Newsletter Volume 3 Issue 2 Summer 2017 North American Lutheran Seminary Commencement 2017 L-r, Dr. David Yeago, Matthew Vatalare, Makayla Cook, Caleb Douglas, the Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin Matthew Vatalare receives his M. Div. hood at Commencement The North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS) celebrated the graduation of four students at Trinity School for Ministry Commencement on May 13, 2017. Commencement exercises took place at St. Stephen s Church in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. The commencement speaker was the Most Rev. Dr. Robert Duncan, Archbishop Emeritus of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA). A Baccalaureate Communion Service was held on Friday, May 12, 2017, at St. Stephen s Church. NALC Bishop John Bradosky, was the preacher. The four students who graduated with a Master of Divinity (M. Div.) from both Trinity School for Ministry and the NALS are: Gary Braeuer, Makayla Cook, M. Caleb Douglas, and Matthew Vatalare. The North American Lutheran Seminary congratulates all of the graduates and looks forward to many more years of forming pastors for ministry. The Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin congratulates Caleb Douglas L-r Dr. David Yeago, the Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin, Bishop John Bradosky, Caleb Douglas, Matthew Vatalare, Makayla Cook
Page 2 2017 Master of Divinity Graduates Gary Braeuer St. Albert Evangelical Lutheran Church, Alberta, Canada Gary came to the NALS as one of the first Lutheran students to enroll in Trinity School for Ministry. He completed his internship last year and his coursework this past fall. According to Gary, the most rewarding part of his time at the NALS were the friendships he made during the daily routine of worship, Bible study and fellowship. Makayla Cook St. John Lutheran Church, Texas Makayla has been an important part of the NALS community in many ways. She organized the Lutheran Compline Services making sure, that someone was scheduled to lead the service each week. Makayla was also part of the Student Government and participated as a member of Trinity s Luther Bowl team. Makayla stated what she learned most during her time at the NALS/Trinity, Through my Pastoral Care, Pastoral Leadership, Mentored Ministry, and CPE courses I have learned more about what it is to be a human caring for humans, by the grace, and with the help, of God; I have learned how to sit in the presence of unexplainable pain and suffering and accept I am not God and do not have all the answers (if any answer really, beside the sureness of His mercy and grace extended to us through the lifeblood of His Son poured out on Golgotha); and through these classes I was given the opportunity to further explore and develop the caretaker spirit within me that finds joy in walking alongside brothers and sisters through all seasons of life.
Page 3 2017 Master of Divinity Graduates Caleb Douglas Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Abington, Pennsylvania Caleb and his wife, Lynnae, have both attended classes at the NALS. Lynnae will complete the thesis portion of her MAR next year while Caleb completes his internship. They have been a vital part of the NALS community, along with their two young sons, Elias and Nathaniel. Caleb was presented with the Senior Theology Award from Baker Books at commencement for the outstanding senior in the study of theology. Caleb shares this about his time at the NALS: I am not at all sure how to limit it to one thing, unless I am permitted to say that seminary has provided knowledge about all things in their relation to Jesus Christ. Matthew Vatalare St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Charleston, WV Matthew has served as Sacristan for the chapel for the past two years. His faithful service was acknowledged during commencement by being awarded the Liturgical Excellence Award. Matthew also participated as member of the Trinity/ NALS flag football team in the Luther Bowl. He will begin his internship this summer.
Page 4 Lutheran Week Chapel at the NALS Every semester the Lutheran students at the North American Lutheran Seminary serve as liturgical leaders for the Trinity School for Ministry community for one week. These services include daily matins and vespers, and a service of Holy Communion. This is an important opportunity for our students to put into practice the skills that they learn in their Lutheran Liturgy and Homiletics courses. One of the joys of studying in an ecumenical community is experiencing our commonality in daily prayer. During Lutheran Week, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and non-denominational students join together in singing and praying through the liturgies of the Lutheran Book of Worship. First year M. Div. student, Ray Zhu leads the processional during chapel. A new M.A.R. student, Rebecka Andrae reads the appointed lessons for the day. Great Rivers Mission District Visit President Schifrin participated in the Great Rivers Mission District Pastor s Retreat at Chiara Center in Springfield, IL. She presented on, Liturgy, Lectionary and Prayer. While in Illinois, she also attended Immanuel Lutheran Church of Flatville, where she was able to share the gospel with the children. These children are our future seminarians!
Page 5 NALS Updates: Emmanuel Lutheran Donation The faculty, staff, students, and Board of Regents at the North American Lutheran Seminary give a hearty thank-you to Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Northwest Arkansas for their great generosity. We rejoice to be partners with them in shaping theological education for the future of the church. These funds will cover the cost of a contract with Trinity School for Ministry Development personnel, with the goal of increasing the gifts for funding the NALS. Dr. Schifrin accepted the check from Emmanuel Lutheran on a recent trip to Arkansas. She preached and was able to share about the seminary during her visit. The NALS was one of the sponsors of the Canadian Rockies Theological Conference, May 8-12, 2017. Dr. Amy Schifrin attended the conference and led daily chapel. CEU s were available from the NALS for those who desired them. Dr. Schifrin preached at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Yorktown, Texas on Sunday, April 30, 2017. While in Texas, she attended the South Texas Mission District in La Vernia on April 29, 2017 Dr. Schifrin attended the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) semi-annual meeting in Decatur, Georgia, on April 2-4, 2017. Dr. Schifrin preached at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Sunday, April 23, 2017. The NALS Board of Regents met at Grand View University in Des Moine, Iowa for their spring meeting, April 25-26. Dr. Schifrin attended the Kern Family Foundations and served as preacher for the Faith, Work, and Economics Summit on April 20, 2017. Dr. Schifrin presented Liturgy, Lectionary, and Prayer, at the Great Rivers Mission District meeting in Springfield, Illinois, on May 20, 2017. Dr. Schifrin will be preaching at Grace Lutheran in Westerville, Ohio, on June 4, 2017. Dr. David Yeago will present a lecture entitled, Martin Luther s Evangelical Retrieval of Medieval Wisdom, at the Ancient Evangelical Future Conference at Trinity School for Ministry on June 8, 2017. Adjunct faculty, Dr. Maurice Lee, will be representing the NALS at the Lutheran CORE Summit on Theological Education at Grand View University on June 20 and 21. Visitors from Michigan A delegation from Redeemer Lutheran Church, Owosso, Michigan, came for a visit to our campus. They were able to attend chapel, tour the campus and meet with Dr. Schifrin. If you would like to have the opportunity to visit campus, all visitors are welcome. Contact the NALS office at 724-385-8000 or by email at info@thenals.org to schedule your visit.
Page 6 From Our President The Rev. Dr. Amy C. Schifrin A Theology of Discipleship, Incarnational, Sacramental, Relational, Part II (Part I was published in the Winter 2017 edition, it can be found at: http://thenals.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ Winter-2017-Final.pdf) The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; Thy steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of thy hands. Psalm 138:8 God has acted in each of your lives through word, sacrament, the gathered community, and the love of others for you. God has also been acting in your lives, too, when you ve been faced with trials, angry neighbors, and the results of your own rebellion. (It s why the church s retention of rites for confessions and absolution is essential.) Think about the Introduction to the Commandments and the 1 st Commandment for a moment. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20: 2a, 3) It is a dazzling and bright word of promise. God has claimed you, claimed you as his creation. He is the one who created egg and sperm, the egg and sperm that have made you, you. He is the one who blew the breath of life into your lungs as clearly as he did when he made the first man from the dust and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. (Genesis 2:7) Every relationship you have with another person will come from this one. Every word of witness that you speak, every expression of the faith, has its birth in him who is the author of your life. I am the Lord your God, he says, You shall have no other gods before me. Much to our chagrin, it is simultaneously a word of death, of your death, because it tells you that you are not God, My ways are not your ways, says the LORD, neither are my thoughts your thoughts. (Isaiah 55) It is death to every Babel we create, every enterprise that is based on our superiority over another, every prayer that hides the Pharisee s hermeneutic, God, I thank thee that I am not like other men and women. It is his law to be inscribed upon our very being, and he does this for our protection. He means to protect us from one another, and from the evil one himself, who, indeed, is more crafty than we can imagine, which is why we are so easily fooled into following him into our destruction. In the Introduction to the Commandments and 1 st Commandment we learn that God does not run a democracy. We don t elect him. He doesn t need flashy promotions and expensive advertisements. And most especially, he doesn t need campaign advisors, because unlike human beings, he doesn t make promises that he won t keep. He is truth, and so he ever and always and only speaks the truth. The Incarnate One, Jesus Christ, is the truth he speaks into our lives. So here comes the clearest example of that killing law, when he who is the way, the truth, and the life, speaks this eternal love into human ears, we call for his death, Crucify him, crucify him. (Luke 23:20) because in rebellion we don t want God to be God. Thank God we don t have the final word, for Risen from the dead, he still calls us his own. As he calls us then to Baptize and make disciples of all nations, we who are made in his image and likeness are called into a relationship of love and mercy with all those whom we meet. This is the method he chooses, this incarnational method, for this is why we were made in his image and likeness. Our love for him becomes our love for others, and our lives give him glory. When at the Eucharist we bow in the deepest humility and sing Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory, we are being formed ever-more deeply as his disciples, honoring his presence, proclaiming his holy word, in our very bodies acknowledging that he is the Lord our God and that we shall have no other gods before him. It is from this posture of humility that we are made ready to be God s instruments through which he calls others to life in his name. You are mine, he has said to us in the baptismal waters, and as we receive his life into ours every Sunday and holyday we are saying, And I am his. Discipleship is the faithful living of our identity in the Crucified and Risen Christ, the One who came into the world, giving us his incarnate life. This identity cannot be lived in isolation from him, from the community (i.e., the body of Christ) that is gathered by the power of the Holy Spirit (called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified), and from those who yet need to know that his life will bring them to true life, a life embraced by the goodness, mercy, and eternal love of the Triune God.... continued on p.7
Page 7 It is God s will to save. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exodus 20:2) It is God s will to save, to deliver us from every form of slavery that strips life from us. God does not want us to live in misery, bent low in burdens of shame in the heat of the day, and in ceaseless anxiety roaming the rooms of our homes through the dark of the night. He does not desire the death of the wicked, only that they turn from their ways and live. (Ezekiel 33:11) God does not want us to live in misery for he, indeed, hears the cries of his children. His answer to our cries, however, is often far from what we expect it to be, for who among us would have looked at a baby sheltered on a winter s night in a manger? Who would have looked at a carpenter s son just on the edge of manhood listening and speaking with wisdom among the white-haired rabbis? And who would have looked at a man whose body was beaten and bloody on a cross and seen a resurrection? But the One who made a promise to be your God was keeping his word. He was keeping his word, eternally, so that as your body is laid as still as death in a coffin, your loved ones will see a loaf of bread and a cup of wine and proclaim, Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. And by the faith which his sure and certain word, which his promise has created in your hearts, you will see them live and well and whole again. This is the clearest picture of the will of God I that can see a world restored, a life never ending, night be gone, no need for light of lamp or sun, for the light of the Lord God will be their light and they shall reign for ever and ever. (See Rev. 22:5) A disciple is one who has heard the word that creates faith, faith in the One whom we come to know through his incarnate life. A disciple is one in whom faith has been created, and so seeks to live out their trust in this holy and eternal One. In the Great Tradition of the church, we call the shape of this disciplined life, obedience. This, too, is God s will for you, for only through obedience will you experience the true joy of his grace. Only through obedience will you sigh with the deep peace that passes all human understanding. Only through obedience will you trust in a love so great that you would sell all you have to follow him. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He wants you to walk the way of his truth so that you can live the fruits of his life. Make no mistake, God wants your obedience and he will use his commandments not only to point your sin out to you, but even more so, to put your sin to death. If you lie to one neighbor about another, or steal from the local grocery store, or cheat on an exam, or make fun of someone who seems different from you, or spend your paycheck in a house of prostitution, or make the weakest kid in the class the scapegoat for your anger, or engage in sexual intercourse with someone who is not your wedded spouse, or pledge your allegiance to a tyrant to save your own skin, or increase your company s profit margin so high that your workers become indentured slaves, or declare war on a sovereign nation so you can rape their land of its resources, or if you say, The earth is mine and I can do what I want with it, God will use his commandments against you in order to protect your neighbor. When the law is broken, someone suffers, many someones, may suffer. You will have to live with the consequences of your actions. God and his beloved ones will keep driving that law home until you really do see that you have no defense for your actions. Hard-hearted and hard headed as we are, it may take a day, or it may take generations, but he will not stop, he has not stopped, because he loves you so much. He will not stop until you say, I did it. God forgive me. He will not stop until you stand at the foot of the cross and ask Jesus to help you. And as you repent, God will say, My Child, my child, the commandments are there for your own protection, so that you can live in my peace. The commandments are there so you can live without fearing your neighbor, or she fearing you. My child, my child, I still love you. Ask for my help. I am always here for you. The will of God, the saving will of God is for you to be one with him. The path of obedience is where we experience that oneness, that unity in our daily lives, for obedience is where we live out the love and joy that comes every time we receive his life into ours. Obedience is the fruit of thanksgiving, where there is nothing we want more than to praise God for the goodness he has given us in making us his own. NALS Mission/Vision Statement In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we are forming pastors and church leaders for the North American Lutheran Church who will faithfully preach, teach, and live God s eternal truth, through Word and Sacrament, proclaiming Christ s cross and resurrection, making disciples who will renew and grow the church in Christ s name.
V olum e 2 Is su e 2 Page 8 May is Seminary Month The Executive Council of the NALC has designated the month of May to be Seminary Month. Our hope is that all our congregations will receive special offerings during the Sundays of May in support of the North American Lutheran Seminary. We urge you to be aware of the growing need for pastors within the NALC and to help identify candidates for ministry. We will be grateful for the ongoing support that each congregation provides. We have a critical need for pastors to serve our growing denomination. The North American Lutheran Seminary is preparing competent, evangelical, and confessional pastors for the future mission of our church and our congregations. We have a body of students who are committed to Christ and his mission. We need your help to continue this crucial ministry in order to serve the needs of the church. When we look at the statistics concerning current pastors in the NALC, approximately 90% are over age 40. When we take a closer look we see that over 70% of our pastors are over age 60. Since our NALC constituting convention in 2010 we have grown from a handful to 400+ congregations. In order to meet the pastoral and missional needs of the NALC we need to grow our student body exponentially. This also means increasing the faculty and staff, as well as working towards Extension Sites to provide on-site seminary education. Our current NALC pastors also are in need of continuing education in order to remain vibrant in the midst of cultural changes and ever-mobile communities. For these reasons, your support is a critical component for the Seminary to fulfill the mission to which we are called, and to insure that you will have faithful pastors who will eagerly serve you in the decades to come. The North American Lutheran Seminary is preparing competent, evangelical, and confessional pastors for the future mission of our church and our congregations. We have a body of students who are committed to Christ and his mission. We thank all those who contributed during this campaign both through prayer and generous donations. The need continues as does our work. We look forward to working together to prepare men and women for God s call in the North American Lutheran Church.
Page 9 Join us in Nashville this summer at the 2017 NALC Lutheran week, August 7-11 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. For more information about registration go to the NALC website, http://thenalc.org/2017-lutheran-week/ We are thankful for everyone who partners with the NALS. Our partners help provide the scholarships and operating expenses for the seminary. Your help is important to the future of forming pastors for the NALC. If you want to partner with us, there are three different ways: 1. Support the NALS Theological Education Fund by sending a check to: NALC 2299 Palmer Dr. Suite 220 New Brighton, MN 55112-2202 2. Thrivent members can choose the NALS for your Thrivent Choice Dollars. 3. Donate online at the NALS website (http://thenals.org/donate/)