California Swing—California Lutheran University (CLU)

Thousand Oaks, CA: Home of California Lutheran University, a great campus ministry program, and wonderful students! What more can I say?

Our visit (I was traveling with colleagues from some of the other ELCA seminaries) at CLU began with supper at a local restaurant to meet with prospective students; they were an energetic bunch & a lot of fun.


I had a conversation with a number of them regarding the Master of Divinity program at Luther with a concentration in Children, Youth and Family. I also was able to reconnect with a prospective student who visited Luther during the "Day in the Life" event this past February. The class range of students in attendance was from senior to freshman. It was fun to listen to the seniors who have been discerning and working through the application process for seminary and candidacy explain to the freshman how the process works. They certainly made my job easier, but it also helps to hear about these things from a peer and from someone actually going through the process. I appreciated their input.

The next day we continued our visit at CLU on campus. We joined the community for chapel, took an informal tour of campus and joined some of the current and retired faculty for lunch.

My thanks to Pastors Scott and Melissa Maxwell-Doherty for their wonderful hospitality and top notch ministry at CLU. The love they show for the students and for their work truly is a testimony to all those considering professional ministry as a vocation of what a joy it is to serve Christ and the church in this way.