Dominican Seminary Offers Online Symposium in Spanish

Concordia the Reformer Seminary in the Dominican Republic hosts an annual symposium drawing an increasingly large crowd each year. The draw is two-fold: It is currently the only Lutheran theological symposium in Spanish, and the quality of the presenters and presentations is top-notch. It was the overflowing crowd at last year’s conference that prompted the organizers to reluctantly establish the by-invitation-only rule for the 2020 symposium scheduled to take place next week.

Venezuelan Immigrants Begin New Life

People come here to survive—not voluntarily. Waves of Venezuelans, including nurses, dentists, engineers, teachers, students, and others, reluctantly take the short, ninety-minute flight to the Dominican Republic, and embark on a life vastly different from what they are accustomed to. Having left behind family and friends, home, and everything familiar, they begin life again, from scratch. They leave the country that they love, not because they want to, but because they have no other option if they want to live.

Seminary Intensive Course Online

No rest for the weary! Our seminarians finished up finals week on Friday and immediately dove into a two-week intensive course. Latin American pastors and deaconesses were invited to join our seminarians for this online class on the theology of mercy, taught by Pastor Ted Krey, Regional Director for the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Video: Seminary Update from the Dominican Republic

During this time of uncertainty due to the global pandemic, many are in various states of quarantine or isolation from social activity. Our seminary and her students and staff are no different. Seminary Director, Rev. Joel Fritsche, shares some of the ways in which the work continues, and the Gospel goes out even in the midst of this storm. Thanks be to God.

Mission Education Team Visits the Dominican Republic

In January 2020, Concordia Seminary St. Louis sent two deaconess students on a mission education trip to the Dominican Republic to learn about various aspects of the ministry occurring there and throughout Latin America. Participants Janie Schlie and Christina Shaffer, both first year students, had the opportunity to experience what life is like in the Dominican Republic while serving alongside and learning from missionaries, deaconesses and local believers.

Disaster Response Workshops in the Dominican Republic

Disaster Response workshops were hosted by Concordia Lutheran Church and School in Palmar Arriba, and Lamb of God Lutheran Church and School in Licey, through grants from the Mercy Center, an institute of Concordia the Reformer Seminary in the Dominican Republic.

Seven Adult Confirmands in Licey, Dominican Republic

On Trinity Sunday, seven new adult confirmands were brought into membership at Lamb of God Lutheran Church in Licey, Dominican Republic. Missionary Pastor Sergio Fritzler, from Argentina, serves the congregation part-time, in addition to his duties as a seminary professor at Concordia the Reformer Seminary. Recent seminary graduate, Yban Navarro, assisted with the service.

Project: Dominican Republic Mission

The rapidly growing Dominican Republic Lutheran Mission (DRLM) is the hub for mission work in the Latin America & Caribbean region (LAC). Church plants in the country’s two largest cities are moving toward self-sufficiency as they identify leaders, reach out to local and immigrant communities, and sow daughter preaching stations.