On April 24, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, sent a packet of "Concordia Seminary Sunday" materials to the pastor of each Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregation. The materials are designed to heighten awareness and enlist action with regard to the shortage of pastors in the LCMS. Special bulletin inserts, Bible studies, sermon notes, videos and other worship resources are available for congregations to observe "Concordia Seminary Sunday."

"The response has been overwhelming," commented Rev. Glen Thomas, vice president for seminary relations at Concordia Seminary. "In just one month, we have requests from 713 congregations for 152,000 bulletin inserts, 467 worship resource packets, 405 adult Bible studies, 330 ‘Campus Tour' videos and 247 ‘Noble Task' videos. Even more gratifying is the fact that 78 prospective seminary students have been identified by pastors as they ordered materials. We are delighted that more than 10 percent of Synod's congregations will be using these materials, and we invite pastors who have not ordered materials yet to do so."

The materials are not dated and may be used in a variety of ways throughout the year. The suggested date for "Concordia Seminary Sunday" is July 16, 2000. "We decided to stay away from the festival portion of the church year," commented Thomas. "We also wanted to use one of the appointed Scripture readings in the three-year lectionary series to make ‘Concordia Seminary Sunday' an appropriate observance for the suggested Sunday. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 is the epistle lesson for this Sunday and ‘The Ministry of Reconciliation' is the suggested theme."

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, desires to make this emphasis an annual opportunity for congregations to emphasize the importance of forming men for service in the pastoral ministry and to assist in the crucial process of identifying, informing and encouraging future pastors.

"I think the response indicates that the people of the LCMS are very concerned about the shortage of pastors and are eager to respond," remarked Thomas. The bulletin inserts give all who receive them some very concrete actions they can take to help in addressing this shortage."

Those who desire more information or wish to order Concordia Seminary Sunday materials are invited to contact: Communications Office, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105; 314.505.7374; email (Communications@csl.edu).