The annual Mercy Essay Contest is sponsored by the LCMS Office of National Mission to encourage seminary students to engage our Lutheran theology of mercy and its implications in life and ministry. Prof. John Pless of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Ind. coordinates the competition each year. Download Mercy Essay:

• By Faith Elizabeth Fretham - Luther on Mercy and the Lord’s Supper and Its Implications for the Lutheran Church Today
• By Aaron M. Hambleton - Life Together through Altar Fellowship: The Pastoral, Christian Necessity of Closed Communion
• By Scott Edward Johnson - By Whom All Things Were Made: The Importance of Confessing Christ as the Foundation of our Life Together with All Creatures
• By Jared Scott Deblieck - In the midst of the garden: The Divine Service Is A Work Of Mercy In The Church’s Ministry Of Word And Sacrament