Michigan Lutheran Seminary
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| Michigan Lutheran Seminary | |
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| Established | 1885 |
| Type | Ministerial Education Preparatory High School |
| Affiliation | Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod |
| Location | Saginaw, Michigan, USA |
| Students | 275 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Faculty | 22 |
| Current President | Reverend Paul T. Prange |
| Current Dean of Students |
Reverend John H. Boggs |
| Mascot | Cardinal |
| Colors | Red and White |
| School Hymn | God's Word Is Our Great Heritage |
| Newspaper | The Red 'n' White |
| Yearbook | The Cardinal |
| Website | www.mlsem.org |
Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS) is a private preparatory high school affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod located in Saginaw, Michigan. The student body consists of commuting students living in the area as well as a large population of students from around the US and other countries that live on campus in the dormitory led by the dean.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary's enrollment (as of 2006) is 275 students in the 9th through 12th grades, from 14 states, 7 of the 12 districts of the WELS, and 3 countries.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary, along with its sister prep school Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wisconsin, has as its purpose "the training of students for public ministry of the gospel and to enroll them upon graduation at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minnesota (MLC)."[1]
True to this goal, the high school has, in recent years, required its graduating students to send their ACT scores to MLC, regardless of the individual student's intent on actually attending MLC. In addition to this, intent to enter MLC is one of the criteria for financial assistance.
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[edit] Curriculum
Michigan Lutheran Seminary identifies its curriculum as the following: MLS has a single course of study which equips each student to meet the enrollment requirements of Martin Luther College. The curriculum puts emphasis on the study of Biblical history and theology, and gives special attention to foreign languages(Latin, German, and Spanish) and music(choirs, band, piano, and organ). It exceeds standards set by the State of Michigan for admission to college.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary has been accreditated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod School Accreditation(WELSSA)[2], which is a member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation(NCPSA).
[edit] Faculty & Administration
Michigan Lutheran Seminary's Faculty consists of 22 full-time professors, 2 part-time instructors, and 4 tutors (dormitory supervisors who also teach).
[edit] Extracurriculars
Michigan Lutheran Seminary offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities and programs for students.
[edit] Athletics
MLS students are required to maintain a 2.00 GPA to compete in athletic competitions. Students maintaining at least a 1.68-1.99 GPA are permitted to attend practices, but are prohibited from competing in competitions. Students maintaining a GPA lower than 1.68, are restricted from participating in any MLS athletic activities. MLS is a member of the Michigan Tri-Valley Conference, and participates in the following sports: Football, Cross Country, Volleyball, Girls'/Boys' Basketball, Wrestling, Golf, Baseball, Softball, & Girls'/Boys' Track.
[edit] Performing Groups
Michigan Lutheran Seminary supports numerous performing groups as part of its extracurricular program.
- Pom Pons perform dance routines at pep rallies and all home football games and home boys' basketball games. All Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors are allowed to try out.
- The Court Street Players (CSP) is devoted to encouraging interest and involvement in the theater arts at Michigan Lutheran Seminary. CSP produces two productions a year; a fall children production and a spring general production.
- The MLS Forensics Team competes in both individual events and sweepstakes trophies.
- Hardin Street Harmony (HSH) represents Michigan Lutheran Seminary at various churches during the school year. Normally, HSH sings pop music for social events at churches, but occasionally they also sing sacred music for worship services.
- The MLS Concert Choir, directed by Professor Leonard Proeber, is a group of auditioned Juniors and Seniors who sing sacred music at various churches most weekends throughout the school year. Choir singing School Hymn
- The MLS Band offers great enjoyment to home boys' basketball and football games.
[edit] Service Groups
Among MLS's extracurriculars are various service groups intended to support school activities and student life.
- Red'n'White is a student-run online newspaper that includes many serious and humorous articles for everybody's enjoyment.
- The Cardinal is the title of the MLS Yearbook and is created by a staff of students supported by a faculty advisor.
- The MLS Student Council is made up of elected representatives of MLS who contribute to Seminary family by organizing student activities.
- MLS Teens for Life is a service organization with the purpose of educating students and faculty within MLS and beyond on the value and sanctity of life.
- Sight & Sound is a student group which films home (and some away) sporting events, runs sound and lights for chapel services, and sets-up/takes-down for school concerts.
[edit] Seal
The MLS school seal depicts a cardinal, the school's mascot. Below the cardinal there are three letters: I.N.I. and Sept. 13, 1910 -- the date the school became part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. I.N.I. stands for "In Nomine Iesu" in Latin (In the name of Jesus). Below that on the lefthand side is Luther's Seal; on the righthand side is a picture from the State Flag of Michigan.
[edit] History
Michigan Lutheran Seminary began 122 years, 300 days1 ago in August of 1885 when one teacher and six students assembled in Manchester, Michigan. German Lutherans in Michigan felt a need to train pastors to serve a growing number of immigrant congregations. In 1887, the Reverend Christoph Eberhardt of Saint Paul congregation in Saginaw donated two near-by acres of land on Court Street. This led the Michigan Lutheran Synod to move MLS to its present location and to dedicate Old Main, the school’s first building, later that year.
When the Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota Synods federated in 1892, the new confederation decided to convert MLS into a preparatory school. Disagreement over this change split the Michigan Synod. MLS continued as a pastor-training seminary until dwindling enrollments forced it to close its doors in 1907.
By 1910, the Michigan Synod had re-established its ties with Wisconsin and Minnesota. The confederation called the Reverend Otto J. R. Hoenecke to open MLS as a proprietary school. Five students enrolled on September 13, 1910. In 1913, the school added a dormitory to house fifty students. By the end of the 1920’s, four teachers served an enrollment of seventy-five. The MSL C, a forerunner of today’s Booster Club and MLS Guild, appeared. The campus added two professors’ homes in 1920 and 1924 and a dining hall in 1925.
Growth slowed during the 1930s but picked up after World War II.
In recent years, MLS has continued to upgrade its facilities by reconfiguring all dormitory study space, refurbishing most of its dormitory rooms, adding a new science wing, equipping its library, classrooms, and offices with infrastructure to allow ready access to developing technologies, and installing into its chapel a 22-rank pipe organ.
While such outward changes must continue in order to meet the need of a growing Seminary family, what is most important at MLS – our great heritage of God’s Word and the vital work of preparing young people to proclaim His Word to others – remains unchanged.
Since 1910, the school has been continuously operated as a ministerial education preparatory high school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
[edit] Recent Developments
Recent financial deficits in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (which runs MLS) prompted the WELS Synodical Council to consider closing Michigan Lutheran Seminary as a preparatory school. At the WELS Synod Convention in the summer of 2007, it was resolved "that the 2007 synod convention reject the recommendation to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary at the end of the 2007-08 school year"[3] The resolution stated its reason being that, "it is not prudent to downsize proven programs in vital areas of our work, like the production of pastors..."[4]
[edit] Notes
1 Margin of Error: 15 days
[edit] References
- ^ Mission & Purpose
- ^ Schmugge, Karl M. "WELSSA" Cardinal Connection Vol. V, Issue II Spring 2006: 13.(PDF)
- ^ Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, "Proceedings of the Fifty-ninth Biennial Convention"(Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 2007) REPORT OF FLOOR COMMITTEE NO. 7, Resolution No. 5, Subpoint 'a'; p. 40(PDF)
- ^ Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, "Proceedings of the Fifty-ninth Biennial Convention"(Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 2007) REPORT OF FLOOR COMMITTEE NO. 7, Resolution No. 5, Subpoint '6'; p. 39(PDF)
[edit] Bibliography
Braun, John A. Together in Christ: A History of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 2000. ISBN 0-8100-1211-1
"Michigan Lutheran Seminary," http://www.mlsem.org/
"Michigan Lutheran Seminary," http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=1081&contentID=71112&shortcutID=25231
