Every other month we get an update on what’s been happening recently at our Immanuel Lutheran High School, College and Seminary in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
When Spring Break begins at ILC, many of our students hit the road, either to return home or to head out with the Tour Choir. One might expect, then, the campus to depopulate and begin shutting down for the next week or so. The exact opposite happens. Even before classes end at noon on Friday, the CLC Grade School Basketball Tournament begins.
In 1986, Don Brandt organized the first tournament of CLC grade school teams to play basketball with other churches and grade schools in our synod. This first tournament hosted five teams. The tournament, which is hosted annually at ILC, has grown throughout the years. In this year’s tournament, for example, sixteen teams participated. Even more impressive than the number of teams is how far some teams travel. The tournament has regularly included teams from our congregations in Washington, California, and South Carolina.
In addition to playing in or watching the basketball games, there are a number of ways people can participate in the tournament. Every year, Laurie Lau organizes a pep band concert that includes grade school students and ILHS students. Also, on Friday night after the games are over, alumni participate in a pick-up game. The robotics club also provides a demonstration of their latest invention. Volunteers provide and sell concessions, and this year the proceeds were donated to the EDUK8 fund. Indeed, volunteers are the heart of this tournament. Coaches and staff members of the schools and congregations give countless hours of their time for the youth of our synod. At the tournament itself, under the direction of Steve Schierenbeck and Steve Sydow, volunteers officiate, run the clock, keep score, and run the video livestream. It is quite amazing to see how the Lord moves so many people to help out in so many different ways.
During this packed weekend, many great memories are made. Certainly, players and fans alike will remember close games that went into overtime or the wonderful crowd reaction when the smallest kid on the team sinks an unlikely basket. But the most lasting and important effects of the tournament don’t pertain to basketball. Indeed, the goals of the tournament are to provide Christian fellowship and promote Christian sportsmanship, while exposing families to the campus of Immanuel. It is truly delightful to see Christians from across the country being able to meet like-minded brothers and sisters or reconnect with friends and family. One very special aspect of this tournament is the way it spans generations. A game may feature students from grades 5-8, referees who could be as young as teenagers or in their 70s, and spectators of all ages. In all the differences among those attending we can see the variety of God’s gifts, but above all these differences, we can also joyfully recognize how we are all bound together in the unity of fellowship and faith.
Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. (TLH 464:1)
is President of Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.