2011 Symposium on Lutheran Schools

Almost 450 participants gathered at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary to hear presentations about Lutheran Schools in WELS. Besides seminary students and professors, 334 pastors, school principals, and others involved in WELS educational agencies attended. The essays and reactions may be downloaded and copied.

Videos of the essays and reactions:
Essay 1 - Essay 2 - Essay 3

A full description of the 2011 Symposium’s focus follows:

The Lutheran School, both on the elementary and secondary level, has brought uncounted blessings to our church body for over 150 years. For many of those years there was general unanimity of opinion concerning the value of our schools. Over the past generation, however, our Lutheran schools have begun to face serious challenges from within and without WELS congregations. Many wonder how our schools will withstand the challenges over the next generation and how this will affect both our congregations and our ministerial education system.

The 2011 Symposium on Lutheran Schools seeks to re-evaluate the Lutheran School in our ministry, to assess its value and contribution to the spiritual life of our members, and to seek and suggest new opportunities to promote and share its blessings.