HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH EXPLORE CHURCH VOCATIONS
ST. LOUIS—One high school youth from the Iowa District East participated in Vocatio, held June 27-July 2, at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The participant was Michael Church, Bethany Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A total of 39 youth attended Vocatio. Vocatio, the Latin form of “vocation,” employed a different approach to teach the participants about vocation. Galatians 2:20—I no longer live, but Christ lives in me—was the focus of the event. The youth studied this verse and its implications for their vocations. Seminary professors led Bible studies to present and discuss the details of the verse according to the four departments of theology: exegetical, systematic, historical and practical. This new focus encouraged the youth to think about their vocations according to God’s word and the gifts He has given to them. The Seminary professors guided them in looking at not only future church-work careers, but also their vocations now. During Vocatio, admission representatives from six Concordia University system schools and Valparaiso University participated in a college fair. Aside from each representative being available to answer questions at their booth, each one had a few minutes to introduce his or her school and its strengths. This opportunity allowed the Vocatio guests to have a better understanding of what each school has to offer. One Vocatio participant commented, “Laid-back yet serious approach to church vocation, especially in the Lutheran sense. [Vocatio] definitely opened my eyes to many more facets of this work.”
The 2010 Vocatio will take place June 2010. For more information on Vocatio, contact the Admissions Office, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105. Pictures of the event are available on the Concordia Seminary Web site at www.csl.edu.
