Rev. Darrel Bergelin

Rev. Darrel Bergelin (’70), retired pastor last serving at Trinity Lutheran Church in Howards Grove, Wis., is not the only graduate in his family from Concordia University Wisconsin.


“…Eight of my ten children, a son-in-law, and a sister also chose CUW as the place for their college education,” he said. “For our family, CUW has become our home away from home.”

That’s one of the reasons Darrel and his wife, Deede, donate to the university’s Concordia Fund, which plays a key role in fulfilling CUW’s mission as a Lutheran higher education community committed to helping students develop in mind, body, and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world.

“CUW has helped our family become a family of church workers,” he said. “I am a pastor. My five CUW graduate daughters are all Lutheran school teachers. Of my three CUW graduate sons, two are pastors, and the third is in the world of finance. … My sister is a teacher, and my CUW graduate son-in-law is also a pastor. He and my daughter met at Concordia. CUW has had a hand in shaping us all.”

By donating to the Concordia Fund, the Bergelins help shape the future of current and future students. Darrel credits the Lord in being the most influential factor in his giving to the university.

“He has blessed us with a university that boldly holds up Christ for the students,” Darrel said. “Our prayer is that CUW graduates take the Lord with them into their chosen field.”

We hope you will join the Bergelins in supporting the Concordia Fund by becoming inaugural members of the Concordia Cornerstone Society. The CCS is part of an effort to raise awareness of the Concordia Fund’s unrestricted gifts to help impact the immediate needs of our students. By making an unrestricted, cumulative gift of $1,000 or more on a fiscal year basis (July to June) to the Concordia Fund, a donor will become a member of the CCS. For more information about the society and to see its benefits, click here: cuw.edu/cornerstonesociety.

If this story has inspired you, why not explore how you can help further Concordia's mission through giving.