From the President

BRINGING LIGHT AND LIFE INTO A DARK WORLD SERVING IN THE MIDDLE FIRST LOOK: 1CONCORDIA SEMINARY, ST. LOUISEGGER INAUGURATION

ON THE COVER ON THE COVER First-year Master of Divinity caption student Alexander Kauffman helps clean up a community garden as part of an Orientation week servant event Aug. 25. Photo: Jill Gray

PUBLISHER Dale A. Meyer PRESIDENT Dr. Thomas J. Egger EXECUTIVE EDITOR Vicki Biggs EXECUTIVE EDITOR Vicki Biggs MANAGING EDITOR Melanie Ave MANAGING EDITOR Melanie Ave ART DIRECTOR Jayna Rollings ART DIRECTOR Beth Hasek

DESIGNERS Michelle Poneleit Jayna Rollings DESIGNER Courtney Koll

WRITERS WRITERS Tim Barker Sarah Maney Deaconess Rebekah Lukas Daniel Mattson Sarah Maney Lisa Mills Dr. Philip Werth Penhallegon Travis Scholl PHOTOGRAPHERS Jill Gray Sid Hastings Courtney Koll Sarah Maney Michelle Poneleit Harold Rau

PHOTOGRAPHERS Jill Gray Harold Rau Rebekah Lukas Sarah Maney

Concordia Seminary magazine is a Concordia Seminary magazine is a member of the Associated Church Press member of the Associated Church Press and the Evangelical Press Association. and the Evangelical Press Association.

Dr. Thomas J. Egger. Photo: Jill Gray

Greetings, friends, in the name of Christ!

Each academic year we choose a theme to set the tone for our work together. This year our theme is “Your word is a lamp to my feet” from Ps. 119:105 (ESV).

It is so rewarding to teach at Concordia Seminary! There is nothing quite like walking through biblical texts together with our students and seeing the light in their eyes and on their faces. God Himself has spoken in the Scriptures, and God Himself is speaking to our students through that same Word. It is a Word that propels them to Christ and that brings Christ to them. It is a Word that gives them life and strength and purpose and hope. God’s Word gives them light, and I can literally see it on their faces!

When God speaks His Word, amazing things happen. Light appears and dry land and vegetation. The sun, moon and stars are set on their courses. Waters teem with fish and the skies with birds. Man and beast walk in gardens of paradise.

When God speaks His Word, amazing things happen. Demons flee. Storms quiet. Paralytics walk. Lepers are cleansed. The dead live. When God speaks His Word, the baptized are clothed in Christ’s righteousness and claimed as God’s children. When God speaks His Word, the foulest sinner is pronounced righteous and free. When God speaks His Word, the light of hope dawns in the darkest places of disillusionment and despair.

O Lord, speak to us! May Your Word sound forth, more and more, and reach into our cold hearts. May Your Word sound forth, more and more, and reach forth to the sad and hiding hearts of so many who do not yet know You. For You alone have the words of eternal life!

It is so rewarding to teach at Concordia Seminary! The students who come to study with us are offering their lives to bring this light-giving Word of Christ to others. They study the Bible, Lutheran doctrine, church history and the practical skills of ministry. And as they prepare, like I said, it is a joy to see the light of God’s Word shining in their eyes, on their faces, and — I know it is true — in their hearts.

Thank you for your prayers and support for Concordia Seminary! I hope that you, too, are happy to declare, “Your word is a lamp to my feet!”

Blessings in Christ,

FALL/WINTER 2021 ISSUE

FEATURES

6 Bringing Light and

Life Into a Dark World

10 Serving in the Middle

10

IN EVERY ISSUE

4 From the President

14 Alumni and Friends

16 Faculty Focus

18 News Worth Noting

24 Support Your Sem

26 Student Spotlight

14 26

CORRECTION: The number of total calls on Call Day 2021 was listed incorrectly in a graphic on Page 12 of the summer issue of Concordia Seminary magazine. The correct number of calls, including dual/ triple parishes, is 69.

OUR MISSION

Concordia Seminary serves church and world by providing theological education and leadership centered in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for the formation of pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod.

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Copyright © December 2021, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of Concordia Seminary.