The Synod’s National Offering that will be used to fund the training of Lutheran pastors in the United States and abroad has reached $593,771.26 and is now more than halfway toward its $1 million goal. The total includes 6,176 separate gifts.
The offering was launched in late May under the theme “Preparing Pastors Worldwide.” It will continue until the next LCMS national convention in July 2010.
Two-thirds of the funds received will support the Synod’s two seminaries — Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. The remaining one-third will benefit seminaries of LCMS partner church bodies around the world.
“The beauty of this offering is that it emphasizes seminary education not only in the United States, but throughout the world,” said Tom Ries, president of the LCMS Foundation, which administers the Synod’s Joint Seminary Fund and is overseeing contributions to the National Offering.
The good news, he said, is that support from individuals, organizations, and congregations for LCMS seminary education over the past 10 years has grown “on a regular basis, not just with special offerings.”
Contributions to the National Offering may be made online at www.givenowlcms.org.
For more information about the offering, visit the Web site www.lcms.org/pastoraleducation.
Posted Dec. 5, 2007
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