Over these many decades, the lived experience of that worship center has taken different shapes and forms. This statement describes how Wartburg’s worship-centered existence is understood and lived in this moment in the life of this community.
Wartburg’s Theological Commitments to Worship of the Triune God
In Christian worship, the Holy Spirit gathers and forms individuals into communities of faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, through the hearing and receiving of the promise of God’s mercy and grace. The Triune God calls the church across time and space to steward faithfully the ongoing and transformative proclamation of the word and administration of the sacraments.
As the Spirit gathers, the Spirit also sends reconciled sinners into the world to share the promise of Jesus Christ and to love both neighbor and enemy. Living out Wartburg’s vocation within the church, we gather daily in order to worship the Triune God in ways that form our students and broader community in lives of service to the gospel.
Loehe Chapel as the Lived Expression of Wartburg’s Worship Identity
Loehe Chapel is the heart of Wartburg’s life together—a place where theology breathes and the gathered community is shaped by word and sacrament. Worship is both set apart in the rhythm of each weekday and greater than the time set aside for daily chapel; it is sacred space where students, faculty, and staff lead and are led, where worship is practiced as both calling and craft. In this daily return to the center, we remember who and whose we are, and we are sent—again and again—into the world bearing the promise we have received.
Wartburg continues to have chapel five days a week during academic sessions. This time is staunchly guarded in the seminary calendar, and no meetings or classes are scheduled during this time. The proclamation of the gospel is central to our worship. Preaching occurs three times a week, and we are fed and nourished at the table as the Eucharist is celebrated every Wednesday. Various liturgies and specific prayer services invite our community to give thanks, intercede for others, meditate, praise the Triune God, and ask for help or healing.
Worship in Loehe Chapel is stewarded by the entire online and on-campus seminary community through weekly planning teams who share leadership, presiding, and preaching. We give attention to a variety of styles, languages, and resources in worship while seeking inclusivity and expansive creativity.
The chapel space itself echoes our commitments: open, flexible, welcoming. Our worship is intentionally hybrid. All who gather are full participants in the Spirit’s movement. In Loehe Chapel, we live what we proclaim: that worship forms us, sends us, and binds us to one another in the name of Christ, crucified and risen.
Worship Forms Our Life Together
Our gathering for worship at Wartburg presumes our scattered and separate lives of faith, in struggle and service, work and wonder, play and pondering, joy and sorrow. Yet, the Holy Spirit gathers us, and we are no longer merely fractured individuals but are being formed as the body of Christ. The Wartburg community is spread across the U.S.A. and beyond, united in a shared commitment to learning, formation, and service through diverse pathways and callings. Wherever we go, we carry with us this worship-centered memory and practice.
In the sending, God forms God’s people to share in the pain of the world, serving the neighbor, stranger and enemy as we embody our baptism in daily life. Our worship practices shape us into disciples of Christ, rooted in the Triune God, who are committed to honoring diverse voices and cultures. In worship, where our differences become shared gifts, we practice communal bridge-building that informs our callings in a wide range of contexts.
Every act of learning, serving, and gathering at Wartburg—through academic study, spiritual practice, student accompaniment, and the posture of our community—is an extension of worship beyond chapel walls. Together, we embody God’s presence and proclaim the gospel not just in chapel, but in our individual and shared lives. In our worship-centered life together we are formed into leaders who are sent to proclaim the gospel and serve God's people.
