A total of 57 alumni(ae) and guests participated in the first annual Alumni(ae) Homecoming at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, on Monday, Sept. 17. Participants ranged from alumni who graduated in 1944 to alumni who graduated in 2006. The day was intentionally scheduled to precede the annual Theological Symposium, held Sept. 18-19 on the Seminary campus.

The Homecoming was also intentionally scheduled to occur simultaneously with the Seminary’s annual Day of Exegetical Reflection. The schedules for both allowed alumni(ae) participants the opportunity to attend events on the Homecoming schedule, the Day of Exegetical Reflection, or alternate between the two. A reception in the Seminary’s main quadrangle brought both groups and the Seminary’s faculty together and provided a common ending for the day’s activities.

“We were delighted with the participation by alumni(ae), both in terms of the number who attended and in terms of the broad range of classes represented,” commented Rev. Robert Hoehner, the Seminary’s new director of placement and alumni relations. “The day gave our guests a great opportunity to reconnect with one another and with their alma mater.”

Alumni(ae) participating in the Homecoming schedule toured the Seminary’s new educational technology center, as well as its new office of philanthropic support, placement and alumni offices. Following lunch, participants heard a Seminary update from President Dale A. Meyer, attended a class and received information on the new Specific Minister Pastor program.

Participants in the Day of Exegetical Reflection filled the Seminary’s Presidents Room to hear presentations by the Seminary’s faculty on a variety of exegetical topics. “It was gratifying to see the interest in the presentations,” commented Prof. Paul Raabe, chairman of the Seminary’s department of exegetical theology. “It was standing room only in the Presidents Room for many of the sessions.”

Plans for the 2008 Alumni(ae) Homecoming and Day of Exegetical Reflection will be announced in the near future.

For more information on the Alumni(ae) Homecoming, call (314) 505-7370 or e-mail Alumni@csl.edu. For more information on the Day of Exegetical Reflection, call (314) 505-7128 or e-mail RaabeP@csl.edu.