Report of Colleges, Seminaries, and Campus Ministry Augustana College - Rock Island, Illinois

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1 Augustana College - Rock Island, Illinois Augustana, like many colleges, has struggled with what it means to be church-related. Professor Emeritus of English Roald Tweet has described how Augustana lives with a hyphen by nature of being church-related. Part of living with a hyphen, Dr. Tweet argues, is struggling with the disparate elements of our identity and the ambiguity in their relationship. He writes: Does the phrase (church-related) imply that Augustana is trying to distance itself from close ties to the church, or does it imply that the college is trying to hold on to that relationship? Grammar texts are no help. One says the hyphen implies separation, another that it unites. Part of living with a hyphen is to understand that the relationship is respectful of our history and is at the same time dynamic. Ten years ago, I asked our campus ministries to engage the Augustana community in a discussion about what it means to be associated with the ELCA. The Campus Ministry Committee developed a document called Five Faith Commitments, which explore how the heritage of the Augustana Lutheran Church and its relationship with its colleges might inform today s relationship. In the end, the college explored five primary values of the Church and related those values to its continuing commitment to the church. Those values are: 1. Encouragement of personal piety and life-shaping spirituality, 2. Commitment to higher education as a place whether faith and reason challenge and enhance each other, 3. Understanding that all human efforts are aspects of the understanding of vocation, 4. Commitment to ecumenism and to embracing the value of all persons, 5. Commitment to social consciousness, world missions and servant leadership. Each of these values is reflected in the Five Faith Commitments, a document that has served Augustana well, not least in its importance as a foundational element of the college s strategic planning. Now 10 years old, the Five Faith Commitments soon will undergo a review to find how the document might even better encompass and advance the mission of a church-related college in the 21st century. At this moment in our history, I believe colleges are well advised to ask how living with a hyphen impacts the chaplaincy. At Augustana, there are four important ways it as shaped campus ministries and our two co-chaplains: 1. The office of chaplain is more central than ever in connecting the campus with the mission of the college. 2. Colleges and universities should look for new ways to integrate the work of the chaplaincy with the life of the college, including career advising. 3. Colleges and universities should meet students where they are-through ecumenical and interfaith outreach. 4. Colleges within a denomination should take the leading role maintaining ties with their denomination, instead of leaving it to the church body. Admittedly, times of financial leanness-both for denominations and colleges-can put significant stress on the hyphen in church-relatedness. During these times, the role of the chaplain becomes more important than at any time in the last 50 years in leading our colleges forward. A thoughtful chaplain working with the president can help the college go out on a limb to harvest new fruit for our changing student body, and tend to the health of our denominational roots. Steven C. Bahls, President 69

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4 Grace Place at Northern Illinois University The past academic year of has been a fabulous time for Grace Place Campus Ministry at Northern Illinois University. From our very first Wednesday Worship on Aug 25, the numbers of students attending events at Grace Place grew exponentially. During the year, 25 students affiliated with the ministry in some way, coming to a variety of events. We averaged 17 students worshipping with us each week. We were involved in a variety of activities during the year. Game nights proved very popular, as well as the youth group staple Mafia. Once we learned that that the Huskies Den Game Room on campus offered unlimited bowling and pool for only $5 on Thursday night, that got added to our repertoire. We participated in the DeKalb County Crop Walk and in the Feed My Starving Children food pack during the fall semester. In the spring, we served at Feed Em Soup, a local donation only restaurant that feeds many local needy people. We also participated in NIU s Relay for Life to support the American Cancer Society and in NIU Cares Day, a university-wide community service day. Grace Place also is the home for the Huskies Student Food Pantry, a students-only food pantry. The pantry is open 2 nights a month and has served between students each time it is open. Many of the Grace Place community volunteer to help on pantry nights. Perhaps the most fun thing that developed this past spring was our Bar and Bible Study series. We planned a Lenten bible study and held it on Tuesday nights at one of the most popular bars on campus. It was very successful and we decided to continue it through the end of the academic year. Several students who participated in it will be back in the fall, so it will most likely become a regular event again. Grace Place is dependent on money from the Northern Illinois Synod ELCA, the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, and church and individual donors. We made a definite effort to step up our fundraising activities. In the fall we held a trivia night to raise money to fix some problems with our leaky roof. The event raised more money that we needed for the repairs, so it was a win all around. In the spring, we held a Fundraising Night, inviting churches and individuals to learn about Grace Place, meet our students, our campus pastor and present and past board members. The night was a success and we feel like we have laid a solid foundation for continued fundraising. The Trivia Night will take place again this fall and the Fundraising Night in the spring, so be on the lookout for announcements coming to your church and in Synod publications. 72

5 Lutheran Campus Ministries of Illinois Report of Colleges, Seminaries, and Campus Ministry The three synods in Illinois remain the primary funding partners for our six staffed campus ministry agency sites, Illinois State, Normal; Northern Illinois University, DeKalb; Northwestern University, Evanston; South Loop, Chicago; University of Chicago, Chicago; and University of Illinois, Champaign. Thank you! Individuals & Congregations Illinois Synods ELCA Interest/Investments In addition, there are about twenty cooperating congregations in campus ministry, who intentionally engage with students, faculty, and staff at nearby colleges and universities. Please make sure you visit the Campus Ministry display table and learn more about this vital ministry we support together. We invite your support at every level of our work, helping the local site, supporting your synod, and contributing directly to LCMI (blue portion of the pie above). On behalf of Bishops Miller, Roth, Wollersheim and our fellow board volunteers, thank you for your steadfast support! Mark Van Scharrel Carey Mayer Trent Gordon Tammie Farley President Treasurer Vice-President Secretary 73

6 Report of Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago and Wartburg Seminary We give thanks for the many gifts that you, the people of the Northern Illinois Synod, send to the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago (LSTC) and Wartburg Theological Seminary (WTS). We couldn t carry out our mission without the financial support you offer as individuals, congregations, and synods. Your support is the foundation for the economy of leadership formation in our ELCA. the people you send who may become seminary students. By saying to someone, Have you considered being a pastor or another church leader? I think you have the gifts, you plant the seed of discernment. Seminaries rely on you to identify those gifts of leadership among people in your congregations and in your families and friendship circles. your prayers and care for your seminaries and their students. You encourage and inspire us in the work of forming leaders who are well-prepared to inspire others in living out their faith. The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago continues to fulfill its mission of forming visionary leaders to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ by: Sending out 55 students from six degree programs at the May 2014 Commencement. Half of our Master of Divinity graduates were in a call process or had a call in hand as of Commencement, and nearly all are now ordained and serving in congregations across the country. Launching a new curriculum to form leaders for a public church that offers a distinctive Christian witness in the world. The curriculum balances theological study with practical skills to build competencies in cultural context, spiritual formation, religious heritage, and ministerial leadership. Welcoming an incoming class of master s degree students that is 16% larger than last year s class. This is the third year in a row at LSTC that the entering class is larger than the previous year. Beginning the quiet phase of the seminary s second comprehensive campaign with a $5 million unrestricted gift. In making this remarkable lead gift, the donors said they hope to encourage others to give generously to LSTC. Awarding 30 full-tuition scholarships to first-year and returning master of divinity students and providing scores of other partial-tuition scholarships to students in every year of their studies. Over 90% of LSTC master s degree students receive a scholarship from LSTC. Thanks to this financial assistance, total student borrowing has fallen a third year in a row and is at its lowest level in over a decade. Beginning research to identify pathways to lower seminarian debt, a three-year study made possible through a $250,000 Lilly Endowment grant. Hosting dozens of biblical scholars and theologians from around the world at the Lutheran World Federation International Hermeneutics Conference at LSTC in September Wartburg Theological Seminary continues to live out its mission of forming valued leaders for God s mission by: Sending out 46 graduates of degree and certificate programs as valued leaders to serve in congregations and ministries throughout the country and world. As early as July more than 75% of students were transitioning to their first call. The rapid move into calls points 74

7 Report of Colleges, Seminaries, and Campus Ministry not only to the quality of our graduates but also to the church s increasing need for pastors and other leaders. Offering a Distributed Learning program that continues to grow with 17% of Wartburg degree students participating in this program. By successfully combining online coursework and on-campus intensive courses, the DL program has opened formation for ministry to gifted people who previously could not consider beginning theological education. Launching a new Learning for Life: Seminary for Everyone program to meet the everchanging needs of the church. Learning for Life is built on the core belief that theological education is for everyone. For more information about this exciting new learning initiative that includes online courses and learning events, visit our website at Meeting the needs of diverse ministry contexts by providing a summer Spanish language intensive, a Master of Divinity Hispanic Ministry Summer Term, TEEM programming (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries) as well as a certificate in Hispanic Ministry at LSPS (Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest) in Austin, TX. LSPS is a program of Wartburg Seminary and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Providing 100% of eligible students with seminary financial support for their education as a result of generous gifts from congregations, individuals, and other organizations that provide financial support for theological education at Wartburg Seminary. Launching the public phase of the $22 million Engaging God s Future campaign which seeks to strengthen the church through the formation of future leaders at Wartburg Seminary. Renovating ten single-family housing units for to improve energy efficiency. This project was made possible through donations and contributed labor from members of Nazareth Lutheran Church (Cedar Falls, Iowa) and from other individuals and churches of the Northeastern Iowa Synod. We invite you and members of your congregation to visit our seminaries and attend worship, participate in a continuing education event, discern a call to ministry, or visit with some of the future leaders that you and your synod support through your gifts to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and to Wartburg Theological Seminary. To learn more about the seminaries, their faculty, programs and upcoming events, visit and Your partnership is essential for LSTC and Wartburg to continue their shared mission of providing dynamic theological education for present and future leaders of your congregations and ministries in your synod, for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and to the glory of God. Yours in Christ, President James Nieman Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago President Stanley N. Olson Wartburg Theological Seminary 75

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