08/28/2026
As the school year begins, we thank God for our affiliated universities and seminaries, which have deep connections with our church. In 1845, First Lutheran Church helped create and establish Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio) and its theological department, which later became its seminary, Hamma Divinity School. In 1978, Hamma Divinity School merged with Capital University's Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary (or Capital Seminary for short) (Columbus and Bexley, Ohio) to form the new Trinity Lutheran Seminary. This coming together of a seminary of the American Lutheran Church and a seminary of the Lutheran Church in America helped bring forward the creation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 2018, Trinity Lutheran Seminary rejoined Capital University, reuniting the seminary with the university. Today, the light of Christ that First Lutheran Church shared with these institutions continues to shine brightly.
A prayer for Wittenberg, Capital, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary as they start their year, adapted from the ELW,
"Eternal God, bless Wittenberg University, Capital University, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary and our other church-affiliated schools and educational institutions, that they may be lively places for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach, those who learn, and those that serve, may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, Amen"