I am a 71-year-old male of northwestern and eastern European ancestry. Being born and raised in north central Wisconsin, it’s not surprising that I still enjoy deer hunting. My hunting partner, who lives in a city about twenty minutes away from my village, is thirty-one years old. He is a member of the Hmong community. We first met in August 2020. How did two guys with obvious differences in age and ethnicity, who reside in different locations, ever get connected?
The answer: through the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS). The WLS website states: In partnership with WELS Joint Missions, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary’s Pastoral Studies Institute provides pre-seminary and seminary training to North American students from a variety of countries and cultures . . . In addition, around the world . . . PSI stands ready to assist regional mission teams in the evaluation process and to provide consultation and support in theological education leading to fellowship.
As a retired WELS pastor and missionary, I am one of the many adjunct instructors who assist the WLS faculty in training PSI students. Most of the time, but not always, this has involved distance learning with courses being taught via the Internet. I’ve had the privilege of instructing Asian students from Iowa and Wisconsin, an African from Minnesota, and men from the Philippines and Kenya. My hunting partner, Semson Lor, is one of those students.
PSI students are often older than other WLS students and come from different ethnic backgrounds. As such they will bring experiential knowledge to their future ministries in addition to the theological education provided by PSI. As future pastors called to serve within a specific ethnic group, they possess societal and cultural insights that books do not teach. Their uniqueness can only make our
cadre of clergy stronger.
As of last fall Semson is also, professionally speaking, my colleague in Christ in that he now serves with a divine callas vicar at First German and Trinity Hmong in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. But of far greater importance is the simple fact that we are baptized brothers in Christ. This is the foundation of our relationship whether we are discussing theology as retired pastor and vicar, studying a PSI course as theological instructor and student, or just as two guys who simply enjoy being out in God’s creation while hunting in the great outdoors.
My battery-operated socks keep my old feet warm when in the woods during winter in Wisconsin. But the blessing of being a PSI instructor for Semson and other men like him warms my heart as they share their faith and spiritual insights with me. The fellowship we share is special. The hunting is fun, but it is our shared faith that really binds us together.
At the end of one of his exams then-vicar Lor wrote in answer to the final question: I know that this is just the start. I hope and pray that I grow in knowledge and faith so that I can rightly interpret God’s Word in the only right way and be able to use that knowledge to share the good news of Jesus with the world. May our dear Lord Jesus continue to foster this humble servant attitude in the hearts of all our PSI and seminary students as they continue in their current studies and later in their future ministries. Soli Deo Gloria!
Gregory Bey is a retired pastor and missionary currently serving as an instructor for the Pastoral Studies Institute.