Newsletter                   Newsletter Archive for downloading
August 2025

Dear Friends,

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” Psalm 133

Earlier this summer, we were richly blessed at the ALCA convention by the hearing of God’s Word and by the fellowship that we have in Christ. The Hancock congregation along with the other congregations in Upper Michigan did an exceptional job of hosting this year’s services. The theme for the convention this year was on God’s blessing of unity based on Psalm 133.

Unity amongst God’s people is a fitting theme, especially as we see increasing division in the church today. Fundamentally, we see divisions arise in one of two ways. First, we see infighting resulting from the pursuit of truth at the expense of love. Likewise, we also witness strife arise from the call to love without regard for the truth. As Christians, we are not given the choice between the pursuit of truth or the call to love. As difficult as it might seem to be, God’s Word commands that we do both. In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes this clear “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye My disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 “ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34-35 This is why the Apostle Paul speaks about the importance of “speaking the truth in love.” Ephesians 4:15

The good news is that there already is a unity in the Body of Christ that transcends our physical senses. The Psalmist says that “the Lord commanded this blessing” which in now fulfilled in Christ. Through the death and resurrection of God’s Son, we have the forgiveness of sins, Life and salvation. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:27-29 The great German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer echoes the Apostles Paul in his book Life Together “Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it.”

May God continue to encourage and strengthen us in our pursuit of the truth and in our calling to love one another “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3 As always, thank you for your ongoing support for the ministry of the seminary.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Chuck Bylkas


DONATIONS RECEIVED.....

In memory of Eva Vahakangas
From Joyce Tibbs


FALL SEMESTER PLANNING

Have you considered taking a class at the seminary but live out of the area? Our on-line capability using Zoom makes it possible.

This fall the following daily classes will begin on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Monday night class on Prison Epistles begins on September 8th at 7PM in Hancock or available on Zoom. For more information or if you are interested in taking a class, contact the office at 906-482-3337 or email: cilseminary@ilseminary.com

For class schedule go to: https://ilseminary.org/classchedule.htm

Daily Classes:
History of the Church: Reformation to the Present Day (3 credits) – The history of the church from the Reformation to the present.

Principals of Biblical Interpretation (3 credits) – A history and study of hermeneutical techniques and their application to the scriptures, including the methods of Textual Analysis. (New Testament Greek prerequisite highly recommended)

New Testament Introduction (2 credits) – An introductory study of the origin, authorship, purpose and reliability of the New Testament writings with special attention devoted to their literary design and individual and corporate unity.

Christian Education (2 credits) – The principles of the theology of Christian Education. Preparation for teaching Sunday School, Confirmation Class, Adult Bible Classes, etc.

Gospel of John (2 credits) – An exegetical study of the text of the Fourth Gospel emphasizing its structure and composition.

Isaiah (2 credits) – An exegetical study of the book of Isaiah, theories of its development and its impact upon the New Testament.

Koine Greek Readings (1 credit) – A course designed to apply the principles learned in New Testament Greek and facilitate the mastery of the language of the New Testament through reading selected portions of its text. (New Testament Greek prerequisite)

Prison Epistles (Monday night class-2 credits) – An exegetical study of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the congregations in Ephesus, Colossae, Philippi and to Philemon.


ATTENTION: SUPPORTERS
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SEMINARY.

CHOICE DOLLARS DETAILS: Eligible clients with membership can recommend where Thrivent distributes some of its charitable grant funds. These recommendations are shared by directing Choice Dollars to enrolled nonprofit organizations, including churches.

Eligibility requirements: To be eligible to direct Choice Dollars as part of Thrivent Choice®, you must be a client with benefit membership. Individual eligibility is also based on at least one of the following:
• Having $750 or more in annual billed premiums of qualifying life and health insurance products.
• Having $20,000 or more in contract value of qualifying life insurance and annuity products.
Eligibility is determined monthly and reevaluated on an annual basis.
Minimum and maximum Choice Dollars designations: Eligible clients will be designated a minimum of 25 Choice Dollars and a maximum of 5,000 Choice Dollars per eligibility period (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31).
Choice Dollars expiration date: Choice Dollars designated during the calendar year can be directed until March 31 of the following year.

For more information about Choice Dollars, visit http://www.Thrivent.com/thriventchoice or call 800-847-4836 or contact your local Thrivent Financial representative.

THRIVENT CHARITABLE IMPACT & INVESTINGTM

The Inter-Lutheran Seminary has established an Endowment Fund through Thrivent Charitable Impact & InvestingTM (formerly InFaith Community Foundation). All earnings of the endowment will be used for the seminary’s needs thereby ensuring the continued existence of this funding source. This is the preferred method used by many non-profit entities, especially ongoing religiously focused organizations such as seminaries. To learn more about this organization, go to www.thriventcharitable.com.

We would love to grow our endowment into a major source of ongoing seminary support. Although the seminary still needs the financial ongoing regular contributions of our supporters, please consider the endowment fund for your planned giving needs. For more additional information, please contact Kirk Otto, Jr. at (715) 821-8574 or Cheryl Hendrickson at
(906) 482-3337.

ANOTHER OPTION FOR GIVING – PayPal
Online giving is as easy as clicking the DONATE button on our website: https://ilseminary.org. Simply go to the How to Contribute tab and tap the yellow DONATE button to begin. There are options for credit and debit card donations and even the option to help the seminary cover the PayPal processing fee. (Note we are charged 1.99% + $.49/transaction fee). As always, we are thankful for your continued support!


**PLEASE NOTE**

If you are receiving this newsletter in error or would prefer to be taken off the mailing list, please complete the form below and mail to: P.O. Box 449, Hancock, MI 49930.
Or call 906-482-3337 or email: cilseminary@ilseminary.com. Thank you!

Date:_________________

Name:_______________________________________________________

Address:_____________________________________________________


I wish to be removed from the Inter-Lutheran Seminary’s mailing list.
 

Inter-Lutheran Theological Seminary
James Weidner, President
P.O. Box 449
Hancock, MI 49930

administrator@ilseminary.org
Phone: 906-482-3337
FAX: 906-482-0694