CSP Ministry and Spiritual Life

Want to get connected with CSP Ministry?  There are so many ways you can get involved!

Find Us at Our Spaces

Most of our opportunities and hang time happen in 3 main places:

• Graebner Memorial Chapel / Cross of Christ Fellowship Center (CCFC)/ the Underground
  Where you’ll find daily chapel, the CSP Ministry staff office, and coffee, snacks, & hang out space! 
• The Living Room
  A comfy space on the tunnel for homework, hanging out, meetings, Bible studies, and making others feel welcome on campus.
• Prayer Chapel
  A small, quiet space for individual or small group prayer and conversation at the bottom level of the Behm Crossroads, below the Buenger Education Center.

Student Groups

• 908 – Wednesday nights at 9:08pm in the Chapel | [email protected]
• Propel Women’s Ministry – Monday nights at 9pm in the Living Room (in the tunnel by the game rooms) | [email protected]
• Cornerstone Men’s Ministry – Monday nights at 9pm in the Underground | [email protected]

Bible Study
CSP Ministry sees Bible Study as an incredibly important piece of Christian life and discipleship.  CSP Ministry offers seasonal study opportunities and resources during Lent and other times.  We also equip students and staff to lead and facilitate Bible Studies in their areas of campus as well.

Serve in Chapel
We love having as many different people involved in chapel as possible.  Do you like to read aloud?  Are you interested in running sound or visuals?  Do you play an instrument or sing?  Do you do skits or dance?  We would love to have you use your gifts in chapel!

Pastor Tom Gundermann
University Pastor
[email protected]
Ph: 651.641.8271

Pastor Thomas Mark Gundermann: aka “Pastor Tom” is married to Amy (Schaffer, CSP class of 2000). Tom and Amy have three children: Kayla, Noah, and Eva, who all attend Central Lutheran School in Saint Paul. Together they enjoy biking, camping, and many and various musical and athletic activities. Amy and Tom met on Concordia’s campus in 1996 (Tom’s parents, by the way, met on Concordia’s campus in 1955).

Pastor Tom is a graduate of Pilgrim Lane Elementary, Plymouth Junior High, Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, Valparaiso University, and Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis.  After undergraduate work and before Seminary, Tom participated in a year of Youth Encounter and a year of Lutheran Volunteer Corp.  The YE year brought him to West Africa where he witnessed the young Lutheran churches of Ghana and Nigeria.  The LVC year was spent serving the immediate neighborhood where Concordia is located helping with literacy, recycling and gardening programs.

Amy and Tom have served three congregations before coming to Concordia: Trinity First in South Minneapolis, Peace Lutheran Church in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and Faith Lutheran Church in Penfield, New York.

Tom’s interests include spending time with family, writing music and Biblical musicals, “free lance carpentry” around the house (a few blocks South of campus), and almost anything athletic (GO GOLDEN BEARS!)  You can check out some of Tom’s music at tunesbytom.org .

Shelly Schwalm, DCE (’10)
Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry, DCE (Director of Christian Education) Program Director
[email protected]
Ph: 651.641.8213

Shelly is an Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry, DCE (Director of Christian Education), Program Director, and alumna of Concordia University, St. Paul.  She grew up in small town Kansas, but loves calling the Twin Cities home.  Shelly is also a Youth Encounter alum, traveling the east coast on Captive Free NorthEast 04-05.  Shelly enjoys traveling, spending time with loved ones, coffee shops, ethnic food, live music, being outside, creative artsy things, being an auntie and godmama, and finding adventures of all kinds.

She is a musician, speaker, and writer (check out her blog).  Shelly says the best part of her job with CSP Ministry is introducing students to how good “life to the full” in Jesus can really be.

Devotional life is an important part of the campus life at Concordia, St. Paul.  We have chapel opportunities taking place Monday through Friday. Chapel is a time for the community to gather around Scripture, song, prayer, and devotional thoughts from various members of our campus community or invited guests.   Chapel at CSP includes a variety of styles and practices that are observed throughout The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.  Various choirs and ensembles offer music throughout the year in chapel, as well as theatre and dance contributions.  Holy Communion is celebrated in chapel on festival occasions.  Students, faculty, staff, and guests are welcome to attend chapel services.

Morning Chapel

Monday/friday – 10:30am
wednesay – 7:30am communion
tuesday/thursday – 11:30am

A Typical Week in Chapel
Chapel times include a variety of forms, orders, and leaders.  It is our goal that the beautiful diversity of our campus community and its gifts can be represented in chapel.  To reach that goal of variety and involvement, our weekly order will not always be the same, but generally, some common themes can be expected.  No matter the form or the leader, though, we will always gather around the Gospel of Christ as found in the Holy Scriptures.

• Monday – service of the Word and song
• Tuesday – service of the Word and song
• Wednesday – Convocations, Communion, and other orders
• Thursday – A rotation of traditional orders of Matins, Morning Prayer, and Celtic Daily Prayer often accompanied by the Jubilate Choir
• Friday – service of the Word and song

Questions about morning chapel?  Would you like to get involved or help out?  Contact the team!

Evening Chapel

• Compline – Monday at 10pm. It is a traditional, peaceful worship liturgy to celebrate the closing of the day.
• Taize / Contemplative – Tuesday at 10pm. It is a contemplative, reflective time of worship where Scripture is read and sung. This service often includes a time of reflective silence for prayer.
• 908 – Wednesday at 9:08pm. 908 is a time of contemporary worship including a worship band, student or guest speaker, and prayer time.
• Holden Evening Prayer – Thursday at 10pm. It is a beautiful piano-led service of singing and prayer.

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Website

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) is a mission-oriented, Bible-based, confessional Christian denomination headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.  Concordia University, St. Paul is one of the 10 colleges/universities operated under the auspices of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

For the Sake of the Church

The Concordia University system encourages an endowment effort to significantly increase the number of future Lutheran leaders for the church and society.