Dear Lord Jesus Christ, after your resurrection you gloriously ascended to the right hand of God to rule victoriously over heaven and earth and to reign forever over all creatures, so that through the Holy Spirit you may make holy, purify, strengthen, and comfort all who believe in you, also distributing to us and all your people life and various gifts and benefits, and shield and protect us together with the whole Church against the devil and sin. We thank and praise you for your gracious reign worldwide and especially for what you have done and continue to do in the Lutheran Church of Southern Africa.

As we celebrate your glorious ascension today, we remember your last mandate and testament you gave to your disciples and your entire Church preceding your coronation and enthronization in heavenly majesty and splendor. You gave to us the ongoing mission mandate to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Grant to us that we don’t tire in this enduring mission endeavor, but that we concentrate our will-power, energy and dedication on doing your will faithfully and effectively as good stewards of those wonderful gifts, that you have so richly endowed unto us.  We commit to you and your gracious mercy and love the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (Pretoria), where over the past decades numerous students from all over the African continent have been nurtured and uplifted in good, practical and meaningful teaching of your holy word and the Lutheran confessions to become Lutheran pastors and lately also deaconesses. You have blessed this undertaking in South Africa to serve small, but growing Lutheran Churches throughout the continent who don’t own Seminaries with excellent programs and dedicated Lutheran teachers. Over a hundred students have been trained here and are now active as pastors throughout the Lutheran Church in Africa. We thank you for these faithful men and also for the open doors and golden opportunities for Lutheran missions in Africa that you have given to your one holy Christian Church. We are so grateful that through friends and supporters of the Seminary you have provided richly, daily and graciously the necessary means, facility and capability to accommodate up to 50 students at a  time with serious academic tuition, solid theological literature, faithful worship, nutritious meals, basic accommodation and sustenance, good company and even travelling allowances.  You have even given us the opportunity of a official partnership with the university of Pretoria to enable our theology students to enroll in accredited programs up to the highest academic levels. We thank and praise you for this wonderful development of our Churches training program and also for those men, who have already achieved their masters degree in this way.

Lord heavenly father, the harvest is great and plentiful, but the workers remain few. Grant in your mercy the necessary means and financial capacity to grant bursaries and scholarships for willing, but needy and poor students from across Africa to be trained as Lutheran pastors and deaconesses. Give enough willing and capable manpower to get the work done, that is needed to keep such an institution up and running in administration, housekeeping, repairs besides the regular teaching, preaching and pastoral care.  Make people willing to serve as short-term volunteers and long-term missionaries to help consolidate, expand and promote your work at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (Pretoria).

Lord heavenly father we ask you humbly to continue to make people willing to support this your long-term work of training, nurturing, uplifting and empowering students of your Lutheran Church in Africa for the urgent and vital work of pastoral care, preaching and mission outreach in a significant and meaningful way.

Grant us the help of your grace, that as you promised to be with us until the end of the world we will never loose faith in you and your eternal kingdom, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.