WLS Alumni hold first meeting

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary graduates and other WELS pastors gathered for the first annual meeting of WLS Alumni on September 17, 2007. 140 men were in attendance at this historic event. Prior to the first meeting, alumni elected via electronic poll the first WLS Alumni executive committee, Daniel Balge (‘85), president; Earle Treptow (‘93), vice-president; Carl Ziemer (‘73), secretary; and Aaron Christie (‘97).

The meeting opened with a reading from 2 Timothy 2:1-15, prayer, and the singing of the hymn “God of the Prophets.” The assembly approved the adoption of the constitution and ratified the executive committee’s nominees for WLS Alumni committees. The assembly also approved in principal a proposal to offer monetary support for student aid, continuing education for professors and graduates, and an endowment fund.

In addition, the WLS Alumni directed the officers to explore a proposal to write a book on the seminary’s history, with publication to coincide with the seminary’s sesquicentennial in 2013. The meeting adjourned with the singing of the doxology. A light lunch followed.

WLS Alumni will meet next on Monday, September 22, 2008, before the annual symposium. President Dan Balge states the hope that “WLS Alumni will, as God blesses, build on this encouraging beginning.”