In This Issue

Fear Not

News from LSTC

Ministry and the Gospel

Matching gift offer

Listen to Mitri Raheb

World Mission Institute

Rossing Water Bible Study

Travel in January 2015

Do you have a will?

Opportunities

Quicklinks

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Chapel Sermons

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Mission Statement

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago forms visionary leaders to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Fear Not

Bekki Lohrmann and Meredith Harber walk thru the font.

In the right context and in the right amount, fear can be a good thing. It is a natural response to a risky or uncertain situation. "Fear not; do not be afraid," spoken by God or God's messengers assures us that we can do the risky thing that God calls us to do.

Fear Not: Risk, Ministry, and the Gospel is the theme of the 2014 Leadership Conference and the Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration at LSTC June 17 -19. (See more below. There's still time to register). It's also an apt theme this week. On May 18, fifty-five LSTC students will graduate, commencing or reshaping their ministries.

Last week, at the year-end sending service, graduates walked through the font as they left worship. They're a brave lot, these seminary students. They faced their doubts and fears to follow their call to ministry. Many of them took the risk of leaving familiar and comfortable places to come to Chicago. They continue to take risks as they accept calls to places they never imagined they would serve.

Forty years ago,most of the faculty and students of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, took a risky journey into unfamiliar and uncomfortable places when they formed Christ Seminary-Seminex. How did that experience shape them? How has it shaped those whom they have taught and ministered to? We'll find out at the Leadership Conference.

This Sunday, please remember in your prayers the women and men who go out from LSTC. As they venture into the unknown, they need not fear -- God is with them and they are ready for this next, risky step in ministry for the sake of the gospel.

In Christ,

Jan Boden

Director of Communications and Marketing

jboden@lstc.edu

News from LSTC

Justo Gonz�lez to receive Confessor of Christ Award
On Sunday, May 18, LSTC will present the Rev. Dr. Justo Gonz�lez with the Confessor of Christ Award. Dr. Gonz�lez is a one of the most respected Latino scholars in the United States and a contributor to the development of a Latina/o theology. The award will be presented during the school's 154th commencement service at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 5472 South Kimbark Avenue, Chicago. [Read more]

Chicago advocacy group to receive Community of the Cross Award
At this year's graduation ceremony, LSTC will honor the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC), with its highest honor given to exemplary organizations, the Community of the Cross Award. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference is an organization committed to connecting African American faith and social justice leaders with one another. Together, they work to address individual, local, national and global issues that impact people of African descent. [Read more]

A Watered Garden now available for Kindle
Eco-theologians and lay readers alike have a new, paperless way to learn about ecology and Christian worship. The Rev. Dr. Benjamin M. Stewart's book A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth's Ecology is now available in a Kindle edition. [Read more]

Fear Not: Risk, Ministry and the Gospel - 2014 Leadership Conference and Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration

What do faithful leaders do when they need to take a risk for the sake of the integrity of the gospel and their call? The 2014 LSTC Leadership Conference explores that question, using the 1974 walkout of faculty, staff, and students from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and the formation of Christ Seminary-Seminex as a starting point.

"Fear Not: Risk, Ministry and the Gospel" will be held in conjunction with a Seminex 40th anniversary celebration that starts the afternoon of June 17. Former LSTC President William Lesher is the keynote speaker for the session. A celebration dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Bishop Robert Rimbo is the dinner speaker.

The keynote speaker for the conference is the Rev. Heidi Neumark, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. She is the author of Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx, the story of her 19 years as pastor of Transfiguration Lutheran Church.

The morning of June 19 is reserved for class reunions on campus and concludes with worship in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. Get all the details and register online.

Alex LaChapelle

Hear the Echols Preaching Prize Sermons

On May 1, Bekki Lohrmann and Alex LaChapelle, both senior M.Div. students, preached on Luke 24:13-35 for the James Kenneth Echols Preaching Prize. The $500 prize will be awarded during Commencement on May 18. Read and listen to the sermons.

Matching gift offer expires June 30

For just a few more weeks, your Annual Fund gift to LSTC could be matched. Generous donors have extended the LSTC Annual Fund Challenge for a third year, offering to match $500,000 of new, renewed, or increased gifts to the Annual Fund received by June 30, 2014. Your gift will be matched if it is:

New - If your first gift to LSTC was June 1, 2011 (or anytime since then), 100% of your gifts this year will be matched dollar for dollar.
Renewed - If you "got back on board" and started giving again to LSTC since June 1, 2011, your gifts will be matched again this year dollar for dollar.
Increased - If you've increased your giving the last two years, your "increase" will be matched dollar for dollar again this year.

It's easy to make a gift online or contact the LSTC Advancement Office at 773-256-0712.

Listen to Mitri Raheb "Faith in the Face of Empire" podcast

On April 1, 2014, the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb visited LSTC. He made a presentation to a standing-room-only crowd on the topic of his latest book, Faith in the Face of Empire, which calls for a reading of Scripture from a Palestinian perspective. Listen to a podcast of his presentation.

World Mission Institute addresses changing landscapes

Dr. Bevans

Mission in the last century has undergone transformative change. On April 24 and 25, the World Mission Institute met at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago to talk about what this means for the ecumenical church.

The World Mission Institute is a gathering of three Chicago seminaries: Catholic Theological Union, LSTC, and McCormick Theological Seminary. This year's event focused on a new document on mission drafted by the World Council of Churches' tenth assembly in Busan, Korea in October 2013. This is its first such document in 30 years.

The two panel discussions, featuring Robert L. Gallagher, Stephen Bevans, Scott C. Alexander, and Adele Halliday, are available as podcasts.

Rossing Water Bible Study video

In May 2012, Professor of New Testament Barbara Rossing contributed a video Bible study on water to the Lutheran World Federation Virtual Conference "Green & Just." You can view it via a link on Dr. Rossing's faculty web page.

Follow LSTC Nebraska rural immersion trip

Starting May 19, M.Div. student Steve Bogie will be blogging about the Nebraska rural immersion trip that he will be on. There will be a link to the blog on LSTC's homepage, but you can bookmark the blog now here to follow Steve and other students as they learn more about rural ministry.

Travel in January 2015

LSTC tour to the Holy Land
Explore the Land of the Bible with LSTC Professors Esther Menn and Barbara Rossing January 6-19, 2015. This trip has been very popular and highly praised by students, alumni and friends who have made the journey with Drs. Menn and Rossing. For more details, registration deadlines, and costs, please email Barbara Rossing at brossing@lstc.edu.

Ecumenical pilgrimage to Cuba
You are invited to join an ecumenical pilgrimage to Cuba in January 2015. The hosts are LSTC alum the Rev. Dr. Craig Mueller and Ernest Vasseur, who was born in Cuba. A Cuban tour guide will accompany the group for historical and cultural highlights in Havana, a day at Varadero, and excursions to the ecumenical seminary in Matanzas. The trip will facilitate people-to-people conversations with Cubans. As a group with an educational purpose, it is legal and authorized by the U.S. and Cuban governments. Several optional educational forums will be offered in Chicago during 2014 to help prepare for the trip. For more information and to receive updates about the trip, go to the website.

Do you have a will? When did you last review it?

Wills need updating to meet changing family need, to meet current laws and to remember your favorite ministry. Call Mark Van Scharrel at 773-256-0676 or email him at mvanscha@lstc.edu to learn more.

Opportunities at LSTC

May 18, 2:30 p.m. - 154thCommencement, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
June 17, 1:30 p.m. - Christ Seminary-Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration $
June 17, 6:30 p.m. - Celebration Dinner $
June 18, 9 a.m. - "Fear Not: Risks, Ministry, and the Gospel" $
June 18, 5 p.m. - Distinguished Alumni Awards and Reception
June 19, 9:30 a.m. - Class gatherings
June 19, 11 a.m. - Closing worship

For more information about LSTC events see our Events Calendar.

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