PLU: School lives out its Lutheran roots

Re: “Time for PLU, UPS to retire mascots, too?” (TNT, 5/3). The editorial stated, “And at PLU, the Lute seems obsolete at a time when the school is backing away from its Lutheran heritage.” Even while the editorial was written partly tongue-in-cheek, I wish to respond and say that nothing could be further from the truth.

As the Lutheran bishop in this region and a member of Pacific Lutheran University’s Board of Regents, I see PLU honoring and expressing its Lutheran heritage every day. The key values and principles of Lutheran higher education, which originate in the teachings of Martin Luther, are the guiding framework with which PLU’s faculty and staff carry out their work. Students are not only given an excellent education, but are also helped to reflect on how God is calling them to use their gifts in service to the world, which stems from Luther’s teaching that each person has a “vocation.”

It is certainly true that students of all denominations and faiths are welcomed and respected at PLU, which prizes education through dialogue and discovery. Yet PLU continually draws on the strong center of its Lutheran roots as it carries out its mission.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 11:23 AM with the headline "PLU: School lives out its Lutheran roots."