Each year LSTC presents alumni awards to graduates of the seminary and its legacy institutions who have distinguished themselves in faithful service to the gospel and the body Christ.
2020 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
Three 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients were celebrated during Homecoming 2020. These alumni are pictured above and described below. Watch the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony on the LSTC YouTube page.
Angela Shannon (1996, MDiv) received the Called to Lead Award. She has been a mentor and support for many women in the church, particularly women of color. A self-described church “blerd,” she loves liturgy and theology. Since 2003 Shannon has been an oblate of Our Lady of Grace Monastery. For over 20 years she has been involved in ecumenical and interfaith conversations in the U.S. and abroad. She is an advocate for LGBTQIA+ individuals and other historically oppressed people. She currently serves as pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church, Bowie, Md. Shannon has been director of student life at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.; associate pastor of King of Glory Lutheran Church, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; and served as intentional interim for several congregations in need of healing and revitalization. She also serves on the board of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and is the national vice president of the African Descent Lutheran Association.
Watch Rev. Shannon's sermon from the October 14, 2020 virtual chapel service.
The Rev. Kyle Severson (2015, MDiv) received the Emerging Voice Award. In his first years of ordained ministry, Severson has demonstrated a commitment to raising up and equipping new leaders for Christ’s church. He served on and later chaired the Metropolitan Chicago Synod’s candidacy committee and supervised contextual education students at St. Philip Lutheran Church, Glenview, Ill., where he was pastor. He led that congregation to become Reconciling in Christ. He currently serves as associate to the presiding bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, ELCA, where he focuses on candidacy and relates to the North and Near West Conferences. He was instrumental in providing guidelines to congregations during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is an active member and contributor to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and Proclaim, advocating for the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the life of the church.
Watch Rev. Severson's sermon from the October 15, 2020 virtual chapel service.
The Rev. Troy Hedrick (1963, MDiv) received the Lifetime Service Award posthumously. Hedrick was known as a kind and patient teacher, a mentor to many. serving four congregations throughout Illinois. While at St. Luke’s, Park Ridge, Ill., he served on the board of Lutheran General Hospital, chairing the committee on medical ethics. He was then called to serve as vice president for community outreach at Trinity Healthcare System in the quad-cities. He retired in 1999 but remained active on the board of Crusader Clinics in Rockford, Ill. He also volunteered as a patient advocate and was part of a group called “No One Dies Alone” at Swedish American Hospital, also in Rockford. He received the Spirit of Caring Award from Crusader Health in 2012.
Past Awards
Pictures from past ceremonies are available on FlickR.
Compilation videos from previous years are available on YouTube.
View a list of past recipients.
Nominations
LSTC alumni and friends are invited to nominate an individual who exemplifies ministry excellence in one of the following categories for Homecoming 2021.
- Emerging Voice: shows excellence in ministry, in their first 3-10 years of ministry.
- Witness to the World: clergy or lay person engaged in the work of public church in any setting; may or may not be on the roster.
- Specialized Ministry: involved in church-related ministries such as chaplaincy, campus ministry, social service, education and/or music ministry.
- Called to Lead: those visibly answering the call to prophetic leadership in the wider church.
- Excellence in Parish Ministry: excellence in preaching, teaching, pastoral care, evangelism, or stewardship, with at least a decade of ministry experience.
- Faithful Servant: those whose faithful service inspires love of God and neighbor.
- Lifetime Service: occasionally we recognize an alumnus/a who has recently died and who has exemplified servant leadership throughout their lifetime.
Access our Alumni Award Nomination Form here.
The Alumni Relations Committee, on behalf of the LSTC Alumni Board, thoroughly reviews all information received and thoughtfully recommends candidates to the Alumni Board to make a final decision. Awards are presented during Homecoming.
Questions? Contact Alumni Board member Sara Olson-Smith at sara.olson@gmail.com.