Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As I am sure is the case in many of your congregations, my former congregation, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas, concluded every Lenten service with a verse of the hymn “Abide with Me” (LSB 878).
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
The darkness deepens, but it never prevails, thanks to Christ, our light. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” says the Apostle John (1:5).
Christ, the Light of the World, has lived, died, and risen for you. For 180 years, Concordia Theological Seminary has provided faithful pastors to bring this good news to everyone who has ears to hear.
We’re now preparing for the next era of service to the Church, with bold plans to form exemplary pastors and deaconesses for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in an inspiring residential setting.
We’ve invited friends and supporters to help us advance our vision, and they’ve responded. One example: the window restoration project in Kramer Chapel, which will allow us to replace the deteriorating floor-to-ceiling window at the front of the chapel and the skylights overhead with new glass windows, returning light once again to the altar area. Thanks to an outpouring of gifts on Giving Tuesday, a generous grant from The Lutheran Foundation, and numerous gifts both large and small since then, the project is well on its way to being fully funded.
But we’re not quite there yet. If you’d like to help get that project to the finish line, I invite you to make a gift to our capital projects fund. Every dollar added to this fund helps us preserve and enhance spaces that have powerfully shaped our CTSFW graduates and will continue to do so for decades to come.
Your support for our work at Concordia Theological Seminary is humbling and inspiring. That’s the light of Christ, shining through His people. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers.
+ pax domini +
Dr. Jon S. Bruss
President
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Learn more about the window restoration project in Kramer Chapel in the Summer 2025 For the Life of the World article titled “Let There Be Light! Kramer Chapel Window Renovation Set for 2026.”