The 4th academic Quarter of 2010 lies behind us at LTS and our Seminarians are on their way home after more or less two busy semesters, successful examinations, evaluations and acknowledging of success and failure. This year the LTS in Tshwane was able to teach, accommodate and support more than fifty students at various levels utilizing nearly twenty teachers and living off the ongoing support of friends of the LTS in South Africa and abroad – especially from the LCMS, but also regularly from the LKM/SELK and its South African counterpart the MLC, various congregations and individuals in both the FELSiSA and the LCSA. Both the LCMS districts Rocky Mountains under President Randy Golter and South Illinois District deserve special mentioning for their contributions to the LTS in Tshwane. By God's grace the means, joy and capacity was provided to keep our Seminary running without major disruptions, but rather smoothly as a venue of devotion, peace, contemplation, theological studies, discourse and dialogue, music and a bit of volley ball too. I believe it is a good home for the Lutheran Seminarians learning and teaching here. A good reason to celebrate "Thanksgiving" and especially so as our Seminary has been here in Pretoria for an entire decade – 10 years under the protection, good will and mercy of our Lord – the triune God – who's goodness never ends!
Dr. Gunter Rencken [Chairman of the LTS Board of Directors] sends his regards, congratulates the achievers amongst the Seminarians and thanks all friends of the Seminary. He is on a business trip and is sorry that he can't be with us today. The same holds true for Mr. Berno Niebuhr/Mr. Michael Grosse, who both excused themselves.
We are very well aware that a lot of the good achievements here in Pretoria were due to the good foundations laid by the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa way ahead of this time and far off in Enhlanhleni, which is situated in the poorest of SA's rural areas: Umsinga. There students were well prepared in a 7-year-program that was constantly being fine-tuned to meet the pastoral needs of the LCSA in its rapidly changing context. Six of those students, who started off in Enhlanhleni eventually graduated with Honours and even Masters degrees in Pretoria. It's mainly due to the good foundations laid back in KZN that this was possible.
Today we are also praising God that he has provided this Seminary with life-long teachers and friends, who have enabled the smooth running of this institution over decades. Both Mr. Rifford Thwala and my father [Rev. E.A.Wilhelm Weber DD] served this Seminary in Enhlanhleni before continuing with this service for some time even here in our nation's capital.
Mr. Thwala was a long-standing member of the Seminary Supervisory Board first as a delegate of the LCSA diocese in Gauteng, but later also as the chairman of the LTS Board of directors. Mr. Thwala served this institution well for many years and was part of the supervisory board which oversaw the move of the Seminary from the rural Umsinga to the urban Arcadia. It was always his desire to have this Seminary called "St. Timothys" – and I hope that meeting in this chapel called after this faithful bishop, teacher and pastor of the early church will be gratifying to him. We thank God that he has provided the Church with such faithful men, who work through good and bad days to serve the Church in its various ministries to the very best of their abilities. Baba Thwala siyabonga! We pray that your days in retirement will be blessed and that you too will once see, what you have here believed – for Christ's sake. Voluntary service likes yours makes it possible for the church to address some of its massive challenges and we are very grateful for your unwavering services over years.
In this year my father Rev. E.A.W.Weber was blessed to celebrate his 50th Ordination jubilee. We as family, as LTS and also as the LCSA are thankful for the long time God has spared him and enabled him to serve this our Church and especially this very LTS as missionary of the Mission of Lutheran Churches [MLC – previously MELF] for five decades even if he had lucrative offers to move elsewhere instead.
You were ordained in 1960 by Missionsuperintenden Christoph Johannes and installed by missionary Johannes Henning in Roodepoort/Ventersdorp [W.Transvaal] as pastor of that large congregation after learning SeTswana. It was a good time for you and your wife and looking at photos of your children – they were very happy there too. When travelling in the NW-province today, I am again and again reminded by congregants there that they have not forgotten your services. Since that time you were called to serve as teacher at the LTS in Enhlanhleni. You learnt isiZulu, you wrote your dissertation, you were called to serve as rector of the Seminary for nearly 30 years, but also as deputy-dean of KZN for nearly 20 years, as Church treasurer also for nearly 2 decades and as keeper of the minutes of the LCSA Church Council for the same time and besides all that you together with your wife Karin still raised a family of nine children, teaching them not only the Christian life, but also the basics in playing piano and brass instruments, hunting and enjoying the beauty of SA in the mountains and by the sea. Most of all I believe you taught us to love the Christian Church with a special soft spot for the confessional Lutheran Church wherever it is – taking us to Swaziland, Botswana, South Africa, but also abroad to the Lutheran churches in France/Alsace Lorraine, England, Denmark, Finland, East- and West-Germany, bringing up theologians like Wilhelm Oesch [Oberursel], Robert Preus [Ft.Wayne], Hermann Sasse [Australia] and Friedrich Wilhelm Hopf [Bleckmar] and others you met at conferences/meetings in the USA, Canada and Australia in the table talk in Enhlanhleni, where we sat with bishops, deans, pastors and evangelists of the LCSA: Schulz, Dube, Ntuli, Lenkwe, Mogale, Segoe and many others friends and visitors. Your daily prayer list mentioning morning and evening the other confessional Seminaries throughout the world: Oberursel, Ft.Wayne, Cambridge, St. Louis, St. Catherines, Mequon, Edmonton, Sao Paulo, Porto Allegre, Nagercoil, Adelaide besides the LTS in Enhlanhleni created space in our little brains for the one, holy Christian Church of which we thankfully are a part of – not domed to a sectarian isolation, which was worsened by apartheid ideology. And God has graciously answered your prayers. Those Seminaries still exist and some even thrive. The list as lengthened even. God has continued to provide students and teachers to learn, teach and live faithfully as students of the Word of God. The triune God has provided more than you asked for, when you pleaded for the means, the joy and also the ability to do the work he called us to do. You loved being a pastor – as far as I could judge that from the outside. Even Saturday afternoons you would go in full-armour of a Lutheran pastor's battle dress to conduct the weekend service up at the Church – not once or twice, no regularly. Just as you would play the Lutheran chorals and tunes on the piano Sunday mornings before breakfast. You enjoyed preaching be it in Gunjane in a thatched hut on a Zulukraal, in Uelzen on a German oak pulpit or in Umlazi in an exploding South African township. You didn't miss a chance of being part of Youth Retreats up in NW. You wrote continuously – by hand, on a typewriter and then very soon on a computer: Sermons, speeches, newsletters, translations, minutes and family letters. You made time to have tee and coffee breaks with your wife and you never missed a chance to sing her praises. You regularly picked up your children at school in Uelzen or Wartburg. You even found time to accompany them to athletics, see their school plays and take them on class tours to Durban or into the Berg. You have had your share of trouble too. You have buried your father, mother and brother besides losing this or that good friend along the way and your cousin just a few days agao. You know that what remains of all the work, trouble and joy of this time and world, remains under the gracious hand of your heavenly father, who forgives us all our trespasses and heals all our diseases, who redeems our life from the pit and crowns our lives with love and compassion. And thankfully nobody and nothing can pull us from his hand – now or ever. That gives strength, courage, hope and faith even things look gloomy.
Allow me to point out the end of Moses, which we read about in Dt. 34,1-4: Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring.' You have been there and seen that land with your own eyes too. You saw, that God's promises to Moses were fulfilled even in that regard, but much more in Jesus Christ – our Lord and Savior.
Well, you have seen and tasted the friendliness of our Lord and God, you have heard, learnt and believed his promises of the promised city, land and world in the new creation, you have taught, preached and confessed that we will one day also see, what we have here believed, because he is faithful and does as he says. And one of his most comforting promises is that the portals of hell will not destroy his Church. No, for Christ's sake the Church will remain forever. Not because you or we or our children hold it, but because he himself is the foundation, pillar, cap- and cornerstone and nothing can prevent his Church from remaining his dwelling forever a sanctuary for all those, who are tired, heavily burdened and seeking rest. There in his gracious, merciful and friendly presence, you have solace, peace and joy – now and forever. He who has started the good work in you will complete it for Christ's sake. That's comforting to you, to us, but also to the Church as a whole. Praise be to his name now and forever +
The past cooperation with Lutheran Churches across the continent and even abroad has kept our Seminary at feasible levels on most counts. Without international support the LCSA would not be able to train its future pastors and deaconesses in such a professional and excellent fashion. We just don't have enough teachers, students, resources or capacity to do this alone. However because I believe that this is not required of us either it doesn't perturb me. On the contrary I see this interdependence as a true strength of the global Lutheran Church enabling local excellence with international flavour. Networking, cooperation and interdependence are not swearwords, but great blessings in the Church. St. Paul talks about the various members of the body cooperating for the common good. Well, I believe that that is what this Seminary is about. Left to our own devices we in the LCSA would be much more imperfect, handicapped and even paralysed than we are. Thankfully the triune God has joined us together with faithful friends across the globe by the shared Lutheran confession with the common purpose and mutual goal of striving faithfully to fulfil his mission in this world making disciples amongst all nations by means of pure gospel teaching and administration of the sacraments just as he instituted them.
I am convinced that our role as confessional Lutheran Church and especially as those training future Lutheran pastors for service in Africa is going to grow in urgency and significance as time passes. Not only is the church growth in Africa phenomenal, but sadly also the level of ignorance and even rejection of key doctrinal matters concerning us and our salvation. Theology matters and it matters very much in Africa. We need to cooperate much more closely with our brothers and sisters on the continent in the theological training of our future pastors, but also in addressing the burning issues of this time and age in this specific context and situation as it prevails in Africa. This holds true especially for the sister seminaries of the ILC in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya or if you prefer: West, Central, East and South Africa. Four main areas in the Lutheran Church of Africa – each with their own basic courses in theology, but pooling together for the optimal use of resources on the post-graduate or advanced levels as envisioned by the Lutheran Chair of Theology at the University of Pretoria.
As Bishop of the LCSA I am thankful that the transition into this additional office has not disrupted the running of the LTS in any significant way. On the contrary I believe that the close connection of the LTS to the LCSA Church Office has facilitated the streamlining and fine-tuning of the necessary cooperation between these two bodies. This holds true especially for the recruitment of students, their ongoing support by the various dioceses, their placement for practicals, internships and vicarage, their ecclesial evaluation, approbation and calling. Finally it helps to get the training to be even more concentrated and focussed on the pastoral outcomes. In the past the LCSA has done well like other Lutheran Churches by having its bishops located at the Seminary and even fulfilling leading roles there. I am happy that this trend is set to continue.
Although you have been updated on the happenings at the LTS throughout the year by the quarterly newsletter, sporadic ruminations of the LCSA Bishop, emails, notes and comments on the web via this blog and Face book and even by snail mail allow me to give a brief outline of the year at LTS.
Student Abia Anibati from the Lutheran Church in Sudan was the student representative in the past year. Enoch MacBen from the Lutheran Church in Uganda was their secretary and Gemah Ballah from the Lutheran Church in Liberia was their treasurer.
We had 55 students and nearly 20 teachers with us during the past year 2010: 11 students in the Beginners Course; 12 in the Main Course; 23 in the Advanced Course and finally 9 in the Deaconess Course.
It is my suggestion to the Shareholders coming Tuesday that we should make more use of the professional services of UP lecturers in the Beginners Course specifically in both the biblical languages Greek and Hebrew, but also in Academic and computer skills. This would ensure that we are indeed working at university standards and promote our chances of accreditation. Both the introduction to the Bible of the Old and New Testaments and also to Lutheran Theology using Luther's Catechisms and the Augsburg Confession over 2 years, remain our domain.
A special word of recommendation to Rev. Tswaedi, who in the past year taught both subjects from the Old and the New Testament under the heading of biblical theology. His fast experience in the leadership of the Lutheran Church in Southern and the rest of Africa on ILC-level are priceless. We pray that it will benefit the formation of future Lutheran pastors from the continent to become faithful servants of God's word in the ministry they have been called to serve. We also pray that Rev. Tswaedi will have enough resilience, joy and energy to continue with his pastoral ministry in Mofolo N, his ongoing theological studies and personal research. Please give our heartfelt gratitude to both your wife and your congregation that they have consented to have you serve here at LTS.
Umfundisi Musawenkosi Mntambo has made himself very useful at the LTS over the past decade. He is serving not only as teacher in various subjects, but also as chaplain responsible for the Seminary devotions. Siyabonga umfundisi and may you and your family be blessed richly as you continue to serve the Lord of the Church: Jesus Christ +
Salomé van Niekerk has now been with the LTS for nearly one and a half years. She's acquainted herself well with the tasks at hand and is especially adept at communicating with staff, students, guests and visitors. She did the flowers today, the program, the certificates and lots of other hidden arrangements. Thank you very much Salomé. You are a great helping hand, smiling assistant and very good secretary here at the LTS. She is now engaged to Neill and they are planning to marry next year. God bless you both according to his abundant love and goodness +
Together with the volunteers Pat & Lee Hoffmeier [LCMS SID: January – March], Kianga Rehr [SELK – LKM: January-March]; Minka Schulz [SELK – LKM: March-May], Friederike Weber [August-] and Vincent Cane [November-December] Salome has done some tremendous cleaning up of the filing system at LTS, but also of the various places the LTS stores books, clothes, tools and stationary. Together with Anita Burnham [LCMS RMD: January – June] and Renate Straeuli [FELSiSA: St. Pauls August – November] they have managed to accommodate guest professors, visitors and participants of various courses successfully. In the last Semester lunch has been served regularly to the students and available staff at St. Pauls, which has improved the atmosphere at the Seminary significantly. Thankfully Renate has agreed to continue with this service next year.
Thank you for your support and for your input to have this our beloved LTS in Tshwane grow, mature and expand to its full capacity and potential. May the triune God continue to bless it and the entire Lutheran Church in Southern Africa and abroad with his grace, peace and good-will as he did in the past! Peace be with you all for Christ's sake +
Bishop Dr. Wilhelm Weber: Murrayfield, the 24th November 2010.
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