OurSeminarian -

Joshua Ketelsen • 401 Oglesby St. • Salem, IL 62881

June 2007

     Greetings again from St. Louis! Before I begin, I must apologize for the gaps between updates. It has been a busy couple of months, with several important events. So I’ll dive right into it.
     As many of you may know, April 25th was Call Day here at the seminary, when graduating students receive calls to their first parishes, and 2nd year students receive their assignments to their vicarage congregations. I have been blessed with the assignment of Salem Lutheran Church in Salem, IL. It is a relatively small town of 8,000, but only 80 miles east of St. Louis. The church is one of 36 in Salem, but the only LCMS congregation. They currently worship around 260 members at one contemporary Sunday morning service, as well as a small Wednesday evening service. Pastor Meyer will be my supervisor there, and in my conversations with him he seems like a wonderful man. They have participated in the vicarage program before, but do not currently have a vicar, and have acquired a small house for me to live in. All around it seems like a wonderful “fit,” and I’m truly excited about the opportunities awaiting me.
     Another blessing to enter my life is a young woman named Stefani. I haven’t mentioned her in these letters before, but many of you met her when she has visited Zion. We met last summer and have been dating for almost a year now. She’s a lifelong Lutheran, a teacher, and a wonderful person to be around. On April 7th, she and I along with several of her closest friends went out to dinner to celebrate her birthday. There I asked her to be my wife. She said yes. Needless to say we’re both very excited, as are our families. Currently it looks like there may be a wedding in June of 2008, which means most of a vicarage apart from each other. But the distance isn’t excessive, and God has blessed us with a wonderful communication, so neither of us is overly concerned. I’m sure she’ll be visiting Zion with me soon, so watch for her and say, “Hi.”

Lest you wonder if I’ve spent all my time with Stefani and none on my studies, I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I was pleased to find out that last quarter I achieved my first 4.0 GPA of my seminary career. This quarter is also shaping up to be a good one, despite a full load including my second homiletics course, as well as courses studying systematics, the synoptic Gospels, world religions, and the history of the English Reformation. Since I had one more required class to take before I was allowed to leave for vicarage, I have also filled up this summer with various required courses. Fortunately, this means that I should have a relatively light 4th year when I return from vicarage.
I’ve found more and more that God’s blessings are often found in the simplest of sources: our vocation. Right now, I have the vocation of “student,” which I am blessed and enabled to complete daily. Soon enough, I will have the vocation of “vicar,” and some time after that, “husband.” I look forward to the work of God in those aspects of my life as well. You too have a vocation: “church.” It is in that vocation that you gather together to worship, hear the Word, receive the sacraments, and further the expansion of God’s kingdom by supporting someone like myself. I pray daily that God blesses and enables you richly in that vocation, just as he continually blesses me.

God be with you always,
Joshua Ketelsen

October 2006

Greetings again from St Louis!

        Another busy school year has begun at Concordia and it’s time for a recap and update. Last year ended well, with a solid GPA, an incredible trip to Guatemala, and wonderful experiences all around. This past summer I was kept busy with a full class load, including two classes on the Lutheran Confessions, a study of mission theology, and a class on Biblical interpretation. I managed to get home at the beginning and end of the summer, which is always a joy, and I’m sure many of you saw me around church during those times. Thank you for all the support, words of encouragement, and prayer throughout this past year. It has been a great help.
        This year, I’m diving in headfirst once again with five intense classes. Most prominent among them is my first class in Homiletics (sermon writing) and a class on leading worship. Thus, by Thanksgiving, I will be certified by the seminary to preach and lead worship. It won’t be too much longer now before you might see me in Zion’s pulpit. Along with these practical classes, I’m also taking classes studying the book of Exodus, Lutheran doctrine, and the history of our synod. It’s an exciting quarter and I look forward to all I will learn.
        With the full class load and busy schedule, I have made the difficult decision to once again forego a part-time job and devote all my time and energy to classes. This has not been an easy decision. The seminary’s tuition has gone up, while our tuition grant has not, and the rising cost of living for things like gas and health insurance has only added to the financial burden. However, after the generosity I saw from Zion this last year, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot afford to risk squandering the support you have given me by creating distractions from my studies. To that end, I have redoubled my efforts, giving this important theological training my full attention. It has paid off too, and I’m currently holding a 3.7 GPA. Even better, this high GPA has placed me in the top 10% of my class and earned me an additional $1,000 scholarship.
        Unfortunately, this still does not cover the rising expenses of seminary education. Last year Zion raised more than I could ever have dreamed and it was an enormous blessing to me. Once again, I am forced to call upon your support in this awesome task. Please prayerfully consider giving to the Seminarian Fund so that I can continue this training in God’s Word unhindered by distractions and can enter the work of God’s kingdom unimpeded by debt.
        Thank you once again for all that you have already done towards this noble work. The author of Hebrews writes in chapter 12 that the faithfulness of the Jewish patriarchs inspires us to be more faithful. Likewise, your faithfulness in the form of money, encouragement, and prayers has been a constant inspiration for me. Thank you for being my great cloud of witnesses, encouraging me in this long, hard race marked out by God.

May God bless you this day and always,
Joshua Ketelsen
801 Seminary Place
St Louis, MO 63105