Every other month we get an update on what’s been happening recently at ourImmanuel Lutheran High School, College and Seminary in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
“One generation will praise your deeds to another, and they will declare your mighty acts. I will contemplate the glorious splendor of your majesty and the accounts of your wonderful works. Then they will speak about the power of your awesome works, and I will tell about your great deeds. They will pour forth the memory of your abundant goodness and sing loudly about your righteousness.” (Psalm 145:4-7 EHV)
The above passage is a prayer of recognition of God’s blessings of the past, and of hope for future blessings from Him. All Christians recognize the kindness and majesty of God in their lives. It is knowledge of that greatness of God that parents want to share with their children. Such sharing begins at home and can continue in a number of ways, one of which is pursuing a Christian education for their children. The existence of our CLC schools bears witness to the importance Christians place on a Christ-centered education. Such schools include K-8 Christian day schools throughout the CLC, Immanuel High School in Mankato, Minnesota, and Immanuel Lutheran High School, College, and Seminary (ILC) in Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
“Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will praise you forever. From generation to generation we will recount your praise.” (Psalm 97:13 EHV)
Below is a demonstration of God’s precepts in action over the last sixty years, as we see how former generations have valued the Christ-centered education they received at ILC by sending present generations of young people to learn to “contemplate the glorious splendor of your majesty and the accounts of your wonderful works.”
Of the present student body, seventy students are third-generation students at Immanuel. A few of those are pictured in the accompanying photos. In some cases, both sets of parents and both sets of grandparents were also students at Immanuel. There are twenty current students whose parent, or parents in many cases, attended Immanuel, making them second generation ILC students. There are forty-two students who are first-generation Immanuel students. Next year, Lord willing, we may have the first fourth-generation Immanuel student!
It is also interesting to note that fifty-four sets of parents or grandparents of present Immanuel students married people they met at ILC, another blessing from God. The trend of finding a God-fearing spouse at Immanuel is continuing today as three of our present collegians are married or engaged to schoolmates. Of our current faculty and staff, twelve married ILC schoolmates. Only the Lord knows whether any of the rest of our present student body will find a soul mate here at Immanuel.
Long-time CLC members will of course recognize many of the last names that recur frequently at Immanuel, names like Barthels and Bernthal, Gurgel and Gullerud, Schaller and Schierenbeck, Radichel and Reim. But perhaps even more important are the many first-generation students who are looking to establish a future legacy at Immanuel, with names like Joers and Johnson, Freberg and Havemeier, Daub and Willitz, Blank and Vieth. For them, too, attendance here brings the rich blessings of Immanuel, “God with us.”
In addition to His directives to parents, the Lord has this counsel for the young people themselves: “Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.” (Proverbs 4:10-27 NIV) Our prayer is that our students may value the greatness of our God, and share His mighty acts with future generations. In addition to praising God for preserving an emphasis on Christian education throughout multiple generations, we pray that we may continue to reach new generations of students who will receive the blessings and benefits of an education centered in God’s Word.
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5 NIV)
is a professor at Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.