th Street, from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m., from February 2 - May 4. For more information visit http://www.zygoncenter.org/future_creation_background.html.
"Science Explores the Inner Self," an advanced seminar led by the Rev. Dr. Philip Hefner and Dr. Lea F. Schweitz, meets Monday evenings, February 1 - May 3, from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. in the LSTC Common Room (350). Designed for faculty, students, and professionals, the course examines the partnership between spirituality, cognitive science, neuroscience, and theology. For more information visit http://www.zygoncenter.org/adv_seminar_schedule10.html.
"Music for Trumpets and Organ" will be March 21 Chapel Music Series concert
At 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, hear three of Chicago's musical treasures, Thomas Wikman, Barbara Butler, and Charles Geyer, perform and internationally-acclaimed program of exciting music. The free concert is in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC.
Come to LSTC's annual Gospel Choir Concert on April 11
This not-to-be-missed annual benefit concert will be led by the choir's new director, George Cooper, and includes performances by choirs from the Chicago area. Come and be drawn into music that is irresistibly magnetic with the opportunity to support the Grover Wright and Rev. Carole Burns Scholarship Funds. The concert begins at 4:00 p.m. To contribute to the scholarship funds, contact the LSTC Advancement Office at 773-256-0712 or designate the gift online at http://www.lstc.edu/alums_friends/giving/index.html. | |
|
|
Please Note
Alumni take note! Excellent resource available to you through JKM Library
Back when you were in seminary,
you had access to one of the best theological libraries in North America - the JKM Library. One of the things that made JKM so good was its extensive periodical collection. In the last few years many of the journals became available online, so you could find, obtain and print out full-text article from your home or office.
The premier database for full-text online articles in religion is called ATLASerials or ATLAS. This database contains full articles from 140 major religion and theological journals, including Christianity Today, Christian Century, Interpretation, Worship, Lutheran Quarterly, Currents in Theology and Mission, and Zygon. JKM subscribes to ATLAS and so you have access to them all if you are a currently enrolled student.
But alas! The nano-second you graduate, licensing law prohibits JKM from granting ATLAS access to you, except on a clumsy article-by-article basis. Until now!
JKM (and LSTC / McCormick), through the auspices of The American Theological Library Association and Lilly Endowment, Inc., offer YOU, the alumni of LSTC, free access to ATLAS and all of its wonderful full-text articles from this and the next two academic years! It's one of the benefits of being our alum! How can you participate? It's simple: phone or email Chris Wenderoth, the director of the JKM Library, at 773-256-0735 or cwenderoth@jkmlibrary.org, for the username and password of ATLAS. Then, log on . . .and read.
JKM Library no longer able to accept used-book donations
Due to constraints on staff time, the JKM Library is no longer able to accept used-book donations. This policy went into effect on December 21, 2009.
|
|
Reunions
Classes of 1960 Reunion Groups to Meet in 2010
The Classes of 1960 will join at LSTC on May 15 and 16, 2010, during Commencement Weekend.
Mark your calendars and watch for more information to come.
Class of 1970
LSTC is pleased to host the Class of 1970 Reunion April 28-30, 2010.
The highlights of the reunion will include a luncheon and banquet on Wednesday, a presentation on the present and future of LSTC, a tour of the LSTC Rare Book Room, and a chance to meet and worship with current students.
Graduates from LSTC and all predecessor institutions, along with their spouses, are invited to attend the celebrations. Come and see how LSTC has grown in the last 40 years!
Those interested in attending should complete an RSVP form as soon as possible.
Please contact the Advancement Project Assistant, Cuttino Alexander, at advprojects@lstc.edu with any questions. Special rates are available at the Fairfield Inn Midway reunion participants.
Make a Gift to LSTC
Just by using Goodsearch LSTC receives donations!
GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate.
| |
At "Inch by Inch: Growing a Green Congregation," David Rhoads began his extemporaneous keynote address with a litany of headlines reporting the realities of Earth in crisis: scientists weighing in on the effects of climate change, disappearance of species, coastal villages needing to be abandoned due to rising water levels. He confessed that he, too, gets overwhelmed by the bad news about our planet. But he urged us to look at the problems in a new way. Rhoads called for a new way of reading the Bible that recognizes that God has redeemed all of creation and that we are called to love and care for all that God has redeemed.
