The quotation in the title is from a former WELS member.
150 years of training for ministry
Luther Preparatory School (LPS), Watertown, Wis., is one of our synod’s two prep schools dedicated to training and encouraging young people for the public ministry. This fall the school will conclude a year-long celebration of its 150th anniversary. Luther Prep is the oldest Lutheran high school in the country, tracing its history to the synod’s first efforts to train its own pastors just as the Civil War was ending.
GJ - Schroeder claims WELS has always been orthodoxy Lutheran but it never was. The sect began as a union group with a hearty mixture of ministers who were both nominal Lutherans and convicted Reformed - just like today, only the convictions are decidedly more serious, the iron bars more confining for their cell groups.
The celebration will culminate with a festival worship service at the campus on November 15.
Rendering of the LPS chapel renovations.
As part of its anniversary celebration, Luther Prep has begun a renovation of its chapel. For 60 years the chapel has played a central role on the LPS campus. It is the place where the Luther Prep family gathers for worship twice each day. These frequent worship opportunities emphasize the importance of the preaching of the Word, the continuing spiritual nourishment of LPS students and faculty, and the use of God-given talents in worship. The chapel is also the scene of a vigorous program of organ instruction, enabling Luther Prep to train more organists for WELS congregations than any other high school.
One major part of the chapel renovation will be the refurbishment of the chapel organ, now more than 50 years old and badly in need of repair. Worship is central to LPS campus life, and the organ is an integral part of that worship. The organ has already been removed from the chapel and will be installed in the remodeled chapel sanctuary by the start of next school year. The project is being funded through the special gifts received in connection with the anniversary.
GJ - Wake up, donors. WELS is training their UOJ zombies to tear out pipe organs and replace them with rock bands of limited talents.
The LPS anniversary theme proclaims that this school is all about “Lives Prepared for Service.” We join the LPS family in thanking God for a century and a half of his grace and pray for his continued blessings on LPS as it trains and encourages young people for the public ministry in our synod.
Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder
President Mark Schroeder
Look for a three-part series focusing on the 150 years of ministerial education on the Watertown campus, starting in the September issue of Forward in Christ:
- The Hazing
- The Sodomized Sprinter Statue
- The Underage Alcohol Abuse
