New Lutheran Chaplain at MIT

New to MIT

My name is Tim Seitz and I a pastor in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) and I have recently been appointed Lutheran Chaplain to MIT. I am married to Kathryn Lohre and we recently had our first child, John. I have been serving at Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge for two years as the assistant pastor. This summer I was invited to come and work for the Lutheran and Episcopal ministries at MIT. Amy McCreath is the Episcopal priest that I have the great privilege of working with. I have been serving as the Lutheran Chaplain for just over two months now and I have yet to figure my way around MIT.

Aside from getting turned around in the infinite corridor, there are so many different groups, events, faculty, staff, and resources available at MIT that it is impossible to keep them all straight in my mind. I absolutely love it! I have never served as a chaplain in campus ministry before so I have little to go on; that said, I believe MIT has one of the greatest chaplaincy programs that one could find. We have full time chaplains and part-time chaplains to represent basically any faith and/or denomination you could think of. How incredible to live and work in a real pluralistic environment. I engage people from other faith traditions in conversation merely by walking to my desk – while many others strive to find ways to start pluralistic dialogue. For me it is as simple as saying good morning and I have bridged the communication gap between Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist communities!

The greatest epiphany however has been how amazing our students are! Whether involved in our ministry LEM (Lutheran Episcopal Ministries) or another group or no group at all – I have been awestruck by the depth of my conversations with students and their ability to ask incredibly poignant and insightful questions. I have been blessed and challenged by this appointment and I know that I will continue to strive to communicate the Gospel according to MIT standards: to live, serve, and love God in ways that are relevant, mission oriented, and fun. LEM worships in the Chapel at 5:15pm each Wednesday evening – I hope you will worship with us if you get the chance.