Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, cordially invites the public to share in the joy of two special days in the life of its Seminary community - Call Day and Commencement. On Call Day, April 25, students who will serve as vicars (a one-year internship experience) next year will receive their vicarage assignments during a 4:00 p.m. worship service in the Seminary's Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. Rev. Paul Sieveking, president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Iowa District West, will serve as preacher.

Also on April 25, candidates for the pastoral ministry will receive their first calls to serve as pastors, missionaries or chaplains in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod during a 7:00 p.m. worship service, also held in the Seminary's Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. Rev. Larry Stoterau, president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Pacific Southwest District, will serve as preacher.

"At this point, it appears that approximately 95 candidates will receive their first calls into the pastoral ministry, and approximately 100 will receive vicarage assignments," commented Rev. Glen Thomas, vice president for seminary relations at Concordia Seminary. "We join the church in giving thanks for these men who are the answer to the prayers of God's people that He would raise up workers for His harvest field."

The vicarages and calls will be posted on Concordia Seminary's Web site (www.csl.edu) on April 25 at 9:00 p.m. (CST). A complete listing will be featured in the summer 2001 issue of Focus, the Seminary's news magazine. Audio recordings of the services and sermons will be available for listening on the Seminary's Web site within 24 hours.

Concordia Seminary's 162nd academic year will conclude on May 18. During the 10:00 a.m. baccalaureate service, students who have been approved by the Concordia Seminary faculty to receive their first calls into the pastoral ministry will be granted their theological diplomas. Dr. Timothy Saleska, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary, will serve as preacher.

At 7:00 p.m. on May 18, commencement exercises will take place during which academic degrees will be awarded, and several honorees will receive special recognition from the Seminary's faculty. Dr. Stephen Carter, president and chief executive officer of Concordia Publishing House, will give the commencement address. Weather permitting, the commencement exercises will take place in the Seminary's main quadrangle. This year's graduates join more than 11,000 previous Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, graduates who have served as pastors, missionaries and chaplains over the Seminary's 162-year history.

For more information, contact the Communications Department, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105; 314.505.7370; [email protected].