CTSFW Closes 178th Academic Year with Commencement Exercises
FORT WAYNE, May 20, 2024—Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), closed its 178th academic year with Commencement Exercises in Kramer Chapel Friday, May 17, 2024. During the ceremony, the Seminary conferred degrees in eight programs and presented several special honors and awards.
The Rev. Theodore Krey, regional director for the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the LCMS Office of International Mission, served as Commencement speaker.
"We are the church of the Lutheran Confessions, of called ministers, of the liturgy, of deaconesses formed in mercy, and theological education with fidelity to the Scriptures," said Krey to the graduates. "This is our gift to the world, and uniquely ours—and now yours—to take out in your respective callings."
The Rev. Theodore Krey addresses graduates at CTSFW Commencement.
After his address, Krey, who earned his Master of Divinity degree from CTSFW in 2001, received the 2024 Alumnus of the Year Award. The award, established by the CTSFW Board of Regents, 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 recruiting, publicizing, and supporting its mission.
Five recipients were then honored with Miles Christi Awards, established by the faculty to recognize those who distinguish themselves in a field of human endeavor and who, in keeping with 2 Timothy 2:3, have displayed the characteristics of a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2024 recipients include Arvold and Carol Fisher of Tyler, Texas (posthumous award for Carol); Robert Trapp of Punta Gorda, Florida; Gloria Keller of Valparaiso, Indiana; William and Audrey Dahlgren of Palos Verdes Estates, California; and the Rev. Walter and Ruth Otten of Brookfield, Illinois.
Audrey and William Dahlgren are congratulated by CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. after receiving a Miles Christi Award.
Near the end of the ceremony, Provost Charles Gieschen presented a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, to Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., who presided over his final Commencement as president of CTSFW. Rast was honored for his "faithful and exemplary service as a seminary professor and administrator, especially as CTSFW's sixteenth seminary president, for his courageous witness to Christ through the teaching of the Holy Scriptures as confessed by the Lutheran church throughout the United States and the world, and for his generous service within The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in countless ways."
After a long round of applause, Rast said, "Serving in this role for the previous thirteen years, and serving at this seminary for twenty-eight years, has been the greatest privilege of my life. Thank you. Thank you all." He will return to the classroom at CTSFW after a one-year sabbatical.
Board of Regents chairman Dr. Scott Murray hoods Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., who received a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, at 2024 Commencement.
Gieschen also acknowledged the Rev. James Wiggins Sr., another recipient of a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from CTSFW. Wiggins, whose degree was conferred April 10, 2024, in conjunction with the Black Clergy Conference held at CTSFW, was honored for a lifetime of faithful pastoral service and for his role in encouraging numerous men and women to become Lutheran pastors and teachers.
CTSFW students in eight academic programs received degrees, with an additional two students receiving Alternate Route certificates. The numbers below include degrees awarded or expected in the 2023–2024 academic year, including those that will be conferred this summer pending completion of academic work.
Master of Divinity: 41
Master of Arts: 5
Master of Arts in Deaconess Studies: 10
Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies: 3
Master of Sacred Theology: 9
Doctor of Ministry: 6
Doctor of Philosophy in Missiology: 2
Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies: 1
CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. congratulates a Master of Divinity graduate.
Rast noted that the Rev. Matthew L. LaMaster, who received a Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies degree, is the first graduate of that program, which launched in 2018.
To view a recording of Baccalaureate or Commencement, visit the Chapel page at ctsfw.edu, or click the button below.
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.
