Should wives of seminary students necessarily be Missouri Synod Lutherans? Yes, says the Synod’s Council of Presidents (COP).
The COP Nov. 19 adopted a policy that wives of married seminary students be members “in good standing” of an LCMS congregation before the student will be assigned to a vicarage. Vicarage is a 12-month internship, usually served in the student’s third seminary year.
“In all cases,” says the policy, “the student’s wife must be a member of an LCMS congregation before he receives a call at placement.”
Southern Illinois District President Herbert Mueller, chairman of the COP committee that recommended the policy, said congregations that receive a vicar or candidate have certain expectations, including that his wife will be a Missouri Synod Lutheran.
The COP met Nov. 19-21 in Miami, Fla., site of this year’s Lutheran Church Extension Fund Fall Leadership Conference.
December 2003
