General

In Wisconsin, May is when we enjoy the flowers of blooming spring. In Mequon, May is when we celebrate something lovelier still: the Lord’s giving new gifts to his Church. On May 22, 40 men were assigned as vicars to congregations in the United States and throughout the world.

Professor James Korthals, WLS professor of church history, is spending the semester as a visiting professor at Asia Lutheran Seminary (ALS), Hong Kong. ALS is part of the Wisconsin Synod’s worldwide seminary program. Its purpose is to train workers for mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

On Thursday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. the Seminary Chorus will remember the unique musical contribution of Paul Gerhardt, next to Martin Luther the greatest of Lutheran hymn writers. The chorus will present 12 of Gerhardt’s hymns, five of them in settings for the congregation. This event notes the 400th anniversary of Gerhardt’s birth on March 12, 1607.

Paul Gerhardt was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who endured the tragedies of religious wars and confessional attacks. As a pastor he wrote hymns that sing with clarity about the Savior’s cross. As a victim of suffering he wrote hymns that rejoice in the Christian’s cross. This description has been attached to Gerhardt for centuries: “a theologian sifted in Satan’s sieve.” His great hymn texts confess confidence and courage in the face of trial.

During the concert Prof. John Brenner, professor of church history, will present short commentaries on Gerhardt’s life and work. Pastor Aaron Christie will be the guest organist. The 48 member choir is directed by Prof. James Tiefel and will be accompanied by organ, strings, and brass.

    Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary says farewell and Godspeed to Noah and Angela Chen. The Chens had immigrated from Taiwan to the United States to spend their retirement years near their children. But Lutheran churches in Taiwan were without pastors because of the WELS missionary cutbacks. Taiwanese Lutherans were urging Noah to come back so he could become a pastor as his grandfather had been. Noah's brother, Peter, is training to become a Lutheran Pastor. It seemed only natural to recruit Noah to shepherd congregations in Taiwan.

It’s that time of year when students make appointments with the financial aid officer. The two major distributions of financial aid are behind us, so they are not usually looking for grants. This time they are seeking loans that will allow them to pay their school accounts by the end of the school year.

Prof. Richard Gurgel travelled to Sweden in January to teach seminary students of our sister churches there. Here are impressions from his experience:

Teaching in Sweden was a strange mixture of great sadness and great delight. There was sadness to see a nation that once possessed the gospel having become post-Christian in its culture. That speaks to us a powerful warning about apathy toward the gospel. The majestic stone church at the heart of Ljungby was awesome with its centuries-old marble altar and pulpit. But the grasp on salvation in Christ alone is long gone...and so are most of the people. A small sprinkling of gray heads populate its pews while the rest of the town passes by with stony hearts, seeing there little more than a quaint reminder of national history.

    Lawrence Olson, director of the Congregational Assistant Program (CAP) based at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota, and E. Allen Sorum, director of the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) based at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin, recently addressed a joint meeting of the Geoduck and Rainier circuits of the Cascades Conference at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Washington. Prof. Olson explained that the charter of the CAP is to encourage and equip members for a broader ministry within a congregation. When men who have demonstrated aptitude for ministry desire further training, they may seek the support of the PSI. The charter of the PSI is to guide and assist these men from a broad cultural spectrum through their pre-seminary and seminary training.

    Winterim offered a course called Alternative Approaches to Urban Outreach. The goal of this course is to drop participants into an urban setting, research the neighborhood, and produce a plan for evangelistic outreach. What makes this project exciting is that the students do this research alongside the pastor and members of a WELS congregation. The final exam requires the students to present their various plans to the congregation at the conclusion of their time together.

It was our privilege to distribute a total of $127,000 to students in the second (and final) major distribution of financial aid for the school year. Most of this money ($93,500) was given as grants awarded on the basis of declared financial need. Another $25,400 was given as academic achievement awards which recognize classroom performance as reflected in student GPAs. Another $8,100 was given as campus service awards that acknowledge student faithfulness in carrying out tasks for the well-being of our whole campus family.

The overall amount of grants and awards – and the average amount received per student – is more than in previous years. We have therefore made increases in the amount of money given out as academic achievement awards, have notched up the level of assistance in response to declared student need, and will continue to monitor the level of financial aid distributed with an eye to increasing the dollar amounts of grants. This is all made possible by generous gifts that donors have sent to the Student Scholarship Fund over the past several months. We are grateful. The level of financial aid is still less than it was several years ago when compared with the higher tuition and room and board costs that students are confronted with. We thank God for what we are able to do, and include what we currently cannot do in our prayers and petitions. We invite you to join us in this.

    Prof. Alan Siggelkow taught two pastoral counseling courses recently in Hong Kong. He and his wife, Mary, left on December 29th and returned on January 20th, just before second semester began. There were seven students in one class taught at Asia Lutheran Seminary and 17 students in the Salem Bible Institute course. Both classes were taught with the help of capable translators Pattie Lau and Charlene Wong. Siggelkow also preached three Sundays during his stay and with the help of Dr. John Lawrenz and his wife, Phoebe, managed to pack some sightseeing into the busy schedule. Dr. Lawrenz is the president of Asia Lutheran Seminary and former professor of Old Testament and education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

    Prof. Ken Cherney and six WLS students participated in the Spanish Immersion Cultural Experience (SPICE), a Winterim program conducted Prof. John Schuetze. On January 3 they travelled to Puebla, Mexico, a city of around 6 million people located two hours east of Mexico City. There the group  celebrated el dia de reyose magos (day of the magi kings, i.e., Epiphany), which is a major event in the Mexican culture. They spent a week studying Spanish at the Spanish Institute of Puebla which included four hours of classroom instruction and two hours with a private guide each day. They enjoyed fellowship with the pastors and seminary students from the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mexico during a two-day conference. They also toured ex-convents, saw the ruins of ancient pyramids, rode horses and donkeys, and visited many other historical and cultural sites. An important part of the immersion experience was the homestay with Mexican families. Most of all, they spoke Spanish, Spanish, and more Spanish and ate authentic Mexican food before returning to the States on January 19.

452 alumni participated in the Zoomerang voting and elected the following men as the first WLS Alumni Executive Committee:

PRESIDENT: Daniel Balge
VICE PRESIDENT: Earle Treptow
SECRETARY: Carl Ziemer

The student mission offering for the first semester has been sent to our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong for the benefit of Asia Lutheran Seminary.  Pastor Daniel Koelpin, administrator for the WELS Board for World Missions, acknowledged and thanked us with the following letter:

Prof. Mark Zarling (Education, Old Testament) has accepted the call as president of Martin Luther College. He will be sorely missed by all, but his keen understanding and humble shepherd's heart will surely be great blessings to the college just as they have been here. Zarling will conclude his current semester teaching duties here at the seminary before leaving for New Ulm.

Currently five professors are working or studying off-campus. Professor Richard Gurgel is in Ljungby, Sweden, teaching at the seminary there. Professor Alan Siggelkow is teaching at Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong.

The 2008 Summer Quarter ended on Friday, July 4th.

Convention delegates from the Southeastern Wisconsin District (SEWD) met June 10-11 on campus.

Beginning in the school year 2008-2009, one student, selected by the financial aid committee, will receive full tuition assistance for his seminary study thanks to the generous offering of Matt and Jo

On Thursday, May 22, 52 men received assignments to various fields of ministry though the synod’s Assignment Committee: 41 from the class of 2008 received their first calls into the public ministry,

World Mission Seminary Professor Kenneth Cherney taught Christology, intermediate Greek, and John’s Gospel to students of Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong during the spring semester.