by Rev. Chuck Muether, Director of Advancement

If you were a child of the seventies, you might recall those catchy back-to-school “good morning to you” Levis commercials. When they rolled out, you knew that summer was officially over and it was time to get some new cool threads before that first bell of a new school year. My mom never got me the good denim, opting instead to get me the less expensive knockoff—Sears Toughskins, at $4.99 a pair (remember, this was the 1970s), but that did not diminish my eagerness for entering a new grade in school.
The excitement of anticipating a new year followed me when I would become a middle school teacher and many years after that when I plunged back into the classroom as a seminarian of a brand new institution called Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Now, as a seminary advancement director and an occasional instructor, I get even more excited about the dawn of a new academic year when I see students eager to begin or continue their theological training. Even from afar, it was thrilling to hear how our Philippine students were devouring their studies at the start of their summer courses.