Thirteen pastors from all parts of the United States attended the 1999 Spring Sabbatical Week at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The April 26-30 event designed for pastors and other professional church workers provided insight and guidance regarding "Bioethical Dilemmas: The Pastor and Family Life Decisions."

Dr. Robert Weise, Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Life Sciences at Concordia Seminary and Dr. Bryan Salminen, Coordinator of Specialized Testing and Counseling Services worked together to provide this program. They were joined by Dr. Roger Weise, M.D. in leading presentations to participants. Presentation topics included: "The Family as Vocation," "The 21st Century Family: On the Borderline of Right and Wrong," "The 21st Century Family: In Search of the Perfect Child or Just any 'Old' Child," "Allowing to Die: A Christian Perspective," and "Suffering: Bitter or Better?"

"Before coming, I had doubts about how I had handled past situations," commented Rev. Steven MacDougall, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Red Bud, Ill. "I have been involved with three end-of-life issues since the first of the year. Having the opportunity to listen to the other pastors and our presenters was very helpful."

Rev. MacDougall also found that the Sabbatical Week "presented some new ideas for working with members on end-of-life issues, and with couples struggling with infertility and beginning of life issues…This was my first Sabbatical Week. I look forward to future offerings."

Sabbatical Week allows participants the chance to take a break from their current ministry and engage in a time of study, worship, and reflection on the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis campus. For more information on Sabbatical Week, contact the Office of Continuing Education at Concordia Seminary by phone (314-505-7105) or e-mail (oberdeckj@csl.edu).