Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is pleased to announce that eight students received calls to be pastors, and 17 students received vicarage (internship) assignments during the Seminary’s morning chapel service on Oct. 27, 2004.

Calls into the Pastoral Ministry

Master of Divinity Degree Candidate
Marty Tyler, Christ Our King Lutheran Church, Morgan Hill, California
David Duke, Nazareth Lutheran Church, Buffalo, New York
Erik Herrmann, Timothy Lutheran Church (Assistant), St. Louis, Missouri
Joseph Mashburn, St. John Lutheran Church, McClusky, North Dakota
Heath Curtis, Trinity Lutheran Church (Assistant), Burr Ridge, Illinois
James Sharp, Baltimore Lutheran High School, Baltimore, Maryland
Brent McGuire, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (Assistant), Dallas, Texas

Ethnic Pastor Certification Program Candidate
Ramon Contreras, Messiah, Downey, California

Vicarage Assignments
Master of Divinity Degree Program
Caleb Schauer, St. John Lutheran Church, Union, Illinois

Certificate (Alternate Route) Program
Vijay Gurrala, Epiphany Lutheran Church, Pearland, Texas
Roger Keller, Documents Pending

DELTO Program
William Baker, Trinity Lutheran Church, Brawley, California
Robert Crane, St. Paul, Cohocton, New York
Daniel Doran, Faith Lutheran Church, Juneau, Alaska
Edward Durand, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa
Daniel Flynn, St. Luke Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Douglas Francik, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, California
Willie Little, St. Peter-Immanuel Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dennis Martens, Trinity Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa
Mark Moog, Trinity Lutheran Church, Henderson, Kentucky
Dennis Rockett, St. John Lutheran Church, Bound Brook, New Jersey
Jason Scheler, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Walled Lake, Michigan
David Shrum, Trinity Lutheran Church, Garnett, Kansas
James Stogdill, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa
Terry Wiechman, Trinity Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kansas

The master of divinity degree (M.Div.) program is the academic degree program in which most students who desire to be pastors, missionaries or chaplains in The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) enroll. It is a four-year program, including a one-year vicarage (internship). The certificate (alternate route) program is most closely parallel to the M.Div. program. Although certificate students do not receive a degree, they study alongside those in the M.Div. program, including the study of the New Testament in Greek.

The DELTO (Distance Education Leading To Ordination) program allows students to gain the experience of a vicarage along with their academic work, rather than as an intensive one-year internship. During their formation, the students are engaged in Word and Sacrament ministry in some capacity. The Ethnic Pastor Certification Program (EPCP) is operated in partnership with Concordia University, Irvine,Calif. This four-year program of study combines an accredited M.A. degree with church-planting activities and eligibility for certification by the Seminary faculty and ordination into the pastoral ministry of the LCMS. Eligibility is limited to students of specific ethnic minority groups.

These graduates join more than 11,000 graduates from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, who have been prepared to serve as pastors, missionaries and chaplains in the LCMS.

The Seminary’s spring placement is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, 2005. On this day, approximately 285 men will receive vicarage assignments and calls into the pastoral ministry during worship services at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively.