Established on 10.04.2022 by Deborah S. Yandala
Rev. Sherman Bishop was a 1976 graduate of Concordia College and was very proud of his Cobber roots. He liked to tell the story about the day in his senior year of high school when Rev. Ron Johnson, pastor of Waldheim Lutheran Church in Kathryn, North Dakota, told Sherman that he’d pick him up in the morning to take him to school. Instead of taking Sherman to high school, Pastor Johnson drove him to Concordia College. No one in Sherman’s family had attended college and he’d never been on a college campus.
That day changed Sherman’s life. He was greeted by the president of the college and faculty members. Sherman had a keen intellect, and he was very taken by the choice of classes and the size of the library. He loved the feeling of the campus and becoming a Cobber became his dream.
Sherman was accepted and thrilled to start college the next fall. He was active on campus, especially in residential life. After two years, however, he needed to leave college and work full-time, to earn funds to complete his college education. After a year of factory work, he returned to Concordia.
Sherman furthered his education at Luther Seminary and was ordained a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1981. He served parishes in Detroit, Michigan, and in Dayton and Westlake, Ohio, and was on the staff of the Northeastern Ohio Synod. He concluded his career as an interim pastor in Vermilion, Ohio. Sherman loved hiking, biking, and kayaking, sang in the Baldwin Wallace Men’s Chorus, and was involved in justice and anti-racism work.
Being a Cobber—wearing Cobber shirts with pride, listening to the Concordia Choir, and financially supporting the college—was very important to him. To honor Sherman, his wife, Deb Yandala, and their three children, Matt, Nate, and Emily Bishop, established this scholarship so that other students don’t have to leave school for financial reasons. Sherman believed that a college education is essential—not just to get a good job, but because a liberal arts education opens the world to young adults—as it did to him with his rich experience at Concordia.
The purpose of the Rev. Sherman A. Bishop Scholarship Fund is to provide access, educational support, and encouragement to students who desire to attend Concordia College and receive a Concordia education. The scholarship is awarded by the Office of Financial Aid to one or more students of any class or major who demonstrate financial need.