2010-2013 CATALOG OUR MISSION
• Practice of Ecclesial Partnership: Displays a healthy sense of connectedness with the whole church. Fosters partnership with the ELCA and ecumenical openness. • Practice of Complex Analysis: Demonstrates capacity to carefully examine complex social, economic, scientific, and religious issues without oversimplification. Sees relationships from a systems perspective, remaining spiritually centered in the face of ambiguity. • Practice of Curiosity: Is fundamentally curious, employing creativity in the use of language. Is open to grow beyond current perspectives and willing to pursue learning with intellectual depth.“Within this community, Wartburg educates women and men to serve the church’s mission as ordained and lay leaders.” • Practice of Pastoral Concern: Loves God’s people with the compassion of Christ, demonstrating a generous spirit in relating to others, teaching and modeling stewardship. Maintains a clear sense of pastoral identity and desire for excellence in pastoral ministry. • Practice of Personal Faith and Integrity: Lives as person of faith, grounded in a life of prayer and study. Is self-aware in seeing the larger picture, proclaiming hope, and setting healthy boundaries.
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• Practice of Collegiality: Leads in a way that is responsive to the situation and promotes team building. Creates collegial groups within and beyond the church for promoting many forms of ministry. “This mission is to proclaim and interpret the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world created for communion with God and in need of personal and social healing.” • Practice of Evangelical Listening and Speaking the Faith to Others: Listens in a way that leads people to deeper faith questions. Engages in thoughtful witness to the Christian message, especially to youth and those outside the faith. • Practice of Immersion in the Context: Shows awareness of the context through listening to, dialogue with and involvement in the local community. Has ability to interpret texts and contexts with insight. • Practice of Engagement with Cross-Cultural and Global Dimensions: Is engaged with multicultural issues and religious pluralism in the context of globalization. Understands the inclusive character of the Christian Gospel.
Our Heritage The history of Wartburg Seminary goes back to the missionary efforts of Wilhelm Loehe in Neuendettelsau, Germany. Pastors sent out from Neuendettelsau founded an educational institution in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1852. The following year the school was moved to Dubuque, and in 1854 seminary education was begun. Four years later, adverse economic conditions forced a move to St. Sebald in Clayton County, Iowa, where the name Wartburg was first chosen. In 1875 expansion necessitated a move to Mendota, Illinois, where the seminary remained until 1889, when it was returned to Dubuque. Several seminaries have merged with Wartburg over the years. In 1932 St. Paul Luther Seminary of the Ohio synod was moved to the Wartburg campus. In 1956, Trinity Theological Seminary in Blair, Nebraska, (United Evangelical Lutheran Church) was moved to Dubuque and officially merged with Wartburg at the formation of The American Lutheran Church in 1960. In 1983 Christ Seminary Seminex dispersed its faculty and other resources among three seminaries in anticipation of the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Wartburg was one of the three seminaries and as part of that dispersal, received for its Austin, Texas, program the Seminex library and library director, one faculty member, and a few students. At the beginning of the ELCA on January 1, 1988, those resources officially merged with Wartburg. The present campus of some 35 acres is situated on the brow of a ridge in southwest Dubuque, commanding a beautiful view in all directions of the hill country surrounding this city on
the Mississippi River. Groundbreaking for the newest campus renovation and construction occurred in April 2000. Included in this work was the networking of the Wartburg campus for technology and the installation of a geothermal exchange system for heating and cooling. On January 2001, students moved into the renovated and refurbished residence hall. Changes included an elevator, all private rooms and baths, complete technology hookup, and individual room temperature control for heating and cooling. The new seminary kitchen went into operation with the start of the 2001 spring term. Soon after, the offices and additional dining space of the new construction connected to the refectory and tower went into use. Remodeling of the tower and Mendota hall were then completed, which opened classrooms, additional offices, and guest housing.
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