Not knowing where we go  

On Ash Wednesday, LSTC senior MDiv students received their regional assignments. Some of them announced their joy and their region via Facebook. But not all of them.

The next day, when I met one of the seniors in the hallway I cheerily mentioned that I didn't recall seeing where she had been assigned.

She quietly said, "Not where I had hoped to go."

Oh. Ouch. Over my many years at LSTC I had heard this before. Maybe it happened to you. You did everything right. You breezed through candidacy. You wrote insightful papers. You had a great internship. You thought you knew where you were going, and then this. You got assigned to a place never wanted to go.

All I could say was "I'm sorry. I've seen this before and it works out." It may sound like too soothing a response, but it is the truth that I have seen and heard as I have watched this annual matchmaking ritual of the church. 

I couldn't say that it will be easy for her. It wasn't always easy for you. But I have heard your stories of trust, of how you took the next step when you didn't know where you were going. Even the seniors going to the regions they hoped for face the unknowns of synod assignments and call processes.

Going to seminary, doing ministry, grappling with your call again and again, puts flesh on the familiar prayer: "Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Please pray for the MDiv students as they move forward in faith.

Blessings on your faith and ministry,

Jan Boden

Director of Communications and Marketing

jboden@lstc.edu

News from LSTC    

LSTC welcomes visiting professor Barbara Lundblad

This spring, the Rev. Barbara Lundblad serves as visiting professor of homiletics, guiding students in the art of preaching the gospel. Lundblad offers two courses for students hoping to become better preachers, Sermon as Meeting Place: An Introduction to Preaching, and an advanced course, Preaching for Social Transformation. Read more here.  

Clyde Walter

Clyde Andrew Walter joins LSTC Advancement Office

On Jan.19, Mr. Clyde Andrew Walter joined the LSTC Advancement Office as Campaign Director and Major Gift Officer. He will direct the seminary's upcoming comprehensive campaign; help to manage annual, major and planned gift programs; and work with donors at all gift levels. Read more here.

ELCA Seminary Leaders respond to call for action on matters of racial and social justice

Responding to a national call to action from African American leaders in theological education, ELCA Seminary leaders pledged to speak out and act on current issues of racial injustice. In a statement released February 2, 2015, the presidents and deans, representing all eight Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) theological schools, recognized the continuing racial oppression and injustice, and made a commitment to publicly confront lingering examples of injustice "in vigorous and prophetic ways in our schools." Read more here. 

The LSTC Gospel Choir and the Lutheran Choir of Chicago unite their talents on Sat., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. for "Gospel Partners," a program of urban contemporary gospel music. Wilbert O. Wilkins and Keith Hampton will direct the choirs. The concert is in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. A goodwill donation of $15 is suggested. The next day, the concert will be offered again at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Oak Park, Ill. Advance tickets for the Mar. 15 concert may be purchased at the site.

27th Annual LSTC Gospel Choir Concert

"When the Saints Go Marching In" is the theme of the 27th Annual LSTC Gospel Choir set for Sun., Apr. 12 at 4 p.m. The concert features "Illumination" from East Side United Methodist Church, the Keith Hampton Band, and other area gospel choirs. The LSTC Gospel Choir is led by Dr. Keith Hampton. A freewill offering will be gathered to support the Grover Wright and Rev. Carole A. Burns Scholarships.

The Luther College Piano Quartet joins forces with Aurelien Pederzoli on Sun., Mar. 15 at 4:00 p.m. in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC to perform a program featuring Dvorak's beautiful Piano Quintet. Works by Mozart and Prokoviev round out the program. Pederzoli is a violinist with the Spektral Quartet currently in residence at the University of Chicago. A freewill offering will be gathered.

A two-day workshop for non-Muslim chaplains to learn about and gain confidence in working with Muslim patients and families facing illness or death will be offered Apr. 14 and 21, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church in Hyde Park. The $95 fee includes breakfast and lunch. Contact Sara Trumm at strumm@lstc.edu to register or register online here.

World Mission Institute - Prisons: New Realities, New Mission 

Dr. James Logan

 

The 2015 World Mission Institute, "Prisons: New Realities, New Mission," will be held at LSTC Apr. 16-17. The conference will feature Dr. James Logan, associate professor of religion and associate professor and director of African and African American Studies at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. Dr. Logan's keynote address is at 7 p.m. on Apr. 16. Workshops will be held from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Apr. 17. The Institute is planned by faculty from Catholic Theological Union, LSTC, and McCormick Theological Seminary and is held at LSTC. For more information contact Dr. Ken Sawyer of McCormick Theological Seminary at  ksawyer@mccormick.edu or 773-947-6304.

2015 LSTC Leadership Conference and Alumni Awards 

When people in the church hear, "The gifts of God for the people of God," as they are about to receive communion, does everyone present hear "This is for me. I am included"? And what about those who are not even in the building? How do the gifts of God extend to those people of God? June 16-18, the 2015 Leadership Conference, The Gifts of God for the People of God, will take a look at inclusivity in the church. The Rev. Dr. David Vasquez-Levy and Pastor Clint Schnekloth are the featured presenters. Cost for the conference is $150 (housing and meals additional). Contact advancement@lstc.edu or call 773-256-0710 for more information.

The 2015 LSTC Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented on June 17 at 5 p.m. This event is free with a reception for the honorees after the awards ceremony.

Retirement

by Keith Nelson, (1970, MDiv), Major and Planned Gifts

Young people are encouraged to save now so they can retire later. The younger they are when they establish an IRA or contribute to a retirement fund, the more they will benefit from time and compounding.

Retired people are encouraged to take a cautious approach during retirement. They take modest or minimum distributions from their retirement funds so that they won't run out of resources during their retirement years.

Responsible stewards are encouraged to carefully plan for the distribution of the remaining balance in their retirement funds after their death. Their goal is to provide for their surviving family members and others and fulfill their charitable goals while minimizing income taxes on their tax deferred accounts.

Friends and Alumni of LSTC are learning that one of the beneficial ways to accomplish these goals is by using the beneficiary form on their retirement accounts.

To learn more about ways you can maintain a retirement income, provide for a surviving spouse, give an income benefit to children or others and give a gift which will help LSTC build a strong endowment fund, contact the LSTC Advancement Office by contacting Clyde Walter at cwalter@lstc.edu or 773-256-0714.