By Ross Engel.

In pubs and dive bars across the world, there often sits a bell on the bar. In Navy bars this is often a ship’s bell (mind you, there are many rules about ringing the bell in a Navy pub, make sure you check local customs before you get yourself into a heap of trouble), in Irish pubs it can be a small hand bell, and in the bar I tended at in college it was a simple front desk bell. The bell is there to serve three functions. The first use is for the bartender to announce last call. The second use is for the bartender to show thanks for a good tip. But the third and most exciting use (and the one most fitting for our Jagged Word readers) is for a patron to buy a round of drinks for the bar.

With that little bit of history in mind, we managed to come up with an official name for our “adopt-a-seminarian” fund. We call it: “The Bell Ringer’s Fund.” If you need a quick reminder about the fund itself, click here.

The first recipient of The Bell Ringer’s Fund is 2nd year Ft. Wayne Seminarian Greg Bauch. Greg is a second career student with a previous background in accounting. He is a husband and a new father to a baby boy. Greg plays for the Concordia Theological Seminary basketball team and is a well read and serious future pastor and theological student. He does enjoy a good dram of Scotch and managed to close down the bar with Rev. Koch and myself this past January. He certainly was able to hold his own well after the last call bell was rung.

Greg will be preparing for his vicarage over the next few months. He will find out on April 29th where he and his family will be spending next year.  This is an exciting time for Greg and his family. When he was informed that he would be our first recipient of the Bell Ringer’s Fund his reply was a reserved but ecstatic, “Woohoo!” Greg is looking forward to treating his brother seminarians out for a drink at the bar and delving into some theological discussion.

Help him ring the bell loudly with his friends and buy some excellent theological books. We will be accepting donations via PayPal here at The Jagged Word over the next several weeks. You have until March 31st to donate to Greg, the recipient of the first ever Bell Ringer’s Fund.

Now is the time to tell your friends and family, send out a reminder on Facebook, do whatever it takes to get the word out and together we will spread some cheer to our future pastors!