Upcoming Event: LWML Rally, Saint Pauls Lutheran Church, Osseo, Minnesota, April 20 [CANCELLED]

Please note this event has been cancelled.

The Saint Timothy Society is grateful to the LWML (Lutheran Women's Missionary League) for the opportunity to speak at their upcoming Rally at Saint Pauls Lutheran Church, Osseo, Minnesota, and for their "Gifts from the Heart" collection for the Society's ongoing work at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya's seminary in Matongo, Africa.

The Saint Timothy Society, a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, has been active in supporting and fund raising for seminary education overseas since it began as a charitable corporation with 501(c)3 status in 2007. Our major and ongoing project has been to support Rev. Thomas Aadland, who has been called as a missionary by the Office of International Missions of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to teach and help the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya in pastoral education at the Matongo Lutheran Theological College, where he also serves as Dean of Chapel. The LWML has generously offered to include this work in their "Gifts from the Heart" collection, which will go to support Rev. Aadland's salary, travel, books, and related expenses.

The Society also supports other projects and initiatives such as bringing foreign students from overseas to study at Lutheran seminaries in North America, and we encourage potential supporters and donors to contact us with their suggestions and ideas. We can work with donors in writing grant proposals for designated gifts for specific projects, which we believe gives donors, supporters and recipients a greater degree of accountability and clarity.

Rev. Gordon Bynum, our Chaplain, will be speaking to the LWML rally about the work of the Society and Lutheran Seminary Education in the larger context of the Lutheran understanding of the two kingdoms.

For more information, and to contact the Saint Timothy Society: Contact Us

LCMS Office of International Missions Kenya Page

Many Thanks To Our Donors! Letters for 2019 Contributions Have Been Mailed.

Part of the "housekeeping" for charitable organizations are letters sent out to donors with our record for their contributions for the past calendar year. If you gave to us in 2019, and do not received a letter recording your contributions by February 7th of 2020, please let us know.

And a big thank you to all our donors! 2019 was another excellent year for the Saint Timothy Society, and we're happy to report that we are (mostly) on schedule with our bookkeeping and reporting for 2019. If you gave in 2019, you should receive a donor letter for your contributions for that year. If you don't have it by Feb. 7th, or if you receive it and it does not agree with your records, please contact us:

That email (shown above as a .png image file to slow down the spam bots, so you will have to type it into your email program) also works for questions, suggestions, and other correspondence.

Upcoming Event: A Lutheran Consideration of Communism, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 6:30pm

As part of the "Bibles and Brews" series being held by Saint Johns Lutheran Church of Corcoran, Minnesota, the Chaplain of the Saint Tim Society will be leading a discussion on a Lutheran Consideration of Communism.

For more information, time, and location please see this link.

Our 2018 Annual Meeting: Monday, October 29 at 1pm, Saint James Lutheran Church West Saint Paul

The Saint Timothy Society for Lutheran Seminary Scholarship will hold its Annual Meeting Monday, 1pm, on October 29, 2018, at Saint James Lutheran Church, 460 Annapolis St W, West St Paul, Minnesota 55118

If you would like to attend or meet with the board in person on Oct. 29th, please contact us at this address:

Please be aware that some items and topics (such as those involving personnel or other sensitive items that might run afoul of the 8th commandment) can only be considered by the voting members in closed or executive session, and not in those parts of the meeting open to the public.

If you would like to know more about the work of the Saint Timothy Society, or have suggestions, ideas or insights you believe might be worthwhile for us to consider, please use the email address above to let us know.

The Saint Timothy Society Installs a Chaplain; Kroemer Library Dedicates the Murray Room; And a Fine Time Was Had By All

Elsewhere on this blog the comment was made that January 20th of 2017 would see events that ranged from huge to less huge to tiny.  From the point of view of the Saint Timothy Society, these are happy times for many reasons, including the installation of a Chaplain, and the dedication of the Murray Room at Kroemer Libary at Concordia Theological Seminary.  We would like to express our gratitude to Concordia Theological Seminary, the Rev. Dr. Murray, and all those who made possible and joined us for the events on January 20th.

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.

Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor, January 24th

If you exclude all that excitement in Washington, D.C., January was a relatively uneventful month, but there were a few bright spots.  On January 20th, at 2pm, the Chaplain for the Saint Timothy Society was installed into office.  And today, January 24th, is the "minor" festival of Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor, our namesake.

The comment has been made elsewhere that the Lutheran church in our part of the world (the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the United States) has "inherited a fortunate combination of observance and laziness".  Part of that fortunate combination is the festival of Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor, which is observed on January 24th in the Lutheran Service Book.  After the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the Roman Catholic Church now celebrates Saints Timothy and Titus together on January 26th (Francis de Sales is now remembered on the 24th), and Eastern Orthodoxy remembers Saint Timothy on January 22nd.  But we, lazily and observantly, have kept it on the 24th.

So what is worth remembering and celebrating about Saint Timothy?  Plenty, but perhaps the most noteworthy is the very simple fact that he was a faithful shepherd who guided and fed his flock so that they would be guided and received by the Good Shepherd "in the way that leads to life eternal", as the Collect for Saint Timothy puts it:

Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your Church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The previous blog post mentioned that those looking for something quite modest following the "Yuuge" event at noon on January 20th would find just the sort of humble and low key affair at the installation of the Chaplain of the Saint Timothy Society at 2pm that same day at Kramer Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  And so it was, with a few of us praying the Order of None with the Rite of Installation.  Which order also has a remarkable Collect for that week in Epiphany:

O merciful Lord Jesus Christ, at this hour You did commend Your blessed spirit into the hands of Your heavenly Father; have mercy upon us and help us, that we being dead unto the world may live only to You, and that at the hour of our death we may be received by You into Your heavenly kingdom, where You reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Looking For A Somewhat Less "YUUUUGGGE" Event on January 20th? Try Kramer Chapel, Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne at 2pm.

Depending on your political point of view, January 20th 2017 will be either a great day or a terrible day.  On a far lesser scale, depending on your theological point of view, 2pm that same day may make your day slightly worse or better if you happen to be in the vicinity of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  In either event, you, dear readers, both well wishers and ill wishers, are invited to the installation of the Chaplain for the Saint Timothy Society at 2pm January 20th at Kramer Chapel on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne.

We here at the Saint Timothy Society try to let our modesty shine, so the installation service itself will probably be modest and not so shiny, something along the lines of daily prayer at None with an installation.  In addition to the YYYUUUUGGGE event in Washington at noon on the 20th, Concordia Fort Wayne will be having its Theological Symposia that week, "The Spirit of Reformation Exegesis" January 17 - 18, and “The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation: Continuing the Celebration” January 18 - 20 (both should be excellent).  That's plenty of huge for one week.  If you are tired of huge by Friday afternoon at 2pm, the installation may be just the thing.  The prayers of the saints, no matter how modest, are a wonderful thing, and we would love to have yours.