We are delighted to announce that Rev. Dr James A. Kellerman has accepted the call to join the seminary faculty. He announced this decision to his congregation, First Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Chicago, on Sunday, 15 May, at the end of their celebration of the congregation’s 150th anniversary. The seminary’s Board of Directors (Regents) had extended the call with prayer after interviewing candidates on Thursday, 28 April.
Dr Kellerman will replace Dr John Stephenson, who will enter retirement at the end of December 2022. Dr Stephenson has served the seminary as a productive scholar, writer, and teaching theologian for 33 years, having joined the faculty as a young man in 1989. We hope that Dr Kellerman will be able to move to St. Catharines in August. With his specialisation in Classics, he will teach in the areas of early church history, New Testament, biblical languages, and, considering his lengthy parish experience, pastoral ministry. All of the CLTS faculty are expected to teach across multiple disciplines and to bring a theological approach to practice and a practical approach to theology.
Dr Kellerman is pastor of First Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Chicago, Illinois, where he has served for nearly 30 years. Previously he was Assistant Pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church, Chicago (1991–93). In those years he has also been a regular instructor at Concordia University Chicago (River Forest), chiefly teaching classical languages and biblical studies. He is a graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne (MDiv 1988), and Loyola University Chicago, with two degrees in Classics (MA 1992; PhD 1996). Dr Kellerman is a native of Wichita, Kansas.
Please pray for God’s blessing on Dr Kellerman as he departs from his congregation and prepares to move to Canada.
Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary 
This appointment of Dr. James Kellerman is a very wise choice for CLTS St. Catharines. He has the lovely balance of a brilliant intellect and a humble kindly spirit and is a worthy successor of Dr. Stephenson. By this move, the seminary will grace the future of faithful Lutheranism in Canada, indeed in all of North America.
Congratulations to the Reverend Doctor Kellerman, CLTS and the LCC churches in Ontario. Glory be to God!