Dr. Oswald Bayer, professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen in Germany, will speak on “A Public Mystery.”

In the turbulent ebb and flow of contemporary trends in the public square of all Western societies, the Word of God, which remains forever (Isaiah 40:8), cuts through the din and clamor of competing claims for allegiance and clashing interpretations of reality. Bringing divine judgment and God’s promise into a world agonizing over the mystery of evil in all its forms, God’s Word, with power also clothed in mystery, transforms the way we think and live.

Dr. Oswald Bayer is professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He is particularly engaged in research on Martin Luther and the late eighteenth century critic of the Enlightenment Johann Georg Hamann, and serves as the academic leader of the Luther Academy Sondershausen-Ratzeburg. He is also an ordained pastor of the Lutheran Church of Württemberg and was the editor of Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie from 1986-2006. His life’s work has been the exploration of the often polemical engagement of Reformation theology with modern thought. He is particularly concerned to ascertain the place and task of Lutheran theology in our time. This intention is paradigmatically apparent in his book, Johann Georg Hamann as a Radical Enlightener, recently published by Eerdmans. His Martin Luther’s Theology: A Contemporary Interpretation has been published in German, English (translated by Concordia University, St. Paul professor Thomas Trapp), Portuguese, and Chinese. Vitor Westhelle lauds Professor Bayer as “[o]ne of the most significant and original Lutheran voices of this generation, in both historical and systematic theology.”

This lecture is free of charge and open to the public. Registration is not necessary. For more information, please contact continuing education at 314-505-7486 or email ce@csl.edu.

The complex is named The Johann Hinrich Benidt Seminary Center in honor of the Charles E. Benidt Foundation, Inc., which contributed significant funds to the “Place” component of the How Will They Hear? Campaign. “Johann Hinrich Benidt’s impact is most clearly seen in the life that he inspired his grandson Charles to lead,” commented Dr. Dale A. Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary. “Johann’s influence has spread beyond his wildest imaginings, and it will continue to leave its mark on the future of Concordia Seminary, and through its students, upon the church at large. We’re proud to name our new world class kitchen and dining complex in honor of Johann Hinrich Benidt.”

The Phase One project was a major renovation of the cafeteria complex, Stoeckhardt Hall, and the first floor of Guenther Hall. It also included the creation of an East Courtyard between the cafeteria complex and Founders Hall (aka “Isolation” dorm), as well as various office moves. The main goal of the project was to update and create a student-centered space within the adjoined Koburg, Wartburg, and Stoeckhardt Halls.

The Johann Hinrich Benidt Seminary Center encompasses Wartburg and Koburg dining halls, the main kitchen, and other student and community-centered resources that have taken up residence in the newly renovated complex. On the previously unused lower level of the cafeteria complex, the Re-Sell It Shop and the Food Bank have larger, more accessible spaces. The second floor of the complex houses newly designed meeting spaces, available for hosting medium sized groups. The third floor of the complex houses a space very much like a “Parish Hall” for large gatherings of students, capable of preparing and hosting meals.

Concordia Seminary intends to formally dedicate the Benidt Center on April 26, 2012 with a ceremony and community open house. Details will follow.

For more information, please call 314-505-7379 or email communications@csl.edu.

SMP is a four-year distance education program, established by the 2007 Lutheran Church Missouri—Synod (LCMS) convention, that prepares men for pastoral ministry in the LCMS.

Students in the SMP program receive their academic training in the setting where they will continue to serve following ordination. They work with local pastor-mentors who support and guide them in the program and who provide day-to-day guidance, encouragement, and prayer.

The courses of the Specific Ministry Pastor Program are supported by state-of-the art technology which engages the students with their instructors and with fellow students while building an interactive learning community. Each course includes a blend of Internet-based instruction, mentor interaction, practical ministry application, and two hours each week of live instruction by the instructor and interaction with fellow students.

SMP is designed to meet the needs of the church for pastors in mission and ministry opportunities where a pastor with a seminary degree may not be available. In order to be eligible for the SMP program, men must be serving in a ministry of an LCMS congregation which desires their service as a pastor and prevents their coming into the full residential program. They must be nominated for the program by their District President. Based upon this nomination and their previous ministry experiences, the students begin their academic work as concurrent-deferred vicars.

After two years of vicarage and nine classes they become eligible for ordination in the specific ministry where they are serving following certification as a “specific ministry pastor” by the faculty of Concordia Seminary. They are then required to take two more years of classes in order to complete the basic Specific Ministry Pastor program. After program completion, they have the option of continuing seminary education toward certification as a general pastor, eligible to serve in a variety of pastoral contexts.

Concordia Seminary magazine, the official magazine of Concordia Seminary, features SMP in its winter issue. To read the story, please go to: http://www.csl.edu/resources/publications/concordia-seminary-magazine.

For more information about Concordia Seminary’s SMP program, please go here or email smp@csl.edu.

The first concert will be held on February 12, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. It will feature organist Dennis Bergin playing works by J.S. Bach and his own  composition “The Last Enemy.” The American Kantorei will perform Bach’s Motet III, Jesu Meine Freude, and motets by Heinrich Schütz.

The second concert will be held on April 22, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. The American Kantorei will present three cantatas by J.S. Bach: Der Himmel lacht!, Die Erde jubilieret; and Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden. They will also perform Lobe den Herren den maechtigen Koenigen der Ehren.

Jeral Becker will serve as interim conductor and music director. Becker previously served as assistant conductor under Bergt.

Both concerts will be held in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the Concordia Seminary campus. They are open to the public and free of charge. Free will offerings will be taken in support of the concert series.

The American Kantorei is a choral and orchestral ensemble dedicated to the performance of church music from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Neoclassical periods. The works of J.S. Bach form the core of its repertoire.

Future concerts will be determined and announced at a later date. For more information, please contact Marla Brewer, senior administrative assistant to the dean of the chapel, at 314-505-7009 or brewerm@csl.edu.

The 7th Annual Lecture speaker is Rev. Gregory Klotz, associate professor at Taylor University, who will present on “Dealing with Culture in Theological Formation.”

Rev. Klotz lived as a missionary in Latin America from 1980-2000 with the mission board of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He served as a church planter in Panama, then as coordinator of theological studies in Caracas, Venezuela, and Antigua, Guatemala. Upon his return from Latin America, Klotz taught courses at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. He is pursuing a Ph.D. at Indiana University in Folklore and Ethnomusicology. Klotz is currently in candidate status working on a phenomenological study of funeral music of Guatemalan Holy Week processions. He joined the Taylor faculty in 2007 teaching first and second-year Spanish classes.

The lecture will be held in Werner Auditorium on the Seminary campus. It is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, contact the office of continuing education and parish services at 314-505-7486; ce@csl.edu; or visit the Seminary’s website at www.csl.edu.

This workshop is designed to help facilitators learn how to use the Prepare/Enrich program with premarital and married couples. Prepare/Enrich is a program based on a set of five inventories that examine major relationship issues a couple may experience. These inventories must be administered by a trained Prepare/Enrich counselor and include four to six feedback sessions in which the counselor facilitates discussion between the couple based on the inventory results. Takeaway materials include the Comprehensive Counselor Manual, five inventories for premarital and married couples at all stages of life, and a Building a Strong Marriage Workbook.

The workshop will be facilitated by Rev. Jeffery S. Schubert, executive pastor at Divine Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hartland, Wis. He previously served as executive director of district and congregational services at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s International Center in St. Louis, Mo. He is a certified trainer in Prepare/Enrich and is recognized for his national and international leadership in marriage enrichment.

The fee for the Prepare/Enrich Workshop is $200 (or $180 for Concordia Seminary, St. Louis students). Pre-registration by Feb. 23 is required. Fee is nonrefundable after this date. Lunch is available in the Seminary Dining Hall.

For more information, contact the office of continuing education and parish services at 314-505-7486; ce@csl.edu; or visit the Seminary’s website at www.csl.edu.

The workshop will include video-based presentations as well as discussions segments. Dr. Jeff Gibbs, professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary, will serve as the moderator for the workshop. Seminarian James Conrad (Life Team Leader) will assist Dr. Gibbs in exploring the question of abortion with regard to clear, focused apologetics and human reason at its best.

The workshop will strengthen and clarify understanding for those who attend, as well as equip them to speak winsomely, even to non-Christians, on behalf of the unborn. The workshop is suitable for adults and older teens. Each participant will also receive a helpful manual of materials.

Pre-registration by Jan. 23 is required. The registration cost for “Making Abortion Unthinkable” is $20 and includes lunch and materials.

For more information or to register for “Making Abortion Unthinkable,” call 314-505-7486 or email ce@csl.edu. Concordia Seminary is located at 801 Seminary Place in Clayton, Mo.

The itinerary for the Laudamus 2012 Winter Tour is as follows:

• Friday, Feb. 17, 7:00 p.m.—Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri
• Saturday, Feb. 18, 5:00 p.m.—St. Peter’s Lutheran, Arlington Heights, Illinois
• Sunday, Feb. 19, 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.—St. John Lutheran, Wheaton, Illinois
• Sunday, Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m.—Elm Grove Lutheran, Elm Grove, Wisconsin
• Monday, Feb. 20, 8:30 a.m.—Mt. Olive Lutheran Church and School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Monday, Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m.—Trinity Lutheran, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
• Tuesday, Feb. 21, 9:30 a.m.—Concordia University-Wisconsin, Mequon, Wisconsin
• Tuesday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m.—St. John Lutheran, Racine, Wisconsin

Laudamus is a men’s choir of 12 voices that sing mostly unaccompanied mu­sic. The seminarians are preparing for full-time service as pastors in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

For more information on the Laudamus Tour, call 314-505-7009 or visit www.csl.edu.

The following Concordia Seminary faculty and staff members were recognized:

Front row, from left: Reed Lessing, Juan Berndt, Richard Jostes, Ruth McDonnell, Joel Okamoto, Richard Warneck; back row, Richard Marrs, Paul Robinson, David Wollenburg, Kent Burreson, and Andy Bacon.

The keynote speaker for Reaching Out Together is Rev. Gregory Seltz, speaker for The Lutheran Hour.

Breakout session speakers include: Jeffrey Gibbs, Life-Affirming Congregations; Mark Weisner, Sharing Your Faith With A Believer of Islam!; Ralph Geisler, Reaching Rural Small Town Communities for Christ; Chad Lakies, Using Social Media for Evangelism; Kevin Parviz, Reaching Out…to Your Congregation?; and Andy Yount, SMP: Formation, Reformation and Kingdom Growth.

Registration fee is $20 per participant for the first four people from a single congregation, and $15 for each additional participant. Fee includes lunch and all materials.

The registration deadline for Reaching Out Together is February 1, 2012. For more information, contact continuing education at 314-505-7486 or email ce@csl.edu.