LATE SPRING NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 LATE SPRING NEWSLETTER Lutheran Theological Seminary, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, nurtures and challenges all people for Christ-centered leadership and witness for God s mission in the world. May & June 2017 LTS Graduation Class of 2017! Congratulations to the Class of 2017, pictured here with faculty, adjunct faculty, and Bishop Sid Haugen, of the Saskatchewan Synod ELCIC. Peripheral pictures show some of the day s events: Grad Luncheon; Baccalaureate Service; Awards, and prior to Convocation. Pictures courtesy of Nathan Hind. 1 In This Issue Graduation Class of 2017 In their own words Reflections of a Retiring Seminary Professor, Rev. Dr. Cam Harder Alumni Dinner Study Conference Thank you from Acting President, Rev. Dr. Michael Nel

2 In Their Own Words...Class of 2017 Ann Salmon, BSc, MDiv. D.Min As I approach 29 years of ordained ministry I can say, unequivocally, that I love being a parish pastor. I love the missional church that seeks to join what God is doing in the community. I love liturgy and hymnody and all the rich ingredients of worship. I love serving congregations that do ministry together in ecumenical shared ministry relationships. I give thanks for my teachers, especially those whom I met in the DMin program who gave me the space to weave together my ministry passions. I am very grateful for the support of my advisor, the Rev. Dr. Sandra Beardsall, who encouraged me on this academic journey. I thank God for the wonderful people in the Anglican/Lutheran congregation I serve in Edson, Alberta, who prayed for me and guided my work from beginning to end, and for the love and support of my husband, Carl. Aneeta Saroop, B.Th. Think of us this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God s mysteries. 1 Corinthians 4:1 As I finish seminary, I think of God s gifted stewards who offered me God s blessing these past seven years. I give thanks for our professors and their faith-filled teaching. I thank Bishop Greg, CTEL, and the BC Synod especially remembering Grace Lutheran, Victoria that sent me on the journey, and Lutheran Church of the Cross, Victoria that nurtured and developed my ministry gifts on internship. I am humbled by God s love through so many faithful stewards of the gospel. They ve taught me about grace and deep faith and have been instruments of God s extravagant love. May God bless my service to the gospel in this church by their faithful witness. And always, I give thanks for my beloved spouse, Thomas, my children Eric, Maya and Aleesha, and for my friends, colleagues and mentors. Colin Millang, BA, M.Div. Twenty-seven years ago, at the age of thirty-two, I began my Bachelor of Arts, the first step in my planned journey toward ordination. However this journey, which should have been completed in eight years, ended up taking much longer. During that first decade, I studied Sociology and then Theology while continuing to farm and be a parent. In 2001, I left seminary and went back to being a full-time farmer and dad. Then one day in November 2013, in my heart I heard these words: It s time. After meeting with Bishop Kochendorfer and following his counsel, I reconnected with the CTEL committee, reapplied to LTS and prepared to finish my classes while serving as intern at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hanna, Alberta. I now feel prepared and confident to be a called and Ordained Lutheran pastor. 2

3 Tsitrobo Emmanuel Aristide, BA, BTh, M.Div. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. John 15: 16a I would like to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given me, including the opportunity to study at LTS. My classmates and I have learned together, struggled together, rejoiced together and cried together. Being far from my own family, the people at LTS have become mine. They invited me into their homes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other celebrations. They welcomed me and loved me. Thank you. For the Saskatchewan Synod, Bishop Sid Haugen, CTEL, my home congregation Resurrection Lutheran Church, my internship site Zion Lutheran Church, and the ELCIC as a whole, for their constant support and prayers throughout my formation: thank you. Finally, I would like to thank my family and my beloved fiancée, Adrianna, for their love, patience and support. Jailyn Highfield-Corbin, BA, M.Div. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trusting in God can be hard when you re a student building a family. Yet for some reason, God still called and guided this wife and mother of four to seminary. I started seminary as a distance student in 2010 where I met the amazing people who are graduating with me today. We supported one another through struggles of family and student life. God calls people from all life-situations and has picked us up even in moments when we have given up. These seven years have not been easy. Proverbs instructs us to write these words on the tablet of our heart. For me, I will carry them into the next journey God has called me to. 3 Sarah Mowat, BA, M.Div. As my time at Seminary draws to a close, I give thanks to God for the many blessings I have received throughout my time of formation at LTS through the faithful teaching of its professors, for the support of Trinity Lutheran Church, Whitehorse Yukon, the ELCIC, the Synod fo Alberta and the Territories, Bishop Larry, and CTEL throughout my formation within the church. I am thankful to Grace Lutheran Church and St. Catherine s Church and Pastor Ann Salmon in Edson for an amazing internship, and to my internship committee for their guidance and support. For the Saints whose example of God s grace has led me to trust and love the Lord. For the blessing of my supportive family members especially my father, my mother, and my sister, my extended Walmsley family, cohort, friends and mentors, pastors, and churches who have been an encouragement throughout the discernment of God s call thank you.

4 Reflections on 20 years as a Professor at LTS Rev. Dr. Cam Harder I m retiring July 30 and wondering what I can say in a few words after 20 years as a prof at LTS. Here are a couple of thoughts: My ordination text in 1981 was Ephesians 4: God s gifts were that some should be... pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for ministry. Pastor-teacher is my calling. For 16 years in the parish I was a teaching pastor, and for 20 years at the seminary I ve tried to be a pastoral teacher, connecting our faith stories and core beliefs to the places where people actually live and work. I joined the LTS faculty in 97 because I was convinced that our Canadian communities need leaders who can provide both good pastoral care and life-giving teaching. To some extent Canadians are out-growing interest in violent, judgemental, anti-science and overly simplistic expressions of religion. But we haven t lost the desire to know a gracious God. I ve heard it in rural communities, university classrooms and church basements across the country: we long for a mature worldview that can honestly embrace both God and the harsh realities of this suffering world. And at the Truth and Reconciliation gatherings I heard story after story of indigenous lives shattered by the residential school experience. In almost every case, those who found healing said that key to their recovery was gracious spiritual care and a better understanding of themselves as people loved by the Creator. They point the way to wholeness for all of us. So theological education in a pastoral style, as LTS offers it, is more needed than ever. If we Lutheran Christians want to be agents of grace in a world whose future is clouded with ecological collapse, sectarian violence, and economic volatility, we must equip ourselves much better than we have. Canada needs our gifts of healing ritual. It needs people who live an open and daring faith. It needs public, thoughtful conversation on the difficult questions of our day, conversation that connects the best of our theological tradition with the best insights of science, the arts and humanities. Canada needs citizens who live the spirit of Jesus humble, honest, open to God and the forgotten neighbour, and able to see a future in which God brings real resurrections out of our personal and corporate crucifixions. In these 36 years I ve helped train a few such agents of grace. I hope that in the years ahead, whatever they bring, I ll learn how to be a better one myself. Highlights of the Alumni Dinner held during Study Conference About 40 alumni, spouses & guests gather at Boffins Rev. Boyd Molder 71, (Rev. Paula Foster), and Bishop Gerhard Preibisch 71 Prof. Harder honored Rev. Don Engel Tannis Schmidt provided music... Dr. Nel 71 says grace...as did Rev. Stewart 87 4 St. Andrew s Principal, Rev. Lorne Calvert provided music Rev. Stewart Miller 87 and Rev. Christoph Reiners 94, our co-emcee s

5 Rev. Dr. Kirsi Stjerna Archbishop Don Bolen LTS Saskatoon Annual Study Conference May 2 4, 2017 The Challenge of Reform Thank you to our sponsor: 5

6 Dear partners in the Gospel and fellow members of the body of Christ, My time at Lutheran Theological Seminary is rapidly drawing to a close. These two years at LTS have been a challenge and an adventure. Any success has been largely due to those who have accompanied me on the journey. Endings provide a time for reflection. As I reflect on the past two years I realize that there is much for which I am thankful. I am deeply grateful to you, our friends and supporters who have given generously to LTS. Your donations have not only stabilized the finances but have also made it possible for LTS to be open to a new future. God is a God of the future and God is challenging LTS to step out in faith and trust in the promises of God. Since the future has been opened to us in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ, it is filled with potential and new possibilities. The Board has been captured by God s promised future and in faith has appointed Rev. Dr. William Harrison as the new President of our seminary. He brings a new vision for theological education and thanks to you there is now the possibility for that new vision to be realized. I am impressed and deeply grateful for the warm welcome with which I was received by the Bishops, the Synod Councils and the Synods in convention. The seminary s relationship with the Synods is vitally important and essential for the future of LTS especially since you are the owners. Thank you for your ongoing support of LTS. May this relationship between the seminary and synods continue to grow and flourish. Thank you to the Board of Governors of LTS. You stepped out of your comfort zone in calling me to the position of Acting President. It was exciting to walk with you as the Spirit of God s future captured your imagination and you stepped into that future when you developed and approved a new strategic plan for LTS. Thank you for your service to LTS and for the support you provided me. Thank you to the faculty and staff of LTS. You are being challenged like Abraham to leave the past behind you and to step out in faith under the leadership of Rev. Dr. W. Harrison. LTS has a future, but only God knows what that future will look like. Thank you to the staff for your hard work and for the diligence with which you have carried out your responsibilities. Thank you to the faculty for your commitment to educating future leaders in the church. Yours in Christ, Michael Nel Our Thanks The response to our Early Spring Appeal has been overwhelmingly positive and we would like to thank all of you who contributed to the Seminary ELW groups, congregations, donors, and Alumni! Your support will have a large impact moving forward! Contact Us For more information about theological studies or to contribute to LTS and the ongoing nurture and challenge of all people for Christ-centered leadership and witness: Rev. Fran Schmidt Director of Communication and Development 114 Seminary Cres. Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X3 (306) development.office@usask.ca and on the web at: On Facebook: Lutheran Theological Seminary Saskatoon 6