The commencement exercises for the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis graduating class will take place Friday, May 22. All members of the public are welcome to attend.

The day’s events will begin at 10 a.m. with the Theological Diploma Service in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the Seminary’s campus. Theological diplomas will be presented at this service to all graduating students eligible to receive a call as a pastor or deaconess in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Rev. Benjamin Haupt, assistant professor of practical theology, will deliver the sermon.

Commencement will take place at 7 p.m., and will be held outdoors in the Seminary’s main quadrangle, weather permitting. Academic degrees and honors will be presented during this ceremony. Also, several individuals will be awarded special honors during this year’s commencement for exemplary service in the church:

• Christus Vivit Award: Mr. and Mrs. Karl and Shirley Kreft of Clarendon Hills, Illinois.
• Doctor of Laws: Mr. Joseph Gorder of San Antonio, Texas.
• Doctor of Divinity: Rev. Roosevelt Gray of St. Louis, Missouri.
• Doctor of Letters: Rev. Stephen Starke of Bay City, Michigan.

In addition to receiving the honorary Doctor of Laws degree, Mr. Joseph Gorder will deliver the commencement address. Gorder is chairman, president, and CEO of Valero Energy Corporation, based in San Antonio, Texas.

This year’s graduates will be joining more than 5,000 called leaders currently serving with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod around the world, and over 12,500 individuals who have received degrees from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis over the school’s 176-year history.

“There will be as many thoughts about commencement as there are people present, but thanks will be uppermost in my mind,” said Dr. Dale A. Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary. “I will be thankful for the graduates, their families, the faculty and staff, and our donors, all who further the mission of this Seminary for our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory!”

Commencement events will be live-streamed beginning at 6 p.m. CDT, and can be viewed at our Commencement Web page or at www.csl.edu/live.

For more information, contact creative services, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; 314-505-7594; communications@csl.edu.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars, and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Since its founding in 1839, Concordia Seminary has equipped more than 12,000 graduates to serve Church and world. Today, a world-renowned faculty teaches more than 600 students in the classroom, off-campus, and online. Learn more at www.csl.edu.