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Contact: CTSFW Communications, (260) 452-3153; communications@ctsfw.edu

CTSFW Closes 177th Academic Year with Commencement Exercises

FT. WAYNE, May 23, 2023—Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), closed its 177th academic year with Commencement Exercises in Kramer Chapel May 19, 2023. During the ceremony, the Seminary conferred 71 degrees and presented special honors to five recipients.

One of the honorees was Dr. Leo S. Mackay Jr. of Alexandria, Virginia, who received a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, for his dedicated service to church and country. Mackay, senior vice president of Ethics and Enterprise Assurance at Lockheed Martin Corporation and vice chair of the CTSFW Board of Regents, also gave the Commencement Address

“What we do here is of tremendous import,” said Mackay. “We gather to celebrate and mark a milestone in pastoral formation, not in education, though thoroughly, comprehensively, even majestically you have been instructed in theology, languages, homiletics, systematics, and we thank God for the quality of the education. But most importantly, you have been formed and equipped. No, you don’t know everything, and it’s important to remember that. You will become more wise in your years in the ministry, but you have been deemed ready—ready to take on the most important tasks in the eternal church of our Lord Jesus Christ: to be deaconesses and scholar-priests, and most importantly for many of you, to occupy for the first time the Office of the Holy Ministry.”

Dr. Leo S. Mackay (left), Commencement speaker, with CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. Mackay received a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, during Commencement Exercises.

Joining Mackay in receiving an honorary doctorate (though unable to attend in person) was Mr. Walter C. Dissen of Chesapeake, Virginia. A retired corporate attorney, Dissen was honored with a Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, for his long and faithful service to the cause of confessional Lutheranism and, in particular, for his strong support of the seminaries of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.

Other 2023 awardees include the Rev. Daniel E. Conrad (CTSFW 1984), Alumnus of the Year; Mrs. Charlotte Ford, Miles Christi Award (Soldier of Christ); and Mr. Dwight and Mrs. Sherry Puls, Miles Christi Award (Soldier of Christ).

Mr. Dwight and Mrs. Sherry Puls, recipients of a Miles Christi Award (Soldier of Christ), with CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence Rast.

Students in seven academic programs received degrees during Commencement. The following list includes degrees conferred throughout the 2022-23 academic year (including expected August 2023 degrees):

Master of Divinity: 30
Master of Arts: 6
Master of Arts in Deaconess Studies: 13
Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies: 1
Master of Sacred Theology: 10
Doctor of Ministry: 4
Doctor of Philosophy in Missiology: 7

Earlier in the day, the Seminary held a Baccalaureate Matins service. Alumni attending the 2023 Alumni Reunion (including the Rev. Gilbert Meseke, a 1953 graduate of the Seminary in Springfield) joined in the procession. The Rev. James Haugen Jr., pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Strongsville, Ohio, and third vice president of the LCMS Ohio District, served as guest preacher, focusing on John 16:16. (“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”)

“Thanks be to God that he uses our ‘little whiles’ for our good,” Haugen said to the graduates and others in attendance. “Suffering leads to perseverance, perseverance leads to character, and character leads to hope—and I will add joy. The world owes you nothing. In fact, you don’t want anything from the world, anyway. But Christ has given you everything. Your life belongs to Christ and to His Church, and He would have it no other way.”

Rev. James Haugen Jr. of Strongsville, Ohio, gives the sermon at Baccalaureate Matins. Haugen’s son, James Haugen III, is a member of CTSFW’s graduating class of 2023.

The day featured one additional event in Kramer Chapel, an organ recital celebrating the graduating class of 2023, presented by CTSFW Associate Kantor Matthew Machemer. The afternoon recital featured works by J.S. Bach, Maurice Duruflé, Piet Kee, Samuel Scheidt, and Marcel Dupré.

To view a recording of Baccalaureate, the organ recital, or Commencement, visit the Chapel page at ctsfw.edu, or click the button below.

Associate Kantor Matthew Machemer presents a recital celebrating the graduating class of 2023.

Watch Recordings Online

Photos from CTSFW 2023 Commencement Exercises

About Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
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 the world, domestically and internationally, with distinctively Lutheran teaching, practice, and worship. To learn more, visit ctsfw.edu.