Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is pleased to announce that two students received calls to be pastors, and three students received vicarage (internship) assignments during the Seminary's morning chapel service on October 22, 2003.

The calls into the pastoral ministry are:

Master of Divinity Degree Candidate
Mark Surburg, Zion Lutheran Church, Lyons, Illinois

Ethnic Pastor Certification Program Candidate
Samuel Gomez, Grace Lutheran Church (associate), Escondido, California

These graduates join more than 11,000 graduates from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, who have been prepared to serve as pastors, missionaries and chaplains in The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

The vicarage assignments are:
Gary Schultz, Concordia Lutheran Church, Berwyn, Illinois
Christopher Decker, St. John Lutheran Church, Union, Illinois
Paul Hennings, Christ Lutheran Church, Orland Park, Illinois

The master of divinity degree (M.Div.) program is the academic degree program in which most students who desire to be pastors, missionaries or chaplains in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod enroll. It is a four-year program, including a one-year vicarage (internship). The Ethnic Pastor Certification Program (EPCP) is operated in partnership with Concordia University, Irvine, Calif. This four-year program of study combines an accredited M.A. degree with church-planting activities and eligibility for certification by the Seminary faculty and ordination into the pastoral ministry of the LCMS. Eligibility is limited to students of specific ethnic minority groups.

The Seminary's spring placement is scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, 2004. On this day, approximately 200 men will receive vicarage assignments and calls into the pastoral ministry during worship services at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively.

Congregations interested in receiving information related to the calling of a Seminary graduate should contact V.P. Larry Rockemann, Concordia Seminary's director of placement at 314.505.7200. Congregations interested in receiving information related to the assignment of a vicar should contact Prof. Glenn Nielsen, Concordia Seminary's director of vicarage at 314.505.7211. Both may also be contacted by writing to Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105.