“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3.17)
We’re well into the fall semester now. There’s positive energy on campus as the community gathers for classes, for worship, and for activities.
We’re still wearing masks when indoors, but we’re singing again during worship, which is a joy after a year of having cantors sing on behalf of the gathered community.
Our Hungarian exchange student has arrived, after a bit of a delay in getting a visa appointment at the US embassy in Budapest. We’re grateful for his presence. Trinity has a long history of partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary and with the American Hungarian Lutheran Conference, which provides scholarship support and assists in the selection of our Hungarian students.
Several of our new students are recipients of full tuition scholarships from the ELCA Fund for Leaders, and several of our first-year interns are recipients of Fund for Leaders Mission Developer awards. For the second year in a row, the ELCA honored these students with a virtual gathering rather than an in-person banquet, and students organized a “watch party” on campus to join in the celebration. There was also a “watch party” on campus to view the installation of the ELCA’s first transgender bishop, the Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer.
Last Saturday, I attended the funeral of Trinity President Emeritus Dennis Anderson in Omaha, Nebraska, and was honored to bring greetings on behalf of the Trinity Lutheran Seminary community. Denny had planned the service himself, describing it as a service “celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his servant Rev. Dr. Dennis A. Anderson.” That just about says it all!
We also learned this week of the death of Dr. Bill Kennedy, professor of communication and theater at Capital. Trinity alumni of a certain era will remember Dr. Kennedy, as he worked with Trinity students to carry on the seminary theater program after the retirement of the Rev. Dr. Paul Harms.
This week, we’re also interviewing several candidates for the seminary’s Director of Congregational Engagement and Advancement position. We hope to have an announcement soon and look forward to having a new person join the Trinity leadership team.
We trust that whatever you are doing, wherever you are, is also done “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
The Rev. Kathryn A. Kleinhans, Ph.D.
Dean
Trinity Lutheran Seminary forms leaders for Christ’s church at work in the world.