The Rev. Dr. Dean K. Thompson, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s eighth president, will preach at the first chapel service of the academic year on Friday, September 10. Thompson’s sermon is entitled “…when Jesus saw their faith…” and will focus on the biblical story of four men who brought their paralytic friend to Jesus to be healed, found in Mark 2:1-12.

All chapel services at Louisville Seminary are open to the public. They are held in the Frank H. and Fannie W. Caldwell Chapel, Tuesday through Friday each week, beginning around 10 a.m. The style of each service varies, and each Friday the Seminary offers a service of Word and Sacrament, which includes Communion.

Thompson was elected as president at the April 22, 2004, meeting of the Louisville Seminary Board of Trustees. He was previously pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Charleston, W.Va., a 1600-member congregation he served since 1995. A pastor for more than three decades, Thompson also served congregations in Austin, Texas, and Pasadena, Calif. Thoughout his pastoral leadership, he served on the boards of two other Presbyterian theological seminaries.

His first official duties as president of Louisville Seminary included attending the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), held in Richmond, Va., in June. During the denomination’s meetings he was endorsed by the Committee on Theological Education and their recommendation was approved by General Assembly vote on June 30. Thompson also had the opportunity of sharing his vision for theological education with the committee, and he delivered an address called “The Good Pastor” at a lunch gathering of more than 100 alums and friends of the Seminary. These two addresses are available on the Seminary’s website.

Thompson moved to Louisville in late July with his wife Rebecca McDaniel Thompson, and the newly elected president arrived in the President’s Office on August 2. Since his arrival he has had the pleasure of celebrating the reaccreditation of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program, and has been introduced to many local constituents of the Metro Louisville area, including a breakfast gathering at the Presbyterian Community Center.

A Service of Inauguration and Installation will be held April 23, 2005, at 11:00 a.m., during the spring meeting of the Board of Trustees. The public is invited to attend.

Caldwell Chapel is located on the Seminary campus at 1044 Alta Vista Road. For more information, contact the Office of Communications, 502.992.9362, or by email.