Thirty-five young men participated in the visitation event for prospective students called "Taste of the Sem," which took place Jan. 17-19, 2004, on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The event was designed to allow young men in high school the opportunity to experience Seminary life with the help of current Concordia Seminary students.

"This event covered everything from doctrine to practice of pastoral tasks," one participant commented. "I left energized about the ministry and my future at Concordia Seminary."

The event featured Bible study, prayer and discussions concerning the Office of the Holy Ministry. Participants were matched one-on-one with Seminary students and accompanied these students to their resident field education congregations on Sunday morning and to classes and chapel service on Monday morning. High school participants also were given a tour of the campus and the opportunity for dinner and discussion with Seminary faculty members.

The Seminary's next on-campus event for high school youth will be the sixth annual Exploring Church Careers Event (ECCE). It will take place July 31-Aug. 3 and will be followed immediately by an event titled Exploring the Pastoral Ministry (EPM). While the ECCE is offered for young men and women in high school, the EPM is offered only for young men in high school. The two events are designed to identify, inform and encourage youth with respect to church work vocations. They will include Bible study, on-site visitation opportunities with those serving in the featured work vocations and opportunities for youth to gain college and seminary information pertaining to each of the featured vocations. While the ECCE will include information regarding a wide variety of church work vocations, the EPM will focus exclusively on the pastoral ministry.

For more information concerning these events for high school youth, or the programs of preparation which lead to service in the pastoral ministry, contact the Admissions Office, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105; 1-800-822-9545; [email protected]. Additional information on the high school programs is also available on the Seminary's Web site at www.csl.edu/HighSchoolYouth.htm.