Editor's note: This story first appeared in the spring 2021 issue of Hearts Together, a Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor Special Magazine Edition.
In the preceding pages, we reflect on Rev. Patrick T. Ferry’s past 30 years of service at Concordia. It is an amazing story of how God blesses those He calls to accomplish His purposes and plans. During his decades of service, President Ferry has never lost sight of the fact that he is the Lord’s servant.
His love for Concordia has inspired and drawn us closer together. His legacy of faith and faithfulness will never be forgotten.
While it is important to look back and reflect during times of transition, we must not remain in the past. We must look to the future and the work that is yet to be done. We live in a time when the Gospel is being dismissed by cultural forces like never before. It will take strong, Christ-centered leadership, along with God’s blessings, to withstand these challenges in the decades to come.
But therein lies our hope. We trust that God’s faithfulness will help us through challenging times. Though we face changing demographics and difficult economic realities, we see daily how God is working in and through His people to continue the mission of Concordia to help our students develop in mind, body, and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world.
Over the past few decades, families have been asked to carry a higher percentage of the educational costs at Concordia. To bring relief to this problem, we must grow our endowment so that additional financial aid can be provided while still keeping Concordia on a plane of excellence in education. For those not familiar with endowments, these are funds invested for the long term with a portion of their gains used for current scholarships or program support.
If you have supported any of our endowments at Concordia in the past, you are an important part of securing our future and helping to prepare the next generation who will serve Christ in the Church and the world. Please accept our thanks.
Through the blessing of endowments, God continues His work among us, and for that we are grateful.
REV. DR. ROY PETERSON, CFRE
President, Concordia University Foundation
The spring/summer 2021 Hearts Together magazine hit mailboxes in early April. View a PDF version of the magazine here. If you are not on our mailing list, but are interested in receiving a free copy, email Jennifer.Hackmann@cuaa.edu.
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