Opening Service - Monday, August 24, 2026

Order of Service

• Prelude
• Hymn 2 - Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord View
  vv 1-3; Procession of the Faculty
• The Versicles and Gloria Patri (p. 108)
• O God, Beyond All Praising
  Choir: vv. 1, 2; Congregation: v. 3
• Reading: Colossians 2:6-10 View
  As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
• Hymn 24 - Lord, Open Thou My Heart To Hear View
  vv. 1-3; Choir sings between verses
• President's Address
  Dr. Gene Pfeifer, President of Bethany
• Installation of New Faculty and Staff
• Presentation of Scholarships
• Hymn 35 - All Glory Be To God On High View
  v. 1
• Kyrie, Lord’s Prayer
• Collect for the Opening of the Academic Year
  Lord God, heavenly Father, We thank you that by Your grace You have given us Your holy and blessed Word, by which You also among us gather Your Holy Christian Church. We humbly thank You for providing us with an institution of higher learning, where the precious knowledge of Christ our Savior can be confessed and taught. As we begin this academic year, we ask that Your hand of blessing would rest upon teacher and student, that all learning may give glory to Your name, for the edification of Your people and the welfare of our fellow man. Help us, O God, by Your Holy Spirit, to keep Your Word in pure hearts, that we may be strengthened in Christian faith, perfected in holiness, and comforted in life and in death.
• Opening of the Academic Year
  P: I now declare the Bethany Lutheran College Academic year of 2026–2027 to be in session, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, (+) and of the Holy Spirit. All: Amen
• The Benedicamus and Benediction (p. 127)
• Hymn 82 - With the Lord Begin Thy Task View
  vv. 1 - 5
• Postlude

Recordings

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