On Tuesday, April 25, calls to serve as pastors in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) were issued to 112 students at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. In addition, 158 students received assignments to serve as vicars. Vicarage is a one-year internship that students preparing to serve in the pastoral ministry must complete.

Of the 112 Concordia Seminary students called to serve as pastors in the LCMS, two are from the Seminary’s Hispanic Institute of Theology. One student is from the Cross-Cultural Ministry Center and has a call pending. Of the 158 students who received vicarage assignments, 15 are from the Seminary’s Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, and one is from the Seminary’s Deaf Institute of Theology (DIT). This is the first student from the DIT to receive an assignment.

The pastoral calls included one to serve in a mission field outside of the continental United States in Asia. One of the vicarage assignments was to serve in Panama. Both were arranged through the LCMS World Mission.

In addition to the 270 calls and vicarage assignments, one student is awaiting a call and three are awaiting placements that are in process at this time. In each of these cases, the details of calls to specific sites are being finalized and should be completed soon. Great care is exercised in both the candidate call and the vicarage placement processes to ensure that the best possible match is realized between the seminarian and the ministry site.

Concordia Seminary also celebrated the presentation of four deaconess students to the LCMS for placement, one of which was arranged through the LCMS World Mission for work inPanama. Four deaconess students, ready for assignments, have placements in process that should be completed soon. Additionally, two deaconess students were assigned internships. The deaconess program at Concordia Seminary began in the fall of 2002.

The Missouri District received the most vicars from Concordia Seminary, with 20 vicars assigned, followed by the Michigan District with nine. The Missouri District issued the most calls with 13, followed by the Michigan District with nine.

The Office of Vespers and Assignment of Vicarages took place at 3:00 p.m. in the Seminary’s Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. Rev. Arleigh L. Lutz, president of the North Wisconsin District of the LCMS, served as preacher. Officiants for the service included Dr. Dale A. Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary; Dr. Glenn A. Nielsen, director of the Seminary’s vicarage program; and Rev. William Utech, director of the Seminary’s resident field education program.

The Service of Praise and Assignment of Calls, also held in The Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus, took place at 7:00 p.m. Rev. William H. Ameiss, president of the Northern Illinois District of the LCMS, served as preacher. Officiants for the service included Dr. Dale A. Meyer; Dr. David J. Peter, the Seminary’s acting director of placement; and Dr. Timothy E. Saleska, the Seminary’s acting placement counselor. LCMS President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick greeted the candidates immediately after they received their calls. The calls were presented to the students by Dr. C. William Hoesman, president of the Michigan District of the LCMS.

The Seminary’s 1,100-seat Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus was filled to capacity for both services, with some worshipers standing outside the chapel doors. An additional 550 computers were connected to the webcast of the vicarage service, and 700 computers were connected to the webcast of the call service on the Seminary’s Web site.

A complete listing of the calls and vicarages issued is available on the Seminary’s Web site at https://www.csl.edu/Resources_CallDay2006.aspx.