You Were There

The one hundred and forty-first commencement of Luther Seminary was held this past Sunday afternoon at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. It was a great event. There were 152 graduates who received degrees. Dr. Diane Jacobson, retiring professor of Old Testament, preached the sermon. Yes, there was a sermon, because seminary graduation is set within the context of worship. The student responder, Andy Behrendt, was terrific. Central Lutheran Church provided a magnificent setting and offered wonderful hospitality.

This event, as grand as it was, would probably not be considered a momentous one by most in the Northern Illinois Synod. After all, Luther Seminary is but one of the ELCA’s eight seminaries and most of our new pastors come from either Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa or Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. However, among Luther’s graduates were one who has been assigned by the church to serve in our synod and another who is my son.

As I waited in the pew for the service to begin, I paged through the program and I found my son’s name. Listed beneath his name were three congregations: First Lutheran Church, Prophetstown, Illinois; Salem Lutheran Church, Sycamore, Illinois; and, Trinity Lutheran Church, Mt. Morris, Illinois. At the bottom of the page, in small print, it read, “Names of churches are the candidate’s home and/or supporting congregations.”

In that moment, I was reminded that our pew was very crowded. I was surrounded by my family, my daughter-in-law’s family and the closest of friends. But, you were there too. The congregation that has nurtured my son since he was six years old was there. Two other congregations (one is my daughter-in law’s home congregation) that have also financially supported him in his seminary education were there. Other congregations that have prayed for my son and others in our candidacy process were there. Finally, every congregation of our synod that gives Mission Support for the work of the wider church was there. Our pew was quite crowded indeed!

Holy Trinity Sunday may have passed quietly for you. Perhaps it was lost altogether in the Memorial Day weekend. It was a joy-filled day for our family. Dare I suggest that it was a momentous day for our synod?

Comments? Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com/. Thanks for reading! --JC