Concordia Begins Year-long 500th Reformation Celebration
Senior Eva Lube designed the logo for the 500th Reformation Celebration. The circles represent the reverberations of Christ’s message to the masses, and the blue and green represent peace and renewal. Photo courtesy of Reformation.cune.edu.
by Karl Jones
Concordia has planned a year-long celebration in memory of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. The celebration started on Oct. 24 with the dedication of a Reformation-themed mural in Thom Leadership Education Center. Rev. Dr. Paul Robinson from Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis began a nine-part series of lectures with his lecture titled “Fooling Around with Councils and Fathers.”
The main goal of the events is to celebrate what those in the Reformation did for the Church, as well as to raise awareness on how important the impact of the Reformation was to the world.
“We are trying to incorporate things on more levels than just theology,” senior social media coordinator Ashley Johnson said.
A committee was formed to decide the structure of the celebration and to brainstorm different ideas for events.
“Some of the ideas were silly,” said Director of Mission Partnerships and Church Relations Dr. John Mehl. “One of the ideas was a 500k run, but that was not reasonable.”
The committee ultimately decided that one event would not do the Reformation justice.
“In Time Magazine’s top 100 most important people, Martin Luther was number three,” Mehl said. “We felt that we needed to represent every aspect of what the Reformation did for the world.”
The lecture series resumes with the second lecture on Nov. 14. Rev. Dr. Robert Rosin from the St. Louis seminary will be presenting on Renaissance humanism and how it relates to the Reformation.
The third lecture will be given by Dr. Adam Francisco from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne on Jan. 23, 2017. Francisco will be presenting on the topics of confession and witness.
The fourth lecture will be given by Dr. Amy Burnett from University of Nebraska—Lincoln on Feb. 20. Burnett will be presenting on women and traditions during the early Reformation.
The fifth lecture is on March 20. Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, speaker from The Lutheran Hour, will be presenting on the Reformation mission.
The sixth lecture will be on April 3. Dr. Cameron Anderson from Christians in the Visual Arts will be presenting on Christian art and music.
The seventh lecture is on Aug. 28. Rev. Dr. Charles Arand from the St. Louis seminary will be giving a presentation on creation.
The eighth lecture is on Sep. 11. Dr. Mike Rodewald from Lutheran Bible Translators will be presenting on God’s word and the missions of the Reformation.
The final lecture is on Sep. 18. Rev. Dr. Jon Vieker from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod will be presenting on the Hymnody and the Reformation.
Further events are scheduled throughout the year. On Oct. 30, Dr. Elizabeth Grimpo will give a piano recital in the Music Center Recital Hall. There will be a birthday party for Martin Luther in Weller Chapel on Nov. 9. On Nov. 13, Dr. Jeffrey Blersch will perform in an organ recital in the Music Center Recital Hall. Dr. Eunice Goldgrabe and Dr. Vicki Boye from Concordia’s Health and Human Performance department will present on Nov. 30 in Walz Human Performance Complex, Viewing Room 137.
The full list of events planned for the 500th anniversary can be found at Reformation.cune.edu.
