Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

Page 9 text:

From the President’s Desk HERE are two types of people who comprise our world: the masses and ■ the molders. The former are pulled and pushed hither and thither by the forces of life; the latter, though also strongly influenced by those forces, themselves help give direction to life. The masses are like the crushed and ground wheat-flour; the molders are like the living yeast which, mingled with the flour, fills it with life and makes possible the production of bread for the world. From every Christian college should come men and women who are molders— men and women who, in the name of Christ and humanity, give direction to human society rather than yield to its massive pressures. Our veterans, now returned from the ends of the earth, have lived and striven in the toils and terrors of war. They have helped to prevent the shackles of political and spiritual slavery from being laid upon the whole world. They have fought and suffered creatively in the service of our country and of man- kind. But a new day demands a new and higher creativity—the creativity of clear vision, of steady service to man, of undeviating loyalty to truth and human good, of love that serves and suffers in the unheralded places of earth. Today at Augsburg we are seeking to build our school larger, finer, more effective, more beautiful, with expanded physical facilities, with an increased and strengthened faculty, with a wider variety of courses. Two or three years hence, with the continued blessing of God giving success to present plans, should see our campus situation completely transformed, and Augsburg in a position to be a stronger Lighthouse of Christian Education than she has ever been. In due season the physical towers beautifully symbolizing Faith and Hope and Love will rise, giving nobler habitation to the teachings that have re- echoed here for more than seventy-five years. But physical transformation is not enough. Without spiritual vision and power we perish. By God’s grace we must build in larger numbers human lives and characters that are creative. We must send more Christ-filled leaven into the crushed and lifeless masses of city and country, of the nation and of the world. This is today’s call to a higher warfare. It summons us all, teachers and students, veterans and non-veterans. And our response to it will be even more crucial, more fateful in its ongoing influences, than was our response to the call which summoned in 1941.

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DR. BERNHARD CHRISTENSEN President THROUGHOUT the whirl of college life we have felt the quiet and force- 1 ful leadership of Dr. Christensen, our president and our friend. His un- tiring efforts and enthusiasm for Augsburg, his determination in maintain- ing high educational standards, and his firm spiritual convictions have challenged our hearts and minds to greater scholastic achievement and deeper Christian living. We are grateful for his guidance and faithfulness as he leads us in the search for truth.

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In Mmorim ROGER SIMENSEN (1917-1946) What a blessing it is to have known some people. How I was brought low aud he saved me. they add to the real worth of life! So also with Roger. Psalms 116:6 He was a quiet youth who answered the call of his coun- try as a plain duty to be performed. But he also remembered his duty before his maker. From far away lands came echoes that he had shown the Christlike spirit of sympathy and interest for those who suffered. Having done his duty well, he hoped to finish his schooling and take his place in life, but the stress of war took its toll. He was laid low” in a veterans’ hospital. Even there the Lord was with him. A cherished memory, that of a rainy summer’s evening when all was dismal, to hear his assuring words that all was well! He was ready to meet his Maker and Savior. He was brought low, but God saved him. Precious was his death in the sight of Jehovah. WILLARD STHCK (1925-1946) When a promising youth is taken from us we so often Thy brother shall rise again. stand with only a big Why?” in our minds. As days of John 11:23 preparation come toward their fulfillment, we cannot un- derstand why the days of labor” should be taken away. The Psalmist said, In thy book they were all written, even the days that were ordained for me. . .”, and we echo in our hearts, The Lord knows best.” Relatives and friends ask why Willard should be taken away so young. We can only answer, Your brother shall rise again,” arise to an endless life of service to God. The service God did not permit him to render here, will be rendered more perfectly in God’s own presence. May this thought comfort us and help heal our sorrow. Roger Simensen Willard Steck