Global reach    

Drs. Fabiny, Pickett, Nieman, Westhelle, Rossing, Melanchthon, Garcia Bachmann and Menn at the LWF Conference

This year the new school year got off to an unusual start as LSTC hosted dozens of scholars from around the world for the  LWF Hermeneutics Conference.  

It was a reminder of LSTC's global reach.  

Alum Dr. Mercedes Garcia Bachmann, a professor of Old Testament at the Instituto Universitario ISEDET in Argentina, told me that LSTC remains a seminary of choice for graduate students from around the world. They come to study with LSTC's excellent faculty and because it is a school recommended to them by their mentors.

Dr. Garcia Bachmann wasn't the only conference participant with ties to LSTC. Dr. Monica Melanchthon, now teaching in Australia, and Tamás Fabiny, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, who studied at LSTC in the 1980s, were also here.

Much of LSTC's energy and resources are focused on forming leaders for the ELCA, but preparing leaders and teachers from and for the worldwide church always has been an important part of the seminary's mission. It's a mutual ministry -  the LSTC community gains as much or more than it gives to these leaders who help us understand the good news of Jesus Christ from a global perspective. 

Blessings,

Jan Boden

Director of Communications and Marketing

jboden@lstc.edu

News from LSTC    

Search begins to fill Carlson Chair in Homiletics

LSTC's faculty search committee, headed by Dr. Benjamin Stewart, is accepting applications and nominations for a teaching position in homiletics at LSTC. The person will fill the Axel Jacob and Gerda Maria (Swanson) Chair in Homiletics. Read more about the search  or view the position description.

Kwame Pitts

Pitts receives ELCA Fund for Leaders Mission Developer Scholarship 

LSTC master of divinity student Kwame Pitts has received a $6,000 ELCA Fund for Leaders Mission Developer Scholarship. The scholarship will provide tuition support for Ms. Pitts' final year of study at LSTC. [read more]

Hanson receives Women of the ELCA Chilstrom Fund Scholarship

LSTC master of divinity student Sally Hanson has received a $2,000 Women of the ELCA's Herbert W. and Corinne Chilstrom Scholarship for Women Preparing for Ordained Ministry. The scholarship provides assistance to Lutheran women who are second-career students entering their final year at an ELCA seminary. [read more]

Global scholars share interpretations of Matthew at LWF conference  

 by Erin Koster, MDiv middler

Biblical scholars, clergy and seminarians met at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago from Sept. 4-9 for the Lutheran World Federation's third annual international hermeneutics conference. As the 500th anniversary of the Reformation approaches, leading Lutheran theologians from around the world discussed the Gospel of Matthew.

The conference welcomed leaders from the global Lutheran church, including ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. She preached at a chapel service and later spoke to conference attendees at a luncheon on Sept. 8.

On Sept. 5, Dr. Timothy J. Wengert presented a free public lecture in LSTC's Augustana Chapel, titled "Matthew's Gospel for the Reformation: 'The Messiah...Sent and Manifested." Wengert is Ministerium of Pennsylvania Professor of Reformation History at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. The video of his lecture is here.

Throughout the conference, speakers connected the Gospel of Matthew to topics like anti-Semitism and care for creation. They also offered Swedish, African, Indian, Canadian and Chinese perspectives. LSTC students had an opportunity to attend the conference, some of whom were part of a semester-long course that will focus on the LWF presentations. Several LSTC professors and alumni also presented.

The intent of the conference is for members to share unique interpretations of scripture. Through these consultations, they are able to connect on social issues and strengthen ties throughout the Lutheran church across the world. Next year, the LWF will meet again in Denmark to focus on the Pauline letters.

Connect with LWF Global Young Reformers Network

The Rev. Monica Villarreal (2011, MDiv) let us know that you can get connected to the LWF Global Young Reformers Network thru its new website. The GYRN is a four-year program to get Lutherans under 30 from around the world connected with one another and reshaping the future of the Lutheran communion.

Scherer Lecture: Coptic Mission in a Changing World

Coptic nun and scholar Dr. Lois Farag presents the Scherer Lecture Mon., Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. in the Common Room. 

Music that Makes Community 

It's still possible to register for this Sept. 24-27 workshop at LSTC for clergy, musicians, cantors, lay leaders, and anyone wanting to learn how to teach and lead assembly song without books, screens, or paper. Go to the site and click on the "MMC in Chicago" tab to register or learn more.

LSTC Guild meeting

Dr. Esther Menn will talk about what's new at LSTC at the LSTC Guild meeting on Sat., Oct. 4 starting at 9:30. The session includes breakfast and lunch ($15 fee). RSVP to advancement@lstc.edu.

Pero Center Benefit Concert

The Third Annual Pero Multicultural Center Benefit Concert is on Sun., Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. Proceeds from the concert support programming for the Albert "Pete" Pero Jr. Multicultural Center at LSTC.

Third Annual Albert "Pete" Pero Jr. Lecture
The Third Annual Pero Lecture will be held Mon., Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Professor Emeritus Philip Hefner speaks on "Science, Religion and the Common Good." For more details or contact mc@lstc.edu.

Advancement Office seeks candidates for two positions    

LSTC's Advancement Office announced a search to fill two staff positions: Associate Vice President for Advancement (AVP) and Gift Officer. The AVP is a senior level employee who will supervise other gift officers, serve as director of an upcoming comprehensive campaign, and be the primary gift officer within an assigned geographic region. The Gift Officer will have primary responsibility within an assigned geographic region and will lead the alumni strategy for the department. See the full position descriptions and details about how to apply here.

Making seminary accessible

Matt is the first in his family to go to seminary. When he was in college, he got involved in campus ministry and realized that God was calling him to be a pastor. But Matt had no idea how he was he going to pay for more schooling. Even though his parents had helped him with undergrad expenses,Matt already had $25,000 in loans.

On a visit to LSTC, the Admissions and Financial Aid Office told Matt that he could receive scholarship and grant money so that he could keep additional student loans at a minimum.  

That's where you enter the picture. The LSTC Annual Fund keeps tuition as low as possible by supporting day-to-day costs of running a seminary, but it also provides much-needed grants to students who otherwise simply couldn't afford to come to seminary.

Thanks to you, Matt can answer his call. To make an online gift to the Annual Fund visit the secure webpage.

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