Lutheran Theological Seminary Saskatoon

We are pleased to introduce the graduates of 2026. Today, we celebrate Rev. Patricia Giannelia, Post Graduate Certificate in Theology. Some words from Patricia, about herself:

The earth is [our God’s] and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it… (Ps 24:1)

The Earth is our Mother, Sister, Brother, Neighbour. When we truly realize this at the core of our being, “bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh”, and come to love and care for this neighbour as we do ourselves, we might begin to genuinely restore it to where it is meant to be.

I am a retired Lutheran pastor living in Kelowna, BC. I earned my MDiv at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (now Martin Luther University), and was ordained in 1991. I served Good Shepherd/Bon Pasteur in St. Lambert, QC, (English/French), St. Paul’s, Richmond Hill, ON and Christ Lutheran in Kelowna (English/German). I have also served in various extra-curricular capacities in the church and the community over the years.

The LTS commitment to distance learning enabled me to take a few courses while in the parish. This led me to enroll in the DMin Program in 2020, during Covid. I was interested in the area of agriculture and sustainability, due to living amongst farms and orchards in Kelowna and due to following a largely whole food plant based way of eating to support my husband Walter’s challenges with advanced heart disease.
The courses were interesting and thought provoking, and I learned a great deal.

Sadly, despite several years of improved quality of life, Walter died in December 2025. My program had been changed to a Post-Graduate Certificate in Theology, which I completed in April 2026.

I dedicate this Certificate to Walter for his love and support over the 25 years of our marriage, and to my parents, Kianga and Johannes, for instilling in me love for the land. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Seminary Faculty for their flexibility and understanding in my personal situation. I hope many more students come to find fulfilling study at LTS.

We are pleased to introduce the graduates of 2026. Today, we celebrate Rev. Wing Yee (Joey) Cheung, Certificate in Lutheran Leadership. Some words from Joey, about herself:

“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” — Acts 9:6

To live out faith and mission through obedient action has guided my journey. In 2022, this conviction led me to leave my home and step alone into the unfamiliar land of Canada. There, I was given the opportunity to serve in a Chinese Lutheran Church and to begin my studies at LTS. This journey has been deeply precious. Along the way, I experienced God’s presence in a very real way, as God answered the prayer of my heart: “Let me see Your grace so that I may proclaim Your glory.” Over these years, this prayer has not only been spoken, it has been lived.

My studies at LTS have broadened my perspective and laid a strong foundation for ministry in the church. This season has been marked by growth and gratitude. I am thankful for the guidance of all my professors, especially Professor Kayko and Professor KSG, who understood my context, encouraged me, and strengthened my confidence. When language barriers limited my ability to express myself, they ensured I was not overlooked. Through their patience and care, many challenges were gradually overcome. I am also grateful for my classmates. Learning alongside them has been an honor, and their kindness and support have meant more than I can express. LTS has truly been a warm and supportive family in Christ.

I give thanks to God for faithful equipping, and I pray that in the years ahead, many more may see God’s grace and glory. Amen.

We are pleased to introduce the graduates of 2026. Today, we celebrate Ellen Katherine Duffield, Doctor of Ministry. Some words from Ellen, about herself:

Gentle me, Holy One, into an unclenched moment, a deep breath, a letting go of heavy experiences, of shriveling anxieties, of dead certainties, that, softened by the silence, surrounded by the light, and open to the mystery, I may be found by wholeness, upheld by the unfathomable, entranced by the simple, and filled with the joy that is you. (Ted Loder)

My father had a grade ten education but was never without a book in his hand. From him I learned to read, to ask questions, and to listen for unexpected answers. This proved to be both invaluable and exasperating. Some answers are more beautiful than you could have imagined, and some more painful than you were prepared for.

My time at STU has been so rich. We have had an amazing cohort and faculty. My husband has been a rock. Our DMin Director, Rev. Dr. Daranne Harris, and my Project Supervisor, Rev. Dr. Kayko Driedger Hesslein, have been outstanding. There has been more laughter than I expected, and more tears. There has been deep dialogue and a compassionate sharing of life. There has been a letting go of shriveling anxieties and dead certainties, and an opening to the mystery.

We are pleased to introduce the graduates of 2026. Today, we celebrate Sarah Marie Peyton, Master of Theological Studies (Honours). Some words from Sarah, about herself:

My journey thus far has been a winding one, for sure. From feeling the call to ministry as a teen, to falling away and doing a lot of questioning as a young adult, to suddenly finding myself being called to lead my congregation as a lay leader (and feeling very underprepared for that!) and thus seeking further education to help serve the people who had called me.

Even in just my few years at LTS and the STU, I have grown from “I just need to know what I’m doing here…” to “This is where I belong. This is where my heart sings with joy. This is my calling. This is what I want to devote my entire life to doing.”

We are pleased to introduce the graduates of 2026. Today, we celebrate Lisa Smith, Certificate in Diaconal Ministry. Some words from Lisa, about herself:

Philippians 4:8–13
“… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just… think about these things… I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

My early adulthood began with a Travel Consultant Diploma and work as a travel agent before I decided to “live the adventure” and joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Across 26 years in the CAF, beginning in finance and resource management and later serving as a Healthcare Administrator after completing my Bachelor of Commerce, I came to value teamwork, working collaboratively, and offering supportive leadership.

My call to ministry emerged through deep personal loss, namely my father, siblings, and most profoundly my late husband, Michael, whose ALS diagnosis came just after the premature birth of our twins, John and Victoria. That journey reshaped my faith. Through it all, my mother remained a quiet anchor of resilience and devotion, and today I am committed to being her caregiver in these precious latter years of her life; and I so admire her steadfast love in Christ.

Family remains central in my life. I am deeply thankful for the gift of reconnecting with my best friend from high school, Glenn, who is now my husband and greatest encourager. He has been warmly embraced by my family, and my twins hold him in respect, admiration, and affection.

My theological studies began ten years ago in the MDiv program. There were moments when I felt ready to step away, yet something always unfolded at just the right time, drawing me back in ways I could only assume were the Spirit at work. Over time, that gentle persistence led me to discern a call to diaconal ministry, where Word and Service meet in ways that resonate with my gifts.

I feel called to preach with honesty, creativity, and care, drawing on lived experience to offer comfort and hope. I value small group ministry, spiritual care, and building relationships across traditions and cultures, including work in truth and reconciliation and ecumenical engagement. I remain open to where the Spirit leads, grateful and a little amazed to be here. Thanks be to God!

We are pleased to introduce the graduates of 2026. Today, we celebrate Rev. Ralph Carl Wushke, Doctor of Divinity (Honoris Causa). From Rev. Dr. Kayko Driedger Hesslein’s speech at Convocation:

“Ralph Carl has been a minister in the United Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and received his Master of Divinity from LTS in 1978. For more than forty years, Ralph Carl has been a persistent and gracious advocate within the churches for 2SLGBTQIA inclusion. His tremendous list of accomplishments within the Lutheran church, the United Church, and the larger community—along with his courage to come out and his mentoring of other LGBT clergy—are what earn him this doctorate.

Among his many achievements, Ralph Carl was instrumental in bringing the work of Lutherans Concerned/North America (now Reconciling Works) to Canada. He helped establish the first LCNA chapters across several provinces with unflagging energy and tremendous compassion. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes helping the ELCIC move to full inclusion, beginning with same-sex marriage and then to ordaining and rostering openly gay and le***an pastors. Twenty years ago, when I was a young pastor in the Eastern Synod, Ralph Carl inspired me and other allies to commit ourselves to making the church a more welcoming and inclusive place. Today at LTS, we can trace the path from his advocacy to LTS being a Reconciling seminary and to our students learning from the Rev. Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, LTS’s Grace Professor of Leadership, and the ELCIC’s first openly gay seminary professor. Ralph Carl’s lifetime of work has enriched the LTS community—past, present, and future.

As an ordained minister, Rev. Wushke is a living example of the ways in which God blesses the church through individuals in the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and a living example to those communities of the blessing that the church can be when we proclaim, with words and actions, the Good News of Jesus Christ that all are welcome in God’s community.

LTS recognizes these attributes in Rev. Ralph Carl Wushke, and is delighted to bestow this honorary degree upon him.”

~With thanks to Rev. Dr. Kayko Driedger Hesslein for sharing her introduction from Convocation.

On Friday, May 29, the LTS community gathered for Convocation 2026, joining with our partners in the Saskatoon Theological Union for the 25th Joint Convocation.

As Chair of the Common Faculty, Rev. Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero welcomed graduates, families, faculty, and friends, reflecting on the joys and challenges of endings, beginnings, and transitions.

Convocation not only marks the completion of a degree or certificate, but it is also a ritual of transition for these graduates, “all of whom has experienced varying levels of change by forming knowledge, engaging with and sometimes wrestling against the ancestors of the faith, developing relationships of collegiality and communal suffering, and growing … growing in their understanding of what it means to be someone who leads amid the chaos of an ever-changing world.” Dr. Schiefelbein-Guerrero acknowledged that life transitions can be positive experiences filled with newness and/or negative experiences filled with loss or grief; and that both types of experiences can lead to a profound sense of uncertainty and asking, “What is next?”

“Convocation” in Latin means “a calling or coming together.” Dr. Schiefelbein-Guerrero noted that, for graduates of theological programs, the root vocare (call/vocation) takes on significant meaning: “The One who has called us together in this place is also the One who calls us from this place and into the world. The answer to ‘what is next’ is to listen – to discern – God’s call: the call that brought you, graduates, to your studies; the call that brought all of you here to celebrate; and the call that sends you forth.”

For this reason, Dr. Schiefelbein-Guerrero closed his address by stating that Convocation does not mark an ending but rather a beginning of what is to come, tying it with Sylvia Dunstan’s hymn “Bless Now, O God, the Journey,” which participants sang at the end of the ceremony. He concluded, “Graduates, you may not fully know the roads on which your upcoming journey may bring you but be assured that you do not travel them alone – for God has blessed and is blessing that journey, and we who are with you tonight will continue to accompany you as you go forth.”

Lutheran Theological Seminary and St. Andrew's College have announced their intention to move forward together into a new chapter of shared ministry and theological education.
Rooted in longstanding collaboration and a shared commitment to serving the church and the world, this step reflects years of relationship, discernment, and conversation.

Read more:
https://lutherantheological.ca/lts-news/lutheran-theological-seminary-and-st-andrews-college-announce-a-new-chapter-in-shared-ministry-and-theological-education

"Brave Changes, Shared Hope"

Dr. Harrison had a marvellous time with a great group from the Northern Area of ABT Synod, ELCIC, on May 9th, working with his book, Leadership in a Shrinking Church. Thanks to everyone who attended and to the wonderful hosts at Grace Lutheran! On June 6th, he will be at First Lutheran Church in Calgary.

ABT people: don't forget to sign up!
https://albertasynod.ca/our-ministries/fulfilling-our-mission/education/area-gatherings

Join us for Convocation celebrations Friday, May 29, 2026.

Whether you gather with us in person or join online, we would be grateful to have you share in this day of worship, celebration, and thanksgiving.

10:00 am
Conclusio Eucharist Worship
St. Andrew’s Chapel
Livestream: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82963758924

7:00 pm
Convocation Ceremony
Augustana Lutheran
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/0fS57-FSlUc

Convocation is a time to give thanks to God for our graduates, for the communities that have formed and supported them, and for the work to which they are being called.

At LTS, we celebrate this work as part of our shared life with the churches and communities of Western Canada. Our classroom is Western Canada, and our graduates carry their learning into ministry, leadership, and service across this wider landscape.

We hope you can join us.