LTSS transition update from the LR Hickory campus

Summary
In this video update, I share some exciting developments as LTSS settles into our new home on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus in Hickory, North Carolina.

Gratitude is extended to students, faculty, university colleagues and supporters for their role in this transition. Highlights include the inaugural First Week Formation in Hickory, an international Spring Break immersion in Geneva and upcoming events such as Alumni Day in May, featuring Savanna Sullivan as the Yost Lecture speaker.

Looking ahead, we prepare for LTSS's bicentennial in 2030 and the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, reaffirming our mission to shape future leaders in theological education.
 

Transcript

Greetings from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Hickory, North Carolina!

Since my last video, LTSS has settled into our new home on the beautiful campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. I want to speak a word of gratitude for the students who are now enjoying vibrant formation on campus in Hickory, for the faculty who are creating new rhythms for innovative teaching and learning, for university colleagues helping establish dynamic partnerships, and to the Advisory Council, Alumni Board, alumni and friends across Region 9 for helping tell our story in a new era of theological education for our seminary.

We continue to monitor the status of the Columbia campus and are arriving at final decisions about the Flentrop organ.  In the meantime, the Lineberger Collection is installed and fully operating in the Rudisill Library, faculty, staff and students are at home in the Russell House at the heart of our campus, Grace chapel hosts worship every day, and we look forward to welcoming a new class of students in the fall.  The future of theological education for LTSS is full of promise.

First Week Formation
This semester marked the very first First Week gathering in Hickory. We enjoyed fellowship among the student body, faculty and staff in venues across campus, including President Whitt’s home, the new Rectory, Bear’s Club Pavilion, Cromer Center, and Moretz Stadium.  We worshipped, learned, and convened a community workshop and faculty panel focused on the historical and theological interpretation of Christian Scripture and traditions. We are grateful to local congregations of the Catawba and Blue Ridge Conferences of the NC Synod for providing meals and coming to build relationships with LTSS!

We also partnered with the Lutheran Student Movement to host a Spring Break immersion in international ecumenism. We led a group of 10 undergraduate students and seminarians to Geneva, Switzerland to encounter the programs and staff the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches, worship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva, tour United Nations organizations, and spent an ecotheologically focused day immersed in the beauty of the Swiss Alps. And yes, we ate a significant portion of fondue.

And now friends, I want to invite you to visit your seminary in our new home on the beautiful campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. In May we will host our annual Alumni Day. I am happy to share that for the annual Yost Lecture we will welcome the Lutheran World Federation Program Executive for Youth, Savanna Sullivan, for a lecture on the theme of Intergenerational Justice. The day will include campus tours, a barbecue lunch on the quad, and a town hall forum on the future of theological education, that I will host with Bishop Eaton. Registration is online, and we encourage you to come and experience the beauty and joy of our new home.

And now that this part of our pilgrimage is complete, we turn our faces towards 2030, which will be the 200th anniversary of LTSS and the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. Embedded on this campus with a rich history of Lutheran higher education, LTSS is positioned to be a flagship in the future of theological education, as we continue to nurture, educate and form leaders for public ministry for generations to come.

Welcome home, and until we meet again, peace friends.