Due to concerns about the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, Concordia Seminary’s Call Day, set for April 28, will be held as a virtual-only event for the first time.

Vicarages, deaconess internships and calls will be announced during one 7 p.m. (CDT) virtual service at csl.edu/callday.

Seminary President Dr. Dale A. Meyer will preach. Dr. Glenn Nielsen, director of Placement and director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships, will announce the assignments and calls.

Students, families, congregations and the public are encouraged to share photos and videos of their in-home celebrations and watch parties on social media by using the hashtags, #CallDay2020 and #CallDayWatchParty.

In a March 30 video message to students, Meyer addressed the disappointment many in the Seminary community feel regarding the out-of-ordinary format for these events: “We don’t only grieve when someone dies. We also grieve when we lose something precious to us. ... You are experiencing grief. After all these years of sacrifice and study for a most noble purpose, you and your family can’t celebrate in the way you had planned and hoped for.

“Let’s all make a conscious decision to meet this grief with hope,” Meyer told students. “There should be no lessening of our joy as our Lord places you into His service in the church, no lessening of our joy as we look to the closing weeks of the semester, even if our rejoicing is done a little differently this year with social distancing or isolation in our homes, living rooms, basements and yards instead of together in the chapel.”

A service folder will be available on the Call Day website before the service. After the service, lists of where the students are going will be posted along with photos of the students and an interactive map showing where they are being sent.

“Call Day loses the handshakes and hugs, singing together with full voices, and looking at beaming faces when the assignments and calls are handed out,” Nielsen said. “But the excitement is not lost. The anticipation of ‘Where will I go?’ continues to build. On April 28, our students will have huge smiles, praises will be offered up by all who are participating, and congregational members will rejoice because a vicar or intern or candidate is on the way to serve them.

“This year, the way Call Day is carried out is different, but what remains the same is that our gracious Savior gives us so many reasons to celebrate. Thanks be to Him!”

For more information about the Seminary’s response to COVID-19, visit csl.edu/coronavirus.

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 csl.edu.