Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has distinguished itself in the last few years in its efforts toward theological education overseas. From Kazakhstan to Odessa to South Africa to Sweden the seminary has been active in sending its faculty ("Deployed" seems to be their term of art for this) and receiving students who return to their home countries to continue the work of the Church. We at the Saint Timothy would also like to express our thanks and gratitude for the work of Concordia Fort Wayne, the last example of which was their willingness to let us use Kramer Chapel for the installation of our Chaplain. Other notable achievements at CTSFW has been fund raising for Kroemer Library and the creation and dedication of The Rev. Dr. Scott R. Murray Conference Room there:
Here is a better picture of the tile "Alpha Omega" at the entrance to the room:
The officiant for the installation was the eponymous Dr. Murray himself (2nd from right), with the Rev. Tom Aadland participating (on the right). Also in the picture below are Chris Barnekov (Director, on the left) and Gordon Bynum (Director and Chaplain, 2nd from left).
The service was held around the baptismal font at the rear of Kramer Chapel and followed the order of None. Kramer Chapel is an interesting combination of an Eero Saarinen architectural design (as is most of the campus of the seminary, sometimes described as a combination of Nordic village and "Neo-Futuristic" styles) with more traditional art in the rear of the chapel starting with the baptismal font itself:
My favourite is the dome above the baptistry:
This is all located underneath the chapel organ and choir:
Which is an excellent 56 rank Schlicker instrument. You can see other pictures of the Chapel on the seminary website.
And should you find yourself walking down the basement, you will notice this:
We did not use the organ, but if you have the chance, you should hear it. The seminary uses it regularly for chapel services in the morning during the regular school year (but not so much during Summer School, so check their calendar). If you would like to see what we did, here is the Order of None which will open in a separate window:
Or you can download the order here:
The other events of that week are mentioned elsewhere on this blog. Concordia Fort Wayne hosted not just the Theological Symposia that week, but also joint meetings of the boards of the seminaries in Fort Wayne and Saint Louis. The Saint Tim Society is grateful for their help and cooperation during such an active time. As for that truly YUUGE event that occurred on 12 noon the same day, we also wish our president the best of luck, and we will keep him in our prayers as well.