On Nov. 7, 2002, Concordia Seminary received an Award of Commendation from Concordia Historical Institute for major historical publications in 2001 that are unique contributions to Lutheran literature. The award was given for "Proclaim His Salvation: Concordia Seminary - 75 Years on the Clayton Campus," and for two articles in FOCUS magazine (spring 2001 and fall 2001), each featuring 25-year segments of the Seminary's history.

The "Proclaim His Salvation" historical booklet, produced with financial assistance from Concordia Publishing House, is a 52-page history of Concordia Seminary since the dedication of the Clayton campus on June 13, 1926.

Rev. Glen Thomas, vice president of seminary relations and Lois M. Engfehr, director of communications at Concordia Seminary were instrumental in the publishing of the book. "We are deeply honored to have been selected for this award," commented Engfehr. "God has certainly blessed Concordia Seminary throughout the years. Our goal in producing this book was to communicate that message through photographs and the written word to the church at large."

An extensive amount of historical research, from handwritten notes to books, was obtained from the Institute, Seminary Archives and other sources. Seminarian Tony Masinelli also assisted in the project. The common theme that became apparent in all of the research was that the people of our Lutheran church have always been dedicated to the formation of pastors. The finished book and the FOCUS articles include information and never before published photographs of the Seminary.

Copies of the FOCUS publications referenced above are available on the Seminary's Web site (publications page) in ".pdf" format for download.

For more information, contact Communications, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, Mo., 63105; 314.505.7374; [email protected].