Good Shepherd Institute 2023 – Fort Wayne, IN

Ever since 2017, when the church observed the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, similar anniversaries have presented themselves. Our 2023 Good Shepherd Institute conference will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Formula Missae through the insights of Bryan Spinks, a well-known liturgical scholar who is now professor emeritus at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Closer to our own time, Paul Grime will offer some new insights into the liturgical developments that led to the creation of The Lutheran Hymnal. Finally, on a completely different note, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Seminary’s deaconess program by hearing from the current director, James Bushur, who will help us consider how Lutherans can speak on a theology of mercy. The living tradition of excellence in church music also continues, with an organ recital on Sunday afternoon featuring the upgraded console in Kramer Chapel, a choral Vespers on Sunday evening led by the Seminary Kantorei, and a hymn festival on Monday evening at St. Paul’s in Fort Wayne, utilizing its renovated organ, the Schola Cantorum, and area church choirs.