For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven … (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
The name of this column, “New Beginnings,” was a natural choice when I began my call as Dean of Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University on January 1, 2018. It was a new beginning for me and also a new beginning for Trinity itself, which became a part of Capital University on the same day.
From time to time, I’ve wondered if the name still fits. How long can something remain “new”? How long does a “beginning” last? But with each new academic year, each new calendar year, each new student, each new challenge, and each new opportunity, the name still seems to fit. While “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever“ (Hebrews 13:8), those of us who follow Jesus are always being made new as we live out our callings in new circumstances and in new ways.
This week I’m writing to let you know that I plan to retire at the end of June, 2025. That will mark 7½ years of my leadership here. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together.
I’ve done a lot of hiring. Every time a faculty or staff member has left Trinity, whether through retirement or to pursue God’s call in a different direction, I’ve wondered how we will be able to replace them. And each time, God has sent us a new, faithful, gifted person to continue the work!
Through local outreach in Columbus, we’ve greatly expanded the diversity of our student body, both in religious affiliation and in racial and ethnic identity. Our mainline Protestant students preparing for ministry are learning side by side with Baptist, Pentecostal, and non-denominational students who have been in ministry for years but are only now pursuing formal theological education. As I like to remind people, Trinity’s mission is “forming leaders for Christ’s church at work in the world,” not just for the Lutheran church.
And we have continued to build and strengthen Christian community – which is something that I know drew many of our alumni and supporters to Trinity in the first place. We still worship together, learn together, eat together, and laugh and cry together.
God has blessed this seminary for almost 200 years. I am grateful for the privilege of leading this blessed work for a time.
The Rev. Kathryn A. Kleinhans, Ph.D.
Dean
Announcements.
Please join us for the Nelson W. Trout Lectures on April 3-4, 2025. Our featured speaker and preacher is the Rev. Dr. Teresa L. Smallwood, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs and The James Franklin Kelly and Hope Eyster Kelly Associate Professor of Public Theology at United Lutheran Seminary. Registration is now open for this free (!) stimulating (!) event. Please plan to join us – and invite a friend!