Gottesdienst Conference in Fort Wayne
Gottesdienst will be hosting its annual May conference at Redeemer in Fort Wayne, Monday - Wednesday, May 4 - 6, 2026. This year’s conference features as its keynote speaker Dr. William Weinrich. Dr Weinrich is well known among us, having been a professor specializing in Early Church history for decades at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. He has been working on the third and final volume of his magnum opus on the Gospel of John in the Concordia Commentary series.
The theme for this year’s conference is Interpreting the Scriptures. In addition to Dr. Weinrich’s presentation, Dr. Karl Fabrizius will provide a section on the interpretation of the Ten Commandments and the Plagues in Egypt, Rev. David Petersen will present on how reading poetry helps us interpret Scripture, and Dr. Burnell Eckardt will have a section on interpreting the Kingdom of David. Also featured will be artist John Hrehov, who will speak on interpreting art (which also helps our faculty to interpret Scripture), and musician Jonathan Busarow, who will provide us with some voice training for worship.
Register with the early bird discount by April 15 for only $45 and save $30. April 16-May 4 registrations are $75. The schedule is given below. The conference includes two dinners and Gemütlichkeits and one lunch. The Gemütlchkeits are sponsored by LCEF. LCEF offers a number of financial products, but their current rates for rostered church worker mortgages are very competitive. They are also offering great rates on fixed rate investments and liquid accounts. If you’re in the market, look here https://lcef.org/get-started/start-investing/.
Redeemer Lutheran Church is located at 202 W Rudisill, Ft. Wayne, IN 46807.
Monday, 6 May 2026
1:30 p.m. Divine Service
2:30 p.m. Conference welcome
2:45 p.m. Session 1 – Dr. William Weinrich - interpreting the Gospel of John
3:45 p.m. Break
4:00 pm Questions for Dr. Weinrich
4:30 p.m. Vespers
5:00-8:00 p.m. Gemütlichkeit and and supper provided
Tuesday, 7 May 2026
8:30 a.m. Matins
9:00 a.m. Coffee and Donuts (undercroft)
9:15 a.m. Session 2 – Dr. Weinrich, continued
10:15 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Session 3 – Dr. Weinrich, continued, with discussion
12:15 p.m. Lunch provided
1:15 p.m. Session 4 – Dr. Karl Fabrizius - Interpreting the Commandments and the Plagues
2:15 p.m. Session 5 – Rev. David Petersen - poetry and interpreting Scripture
3:15 p.m. Session 6 - John Hrehov - How to read art
4:30 p.m. Vespers
5:00-8:00 p.m. Gemütlichkeit and Supper provided
Wednesday, 8 May 2026
8:30 a.m. Divine Service
9:00 a.m. Coffee and Donuts
9:15 a.m. Session 7 - Jonathan Busarow - voice training for worship
10:15 a.m. Session 8 - Dr. Burnell Eckardt - interpreting the Kingdom of David
10:45 a.m. Panel Discussion on Biblical Interpretation
11:30 a.m. Lunch on your own