Four Concordia Seminary, St. Louis students received calls and vicarage assignments to serve congregations and ministries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Friday in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on campus.

Two Master of Divinity (M.Div.) students received calls:

• Peter Heckert, St. James Lutheran Church, Lafayette, Ind., LCMS Indiana District
• Nicholas Price, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Ill., LCMS Northern Illinois District (in process)

Two Residential Alternate Route (RAR) students received vicarage assignments:

• Michael Apfel, Trinity Lutheran Church, Fort Scott, Kan., LCMS Kansas District
• Joshua Wiley, assignment pending

“We join our candidates, their families and friends, and supporting and calling congregations in praising God and celebrating His gifts to His church,” said Dr. Wallace Becker, director of placement. “The church continues to need people to serve as pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, teachers and Directors of Christian Education. The harvest continues to be great and the workers are needed. Thank our Lord for these men who are ready to serve our Lord and His church as pastors. Pray for them, and that the Lord continue to raise up workers for the harvest.”

In keeping with the major function of Concordia Seminary to equip men for the holy ministry of Word and sacraments in the LCMS, the M.Div. degree is the normative route to certification for ordained ministry in congregations and other ministry settings.

The RAR closely parallels the M.Div. program and its students study alongside those in the M.Div. program. The key differences from the M.Div. program are a reduced number of courses and Old Testament studies taught in the English language. Although RAR itself does not lead to a degree, some students in the program also qualify for admission to the Seminary’s Master of Arts program.

“The Residential Alternate Route program typically enrolls older students who have had extensive experience serving in congregations over many years,” said Dr. Glenn Nielsen, director of vicarage and deaconess internships. “Because of this experience, they do not come back for a final year of classes but almost always remain at the congregation to which they have been assigned, with the vicarage ‘converting’ into a call to be that church’s ordained pastor.”

The Seminary celebrates assignment services throughout the year. The Seminary’s primary Call Day is held in the spring when students receive their first calls to ministry as well as vicarage or deaconess internship assignments. Call Day is set for April 26, 2017.

Download a photo of Peter Heckert here.

Photo caption: Front row, from left: Director of Placement Dr. Wallace Becker; Peter Heckert who was called to Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Scott, Kan.; and Director of the Master of Divinity and Residential Alternate Route Programs Dr. Richard Marrs. Second row, from left: Seminary President Dr. Dale A. Meyer and Director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships Dr. Glenn Nielsen. Not pictured: Nicholas Price

Download a photo of Michael Apfel and Joshua Wiley here.

Photo caption: Front row, from left: Seminary President Dr. Dale A. Meyer; Joshua Wiley, whose assignment is pending; Michael Apfel, assigned to St. James Lutheran Church in Lafayette, Ind.; and Director of the Master of Divinity and Residential Alternate Route Programs Dr. Richard Marrs. Second row, from left: Director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships Dr. Glenn Nielsen and Director of Placement Dr. Wallace Becker.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis 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). To learn more, visit www.csl.edu.