|
.jpg)
While discerning my call to seminary I took trips to Wartburg and one other seminary in the ELCA. I decided on Wartburg for several reasons. First, the housing especially having a family was much better than the other seminary I visited. Secondly, the faculty and staff were welcoming and supportive in my visit. Thirdly, this is just a top-notch school academically. As I enter my senior year and reflect I have no doubt God led me to the right place. The journey through seminary is not easy and it can and has included many ups and downs. However, through it all I continue to see the presence of Christ come to me through the faculty and staff, as well as my peers. Professors don't see you as just another student. They care about you and see you as a colleague in ministry. They go that extra mile and walk with you on the journey toward graduation and ordination. They are not only professors but they are friends - fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I have no doubt that upon graduating and journeying into first call I could pick up the phone and call any of my professors for guidance, support, or encouragement when the storms of life begin to rock the boat and they would listen just as they have done these first three years. This is a special place and if you have not visited I encourage you to do so. Wartburg may not be the right place for everyone but it certainly was for me and I thank God for leading me here. Blessings to you on your journey. - Chad Whaley, Class of 2010
 I had been to and visited other seminaries, and while I know they would have done a good job of preparing me for ordained ministry, there was something different about Wartburg. As my wife and I drove away from our visit, we were able to say that if we went to Wartburg we would be able to call it home. It would be more than a place we lived for the next 3-4 years, but a place in which we felt welcomed and wanted. A place in which we would be comfortable raising our children and knew they would be part of everything. It would be, and was, a place in which we have met some of our best friends. Now that I am ordained and working at a church, I can look back and say that I am glad that I went to Wartburg and could not imagine going anywhere else.
- Pastor Tim Krick, Class of 2009
 My entire life, I always wanted to live in a castle. Wartburg fulfilled that dream, but it also provided for me a hugely supportive environment to explore, discern, and grow into my call of Word and Sacrament. The community at Wartburg and its focus on Mission through Christ centered relationships drew me in immediately (even more so than the Medieval architecture). On top of that Wartburg's faculty members are inspiring at what they do. They are as much a part of the community as the students and have an abundance of truly priceless knowledge, experience, passion, and personality that they graciously share with every student. All this, which was visibly apparent upon my first visit, is why I knew immediately that Wartburg Theological Seminary was the seminary for me.
- Pastor Paul Carlson, Class of 2008
|
