Fifteen students in the Specific Ministry Pastor Program (SMP) received their first calls during morning chapel on Friday, Oct. 12, at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Eight calls are still pending.

• Bret Bierman, Trinity/St. Paul’s, Mansfield/Stratford, S.D.
• Christopher Bruskiewicz, St. John’s, West Bend, Wis.
• Jose Daniel Fenco, Somerset Hills, Basking Ridge, N.J.
• David Forke, Call pending
• Owen Scott Gary, Call pending
• Kevin Guynn, Faith, Mentor, Ohio
• Jeffrey Hesse, St. John’s, West Bend, Wis.
• Bradford Hildebrandt, Somerset Hills, Basking Ridge, N.J.
• Leon Jameson, Call pending
• John Karay, Good Shepherd by the Lake, Stoughton, Wis.
• David Kellerman, St. John’s, West Bend, Wis.
• Keith Kinslow, Call pending
• William Kyle Kirk, Trinity, Tyler, Texas
• Jeffrey Klade, St. John’s, Okarche, Okla.
• Johnathan Lewis, Call pending
• Britt Nelson, St. John’s, Aberdeen, S.D.
• Michael Nesbit, Zion, McHenry, Ill.
• Benjamin Scheck, Crown of Life, Colleyville, Texas
• Timothy Stein, Call pending
• William Stevenson, Call pending
• Jason Toman, St. Michael, Portage, Mich.
• Richard VanBriggle, Call pending
• Douglas Widger, St. Paul, Fort Worth, Texas

In addition, the following SMP calls were approved by the Council of Presidents during summer  2012:

• King Crawford, Christ/Zion, Manhattan/Latimer, Kan. (DTEP)
• DuWayne Olson, St. Timothy, Hyde Park, N.Y. (DTEP)
• Dennis Roedemeier, Salem, Salem, Mo. (SMP)

The SMP program is designed to meet the needs of the church for pastors in mission and ministry opportunities where a pastor with a seminary degree may not be available. In order to be eligible for the SMP program men must be serving in a ministry of a Lutheran congregation which desires their service as a pastor. They must be nominated for the program by their District President. Based upon this nomination, and their previous ministry experiences, the men begin their academic work as concurrent-deferred vicars.

For more information, contact creative services, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; 314-505-7379; communications@csl.edu.

In the photo: Front row, from left: Dr. David Wollenburg, Jeffrey Klade, William Kyle Kirk, Johnathan Lewis, Michael Nesbit, Bradford Hildebrandt, Britt Nelson, Douglas Widger; second row, David Forke, Owen Scott Gary, Timothy Stein, Christopher Bruskiewicz, Jose Daniel Fenco, John Karay, Jason Toman; third row, Keith Kinslow, Bret Bierman, Leon Jameson, David Kellerman, Kevin Guynn, Jeffrey Hesse, William Stevenson, Benjamin Scheck, Rev. Wayne Knolhoff.