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Claus Harms House is Launched!
An Evangelical-Lutheran House of Studies in Hyde Park, IL

Dr. James E. Galezewski

On June 25, 2003, the Claus Harms House: An Evangelical-Lutheran House of Studies was officially formed as an Illinois non-profit corporation. Claus Harms House is an independent, pan-Lutheran school for theological education. It provides Christ-centered biblical, confessional, and pastoral training from an Evangelical-Lutheran perspective to equip seminarians, clergy, and laity with the skills necessary to serve the Holy Christian Church and its proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The primary purpose of the Claus Harms House is to foster through its programs the proclamation of the Word of God in its purity as recorded in the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and witnessed by the confessional writings of the Evangelical-Lutheran church as the sole authoritative source and norm of proclamation, faith, and life.

Claus Harms House is making plans for a residential program on the stimulating campus of the University of Chicago. We have begun by offering quality alternative programs that bring theological training and continuing education to people in ways that overcome barriers of distance.

The Claus Harms House has three facets: The Theological Studies Program, the Church Workers Symposium, and the Lutheran Lay Academy.

The Theological Studies Program provides a focused period of study in Lutheran confessional and practical theology within a seminarian's larger theological education. The program also provides intensive "face to face" training for its participants. This program is open to students at Lutheran seminaries during their years of study and to individuals who have not attended a Lutheran seminary. Graduates will receive the Master of Divinity Degree. The program is open for enrollment this fall.

The Church Workers Symposium is a series of intensive continuing education events for ministers and called church workers. These events provide a forum for the development and honing of knowledge in scriptural studies, church history, the Lutheran confessions, and practical theology (pastoral care and counseling, church administration). The first Church Workers Symposium is being planned for February 4-6, 2003, in the Omaha, NE, area.

The Lutheran Lay Academy is focused on introducing members of Lutheran congregations to the richness of the Holy Scriptures, the Lutheran Confessions and the history of the Church. The first series of classes through the Lutheran Lay Academy are being offered around the country in October 2003.

The Claus Harms House logo is a swan with the words: Veniat Cygnus Qui Melius Cantabit ("A swan will come who will sing better"). This motto has an interesting origin. When Jan Hus was burned at the stake, he commented that the Papacy was cooking his goose, but "a swan will come who will sing better"– someone whom they could not "cook"! The Lutheran Reformers considered Martin Luther the fulfillment of Hus' prediction, i.e., a Reformer whom the Papacy couldn't simply burn at the stake, hence the motto's meaning for us today.

Dr. James E. Galezewski is a graduate of LTSC, and an advisor to the Claus Harms House Board of Regents.

Read more about the Claus Harms House in the District News Section...

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