November 10, 2025

Martin Luther College Forum brought Louisa May Alcott’s beloved story to the stage this November with Little Women: The Broadway Musical.

Audiences followed the March sisters—Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth—as they dreamed, grew, and discovered joy in a simple life.

Forum’s production of the musical captured the heart of the original tale, complete with moving songs and moments of adventure. Behind the scenes, the cast and crew found a family of their own. “We encouraged each other on and off the stage, building lasting friendships while growing closer to Jesus,” shared first-year Lilah Kiecker (St. John-Lomira WI, pictured center), who portrayed Amy.

Ella Bergemann (Good Shepherd-Downers Grove IL, pictured far left), who played Meg, added, “Forum is a truly incredible community! Not only did we work as a team to make something beautiful, we did it all for the glory of God.”

Together, they created a production that reminded audiences of the beauty in our journey home.

Couldn’t make it to the show, or want to see it again? Visit our website to find out how to stream the performance from the comfort of your home!

Ministry preparation is at the heart of everything we do at MLC. That’s especially evident on Evangelism Day, when our campus family is immersed in presentations and discussions about sharing the gospel.

This year’s Evangelism Day theme, “That We Might Save Some,” was based on 1 Corinthians 9:22. That portion of scripture was also the focus of Rev. Jonathan Hein’s DMLC ’93 keynote address — “Two Cultures That Shape Ministry: Theirs and Ours.”

In his address, Rev. Hein discussed how gospel ministers can read the culture of the community around them while building a congregational culture that reflects Christ.

That idea was threaded through each Evangelism Day presentation, with speakers sharing their ministry experiences in community outreach, urban ministry, family engagement, Spanish ministry, reaching out to the poor, and more.

See pictures from the day in our photo gallery.

For the MLC campus family, October and November have been all about cozy gatherings with friends. Check out a few highlights below, and see even more in our photo gallery.

On October 30, MLC dorm staff hosted a Trunk or Treat event for our students and the children and grandchildren of our faculty and staff.

The Craft Society met in the Cultural Engagement Center to try gouache painting and enjoy a cozy evening with friends.

Students gathered to hear Professor Timothy Grundmeier’s presentation, “How to Write a History Book: Reflections on a Thirteen-Year Journey” — and came away with new copies of his book!

The Student Senate and Student Events Team hosted the annual Fall Fest on November 2, inviting the campus family to enjoy pumpkin painting, games, a raffle, live music, and more.

Ten MLC students have served or are currently serving in the United States military. We’re grateful for their service to our country — and their desire to serve our Lord in his church one day!

We’re also grateful to the Lutheran Military Support Group (LMSG), which awards a scholarship each semester to every WELS and ELS veteran or active service member who is pursuing public ministry.

Pictured: Jesse Childress (Abiding Peace-Simpsonville SC), Gregory Foote (Zion-New Ulm MN), Brad Price (MLC ’20, LMSG president), Matthew Nygaard (Redeemer-Fond du Lac WI), Paul Kuske (St. John-Baraboo WI), and Logan Glowicki (Lord of Life-Thornton CO).

Not pictured: Joshua Hein (Trinity-Waukesha WI), Seth Willitz (St. Paul-New Ulm MN), Brett Gilbertson (Living Promise-Morristown TN), Ezekiel Finkbeiner (Mt. Lebanon-Milwaukee), and Isaiah Hahm (Holy Trinity-New Hope MN).

The MLC football team was recognized by the UMAC for a trio of individual performances in its victory over Greenville University in October. Read more highlights at MLC athletics.

Voted UMAC Offensive Player of the Week, Brady Turriff (Grace-Charlotte NC) hit a career high in passing yards and matched his 2024 four-touchdown effort against Greenville.

Brady completed 62% of his passes and connected with Noah Huebner (Grace-Milwaukee) on a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Thomas Balge (St. Paul-New Ulm MN) was voted UMAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 16 tackles for two consecutive games, leading the Knights in that category.

Tom currently sits in fourth amongst all UMAC defenders in tackles this season.

Micah Koschnitzke (Grace-Milwaukee) was voted UMAC Special Teams Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks.

Micah was instrumental in two of the Knights’ October wins, with five-for-five point-after-touchdown attempts and seven tackles in each victory.

The Ladies’ Auxiliary has a new name—the MLC Auxiliary—and a new logo to match!

After careful consideration, research, prayer, and board support, voters at the October 4 meeting decided to adopt this new name along with a new constitution and corresponding bylaws. What hasn’t changed? The Auxiliary’s purpose of promoting and supporting MLC!

At the annual meeting, members enjoyed fellowship with one another, heard from current students, and prioritized the list of new projects submitted by faculty and staff.

Along with the MLC Auxiliary’s standing projects—tuition scholarships, travel assistance for student teachers, and Daylight projects—the members prioritized 11 new projects that will enhance student experiences and classroom learning.

Interested in giving toward these projects? Fill in the online donation form and select MLC Auxiliary from the drop-down menu.

Or choose one of these additional ways to donate:

• Text “auxiliary” to 507.223.4344
• Call in your credit card donation to Tami Board at 507.354.8221
• Mail your donation to MLC Auxiliary, 1995 Luther Court, New Ulm MN 56073

Where’s my magazine?



We are moving from three to two issues of MLC InFocus magazine every year. So watch for them at the end of each semester—one in January and another one in June! 

See last summer’s issue here!

Could one of our professors visit your congregation for an MLC Sunday?

Our profs love to join parish pastors for a special Sunday where we focus on the gospel of Jesus and how MLC is training future pastors, teachers, and staff ministers to share that gospel. We can preach, lead Bible class, and give presentations on what's new at the college.

Interested? Please contact Allison Bovee at boveeae@mlc-wels.edu to request a visit from us!

• November 23 - Wind Symphony Concert
• December 6-7 - Forum One-Acts
• December 13-14 - Christmas Concert

Calls Received:

• Mrs. Emily Cantwell (GPLHS) received a call to MLC to serve as a professor of special education.
• Mr. Kevin Walker (Bethlehem-Germantown WI) received a call to MLC to serve as the director and a professor of the staff ministry program.
• Rev. Mark Parsons (Truth in Love-Nampa ID) accepted a call to MLC to serve as a professor of English.