Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP) recently installed two new Lutheran Classroom Teachers, Joshua Schumacher and Naomi Staudenheimer, in a service held on campus. The installation marks the formal recognition of their calling to serve the university community through teaching and mentoring in the context of the Lutheran faith.
Schumacher serves as head football coach at CSP, where he leads student-athletes on the field and mentors them in their growth as young men of faith and character. Staudenheimer serves as a teacher at Hand in Hand, CSP’s on-campus daycare, where she cares for and teaches some of the university’s youngest learners.
CSP President the Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich conducted the rite of installation and preached. University Pastor the Rev. Tom Gundermann assisted in the service.
The installation of Lutheran Classroom Teachers reflects the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s understanding of teaching as a vocation, a calling in which God works through individuals to serve their neighbors. Whether in a locker room, on the practice field, or in a classroom of toddlers, Lutheran teachers carry out this work in service to students and their families.
Founded in 1893, CSP is affiliated with The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), and its mission is grounded in a promise to “welcome all as we honor Christ.” At CSP, Lutheran convictions inform the intellectual life of the university, and that same Christ-centered commitment shapes how students are taught, coached, and cared for. It is this foundation that empowers students to discover and engage their purpose for life, career, and service.
The two installations also illustrate the breadth of that mission at CSP, which extends from early childhood through the university level. Through Hand in Hand, young children begin their education in an environment shaped by the Christian faith, while student-athletes and students on campus continue to be formed in that faith through coaching, teaching, and campus life. Under both Schumacher and Staudenheimer, the university’s welcome to all, in the name of Christ, takes concrete form in daily work with students and families.