{"id":11723,"date":"2025-10-02T17:28:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/?p=11723"},"modified":"2025-10-02T17:28:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:28:43","slug":"valpos-lutheran-centennial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/valpos-lutheran-centennial\/","title":{"rendered":"Valpo’s Lutheran Centennial"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Valparaiso University\u2019s Lutheran Centennial<\/a> celebration began at Homecoming 2024 and will conclude at Homecoming 2025. This event commemorates the faith and dedication of a group of Lutheran Pastors and laypeople who purchased the University in 1925 and began a new chapter in American Lutheran Higher Education. The Lutheran University Association was motivated by a desire for a Christian University that educated students for various callings. This intention stood in contrast to other Lutheran Colleges and Universities, which were initially founded to prepare Pastors and teachers to serve the church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This expansive view of vocation and calling is why being a Lutheran University isn\u2019t simply for those who identify as Lutheran. The goal of Lutheran higher education is to help students, faculty, and staff recognize the gifts that God has given them and discern how to use them to be a blessing to the world. This approach is rooted in the Lutheran understanding that all people, not just professional church workers, have holy callings. Christians have an acute sense that their lives are meant to be an extension of God\u2019s love. Others may not realize that God is working through them when they show love for their neighbors, but nonetheless, a Lutheran education directs them toward the same ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lutheran Centennial isn\u2019t just about the past. It is about the present and the future. The theme for the Centennial celebration, Enduring Faith, Eternal Joy, captures this dynamic. Based on Hebrews 12:1-2, we are reminded that we are \u201csurrounded by a great cloud of witnesses\u201d from the past, even as we celebrate and live in the present. Hebrews 12 goes on to remind us that we are running a race. Still, our eyes are drawn to Jesus, \u201cthe pioneer and perfector of our faith,\u201d who goes before us to lead the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During homecoming weekend 2025 there will be many opportunities to celebrate Valpo\u2019s past, present, and future. On Friday, October 25th at 1 p.m. in the VUCA<\/a> there is an event commemorating Valpo\u2019s unique mid-century modern architecture. You can also come by the Chapel to view several new installations that help tell the story of Valpo\u2019s Lutheran history and its ethos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, October 26 at 10 a.m. we will gather in the Chapel for a special worship service celebrating the conclusion of the Lutheran Centennial. Appropriately, this is also Reformation Sunday, an annual festival celebrated by many churches, commemorating the Protestant Reformation sparked by a young Priest and University Professor named Martin Luther in 1517. You can also purchase tickets<\/a> to attend a special brunch after worship in the Harre Union Ballrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Centennial celebration concludes, there will also be a report from the Centennial Strategic Discernment Team<\/a>, which has been exploring the question, \u201cHow is God calling Valpo to live out its Lutheran identity now and in the future?\u201d That report will be completed sometime after the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope you will join us for Homecoming weekend to celebrate Valpo\u2019s legacy of \u201cEnduring Faith and Eternal Joy!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Rev. Dr. Brian Beckstrom, Associate Vice President for Mission<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Valparaiso University\u2019s Lutheran Centennial celebration began at Homecoming 2024 and will conclude at Homecoming 2025. This event commemorates the faith and dedication of a group of Lutheran Pastors and laypeople […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":11724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[14,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-csl-newsletter-devotionals","category-brian-beckstrom"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Elizabeth Searle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/author\/esearle1\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/2024-2025-Lutheran-Centennial-homepage-graphic2-1-1-300x166.webp","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/a>","Brian Beckstrom<\/a>"],"unlinked":["CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/span>","Brian Beckstrom<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 2, 2025","modified":"Updated on October 2, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 2, 2025 5:28 pm","modified":"Updated on October 2, 2025 5:28 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11723"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11727,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11723\/revisions\/11727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}