FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact:
Rebecca
Ahlersmeyer,
(260)
452-3151,
rebecca.ahlersmeyer@ctsfw.edu
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CTSFW
Commences
Its
177th
Academic
Year
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Four
New
Faculty
and
Staff
Installed
in
Opening
Service
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FORT
WAYNE,
IN,
September
8,
2022—By
the
grace
of
God
and
in
His
holy
name,
Concordia
Theological
Seminary,
Fort
Wayne
(CTSFW),
held
its
177th
Opening
Service
Tuesday,
September
6.
President
Lawrence
R.
Rast
Jr.
welcomed
and
thanked
the
faculty,
staff,
students,
families,
and
friends
in
physical
and
virtual
attendance,
noting
how
God
continues
to
be
generous
and
faithful.
“We
pray
that
the
Lord
might
give
us
many
excellent
gifts,
and
we
see
that
prayer
realized,
fulfilled
.
.
.”
said
Rast.
“It
is
such
a
joy
to
welcome
you
all
to
Concordia
Theological
Seminary
on
this
great
day
as
we
begin
our
177th
academic
year.
It
is
astounding
to
see
how
richly
God
answers
that
prayer,
and
how
freely
He
gives
His
gifts
to
His
church.
This
class—what
a
delight
to
welcome
you,
to
have
another
class
begin
your
path
towards
service.”
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CTSFW
was
blessed
and
honored
to
have
LCMS
Indiana
District
President
Rev.
Daniel
J.
Brege
(CTSFW
‘82)
in
Kramer
Chapel
to
perform
his
last
official
acts
while
in
office:
preaching
the
sermon
and
installing
new
Seminary
faculty
and
staff.
Dr.
Rast
thanked
Brege
for
his
service
while
welcoming
the
Rev.
D.
Richard
“Rick”
Stuckwisch
Jr.
(CTSFW
‘93)
as
his
successor.
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Before
installing
CTSFW’s
newly
appointed
staff and
faculty
members,
Brege
delivered an
inspiring
sermon based
on the
Gospel
lesson,
welcoming
new students
to a place
where the
truth is
spoken daily
and with
confidence.
“What
is
impossible
with man is
possible
with
God,”
said Brege,
who then
spoke of how
Christ
manifests
“the
greatest
impossibility
. . . God
performs the
camel
[through the
eye of a
needle]
miracle,
only in
reverse.
God, the One
who is
all-powerful,
the One who
is present
everywhere,
the One who
knows all,
the One by
whom the
world was
created, God
goes through
the eye of
the needle
and becomes
man.”
Throughout
each
student’s
experience,
professors
“continue
to teach how
God has done
and
continues to
do the
impossible”—prayerfully
and
hopefully
inspiring a
confidence
in students
that will
help
strengthen
their future
service to
the
church.
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Newly Appointed
Commissioned
Staff
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Stephen
Bornheimer
Digital
Communications
Specialist
Stephen
Bornheimer
(BA,
Concordia
University,
Ann
Arbor;
MS,
Lawrence
Technological
University)
was
installed
as
digital
communication
specialist
in
this
year’s
Opening
Service.
He
was
eager
to
express
his
joy
and
gratitude,
having
settled
into
his
role
in
July
of
this
year.
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“I
feel honored
and blessed
to have
joined the
CTSFW
family.
Faculty and
staff have
gone out of
their way to
introduce
themselves
and welcome
me and my
family to
this
community.
CTSFW is an
incredible
ministry,
and I am
blessed to
be able to
work
alongside
others in
serving
future
church
workers and
their
families.”
Bornheimer
joins the
CTSFW team
from his
former role
as
Emmanuel-St.
Michael
Lutheran
School in
Fort
Wayne.
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Newly Appointed
Ordained Staff
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The
Rev.
David
L.
Witt
Advancement
Officer
The
Rev.
David
L.
Witt
(BA,
Birmingham-Southern
College
in
Alabama;
MDiv,
CTSFW)
was
installed
as
an
officer
in
the
Advancement
Department.
Witt
worked
as
a
deputy
and
detective
with
a
major
crimes
unit
in
Georgia
and
was
the
general
manager
of
a
multi-location
hardware
and
feed
business
before
attending
the
Seminary
and
then
serving
a
dual
parish
in
the
LCMS
Southern
District.
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The
Rev.
Geoffrey
Boyle
Assistant
Professor
of
Ministry
and
Missions
An
‘09
alum
of
CTSFW,
the
Rev.
Geoffrey
Boyle
(BA,
University
of
Michigan;
PhD,
the
University
of
Toronto)
was
installed
in
the
Pastoral
Ministry
and
Missions
Department
as
an
assistant
professor,
having
served
the
SMP
program
here
for
the
past
10
years.
Boyle
shared
his
thoughts
about
the
transition:
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"I
knew that
leaving
parish
ministry
would be
difficult,
but it's
even harder
than I
thought. The
rhythm of
preaching
and
teaching,
along with
the daily
integration
into the
lives of the
saints in
that place
shapes who
we are as
pastors. The
greatest
consolation
comes in the
hope of
forming
these men to
do so for
generations
to come. I
look forward
not only to
the
teaching,
but also to
the
mentoring,
fellowship,
and
gathering
together in
this new
rhythm of
praying,
praising,
and giving
thanks to
God."
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The
Rev.
Jon
S.
Bruss
Associate
Professor
of
Systematic
Theology
The
Rev.
Jon
S.
Bruss
(BA,
St.
Olaf
College;
MDiv,
Bethany
Lutheran
Theological
Seminary;
MA
and
PhD;
the
University
of
Minnesota)
was
installed
as
associate
professor
of
systematic
theology.
“It's
humbling,
when
you
consider
the
great
breadth
of
experience
and
talent
on
this faculty
and
amongst
the
staff,
to
be
considered
one
of
them.”
said
Bruss.
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“I
only pray
that,
whatever the
Lord has
done here in
calling me
to this
position, it
will be of
great
benefit to
students and
the
community.
I've always
lived with
feet on two
sides of the
parish/academy
fence,
oftentimes
more firmly
planted on
one side
than the
other. In so
many ways,
teaching at
CTSFW
provides the
perfect
opportunity
to balance
that
out.”
Bruss joins
CTSFW from
his previous
role as
pastor of
St. John's
Evangelical
Lutheran
Church in
Topeka,
Kansas.
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“The
faculty
is
thrilled
to
welcome
two
new
colleagues
who
were
installed
in
the
Opening
Service,"
said
Dr.
Charles
Gieschen,
provost.
"Both
Dr.
Bruss
and
Dr.
Boyle
bring
wonderful
pastoral
experience
and
great
academic
learning
to
the
classroom
and
campus
that
will
be
a
true
blessing
to
our
students
and
the
church."
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The
CTSFW
community
certainly
continues to
be blessed
with
generous and
gifted
people
dedicated to
fulfilling
the
Seminary’s
mission to
form
servants in
Jesus Christ
who teach
the
faithful,
reach the
lost, and
care for
all.
Speaking to
all those
newly
installed,
Dr. Rast
said,
“We
are so
delighted
you are
here, and we
look forward
to working
with you as
you use your
very
significant
gifts.”
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About
Concordia
Theological
Seminary,
Fort
Wayne
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Founded
in 1846,
Concordia
Theological
Seminary,
Fort Wayne,
forms
servants of
Jesus Christ
in a
vibrant,
Christ-Centered
theological
community
that engages
and
resources
the church
and world,
domestically
and
internationally,
with
distinctively
Lutheran
teaching,
practice,
and worship.
To learn
more, visit
ctsfw.edu.
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