MLC opens its campus to the public

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Friday, May 28, 2021

As the social distancing and occupancy limits for the state of Minnesota ended on May 27 at 11:59 pm, Martin Luther College is currently open to the community. Following are some details regarding services you might be interested in during our summer months. The MLC Planning Committee continues to discuss plans for a normal opening to our 2021-2022 academic year! More details will be published as we confirm state and local protocols.

FITNESS CENTER: MLC students, faculty, staff, and their families, as well as other WELS members, are welcome to use the MLC Fitness Center. For more details regarding hours and access, visit mlc-wels.edu/fitness-center/.

MLC BOOKSTORE: The MLC Bookstore is open to the public this summer on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. We carry Christian greeting cards, books, piano and organ music, MLC apparel, and much more! We are located on the upper level of the Luther Student Center. Please stop by!

MLC LIBRARY: We once again welcome our community and visitors to the library. The library is open from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Our library staff look forward to welcoming you back and assisting you with your library needs.

MLC PRINT SERVICES: MLC Print Services, located in the lower level of the Old Main building, welcomes the community back to our shop Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. We provide a diverse selection of printing options, from basic copying to large-format printing and bindery. Call 507-233-9140 for more information, or visit mlc-wels.edu/print-services/.

MLC CAFETERIA: As is our normal procedure, the MLC Cafeteria is not serving the public over the summer months since regular classes are not in session. We are looking forward to providing excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner options when MLC classes start in the fall! Watch for dates and times.

MLC OFFICES: We are open to the public but are temporarily relocated to accommodate a summer rewiring project. Please call 507-354-8221 to make arrangements for your visit.

Thalassa 2021 Winner Announced

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The winner of the 2021 Thalassa contest is Cindy Lendt ’09 with her submission, “Hasn’t God Chosen the Poor . . .” Cindy has served in Southeast Asia since September 2019, where she says her work consists of “outreach, doing Bible studies, building relationships, discipleship, etc.”

MLC’s International Services Office is awarding Cindy $1,000, half of which she designated to her Southeast Asia mission. This is the 15th annual Thalassa Prize awarded by MLC.

Hasn’t God Chosen the Poor . . .

Every workday my teammate would bike the 35 minutes to her school and then back home again in the evening, and she started to notice two beggars sitting outside a mall with their large tin cans. This is pretty rare; begging isn’t typically allowed in this city. One day she stopped and talked with them. They wouldn’t say much or go into a restaurant with her, but she ordered takeout and brought it to them. She started cooking larger amounts of food for supper and bringing them home-cooked meals on her way home from school.

That’s when things began to change. They began to talk to her more, and she learned their names: Mr. Zhang and Mr. Fan. She gave them a solar-powered MP3 player with the New Testament in Chinese (the Proclaimer). They loved it! People would be walking by to enter the mall, and there were the two beggars with the New Testament playing loudly for everyone to hear! Some of their friends—a shop owner, a street sweeper, and another person—asked how they could get this MP3 player, so my teammate gave away three more Proclaimers. I’ve been helping with the cooking and delivery, and every time I see them they’re listening to the Bible. Mr. Zhang is blind; I need to put the food container and chopsticks directly into his hands. When I head back for home, they shout out in heavy accents: “gan xie zhu!”—“thank the Lord!”

We’ve known them about four months, and now they’ve asked about going to church. I have no idea how this adventure will continue, but you can guess my prayer: that God would take these physically poor men and make them rich—in him.

Commencement 2021

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On Saturday, May 15, 170 students earned degrees marking the completion of their ministerial training at Martin Luther College. This included 32 preseminary Bachelor of Arts degrees, 110 Bachelor of Science in Education degrees (including 18 early childhood education), nine Bachelor of Science degrees, (including one staff ministry degree, six educational studies degrees and two theological studies degrees), two seminary certifications and one staff ministry certification.

In addition, 10 students received their Master of Science in Education degrees, and five students earned their Master of Science in Educational Administration degrees and one received a Master of Arts in Theological Studies.

The Commencement Service in the MLC gymnasium was conducted by presiding minister Rev. James Pope. MLC President Rich Gurgel presented the commencement sermon on the theme, “You Are Servants By and Of Boundless Grace,” and Dr. Jeff Wiechman, vice president for academics, assisted with the distribution of diplomas.

The sermon text chosen by the class, Ephesians 3:7-9, states: “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.”

Gurgel commended the graduates on their graduation theme. “I am so happy for the verse you chose as your class verse.  The right people are listening to the right message.  Your passage reminds you that the public ministry for which you have all studied, and into which many of you are about to be called, is a great privilege of grace to those who serve in it.”

 Gurgel went on to explain why God would want the graduates to face this reality of ministry.  “He [God] wants you to grasp, as did Paul, the astounding difference between the depth of the sin of your heart and the depth of the grace in the heart of your Savior!  All of which will lead you also to marvel with Paul, as you find yourself called into public ministry, what an astounding gift of grace that is!   Though with Paul we must confess ourselves to be less than least of God’s people.”

That understanding, Gurgel pointed out, will clarify the importance of sharing Paul’s perspective through ministry. “When we recognize that we are servants of the gospel by boundless grace to us, we learn what it means to be servants of boundless grace to others.”

Gurgel assured the graduates, as they apply this grace of God’s word in their classrooms and congregations, “. . . you will know why God has placed you there with them! You who are a servant by boundless grace get to be a servant of boundless grace as you amaze the hearts of those you serve by showring them that where sin abounds, there grace always abounds more.  Such is the boundless nature of the gospel of which you are a servant!