2026 May — CTSFW Celebrates Graduates and Honorees at Commencement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: CTSFW Communications, communications@ctsfw.edu

CTSFW Celebrates Graduates and Honorees at Commencement

FORT WAYNE, Ind., May 18, 2026—Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), brought the 180th academic year to a close with Commencement in Kramer Chapel Friday, May 15, 2026. The ceremony recognized eight special honorees along with graduates in ten degree and certificate programs

The Rev. William Cwirla, a member of the CTSFW Board of Regents, served as the Commencement speaker. Cwirla read 2 Peter 1:5–8, which calls for supplementing faith with seven virtues, all of which “make faith effective and fruitful in lives of faithful service.”

“And that’s why we have a seminary,” said Cwirla, “not simply to impart academic knowledge, but to cultivate moral character, self-discipline, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love that make faith effective and fruitful as we serve the world in the name of Jesus Christ.”

The Rev. William Cwirla delivers the Commencement address at CTSFW May 15.

After Cwirla’s address, CTSFW Provost Charles Gieschen announced the recipients of the Miles Christi Award, which recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves in a field of human endeavor and displayed the characteristics of a good soldier of Jesus Christ, in keeping with 2 Timothy 2:3. Recipients of 2026 Miles Christi Awards, all of whom received their award in absentia, include

• Rev. Dr. David A. Bode, Perham, Minnesota
• Joyce Kaldahl, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Robert and Frances Ohm, Bel Aire, Kansas
• David E. Schweinler, Tacoma, Washington

The Rev. Ernie Lassman (CTSFW Class of 1978) of Lake Forest Park, Washington, received the 2026 Alumnus of the Year Award. Established by the CTSFW Board of Regents, the award honors an alumnus who has distinguished himself by faithfully shepherding the people of God with excellence in preaching and teaching the faithful, reaching the lost, and caring for all while strengthening the Seminary by supporting its mission. Lassman, who served congregations in British Columbia, Canada, and Seattle, Washington, during his more than thirty-eight years of parish ministry, also supervised nine vicars, eight of whom were CTSFW students.

The Rev. Ernie V. Lassman and his wife, Kathy Lassman, with Dr. Jon S. Bruss, president of CTSFW, at Commencement.

Three individuals received honorary doctorates at the ceremony. Dr. Päivi Räsänen, a medical doctor and longstanding member of the Finnish Parliament, received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, for her many years of public service and her courageous Christian witness in the face of opposition and adversity. Räsänen, a strong advocate for Christian values in the public square, has been brought to trial three times in the last seven years, most recently in the Supreme Court of Finland, over charges stemming from a faith-based tweet and a booklet she authored in 2004, Male and Female He Created Them.

Dr. Päivi Räsänen receives a Doctor of Humane Letters at CTSFW Commencement May 15.

The Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Joseph Makala, bishop emeritus of the South East of Lake Victoria Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (SELVD-ELCT), was awarded a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, in absentia. During his ten-year tenure as the founding bishop of SELVD, Bishop Makala steadily moved the diocese in a confessional Lutheran direction and oversaw steady growth, with the number of congregations growing from thirty-two in 2012 to eighty-six in 2022 and the number of pastors increasing from seventeen to seventy-six in the same time period.

Also receiving a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, was Professor and Kantor Emeritus Richard C. Resch, who served the Seminary from 1977 to 2014. Resch made significant contributions to music and worship during his time at CTSFW, founding the Seminary Kantorei, a select men’s choir, in 1978 and the Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music with co-director Dr. Arthur Just Jr. in 2000. Resch was a member of the LCMS Commission on Worship (1992–2001), the Hymnal Supplement 98 Committee (1997–98) and the Hymnody Committee of Lutheran Service Book (1999–2004).

Professor and Kantor Emeritus Richard C. Resch with his family after CTSFW Commencement May 15.

Graduates recognized at Commencement represented eight degree programs and two certificate programs. Numbers below include degrees and certificates awarded or expected in the 2025–2026 academic year, including those that will be conferred this summer pending completion of academic work.

• Master of Divinity: 35
• Master of Arts: 7
• Master of Arts in Deaconess Studies: 15
• Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies: 2
• Master of Sacred Theology: 4
• Doctor of Ministry: 3
• Doctor of Philosophy in Missiology: 5
• Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies: 1
• Alternate Route Certification: 3
• Deaconess Certification: 1

A few graduates of the Master of Divinity program celebrate after Commencement.

Earlier in the day, graduates and guests attended Baccalaureate Matins. The Rev. Paul Willweber, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in San Diego, California, and father of MDiv graduate Cory Willweber, served as preacher, speaking on 1 Peter 3:8–12. Willweber noted that the knowledge graduates have gained will be useful in many ways, but this is not primarily what people need.

“They don’t need to know how much you know, or that you know so much. What they need is Christ, in the same way that you do. What they need to know is that they have a Savior, who not only knows their suffering but has suffered in their place.”

To access recordings of Baccalaureate Matins and Commencement, visit our Chapel page at ctsfw.edu or click the button below.

WATCH THE SERVICES

To view a gallery of photos from our Commencement Day activities, click here. You can see a limited selection below.