Concordia Lutheran Seminary

Today we returned to our beloved seminary after the fire. Psalm 137:3 reflects the spirit of what we've gone through ... like those in Babylonian exile, it is hard to "sing one of the songs of Zion ... in a foreign land." It just isn't the same. Yet we are thankful that we can sing praise to God who is everywhere ... from anywhere. And the ABC District Office and CUCA have been a great second home where we built new bridges and relationships, singing songs of joy amid our loss. In Ezra's day, when the rebuilt (second) temple was seen by those returning from exile, there were two kinds of tears -- those of joy over the return and restoration mixed with and indistinguishable from the tears of sorrow in the memories of what had been lost (Ezra 3:13). We may have a mixture of tears as well ... we are back home, but it isn't yet quite the same. It is good to be home, and sing the songs of joy in God's blessing.  However, some things are different as we r

The air scrubbers hum and whir as cleaning crews make great progress on the office areas and classrooms. We hope to be back in the offices, chapel, and classrooms by Monday, November 24. The library, however, is sealed for the more complex process of reclaiming books, periodicals, and our other resources. Our reserve books and e-resources on NEOS are still available for student coursework. Although God's people were dispersed to Nineveh, Babylon, Egypt, and the Mediterranean basin and the world, God was present for His faith-filled people in every place. He is also with our CLS family wherever we work, study, and serve.

Wednesday night's fire only burned a small area in the library basement, but it left a huge mess: the smell and residue of burnt plastic, ash, and soot that found its way to cover every surface and pollute the air in every room. The restoration crew arrived on Friday morning to begin reclamation: 15 large capacity air filtration units (OmniAire 2000V HEPA Negative Air Machines) have been running non-stop since then, needing blackened filters changed periodically. The smell has improved greatly - a huge first step. The cleanup of offices has also begun, and classrooms, chapel, and other public areas will follow. The rich library resources are still covered, waiting the next series of decisions about how best to move forward. For today, as wonderful as the ABC District and CUCA have been at welcoming us, everyone looks forward to getting back into the offices and classrooms soon.

On the evening of November 12, a fire broke out in the basement of the seminary library. The fire department responded quickly and prevented the fire from getting out of control. In an email to faculty, staff, and students, Dr. Jim Gimbel said "although the structural damage is minimal, the heavy soot and smoke damage is a huge mess.  Furthermore, a burned wiring area has messed up the circuit for a major part of our heating unit, so our building is also quite cold." The seminary community has been welcomed by both the ABC District Office and Concordia University College of Alberta, who have offered the use of office space, classroom space, and whatever else is needed during the clean-up and restoration. Seminary classes continue to be held, and faculty and staff are using other spaces for work until November 24 when the offices and classroom areas should be clean and re-habitable. The library clean-up is forecasted to take 6 to 8 weeks. We thank God for His protection in