Magazine of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Summer 2014LSTC

EPISTLE

“Our church needs you”2014 Commencement

Dear friends in Christ:

Not long ago, I read a memoir by Fritz Kreisler, the great Austrian violinist and composer. Kreisler per-formed during the first half of the twentieth cen-tury, and was arguably the greatest string virtuoso of his generation. If you’ve ever heard his composi-tions or recordings, the music is breathtaking. What many folks don’t know is that one century ago, at the advanced age of thirty-nine, he was conscripted into the Austrian army at the outbreak of the First World War, serving in the trenches on the eastern front. It’s a jarring picture: this stunningly hand-some, brilliant, delicate and yet powerful violinist clutching his rifle, bayonet affixed, blasting away at Russian soldiers across the no-man’s land of a denuded battlefield. What’s really striking, though, is that Kreisler began his memoir of those days reflecting on how little he could remember—and why. Years later, he could recall only snatches of events, often disordered and episodic. Partly it was the chaos, trauma, and fog of war that jumbled his memories. But more deeply, he recalled being “completely resigned to my fate, without much thought for the future,” so that “uncertainty of the morrow tended to lessen the interest in details of today.” Kreisler, who ordinarily memorized com-plex musical scores with ease, realized that major parts of his life were simply, utterly lost. Why recall this account from a war so long ago and far away? You’ll surely be glad it’s not in order to compare the funding of theological education to “trench warfare” or portray our students as bravely serving on the “front lines.” Things are challeng-ing enough without overdone, violent metaphors. No, what stands out for me from Kreisler’s poignant account is how the loss of a future leads to the loss of a self. If you are headed nowhere, you have no idea who you are. If there is no tomorrow that ori-ents you, charting your course yet today becomes impossible. Without a wider horizon, you are sim-ply, utterly lost. “LSTC forms visionary leaders to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.” That’s a great mission statement, but what does it really mean? Maybe this: that all our mutual efforts as a school—the courses we teach, the students we prepare, how we manage our affairs—need to rise above the mun-dane. It’s so easy to become mired in the everyday, the ordinary stuff that comprises institutional life.

But there’s so much more at stake in what we do and the leaders we form. Our work is to show a wider horizon of hope. For many, these are days of dimin-ishment, the lessen-ing of our souls by the foreshortening of our lives. Folks work harder than ever before but often with scant mean-ing. Trapped or even harmed by their lot in life, so many see so little reason to care, let alone a way forward. And this is especially acute for the most vulnerable among us, our children and grandchil-dren, not to mention the forgotten and unlovely whose survival is tested daily. I say this not to depress you but to remind you that we know an alternative. It’s neither a quick fix nor a slick gim-mick. It’s instead this good news we bear, the prom-ise of life through Christ, our horizon of hope. This issue of the Epistle celebrates so many things for which LSTC is justifiably proud—new curricula, eager graduates, supportive friends, fine alumni, and profound service. But why does any of that matter? Are we driven by needs for glory, busyness, or even survival? I hope not. I pray we are all impelled to show a future, a horizon of hope that can sustain the weary and support the faltering to find their way. I pray we will form leaders who restore a memory that we are known and loved by God, forgiven and supported for life, generous toward our neighbors and even our enemies. I pray we can witness to Christ’s future that gives mean-ing to our days. And then, I pray you will share with us in this joyful, hopeful work.

James NiemanPresident

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

James Nieman

3 News from LSTCJusto González given Confessor of Christ Award

Community of the Cross Award given to the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

Grants and gifts fund energy conservation project at LSTC

5 Leaders for Public ChurchLSTC’s new Strategic Plan and Curriculum

7 What does a wise pastor look like?A conversation with Richard J. Perry Jr. and Ray Pickett

9 Paying attention inwardlyAllan Rohlfs—a ministry of empathic listening

by Jan Boden

Meet members of the class of 2014by Jan Boden and Erin Koster

12 For the love of learning

13 Postmodern mission development

14 Meeting God in uncomfortable places

15 From Costa Rica to Chicago and back again

15 Putting to use everything she has learned

16 Interfaith ministry

18 Our church needs you2014 Commencement

21 2014 Distinguished Service Award Presented to Carolyn Riehl

DepartmentsPresident’s letter inside cover

Opportunities at LSTC 2

Faculty News 22

In Memoriam & Class Notes 23

Transitions & Accomplishments 28

FEATURES

SUMMER 2014 • Volume 44 • No. 2

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, forms visionary leaders to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Vision statementLSTC seeks to build up the body of Christ and work for a world of peace and justice that cares for the whole creation.

Visit www. lstc.edu or call 1-800-635-1116 for more information about LSTC’s programs, conferences and special events.

EditorJan Boden

DesignerAnn Rezny

ContributorsJan BodenErin KosterJames NiemanRichard J. Perry JrRay Pickett

LSTC Board of DirectorsMichael AguirreClarence Atwood Jr., SecretaryGordon BraatzMichael BurkGregory DavisMelody Beckman EastmanKimberlee EighmyJames FowlerTrina Glusenkamp Gould, Vice ChairpersonTom GoodingJ. Arthur GustafsonGreg KaufmannJohn KiltinenMark KleverDale LandgrenScott LeisingerJane MarHarry Mueller, TreasurerMelinda PupilloTwila SchockGerald SchultzSarah Stegemoeller, ChairpersonHarvard Stephens Jr.Ray TiemannKeith WiensJean Ziettlow

The LSTC Epistle is published three times a year by the Communications and Marketing Office.Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks

Change of address? Please email the Advancement Office at advancement@lstc.edu. Please give the address as it currently appears followed by your new address.

Cover: Master of Divinity graduates Emily Ewing, Christina Garrett Klein, Ashley Hochhalter, and Jana Howson wait to enter St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church for the 2014 LSTC Commencement ceremony.

Photo credits: Jan Boden, Tricia Koning, Erin Koster

EPISTLELSTC

Mauricio Vieira, M.Div. graduate Joan Beck, Carolyn Riehl and Kathleen Billman at the Distinguished Service Award Dinner

2

Wengert lecture; Bishop Eaton to preach at LWF Conference at LSTCThe Rev. Dr. Timothy J. Wengert will present a free public lecture, “Matthew’s Gospel for the Reformation: ‘The Messiah…Sent and Manifested’” on Friday, September 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. The lecture is part of the Third International Lutheran World Federation Hermeneutics Conference being held at LSTC September 4–10. Dr. Wengert is the emeritus Ministerium of Pennsylvania Professor of Reformation History and the Lutheran Confessions at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). He was on the LTSP faculty from 1989 until 2013. He is co-editor, with Robert Kolb of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, of the English edition of The Book of Concord. His English translation of Luther’s Small Catechism is widely used throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. To learn more about Dr. Wengert visit http://ltsp.edu/people/twengert. On Monday, September 8, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will preach during 11 a.m. worship in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. The LWF International Hermeneutics Conference is an annual conference that brings together scholars from around the world. The 2014 conference held at LSTC will focus on Matthew’s Gospel. To learn more about the Third International LWF Hermeneutics Conference, visit www.lutheranworld.org/content/lutheran-hermeneutics.

Scherer Lecture on Coptic mission in a changing worldThe Coptic heritage represents continuity between ancient and modern Egypt. The presence of a Coptic indigenous Christian community, the largest in the Middle East, for the last twenty centuries has shaped the identity of Egypt. On Monday, September 22 at 4 p.m., Dr. Lois Farag will present aspects of Coptic presence and witness as mission in present day Egypt. Lois Farag is an Associate Professor of Early Church History at Luther Seminary. Farag is a Coptic nun.

Music that Makes Community WorkshopMusic that Makes Community renews ancient ways of singing together, sharing music as peo-ple did before music or words were written. At

LSTC, September 25-27, skilled Music that Makes Community leaders will introduce the practice and coach participants. Workshop participants from the least experienced singers to professional church musicians learn together by doing. This style of sing-ing affirms all voices and can move communities beyond the divides of traditional and contemporary into active and engaged music making. This confer-ence is for clergy, laity, musicians, chaplains, can-tors, and anyone wanting to learn how to teach and lead song in an ancient and new way with commu-nities of all sizes and skills. Register by August 25 for discounted prices: $150 for individuals, $125 per person for groups of two, $110 per person for groups of three or more, and just $25 for students. Register online at:www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/.

LSTC Guild fall meetingDean and Vice President for Academic Affairs Esther Menn will talk about “What’s New at LSTC” at the Fall 2014 LSTC Guild meeting on Saturday, October 4 at LSTC. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. The $15 fee includes continental breakfast and lunch. For more information email advancement@lstc.edu or call 773-256-0712. Pero Multicultural Center Benefit Concert and Annual Pero LectureSunday, October 12 is the date for the Third Annual Pero Multicultural Center Benefit Concert starting at 4 p.m. in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. Proceeds from the concert support programming for the Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Multicultural Center at LSTC. On Monday, October 13 at 6:30 p.m. the Third Annual Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Lecture will be on “Science, Religion, and the Common Good.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

Inaugural Lecture by Professor Richard J. Perry Jr.The Rev. Dr. Richard J. Perry Jr., professor of church and society and urban ministry, will give an inaugural lecture as full professor at LSTC. Dr. Perry will present “From Church Spaces to Public Spaces: Lutheran Ethics on the Move” on Monday, November 3 at 11:30 a.m. in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. It is free and open to the public.

Opportunities at LSTC

News from LSTCJusto González given LSTC Confessor of Christ AwardOn Sunday, May 18, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago presented the Rev. Dr. Justo González with the Confessor of Christ Award. Dr. González is one of the most respected Latino scholars in the United States and a contributor to the develop-ment of a Latino/a theology. The Confessor of Christ Award, which originated at Christ Seminary-Seminex, is given to “a Christian individual whose commitment to Christ Jesus and the Gospel manifests itself through extraordinary personal sacrifice for the sake of Jesus Christ and the Gospel or exemplary witness to Christ Jesus and the Gospel by selfless service to others.” After becoming the youngest person to earn a Ph.D. in historical theology at Yale, Justo González taught at the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, and later at the Candler School of Theology at

Emory University. He is the author of more than 100 books, including the popular History of Christian Thought and The Story of Christianity. González is an ordained Methodist minister, an educator, and a developer of leaders. He is a founding member of the Association of Theological Education for Hispanics (AETH), which promotes theological education among Hispanic Americans. It established the Justo González Center, which provides a forum for addressing theological topics related to Latino/a ministry and communities. He also helped found the Hispanic Summer Program, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, and Apuntes, the first academic journal of Latino/a theology.

Chicago advocacy group receives LSTC Community of the Cross AwardAt this year’s graduation ceremony, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago honored a home-town organization, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC) by presenting it with the Community of the Cross Award. Dr. Iva Carruthers, founding CEO and general secretary, accepted the award. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference is an organization committed to connecting African American faith and social justice leaders with one another. Together, they work to address individual, local, national and global issues that impact people of African descent. They collaborate to focus on

3

First Annual Vine Deloria Jr. SymposiumNovember 6 through 8, the Vine Deloria Jr. Symposium, sponsored by the Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Multicultural Center, will be held at LSTC. It will include lectures, workshops, and food. Last November, the Annual American Indian and Alaska Native Symposium at LSTC was renamed and rededicated in honor of Dr. Vine Deloria Jr., one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century and a 1963 graduate of Augustana Theological Seminary.

Learn more about Vine Deloria Jr. at www.anb.org/articles/15/15-01328.html. Save the dates and watch for details about the conference on LSTC’s website.

Justo González

4

uplifting people in need of advocacy, such as those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The organization is named for the late Rev. Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor who was a writer, teacher, and leader in social justice and educational institu-tions. It is committed to social action as expressed by the phrase “Remember, Reclaim, Revive, and Restore,” which extends to cultural, ecumenical and interfaith diversity. Its emphasis on diversity and social justice represents a shared mission with LSTC. Students at LSTC are encouraged to attend the SDPC clergy and lay leadership conferences to enhance their ministry skills and spiritual depth. The Community of the Cross award originated at Christ Seminary-Seminex. LSTC presents it, by vote of the faculty, to “a community, institution, con-gregation, or any collectively functioning Christian group whose actions manifest the invitation of our Lord to take up the cross and follow him, and whose service is directed to the world around it, both Christian and non-Christian, and whose satisfaction and honor clearly derive from the gospel.”

Grant and gifts fund LSTC large-scale energy conservation projectThe seminary is undertaking extensive building improvements that will conserve 172,000 kilowatt hours per year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this is the same as taking 25 cars off the road or planting 3,041 trees.

Funding for this upgrade comes from LSTC’s senior class gifts, as well as other groups. On April 30, LSTC secured a year-long grant through the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation for $25,781, a dollar amount that is based on how much ener-gy the proposed project would save. LSTC also leveraged utility incentives from local energy company ComEd for an additional $23,000. These sources will collectively fund nearly two-thirds of the project, with the remaining third coming from the school’s operating fund. The senior classes of 2008, 2010 and 2013 gave a total of $10,000 in gifts ini-tially intended for the purchase of solar panels that would help power the school. LSTC Sustainability Coordinator Jim Schaal and master of arts student Chris Anderson worked together in 2012 to do

a feasibility study. What they determined was that solar power would not be as effective as hoped if the energy created was being wasted. “If you’ve got an inefficient building, the first goal should be to make your use of energy more efficient,” Schaal said. LSTC partnered with Elevate Energy (formerly the Center for Neighborhood Technology), a Chicago nonprofit that aids in preserving the envi-ronment by helping organizations like LSTC wisely and affordably access the energy they need. The seminary had previously worked with them to secure grants for insulating student housing. That project was completed in 2013 and has improved the build-ings’ sustainability. Elevate Energy helped LSTC uncover $92,000 of potential work in the seminary’s main building. They recommended upgrading the school’s nearly 800 outdated light fixtures. Decades-old halogen and incandescent lights will be replaced on a case-by-case basis with either LED or fluorescent lights, which bring energy use and costs down to a fraction of what they have been. This investment is expected to pay for itself in less than two years. At current prices, these updates eliminate nearly $17,000 in electrical costs annu-ally. By beginning these types of repairs, LSTC moves closer to reaching the goal it set in 2008, to receive Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Future plans include replace-ment of the school’s boiler and HVAC systems.

Professor Richard J. Perry Jr. presents the Community of the Cross Award to Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference CEO Dr. Iva Carruthers

5

Leaders for a Public Church:LSTC’s strategic plan and new curriculum

What does it mean to be a “public church”? What does it mean to prepare leaders for a public church? These are not new questions for LSTC. They are really the founding questions of the seminary—part of its DNA. In 1962 no one used the phrase “public church,” but it was that very concept which moved LSTC’s founders to locate the school here, on the south side of Chicago. The strategic plan adopted by LSTC’s Board of Directors in May talks about public church this way:

At LSTC, we are unwilling to settle for a nar-rative of depletion or decline in religious life. Amidst the changes and challenges that faith-ful Christians face today, there is still a vast opportunity for people and communities of faith actively to declare the good news of mercy, hope, justice, and peace in a world that, from local to global, often knows little of this. As a place of learning and formation, LSTC exists to support our church in making such a witness.

Our commitment is to serve and encour-age a more “public church.” Aligned with our Lutheran heritage, LSTC longs for a church that follows the cross of Christ into every place God is found, joyful or sorrowful. A public church does not remain at a distance from the wounds of our world but instead fully shares that plight and brings an alternative word of lasting life. We resist the caricature of church as uninformed or uninvolved. We want faith communities equipped for a more credible, gracious, and effec-tive witness to the gospel in the many ambits of life they encounter. Amidst the several other languages that predominate today, like science, commerce, law, and entertainment, we seek a distinctively Christian discourse.

Such a public church will not happen by acci-dent. In a time of institutional mistrust, our church must explore the practices that can enable our evangelical witness to thrive. While this will surely happen in many different ways, it will mainly be set in motion through the lead-ers our church forms and the gifts and capacities they bear into unforeseen situations.

The 2015-2017 strategic plan, “Preparing Leaders for A Public Church,” focuses on four areas: enhanc-ing and communicating LSTC’s distinctive profile, attracting students and faculty to a learning com-munity, providing instruction relevant for a church active in the world and for diverse student needs, and supporting those efforts through sustainable resources. The complete strategic plan is posted on LSTC’s website at www.lstc.edu/about/mission- vision/strategic-plan.php.

Cultivating competencies for leadership in a public churchAt the same time that the strategic plan was being developed, LSTC’s faculty met nearly every week of the academic year to develop a new curriculum focused on preparing leaders for a public church.It is designed to more fully take advantage of the wisdom and resources present right where LSTC is located—Hyde Park, the south side of Chicago, and other places where the Holy Spirit is at work in the world. To prepare leaders for a public church, the new curriculum will develop the competencies needed

Leaders for a

Public Church

I Dis�nc�ve

Profile

II Learning

Community

III Educa�onal

Impact

IV Sustainable Resources

STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND GOALS

6

for graduates to be deeply engaged in the cultural and congregational contexts they will serve.

What does that mean and how will it work?In contrast to conventional seminary curricula that are organized by traditional academic disciplines, LSTC’s new curriculum is structured on the “inter-play between the practices of contextual engagement and deep attention and reflection on our religious heritage and its resources.” This action-reflection model still relies on the best of theological scholar-ship while moving beyond disciplinary silos. The result is creative collaboration, cross-fertilization, and integration between where students will serve and the depth of their traditions.

From requirements to competenciesOf the 27 courses needed to complete a master of divinity degree, only nine orienting courses will be taken by each student. The other 18 courses are electives. For master of arts in theology and master of arts in ministry students, only five courses, of 16 needed for the degree, will be required. Based on the students’ demonstrated competencies and unique interests, they will each map out a pathway that will ensure that they acquire skills in four key areas: spiri-tual formation, religious heritage, ministerial leader-ship, and cultural context. Someone who enters LSTC with significant experience working in a congregation or with dem-onstrated knowledge of the scriptures will follow a different pathway than someone who needs to gain knowledge and experience in those areas. Effective formation in this model will not result from comple-tion of a list of courses but assessment in light of competencies that guide the entire curriculum. Fulfillment of the competencies includes action and reflection. For instance, competency in religious heritage means being able to draw on the wisdom of Scripture and theology to actively engage current challenges in people’s lives, in the church and in the wider community. It also means being able to foster an ethos of learning by teaching, preaching,

and facilitating conversations that relate biblical and theological texts, traditions, and Christian faith prac-tices to the urgent questions and issues of the faith community and its context.

New and oldStudents beginning their studies at LSTC this fall will be the first to enroll in the new curriculum. Middlers, interns, and seniors will continue to meet require-ments under the previous curriculum. Classes have been carefully scheduled to run the new and old cur-riculum simultaneously. Each year, more courses will be offered in the new curriculum as students move through their degree programs. Twelve courses will be offered each year of the curriculum, 36 total once the existing course infra-structure is no longer needed, across both semesters, J-Term, and Maymester. In the first two years, four required courses will be offered, including Public Church 1 to be taken the first semester of the first year. Only one required course will be offered to stu-dents in their third year on campus, Public Church 2.

Required CoursesYear 1: Required Orienting Courses 300 LevelPublic Church 1Religious Heritage: Scripture 1 Religious Heritage: History & Theology 1Ministerial Leadership 1

Year 2: Orienting Courses 300 Level (Under Design)Religious Heritage: Scripture 2Religious Heritage: History & Theology 2 Ministerial Leadership 2Spiritual Formation 1

Year 3: Public Church 2

The faculty is working on the role of Field Education experiences in the new curriculum. To hear presentations about public church made by faculty members and Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda to the LSTC Board of Directors, go to www.lstc.edu/voices/podcasts/2014-05-19-board.php.

7

What does a wise pastor (rostered leader) look like?A conversation with Professors Richard J. Perry Jr. and Ray Pickett

Ray Pickett: When I think of a wise pastor, I think of Heidi Neumark. I haven’t met her, but when I read her book, [Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx] I like the way she’s engaged in the city. The way she does ministry and pastoral care is saturated in scripture. There’s a seamless back and forth between being immersed in tradition and speaking with people about what’s going on around them. LSTC’s new curriculum is designed to cultivate leaders for a public church—to give students the practical skills needed to read context and engage publicly. It will teach several methods for getting out and learning a community. Once you do that, you build relationships. Students will have the ability to build relationships and draw on scripture and tradition and relate them to issues they find in the community.

Richard Perry: The Emmaus story epitomizes pastoral practice for me. Jesus is out in the world where people work and talk. He was not in the office, not in the synagogue. He was out in the dust. He ran upon two people—dis-ciples—and engaged them in what was going on. He connected what they were saying to the tradition and the scriptures. It was a mini Christian Education course, right there. Luke passes on to us a model for how we can do ministry in any context: Going to where the people are, listening to what they are saying, and, in the process, connecting tradition to what people are say-ing. Then (and this especially happens in an African American context) having something to eat. At the table the disciples recognize the Lord. When people have conversations in the kitchen, around the table, in a coffee shop, we find the Lord. The Public Church course* will orient students in how to engage a context and do theological reflec-tion on it—to provide them with skills to do that.

The Bible provides wisdom and the pastors and organizations in Hyde Park, Kenwood, Woodlawn, and greater Chicago can provide wisdom. What does it mean to be a leader—what does it mean to be a religious leader? This will give us a broader under-standing of the self-revelation of God. God appears to us in more than a church building. God is in the everydayness. We want students to be able to see what people in the community see. It’s in the tradition of LSTC. For many years we used the phrase “Open to the World” and that’s what the new curriculum will be. It will be invigorating, challenging, confrontational. I expect that there will be fear, shame, and people will learn some respect and develop a new relationship with Jesus.

Professors Perry and Pickett plan their new course, Public Church 1

* Master of divinity students will take Public Church 1 dur-ing their first semester at LSTC.

Pickett: It’s about taking risks—stepping outside of your comfort zone, moving out into public spaces. This is the “sending” piece of word and sacrament—how it gets engaged in the world. The new curriculum shifts the locus. It’s not in contrast to the gathered community in worship, but looks for God’s presence in the world. How would God involve us in that? We have to be willing to learn from people who are very different from us, have different ideas, dif-ferent wisdom, a different tradition. This is not a new model of church.

Perry: We need to see other publics: campgrounds, beauty shops, the mall, barbershops—where people gather. How do we understand “private” and “public”? Luther tells us that we are “called to respond to our neighbor in love.” That’s being “public church.”Martin Marty says religion has to be part of the pub-lic conversation. If we are good citizens, we partici-pate in the public conversation. Being public church is being an institution that is responsibly participat-ing in a variety of concerns that relate to the context in which the congregation finds itself. It’s not so much that the institutional church takes a stand, but that the religious leaders can participate in the conversation and can do so intelligently, grounded in the tradition, and to give a response that is per-suasive in a way that is reasoned. We want to form people to be able to do that.

Pickett: This is really a continuation of how LSTC articulated its identity when it was founded, but didn’t always live it out. A wise pastor has the ability to collaborate. No one will figure out how to be public church by themselves. I know one pastor who is trying to lead her church to have a more outward focus. She’s find-ing that it’s an uphill struggle. She needs to find oth-ers who will experiment, who will learn by doing. A lot of pastors, of necessity, have been lone rangers. But getting out, collaborating, is really important.

Perry: We do that in an ecumenical and inter-faith community. What does it mean to relate to Pentecostal, Jewish, Muslim neighbors? When I was serving a parish in North Carolina, the first thing I did was to find out who the religious leaders were in the community. I learned a lot of things from them. I got good history, and evalua-tive comments about my own congregation—things that helped me understand how that leader viewed the Lutheran church I was in. Getting to know other

leaders helps us understand ourselves. What we’ll be teaching students will open the doors. If we take the initiative in the community—value others’ knowledge and wisdom, learn from them, enter into the struggles that are in the com-munity…

Pickett: It’s about engaging in the struggles—draw-ing people into it. Jim Nieman or Cynthia Moe-Lobeda said it: The Holy Spirit is most active where people are on the margins. We want to impart that skill—to be able to go into the margins, to be a pres-ence—not fix it, but to listen and draw other people into that. We can talk all we want to about change, but change is going to happen from the margins. How can we be part of that and enter into that—the lim-inal space where there’s need? Things are destabi-lized in those spaces. And I’m not talking just about socio-economic instability—hospitals are another example of a place that is liminal.

Perry: The key word for me is being humble. We’re not the only game in town. To think we are is arro-gant. We’re one among many. We need to know our voice. The more we know it, in conversation with others, the greater the contribution we can make. We have to be able to be touched by what others say. Some would ask, “What holds us together as a church?” I would say Jesus Christ holds us all togeth-er. What’s crucial is that Jesus Christ crucified and risen is our center. Everything else flows from that and to that. Saying that displaces whatever I want to put at the center: my economic status, gender, race. Luther describes sin as “my god is whatever my heart fastens onto.” Luther also conveys that my identity, in the ultimate sense, is in my baptism. Lutheran theology says we are simultaneously saint and sinner. We are turned in on ourselves. Jesus was sent to reconcile us to God. What you see in all this diversity is helping displace what you thought was at the center—sin—the self. We want students to learn how to help people talk about their faith. We want to give them some experience so they can move with flexibility no mat-ter where they are called, to be adept at movements as a leader. People at the margins will teach us that. Think of it as a “social vaccination” in using the wis-dom of the community.

Richard J. Perry Jr. is professor of church and society and urban ministry and Ray Pickett is professor of New Testament at LSTC.

8

Paying attention inwardly Allan Rohlfs—a ministry of empathic listeningby Jan Boden

Seminary call stories often include a life-changing experience. But sometimes it’s what happens at seminary that changes the course of a life. For Allan Rohlfs (1970, M.Div.), that happened not once, but several times. An unusual internship in Los Angeles, a workshop led by Eugene Gendlin, and a search for someone to teach him how to express anger without being judgmental shaped and re-shaped his call. Instead of being ordained and serving in a par-ish—his original plan—Rohlfs has been a practic-ing client-centered therapist for over 40 years. For more than 20 years Rohlfs has been a member of the teaching team for introductory pastoral care courses led by Dr. Kadi Billman. He teaches LSTC students empathic listening and nonviolent communication skills. In retirement he’s offering free workshops in nonviolent communication to any and all clergy groups that are interested.

Internship at the “hippie church”Rohlfs was among the first students to come from Augustana Seminary to LSTC’s new campus in Hyde Park in 1967. Like a number of students and faculty, Rohlfs responded to the tumultuous social and polit-

ical times by trying out different approaches to min-istry. He served in the National Council of Churches’ summer program at Yosemite National Park. He also did his internship at a Presbyterian church in Los Angeles. “It was known as the ‘hippie church,’ and it was doing a lot of exciting ministries,” Rohlfs says. It was “something of an alternate route” he adds. Rohlfs was so eager to be part of what was happening there that he arranged the internship himself, declining the site assigned to him by LSTC. “The church was so trendsetting that Presbyterian churches all over Southern California would invite me to come and talk about what we were doing. I was on TV and radio programs,” Rohlfs says. Back at LSTC for his senior year, Rohlfs searched for a ministry as exciting as that one—but didn’t find it. By the time he graduated in 1970, even the “hippie church” had changed.

Experiencing empathic listeningWhile he was in California, Rohlfs began to explore avant-garde psychotherapy practices. Practitioners came to his internship site to give workshops. He

began to learn about personal growth and the new kinds of therapy that were coming about. Rohlfs continued to pursue this interest when he returned to LSTC for his senior year. That fall, he went to a talk and demonstration by University of Chicago Philosophy Professor Eugene Gendlin, “Feeling and Thinking.” Gendlin described a psychotherapy practice called “focusing” that gave patients positive results. He described it as “paying attention inwardly.” “Gendlin did a ten-minute demon-stration of focusing that I participated in,” Rohlfs says. “I paid attention to a long-standing problem I had, and at the end of the ten minutes, I sensed a shift in the problem. That got me hooked. I wanted to know more about this.” Rohlfs signed up for a one-day work-

9

Rohlfs coaches LSTC students during a workshop on nonviolent communication.

shop led by Gendlin at a local personal growth center. That one day set Rohlfs on a new path. As members of the work-shop group took turns speaking, Rohlfs got angry at one person, but was uncomfortable saying he was angry. “I was all ‘balled up’ with feeling and my judg-ments about my feelings. When it was my turn to speak I uttered something that was incoherent because I was so balled up—and Gendlin got it. I couldn’t believe that anyone would understand what I was saying. He said it back to me—and that just caused me to open up. I asked myself, ‘What in the world did he do?’” Rohlfs says. Rohlfs also decided that he wanted to find some-one who could teach him how to express anger without being judgmental. That set him on the path to find Marshall Rosenberg. What Gendlin had done with Rohlfs during that session was empathic listening. Rohlfs went to Gendlin after the workshop and asked “Would you teach me how to listen?” Gendlin became Rohlfs’ mentor. “I had someone who was as highly esteemed as anyone in the world at doing this to teach me how to do it,” he says.

ChangesAfter graduating from LSTC, Rohlfs got involved with a group of Gendlin’s students who had started using empathic listening techniques to accompany their mental health patients and to support one another. “In response to the social changes happen-ing at the time—civil rights, the women’s move-ment, Vietnam protests—they wanted to see if they could have a similar impact on psychology,” he says. The group held public gatherings once a week at University Church in Hyde Park. After a demonstra-tion of how to listen to one another, they would divide into small groups to take turns speaking and listening. “We called it ‘Changes,’ and it went on for four or five years,” Rohlfs says. At its height, about 120 people came to the weekly meetings. After several years of being part of Changes, Rohlfs joined the staff at the Chicago Counseling Center, which had been started by Carl Rogers at the

University of Chicago. “Neither Rogers nor Gendlin believed that you needed academic training to be a counselor. When I started at the counseling cen-ter, a U of C faculty member in clinical psychology, a client-centered therapist, consulted with me on my client sessions. I had a fair amount of experi-ence without academic training in clinical psychol-ogy.” That same faculty member later hired Rohlfs as a paraprofessional for the California School of Professional Psychology.

Nonviolent communicationMeanwhile, Rohlfs was still in search of someone who could teach him how to express anger without judgment. He had heard about Marshall Rosenberg, who had developed a model for nonviolent commu-nication while working on school desegregation in the 1960s. Rohlfs met Rosenberg in 1972 through a mutual friend, and invited him to do workshops in nonviolent communication at Changes. “Marshall gave up a large psychotherapy practice when he began to work on system change,” Rohlfs says. “He would come wherever we could gather people together for a workshop. After attending a number of workshops, I began to teach. It’s assumed that when you learn this, you will pass it along—both in therapy practice and in workshops.”

“Speaking the truth in love”Rohlfs reconnected with LSTC over 20 years ago. A client of his who was an LSTC student told Professor of Pastoral Care Kadi Billman, “You need to get in

10

Rohlfs listens as Jim Schaal, Kadi Billman, and Bob Berridge practice nonviolent communication

11

touch with this guy.” She did, and the two found that they had a similar approach to therapy. Billman invited Rohlfs to make a presentation to her Pastoral Care classes and, later, to take a larger role. Rohlfs offered to do a nonviolent communication workshop for LSTC students and Billman agreed. “She calls it ‘Speaking the Truth in Love’—from Ephesians 4:15,” Rohlfs says. Although he is now retired and splits his time between Chicago and a home in California, Rolfs returns to LSTC for one-week intensives. He continues to teach the NVC workshop. Rohlfs also offers his nonviolent communication workshops free of charge to clergy groups. His work-shop is designed to give clergy resources to use when confronting difficult situations in their parishes. “Nonviolent communication is most applicable, most helpful in situations when you need to confront a problem without judgment or blame,” he says.

His November 14, 2012, cover story for The Christian Century, “How (and how not) to handle con-flict,” showed how nonviolent communication ben-efits clergy and those they serve. After more than 40 years in practice, Rohlfs is still energized by the power of empathic listening to bring about real change in people’s lives. “I’ve devoted my life to this,” Rohlfs says. “There aren’t enough mental health care providers to meet all needs that exist. Why can’t we use sub-processes of psychotherapy to meet that need? One of these is how to listen. “This is my contribution to social change: let me learn and then teach people everywhere how to listen so that activity can be widespread.”

Learn more about nonviolent communication at http://www.cnvc.org/

The World of the Bible: Ancient Sites and Current Struggles

January 5-19, 2015$3800 (approximate price)

With optional extension to Jordan (additional cost)Join students, alumni, and friends of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago,

on a 14-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, led by Professors Esther Menn and Barbara Rossing

This tour is fast paced and strenuous!  Scholarship assistance is available for masters’ students who register through LSTC.

Itinerary includes:• Four days’ touring in Galilee, including

Nazareth, Capernaum, and other biblical sites, staying three nights near the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

• Travel to Bethlehem for three nights.• Six nights in the old City of Jerusalem; meet

withcontemporary Jewish, Christian, Muslim leaders; visit biblical sites such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcre.

Tour price of approximately $3800 includes airfare, lodging at church guest houses with private bath (double occupancy; single supplement available), breakfast and dinner daily, transportation and entrance fees, tips for guides; and fees. For more information and to register before the September 30, 2014, deadline, contact Esther Menn, emenn@lstc.edu. (Late registration accepted, subject to space availability.)

2012 World of the Bible Tour group

12

Meet members of the Class of 2014

For the love of learningby Jan Boden

On May 18, Wendy Heilman received a master of arts in theology degree from LSTC, but after four years, she’s not done yet. Heilman has been accepted into LSTC’s Ph.D. program and will begin her new course of study this September. “I always knew that I’d go back to school,” Heilman says. “I just wasn’t sure in what.” Her undergraduate degree is in French, Spanish and inter-national relations. An active member at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Palos Hills, Ill., Heilman has always been fascinated by religion. An online search for graduate programs led her to LSTC. “When I saw the master of arts in theological studies program, I knew it was the right one for me,” she says. It was LSTC’s interfaith studies program that caught her attention. Heilman says, “The M.A.T.S. program gave me a lot of freedom. I took two courses each semester—a required course and an elective that fit my work schedule.”

Interfaith understandingHeilman is a flight attendant who worked for United Airlines for seven years and recently began working for Continental. Her flight schedule restricted the days she could be on campus, but her willingness to work weekend shifts allowed her the flexibility need-ed to complete her degree. “I’ve taken four years to complete what would normally be a two-year degree,” she says. Since intellectual challenge and a love of learning is her motivation, Heilman is content with the timeline she’s kept. As a flight attendant, Heilman sees the results of the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “I work for an airline affected by the attacks and with people who knew people on those airplanes. As someone who has been studying interfaith issues, I bring a unique perspec-tive to this. I want to understand why the people involved in the attacks thought it was okay to do that,” she says. Heilman plans to focus her Ph.D. studies on reli-gion and violence, “probably more specifically how

both Christianity and Islam can kill in the name of God—at odds with their own scriptures and doc-trines.” She is amazed by the similarities between Christianity and Islam and by how easy it is for us to judge others of another faith. “I feel like I can take my learning to work. I’m able to have conversa-tions with people who are making assumptions about others—like passengers who are reading the Qur’an,” she says. “I’ve had some great conversations with people. They’re baby steps toward better understand-ing.” At LSTC, Heilman has learned much more about her own faith. “When I came here, I felt my faith was very basic. I’ve learned to approach the Eucharistic table with more reverence. The holidays mean much more to me—Pentecost, Good Friday.”

More to learnFor the last few years, Heilman has continued to learn Arabic through an on-campus study group with some of LSTC’s international Ph.D. students. Arabic will be one of the languages Heilman will use in her Ph.D. studies. She’s grateful for the language lessons and for the opportunity to deepen relationships with students from other countries. Heilman is also grateful for the guidance she’s received from the faculty, especially those in the Interfaith Studies Program: Drs. Michael Shelley, Mark Swanson, Carol Schersten LaHurd and Ghulam Haider Aasi. She says, “I’m not really in pursuit of a degree—I’m just not ready to leave here. I want to keep working with the professors here.”

Wendy Heilman

13

Postmodern mission developmentby Jan Boden

If Alex Raabe looks familiar to you, there’s a good reason. For the last four years, his picture has been part of the ELCA’s publicity for the Fund for Leaders in Mission. Now, you’ll find his photo on the ELCA website’s “Resources” page. The story behind the pictures is that Raabe has been an M.Div. student at LSTC and a recipient of a Fund for Leaders in Mission Scholarship. He graduated on May 18 and is awaiting a call as a mission developer. In a roundabout way, it was the Fund for Leaders in Mission that introduced him to mission devel-opment—a field he didn’t even know existed in the ELCA when he came to LSTC.

Sign of the Holy Spirit at workEach fall, the Fund for Leaders in Mission Scholarship hosts a banquet for new scholarship recipients. In casual conversation at that banquet in 2010, Raabe heard about mission development. He was intrigued by the idea, and as he made his way through semi-nary it became clear that this was the path he was traveling. During his middler year, Raabe was assigned to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, Ill., for Ministry in Context. Redeemer was in the process of starting a new church and he got to walk through that process with them. Internship led Raabe further along the path toward mission development. Nadia Bolz-Weber invited him to be an intern at House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colo. “Nadia looks for interns who are well-versed in postmodernity and contem-porary culture,” Raabe says. His background in the-ater and his interest in postmodernity made him an ideal candidate. “While I was there, House was in the process of moving from being a mission congregation to being certified as a full congregation in the ELCA. So I got to experience that process, too.” Raabe came to seminary planning to do campus ministry. He says, “I take the unexpected element [of my call to mission development] as a sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in this.”

Falling in love with LutheranismSeminary held several other surprises for Raabe. As a lifelong Lutheran, and someone who had been

involved in the church, he says, “I didn’t think I’d be learning a ton about Lutheranism at seminary. But at LSTC I’ve learned to grasp and articulate Lutheran concepts—that we’re simultaneously sinner and saint. I fell in love with Lutheranism here. The way the faculty talk about it—Dr. Hendel and others who had Seminex as part of their journey—have had a lot to do with that. It’s very freeing.” Liturgy is another way we express this freedom, Raabe says. “In worship and liturgy we have the free-dom to experience God. We are interpreters of tradi-tion. With a strong grounding in the confessions and the creeds, you can innovate. Know your roots and then innovate with integrity.” As a member of this year’s chapel staff, Raabe helped provide the community with a wide range of worship experiences that engage the senses, includ-ing art installations, contemplative worship focused around prayer stations, and bluegrass worship. The “whole-body” engagement with worship is part of Raabe’s postmodern understanding of liturgical renewal, which gives worshipers a sense of the mysti-cal—of something greater than ourselves that we can-not understand.

An exciting future for the churchAs he heads toward first call, Raabe is excited about what’s to come for the church. “Church has so much potential—especially now. There’s so much the church can talk about, and the Lutheran church has a great theology. I’m excited to teach that—the theology of grace, of sinner and saint, the ‘both/and,’ body and bread, church and world. The more we can talk about that, the stronger the church will become,” Raabe says. “The church is not dying—it’s changing. People will understand that—it speaks to peoples’ experi-ences and the experience of grace. Christianity believes in resurrection.”

Alex Raabe

Meeting God in uncomfortable placesBy Jan Boden

Meredith Harber describes herself as someone who has always been fiercely independent. “My family’s nickname for me is ‘Mer-da-do’ because that’s what I said when I was a baby and wanted to do something myself. My strong sense of agency propels me to test what I am capable of doing if I trust myself.” At LSTC, Harber continued to test what she is capable of doing. A large part of her call is to meet God in places and situations where she will encoun-ter people who look, speak, and act differently than she does. Harber seeks out the “uncomfortable” plac-es. In the paperwork for her first call, she asks, “How do I live out that discomfort while maintaining my identity as a child of God?”

Learning from the uncomfortable placesBefore she came to LSTC, Harber spent a year in Palestine as a Young Adult in Global Mission to “experience God and the gospel in a way that wasn’t preached in a white congregation.” She worked with the Dar al-Kalima School and Wellness Center, a Lutheran-based ecumenically-oriented organization that serves the whole Palestinian community. She was drawn to LSTC by its sensitivity to interfaith issues, as well as broader opportunities she saw here. Seeking out another uncomfortable place, Harber did a Horizon internship on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She served Ogalala Sioux and Lakota peoples both on and off the reser-vation, learning about the culture through role mod-els and observation. “In my experience of Lakota culture, time and presence is everything. If someone walks in your door, you stop what you’re doing and sit with them. When you’re having a conversation, you don’t speak until the person speaking is done.” Harber discovered that boundaries in the Lakota community are different than the ones taught at LSTC. “There are membranes, not walls. I had to fig-ure out where I began and ended. I had to learn how to take care of myself in order to do the work.” She joined a community choir in Nebraska and began running, making sure that she took her day off to get what she needed. “A big part of that is not feel-ing guilty about taking care of yourself,” Harber says.

Internship changed Harber’s perspective on life at LSTC. She says, “When I got back to Chicago—to this very busy neighbor-hood on the south side—it seemed so quiet. I lived in a retreat center where 100 people knocked on the door every day. We had 60 kids there at night. Some of it was physical sound and some of it was emotional.” Harber participated in an average of two funerals a month during her internship. All but two of them were traumatic. “Senior year has been easy by comparison to intern-ship where I was working an average of 80 hours a week. I’m conditioned differently after that year,” She says.

Committed to accompanimentHarber graduated on May 18 with a master of divin-ity degree and two emphases: one in American Indian/Alaska Native Ministry and one in Biblical Studies. She has been assigned to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod and hopes to do ministry with an American Indian community. “I am committed to an accompaniment model, where God is doing the work and where I get to be a part of it,” Harber says. “I still have a lot of fear. I came to seminary with my own questions and my own doubts. I’m a pastor working to understand who Christ is through our tradition, in scripture, and in worship.” Wherever she goes, but especially in the uncom-fortable places, Harber will be witnessing to God’s presence.

14

Meredith Harber

15

From Costa Rica to Chicago and back againby Erin Koster

Jonathan Pimentel-Chacón’s four years of hard work bore fruit this May. He received his doctor of phi-losophy from LSTC, with a focus on the intersection between economic theory and theology. Chacón’s background is in teaching and research. Before coming to LSTC, he was a profes-sor at the Universidad Biblica Latinoamerica (Latin American Biblical University) and Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (National University of Costa Rica). He learned about LSTC through a friend who is a professor at Princeton University. This friend put Chacón in touch with LSTC Professor José David Rodriguez, who helped Chacón join the Ph.D. program. Chacón found that the Ph.D. program provides flexibility for students to tailor the program to their needs. “The Ph.D. program is open, so you can decide what you want to do and how. There’s some struc-ture, but ultimately it’s up to you,” Chacón said. The JKM Library was especially helpful during his studies. It is one of the things about LSTC that he will miss the most. “For this particular topic, [my degree] will enrich [my work] because now I have a better

understanding of primary sources and the cultural background in which these religions take form. I’m more aware of the current discussion and its back-ground,” he said. After commencement, Chacón, his wife, Tricia Henderson, and their three children will travel to spend time with family in Florida. During his time off, he plans to watch the World Cup. He returns to his teaching position in Costa Rica on August 1, 2014.

Dr. Jonathan Pimentel-Chacón with his family and Professor Vítor Westhelle

Putting to use everything she has learned by Erin Koster

Nine years after graduating from seminary, Gail Duba returned to her studies. She felt God calling her to learn new ways to preach and share the gospel. Duba says that earning her doctor of ministry in preaching from LSTC has “accomplished that in a big way.” Duba is a pastor and chaplain in a retirement community in Spokane, Wash. The D. Min. in Preaching Preogram allowed her to continue to work while pursuing her degree. Because she had been out of school for so long, Duba wondered if she would be able to keep up with class work. Three years later, she’s proven that she’s capable. She has completed her program and graduated this spring. Duba looks forward to putting to use everything she has learned. After she leaves the LSTC commu-nity, which she joined from a distance, she expects what she will miss most is her learning cohort. Duba described her group as “steadfast” and “a blessing

and a challenge.” By critiquing one another’s ser-mons, they pushed each other to progress and grow. “We all knew that the thesis was looming ahead during year three, but it was a great deal of work and

The Rev. Dr. Gail Duba presides at a wedding at her Spokane, Wash., church

16

Interfaith ministry guided by God’s handby Erin Koster

Doctor of philosophy graduate John Hubers has seen God at work throughout his life. As he traveled from the United States to the Middle East and back again, he says that he can’t help but see divine providence guiding him. Hubers grew up in the ethnically Dutch town of Orange City, Iowa. With a childhood rooted in the Reformed Church in America, he sensed a call to ministry as a freshman at Northwestern College in Iowa. After graduation, his ministry took shape during his two years as an English teacher to Arab students in the Gulf state of Bahrain. This cemented his calling to do interfaith pastoral work. He pursued this dream by earning an M.Div. at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Since his graduation from seminary, he has traveled across the world to serve God’s people. Hubers worked as a pas-tor on the campus of the University of Michigan; in interfaith relations in Cairo, Egypt; in pastoral roles in Oman and Bahrain; and as a pastor in New York. Hubers says that transitioning back into American culture was harder than leaving. “You work so hard to become one with the cul-ture within which you are doing ministry that you become a different person. What this means is that you tend to return as a stranger to your own culture, having changed in ways about which your neigh-bors are clueless,” he said. Hubers was encouraged to come to LSTC for his

Ph.D. studies by his for-mer mentor in Cairo, Dr. Harold Vogelaar. The two had grown up in the same small town in Iowa and worked together in interfaith relations. Hubers was drawn by LSTC’s participa-tion in the ecumenical Association of Chicago Theological Schools, which permits students to take courses at other member seminaries in the area. After learning more about ACTS, financial aid, and on-campus housing, Hubers knew LSTC was where he wanted to study. In the midst of his Ph.D. studies in 2011, Hubers’ dream position—instructor of religion—opened up at his alma mater in Iowa. His father had recently died, and the job would also allow him to be near his mother. “The two coming together was too coincidental not to have God’s imprint on it,” he said. He loves the opportunity to pass along what he has learned to the next generation of leaders. He hopes to make his position at Northwestern College the last chapter of an eventful career.

John Hubers

took incredible discipline. The professors and the other pastors were absolutely the best—so supportive and encouraging,” Duba said. When she made the decision to earn her D.Min., Duba chose to attend LSTC based on several factors. LSTC’s D.Min. program provides students with the opportunity to work with others across many denom-inations. Because Duba serves an interdenomination-al congregation, she wanted to learn how to preach with an ecumenical perspective. She was also drawn by the reputation of Dr. Craig Satterlee, former dean of the ACTS D.Min. in Preaching Program and LSTC Carlson Professor of Homiletics, who is now bishop of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod. As she graduates, Duba reflects on those at LSTC who helped her meet her potential. She expressed thanks for her advisor, Dr. Dow Edgerton at Chicago Theological Seminary. She is also grateful for the help of the ACTS D. Min. in Preaching Program Coordinator.

“I know that this program takes a huge degree of coordination. I would like to thank Marcy Miller for her tireless efforts on our behalf. She is part mom, part counselor, part cheerleader. The program could not have a better coordinator,” Duba said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Marcy.” Throughout her program, Duba has also felt the encouragement of her congregation and its admin-istrative staff. They allowed her to take educational leave as necessary and have noticed the effect the D.Min. has had on her confidence and preaching abilities. Duba says she now is ready for new ideas in her role as a pastor and chaplain. “I needed to be reminded of how much I like preaching. I had not always planned to attain this degree, but now that I have done it, I am very glad,” she said.

Commencement 2014 “Our church needs you”On May 18, fifty-five students received their degrees at LSTC’s 154th commencement. Members of the Class of 1964 and one member of the Class of 1954, the Rev. Dr. Theodore N. Swanson, also attended and were recognized for their faithful ministry. Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, associate professor of theology and religious studies at Seattle University, was the

preacher. The Rev. Dr. Terry Baeder pre-sided. The M.Div. Class of 2014 has desig-nated its class gift for mental health services at LSTC. In accepting the gift, President Nieman reiterated how much our church needs the gifts that the class will bring to the many places they will serve. He offered the prayer that they will recall

the refrain of the day’s psalm, “Into your hands I commend my spirit,” and will know that “your labors are God’s to complete…” LSTC presented the Confessor of Christ award to the Rev. Dr. Justo González, a prolific and widely-respected Latino religious scholar and teacher. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, an organization committed to connecting African American faith and social justice leaders with one another to address issues that affect people of African descent, received LSTC’s Community of the Cross Award. Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma, Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church, brought greetings from his denomi-nation and participated in the hooding of two gradu-ates, Yahu Vinayaraj, who received his Ph.D. and is a minister in the Mar Thoma Church, and Pastor Nainan George, who received a D.Min. in Preaching. Commencement is also the time when academic awards are made. This year’s Edgar Krentz Prize for Biblical Interpretation went to Ph.D. students Matthew Mellott and Lydia Hernández-Marcial. Mellot’s paper was “Resistance in the Way of the Cross: A Study of the Resistant Nature of Matthew

10:38.” Hernández-Marcial wrote on “The Exile Motif in Matthew.” The Bible and Lutheran Faith Prize went to M.A.T.S. graduate Christopher Anderson for his

M.Div. grads Bekki Lohrmann and Alex LaChapelle

Th.M./Ph.D. student Lydia Hernandéz-Marcial received a Krentz Prize in Biblical Interpretation

Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda

17

18

paper, “Deuteronomy 23:24-25 and Allemänsratten: A Cross-Cultural Comparison”; and to M.Div. gradu-ate Emily Ewing for her paper, “Two Disciples, One Night, Lots of Love.” Christopher Anderson also received the Lutheran Confessions Prize for his paper, “Martin Luther’s Anthropology in an Age of Overpopulation.” The James Kenneth Echols Prize for Excellence in Preaching went to M.Div. graduates Alex LaChapelle for his sermon, “Found in the Breaking of the Bread,” and Bekki Lohrmann for her sermon, “Broken Bread Breaks the Death Grip.” Both sermons were based on Luke 24:13-35 and are available as podcasts on LSTC’s website. Four members of the Class of 2014 completed emphases in addition to their required course work: Christopher Anderson earned two emphases—Environmental Ministry and Religion and Science; Wendy Heilman in Interfaith studies; Meredith Harber earned two—American Indian/Alaska Native and Biblical studies; and Kaila Hochhalter in Environmental Ministry. The graduates in each program and assignments are:

Certificate of StudiesDaniel Patrick Wynard—Northern Illinois

Master of Arts in MinistryMarina Halmers

Master of Arts in Theological StudiesShanell Allen-DebelaChristopher AndersonMiguel BrionesKenesa DebelaWendy HeilmanAaron ShoppaPadmaragam Vundi

Master of DivinityBenjamin Adams—Not yet assignedChristopher Brown—Not yet assignedDavid Buco—NebraskaEmily Ewing—New JerseyMeredith Harber—Arkansas/OklahomaAshley Hochhalter—Northern Texas/Northern LouisianaKaila Hochhalter—Rocky Mountain

Jana Howson—Central/Southern IllinoisCharisse Jensen—Metro ChicagoEmily Johnson—NebraskaKaren Jost—Greater MilwaukeeChristina Garrett Klein—Metro ChicagoAlexis LaChapelle—Metro ChicagoRebekkah Lohrmann—Northern IllinoisChristopher Neptun—Metro ChicagoCarlos Ortiz—Not in candidacyJenna Pulkowski—Eastern North Dakota

M.Div. grad Chris Neptun

Master of arts graduates Miguel Briones, Kenesa Debela, Wendy Heilman, and Padmaragam Vundi

Alexander Raabe—Southeast MichiganMauricio Vieira—East Central WisconsinZachary Wagner—NebraskaChristine Webb—Arkansas/OklahomaLucy Wynard—Not assigned yet

Master of TheologyJennifer EnglishBenjamin GrothChinboi GuiteMatthew MellottJonah SalimYoseob Song

Doctor of Ministry—EcumenicalHyuk Tae Shim

Doctor of Ministry in PreachingEva BranzellGail DubaNainan GeorgePhilip HolckVincent MatthewsAlix PridgenTracey Breashears SchultzPär Wesling

Doctor of PhilosophyRichard FrontjesFrancisco Javier Goitía PadillaJohn HubersBridget IllianSanchita KiskuBritt LeslieJonathan Pimentel ChacónUna StrodaYahu Vinayaraj

19

Ph.D. graduates Yahu Vinayaraj, Sanchita Kisku, Jonathan Pimentel-Chacón, Bridget Illian, and Una Stroda

Doctor of Ministry in Preaching graduates Philip Holck, Program Coordinator Marcy Miller, Vincent Matthews, Tracey Breashears Schultz, and Alix Pridgen

20

M.A.T.S. grad Shanell Allen-Debela

Th.M. grad Chingboi Guite and D.Min. in Preaching grad Nainan George

President James Nieman congratulates Bekki Lohrmann on receiving the James Kenneth Echols Prize for Excellence in Preaching

21

Leading during a remarkable time

2014 Distinguished Service Award presented to Carolyn RiehlIf you ask, Carolyn Riehl will tell you that her ser-vice on the LSTC Board of Directors was “one of the five most interesting and transformative things I’ve done in my life.”

“I was able to contribute to the church that I love and that has been meaningful in my life. It taught me about governance and leadership—my day job is all about teaching others about that. I learned about myself as a person,” Riehl says. She served on the Board of Directors for nine years and chaired the board for eight of them. Those years were a remarkable time in LSTC’s history and for theological education in the ELCA. On May 19, LSTC presented Carolyn Riehl with its Distinguished Service Award.

Engaged important questionsRiehl joined LSTC’s board as a representative from the ELCA Division for Ministry Board. “I was told that the seminaries needed to get more women on their boards, so, of course, I said yes. When I got to LSTC, I saw that the board was pretty well balanced already,” she says. It was a period of questioning and transition for seminaries and theological education in the ELCA.

Riehl appreciated the important questions that were asked about how the church prepares pastors and other leaders for the church and how the church sup-ports both the students and the seminaries. “As a board, we participated in the broader con-versation about theological education. Some of the questions were budgetary, some were about mission, and some were institutional,” she says. “I felt that the board was able to engage those questions and their impact on the seminary. As leaders, we were able to act on them for LSTC.” Riehl is proud to have been part of the board that called James Kenneth Echols to be the first African American president of a North American Lutheran seminary. “That was an important step in the history of LSTC and of the ELCA,” she says. “It was fun and exciting to support President Echols in his bold vision for LSTC—the closer collaboration with McCormick Theological Seminary, position-ing LSTC within the Covenant Cluster, and taking a larger role in the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest.” During her tenure as Chair of the Board, LSTC also constructed the Augustana Chapel and put a new curriculum and academic calendar in place. “I have always thought of LSTC as a place of real intellectual depth matched by a deep sense of caring—for creation, for other people, and for other places. When you put that together with people who put out a lot of effort, good things come of it,” Riehl says.

Invest in board membersRiehl, who is associate professor of sociology and education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, would like to see the church invest more time in preparing and supporting board mem-bers. “It’s like many other volunteer jobs in the church—we rely too much on being lucky enough in finding people with skills and insights. We don’t do enough to prepare and support people for this important work.”

LSTC gives thanks for Dr. Carolyn Riehl and her leadership during a remarkable time in the history of the seminary and theological education in the ELCA.

Carolyn Riehl

22

Publications and presentationsCarol Schersten LaHurd, auxiliary lecturer in world religions, published “When Was It That We Saw You Sick or in Prison and Visited You?” in the summer 2013 issue of Dialog: A Journal of Theology. Her nine-session Bible study, “Transforming Life and Faith,” will be serialized in Gather from September 2014-May 2015. Her book, Transforming Life and Faith: Leader’s Guide, was published by Augsburg Fortress.

Richard J. Perry, Jr., profes-sor of church and society and urban ministry, deliv-

ered the paper “African Americans and Secular Law: A Paradoxical Relationship” at the Valparaiso University Law School conference So Much Great Fruit: Lutheran Perspectives on Contemporary Legal Issues held at LSTC March 27-28 http://www.valpo.edu/law/scholarly-conference.

Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament, partici-pated in the “Destination Narratives” consultation for an ELCA Glocal Mission events team in April. Later that month, she was the featured preacher and presenter at the South Dakota Synod Rostered Leaders Conference in

Rapid City on the theme, “Eschatology, Ecology, and Our Future: Are We Living at the End of the World?” She was the Assembly Bible Study Keynote Speaker and preacher at the Northern Texas/Northern Louisiana Synod Assembly in Dallas, Texas. She delivered the keynote address, “Daily Bread and Recognizing Christ in Food-Sharing,” at the Church World Service National Member meeting at the ELCA Churchwide Office. In July, Rossing presented the keynote Bible study, “Listen to the Spirit” (Rev. 2-3) at the Upper Susquehanna Synod Assembly in Selinsgrove, Pa. Rossing’s Bible study for the Lutheran World Federation 2012 “Green and Just” virtual conference is available on YouTube.

Benjamin Stewart, Ben Stewart has been promoted to Associate Professor. He is the Gordon A. Braatz Associate Professor of Worship and Dean of the Chapel. Stewart’s book, A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology is now available in a Kindle edition (see details on page 23).

In March and April, Stewart led two adult forum sessions on the ongoing reform of Lutheran liturgy at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Oak Park, Ill. In June, he taught two on-campus intensive courses at Wartburg Theological Seminary for TEEM and dis-tributive learning students. Later in the month, he gave two lectures at the Summer Conference on Pastoral Theology at Pacific Lutheran University, “What’s the right rite? Treating environmental degradation as sickness or sin,” and “Remember that you are earth: Mortality and the Life of the World.” In July, he led a work-shop on natural burial practices and Christian theology at the Ekklesia Project Gathering at DePaul University in Chicago. He also preached at the instal-lation of Benjamin Groth (2014, Th.M.) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Menomonee Falls, Wis. From July 20 – August 2, Stewart was on the teaching staff at Holden Village Retreat Center in Chelan, Wash. Stewart’s article, “The Place of Earth in Lutheran Funeral Rites: Mapping the Current Terrain,” is in

FACULTY NOTES/NEWS

WE REMEMBER

Ralph W. Holmin1925 – 2014

The Rev. Dr. Ralph W. Holmin, the first professor of Christian Education at LSTC, died on May 24, 2014. He was 89 years old. Dr. Holmin taught at LSTC from 1965 to 1974, starting out at the Rock Island, Ill., campus. He was asso-ciate professor and chairman of the Ministry Division while at LSTC. He was Professor of Bible and History at Luther College in Teaneck, N.J., from 1960-1965.

Prior to retiring, he served as pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Toms River, N.J. for 35 years. He was preceded in death by his wife Lillian. He is survived by his five children, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, and his dear friend, Barbara Delman. A funeral service was held May 29, 2014 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church.

Barbara Rossing with LSTC alums Angela Shannon and Jon Bustard at the Northern Texas/Northern Louisiana Synod Assembly

23

the June 1, 2014, issue of Dialog.

Stewart links Christian worship and care for creationEco-theologians and lay readers alike have a new, paperless way to learn about ecology and Christian wor-ship. The Rev. Dr. Benjamin M. Stewart’s book A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology is now

available in a Kindle edition. A Watered Garden links worship with God’s cre-ation, drawing connections between the natural world and ecumenical patterns of worship. Stewart draws from his research at Emory University, where he was a Piedmont Fellow in Teaching and the Environment, and his years of scholarly work at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where he is the Gordon A.

Braatz Associate Professor of Worship and dean of the chapel. Stewart’s book, first pub-lished in a print edition in 2011, has received wide-spread praise. The Christian Century selected it as one of ten best new books in ethics for spring 2012. The magazine also featured excerpts from A Watered Garden as its cover story for its January 2011 issue.

FACULTY NOTES/NEWS

IN MEMORIAM

Louis T. Almen1925 – 2014

Augustana Class of 1950

Ordained in 1950 during the synod assembly at Washington Cathedral, Louis T. Almen was both a pas-tor and a teacher from the start of his long career. He served St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Elizabeth, N.J., while on the faculty of Upsala College. From 1953 to 1967 he taught religion at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., where he rose to the rank of professor. He also earned a master’s of theology from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa during those years. Dr. Almen served as the executive director of the Board of College Education and Church Vocations of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) 1967-1972 and then as the executive director of the LCA’s Division for Professional Leadership from 1972 to 1976. He was named president of Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., in 1976 and served in that post until 1990. In retirement, he served as interim president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Louis Almen was known for his generous spirit, curi-ous mind, and infectious enthusiasm for many topics, especially those related to theology. He was a prolific writer of letters and essays. He wrote about vocation, educational choice, a sustainable livelihood for all, climate change, marriage equality, and the Augustana Heritage. Dr. Almen died on June 3, 2014. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ardis, three children and their spouses, and five grandchildren. A funeral service was held on June 9 at Christ Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

Paul M. Cornell1927 – 2014

Augustana Class of 1953

After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Paul M. Cornell earned his bachelor’s degree at Augustana College in 1949 and a master’s degree in sacred theology from Augustana Seminary in 1953. He later studied at Princeton Theological Seminary, Boston University, Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. Ordained in 1953, Pastor Cornell served the Lutheran church for 53 years at parishes in Pennsylvania and as a staff member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In retirement, he served as interim pastor to 13 churches. Proud of his Swedish ancestry, Pastor Cornell was a member and chair of the Swedish Council of America, chairman of the board of governors of the American Swedish Historical Museum, a member of the National Conference on Swedish-American Affairs. He served on the board of the Augustana Heritage Society and chaired several Augustana Heritage Gatherings. In 1995 he was made a Commader 1st Class, Royal Order of the Polar Star by Sweden’s Ambassador to the U.S. on behalf of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Pastor Cornell died on April 7, 2014. He is survived by his two children and their spouses, and five grand-children. A memorial service was held on April 14 at Augustus Lutheran Church, Trappe, Pa.

Ben Stewart

24

IN MEMORIAM

Kenneth W. Johnson1924 – 2014

Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary Class of 1950

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Johnson worked as a rigger for Lockheed Aircraft Corp. before being inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in March 1943. While in training at Keesler Field, Miss., he suffered three sunstrokes which caused him to lose his sight. In August 1943, he was given an honor-able discharge. In June 1945, he was the first World War

II veteran to enroll at Carthage College. In 1947, he enrolled at the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary in Maywood, Ill., where he earned a bachelor of divin-ity. His thesis, a Greek word study titled “The Eklesia in the New Testament,” earned him cum laude honors—the first honors ever bestowed by the seminary in its 60-year history. Pastor Johnson graduated magna cum laude from Carthage College in 1949. After he was ordained by the Illinois Synod of the United Lutheran Church in 1950, Pastor Johnson served congregations in Michigan and California. He earned a master’s degree in counseling from George Washington University, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1972 he received LSTC’s “mas-ter of divinity cum laude” as a distinguished alumnus. Dr. Johnson served as Dean of Students at Wagner College, Staten Island, N.Y., 1959-60. He was Director of Institutional Research at City College, New York, N.Y., 1965-66. From 1966-68 Dr. Johnson was a clinician, manager of counseling services and associate professor at the Laboratory of Psychological Studies, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J. In 1968, he became Professor of Psychology at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. His four-year study of the highest ranking students of the class of 1973, “Augustana Academic Laureates, Class of 1973 and Monograph on Motivation: An In-Depth Study,” led to an invitation from the University of London Psychiatric Institute to be a Visiting Research Professor in 1976. Dr. Johnson’s work at Augustana covered many areas and won him many awards. He retired in 1986. In retirement he did a follow-up study of the class of 1973 laureates. He died in York, Pa., on March 12, 2014. He is sur-vived by his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth Weng Johnson,

their two daughters, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was buried on March 20 at Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, Pa.

John H. Moretz1939 – 2012

LSTC Class of 1968

After his ordination, Pastor Moretz was called to develop St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Hudson-Marlboro, Mass. He served as associate pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stamford, Conn., and then as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Milford, Conn., for 22 years. For more than 20 years, Pastor Moretz served on the board of directors of Bridges, an organization in Milford that provides mental health and addiction recovery programs for the community. He also served on the communications committee of the ELCA’s New England Synod, the board of directors for the Bet El Shelter, and was president of the Milford Clergy Association. Pastor Moretz died on August 14, 2012, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. A funeral was held at Trinity Lutheran Church, Milford, on August 18. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Linda Pearson Moretz, two sons and their spouses, and three grandchildren.

Arthur A. Preisinger1934 – 2014

Concordia Seminary (St. Louis) Class of 1958

The Rev. Dr. Arthur A. Preisinger was ordained in 1958 and was called to Christ Lutheran Church in Elk City, Okla., and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Midwest City, Okla. He was also a chaplain for the U.S. Air Force Reserves with extended active duty in 1961-62. In 1966 he became the campus pastor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where he was also an instructor in and chair of the Department of Biblical Literature. He served as the director of the Lutheran Institute for Religious Studies for the three ELCA synods of Texas and Louisiana while teaching at Texas Lutheran University. He taught courses as assistant professor in the Department of Theology and Philosophy and later as associate professor with a joint appointment in the Department of History. After retiring in 1998, he taught at Umpumulo Lutheran Seminary, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, anad at the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beruit, Lebanon. Dr. Preisinger died on March 11, 2014. He was pre-ceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Esther “Mitzi” Preisinger. He is survived by his companion, Bridget Jensen, four children, and six grandchildren. A funeral service was held on March 15 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas.

25

IN MEMORIAM

Watts Boyd Rozell Jr.1949 – 2014

LSTC Class of 1982

While at LSTC, Watts Rozell pursued his interest in video photography for use in ministry. His first call was to a parish in Belmont, Wis., where he led efforts to help with the farm crisis that affected the area. In 1992, he and his family moved to Athens, Ga., where he served as interim pastor at Elberton Lutheran Church. He was actively involved in social justice movements through-out the community. In 2000, the family moved to East Lansing, Mich., where Watts devoted his time to the international student population at Michigan State University, aid-ing with language learning, cultural assimilation, and spiritual guidance. While in Michigan, he was given the opportunity to travel the western world extensively. In 2013, he moved back to his hometown of Chandler, Okla., where he was surrounded by family and the com-munity. Watts Rozell Jr. died on March 20, 2014. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jean Ann Baker. They had two children, Elizabeth and Charles Baker-Rozell. Services were held on March 25 at Friends Church, Chandler, Okla.

Thomas W. Strieter1933 – 2014

Concordia Seminary (St. Louis) Class of 1957LSTC Class of 1969

Pastor, activist, author, editor, and teacher Thomas W. Strieter died on April 17, 2014. He and his wife, Doris, had just finished editing the third volume of a series of homilies by the late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero. In his 57-year ministry, Pastor Strieter had been active in many issues, from racial equality to gay rights. He served parishes in Chicago and its suburbs. He taught theology at Concordia University, River Forest, Ill., 1967-1971. He was an adjunct faculty member at Mundelein College, Loyola University, St. Xavier University, and LSTC. After he retired in 2002, Dr. Strieter served as a vol-unteer pastor in Bali, Indonesia. He and his wife also volunteered at the food pantry at Harmony Community Church in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, which feeds more than 400 families a week. A funeral service was held at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, Ill., on May 3, 2014. Pastor Strieter is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a grand-daughter.

Duain W. Vierow1935 – 2014

LSTC Class of 1966

Duain W. Vierow was ordained in 1960 and was commis-sioned by the Board of Foreign Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America to serve as a missionary in Malaysia. He served there for 15 years as a pastor of congregations with the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of Malaysia and Singapore, learning both the Tamil and Malay languages. He earned a master’s in systematic theology from LSTC in 1966 and a doctor of missiology from Fuller School of World Mission in 1976. Pastor Vierow organized, trained, and administered a national lay training extension program in Malaysia, which had 15 centers. He taught in two residence theo-logical schools and initiated talks to establish joint ecumenical theological training in Malaysia. When he returned to the U.S., he was involved with the synodical, seminary, and churchwide educational and global mis-sion initiatives including serving as volunteer director of the Global Mission Institute at Luther Seminary. Pastor Viernow was also an award-winning artist and a member of a number of art leagues. Many of his paintings are on permanent display at the Center for Movement Disorders at Shands, University of Florida. He also published several books, including Church Growth in the Third World and Sheer Grace: Reflections on a Life Blessed by the Grace of God. Duain Viernow died on April 9, 2014 in Gainesville, Fla. He is survived by his wife, Donna, two children and their spouses, and five grandchildren. A memorial ser-vice was held on April 15 at Hope Lutheran Church, The Villages, Fla. WE REMEMBER

26

1974

Gerald Mansholt (Christ Seminary-Seminex, M.Div.; 1989, D.Min.) was elected bishop of the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin in May. Since January, he has been serving as interim bishop of that synod. His installation will take place on Sept. 20.

1976

Robert Rimbo (Christ Seminary-Seminex, M.Div.) was re-elected to a sec-ond term as bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod in May.

1980

John Macholz (Christ Seminary-Seminex, M.Div.) was elected bishop of the Upstate New York Synod of the ELCA at the synod’s June assembly.

1981

Ronald Glusenkamp (Christ Seminary-Seminex, M.Div.) began his new duties as director of Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on June 16. For the past eight years, Glusenkamp has served as pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., the largest congregation in the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod. Prior to that call, he was vice president of customer outreach at the ELCA Board of Pensions (now Portico Benefit Services) from 1999 to 2005.

1986

William Moorhead (Christ Seminary-Seminex/LSTC, D.Min.) retired on June 30 from Pacific Hills Lutheran Church, Omaha, Neb.,

(LCMS). He served the con-gregation for more than 36 years. A celebration of his ministry was held on June 29.

1991

Cheryl M. Peterson (M.Div.), with Nathan Frambach of Wartburg Theological Seminary, published “Church of the future” in the March 2014 issue of The Lutheran magazine. Peterson is associate professor of sys-tematic theology at Trinity Lutheran Seminary.

1995

Loren Lybarger (M.A.) pub-lished “Will Boycotting Israel Work? The Challenges of Religion and Ethnic-Nationalism in Search for a Just Peace” in the May 22 issue of Sightings, pub-lished by the Martin Marty Center of the University of Chicago Divinity School. The article is available online. Dr. Lybarger is associate professor in the Department of Classics and World Religions at Ohio University.

1997

Naomi Hawkins Barcanic (M.Div.) has been serv-ing as solo pastor at Verde Valley Presbyterian Church in Cottonwood, Ariz., since June 2013.

1998

David Daubert (D.Min.) published “St. Patrick’s Day? It’s greener than you think” in the March 2014 issue of The Lutheran magazine.

Frank Honeycutt (D.Min.) published “Freedom just another word for not fol-lowing Jesus” in the March 2014 issue of The Lutheran magazine.

2000

Kara (Skatrud) Baylor (M.Div.) started a new call in January 2014 as College Pastor at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis..

2003

Kathie Baker (M.A.) is the new project coordinator for Pathways to Lower Debt, a three-year Lilly grant proj-ect at LSTC.

2002

Eric Alm (M.Div.) hosted five seminarians from LSTC in Sidney, Neb., for a rural immersion. On June 16, Alm published an article about the visit in The Sidney Sun-Telegraph.

David Berg (M.Div.) is part of an innovative ministry, the Sandbox Cooperative, started by Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rochester, Minn. The Sandbox Cooperative is an interactive in-person and online forum for conversa-tion, questions, and the exchange of ideas. Learn more at www.sandboxcoop-erative.com.

2006

John Nunes (Th.M.; 2012, Ph.D.) presented “Epiphanic Engagement: Poetics as Theological Design in a Global and Pluralistic Commons” at the American Theological Society Midwest Meeting at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill., on April 25. Dr. Nunes holds the Emil and Elfriede Jochum Chair at Valparaiso University.

2007

Jennifer Baldwin (Th.M.; 2013, Ph.D.) was the respondent to “Coincidence of Opposites Seen by Nicholas of Cusa and Niels Bohr” at the American Theological Society Midwest Meeting at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill., on April 25.

Robert Saler (M.Div.; 2009, Th.M.; 2011, Ph.D.) was the respondent to “Epiphanic Engagement: Poetics as Theological Design in a Global and Pluralistic Commons” at the American Theological Society Midwest Meeting at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill., on April 25.

2009

Kirsten Fryer (M.Div.) has been pastor of St. Andrew’s United Church of Cairo, Egypt, since August 2013.

Kirsten Fryer in Cairo, Egypt

2012

Laura Hall-Schordje (M.Div.) was ordained June 28 in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. She has been called to serve at Living Christ Lutheran Church in Hanover Park, Ill.

Kjersten Priddy (M.Div.) was ordained on June 14, 2014, at First Trinity Lutheran Church, Washington, D.C. She has been called to serve as pastor of Trinity

CLASS NOTES

27

CLASS NOTES

Lutheran Church, Battle Creek, Mich. Priddy con-tributed “Preaching Helps: Seventh Sunday After Easter—Seventh Sunday After Pentecost” to Currents in Theology and Mission, (April 2014).

2014

Christina Garrett Klein (M.Div.) was ordained June 28 in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. She has been called

to serve as associate pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, Homewood, Ill.

Benjamin Groth (Th.M.) was ordained July 12 at All Peoples Gathering Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wis. He has been called as pas-tor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Menomonee Falls, Wis.

Jana Howson (M.Div.) was ordained at the Northern

Illinois Synod Assembly on June 14 in Rock Island, Ill. She has been called to serve at United Lutheran Church in Gardner, Ill.

Alex LaChapelle (M.Div.) was ordained June 28 in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. He has been called to serve as at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, Ill.

Jenna Pulkowski (M.Div.) was ordained July 26 in the

Augustana Chapel at LSTC. She is called as associate pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, Fargo, N.D.

Daniel Wynard (Certificate of Studies) was ordained at the Northern Illinois Synod Assembly on June 14 in Rock Island, Ill. He has been called to serve at Alpine Lutheran Church in Rockford, Ill.

ErrataOn page 5 of the 2014 Winter Epistle magazine, the Rev. Dr. James Thomas’s name was left out of the first paragraph. On June 18, he received the Called to Lead Distinguished Alumni Award. Bishop Gerald Mansholt received the Faithful Servant Distinguished Alumni Award that day.

On page 27 of the 2014 Winter Epistle magazine, the obituary for Harold Hamilton should read that he served in Lawrence, Kansas, from 1954 until early 1972.

Thanks to our readers for the corrections.

Class of 1964

Members of the Class of 1954 gathered at LSTC for a reunion. Back row, from left: Carl Johnson, Marcus Pera, Kent Carlander, Joseph Wiberg, Nathan Lundgren, David LaMaster, Peter Drever, Roger Anderson, Kenneth Stenman; front row: Richard Halvorsen, Gerald Goodrich, Donald Fagerberg, Ralph Anderson, Philip Erlander, John Bengston, Clarence Stomp

28

LSTC Board of DirectorsOn May 19, LSTC thanked five members of the Board of Directors who completed their terms of service. We have been blessed by their dedication and expertise in many areas crucial to respon-sible oversight and planning for the seminary.

Kimberlee Eighmy served as the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin representa-tive for nine years. She was a member of the Board

Development Committee and the Executive Committee. She has encour-aged collaborative efforts among the Covenant Cluster seminaries and synod Lay Schools of Education.

Mark Klever was the Western Iowa Synod representa-tive on LSTC’s Board for nine years. He has brought his business acumen to the Administration and Finance Committee and then the Seminary Relations Committee.

Gerald Mansholt, who com-pleted his service in 2013 as the Region 4 Bishops’

Representative, was also honored this May. He served on the board for six years on the Academic Affairs Committee, on the Executive Committee and as a member of the Presidential Search Committee.

Gerald Schultz has served on the board as a Metropolitan Chicago Synod, a Division for Ministry, and Congregational and Synodical Mission Unit representative over the last 18 years. He has used his business expertise to help guide LSTC as a member of the Special Finance Task Force, Administration and Finance Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Seminary Relations Committee.

Jean Ziettlow represented the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod on LSTC’s board for nine years. She has chaired the Community Life Committee of the board, which pays particular attention to the needs of LSTC’s students.

LSTC gives thanks to God for these outstanding board members and their service.

New staffKathie Baker (2003, M.A.), in April, began her new job as project coordinator of “Pathways to Lower Debt,” made possible through a

three-year Lilly Endowment grant. She brings experi-ence working at the ELCA Churchwide Offices, as a volunteer in congregations, as a missionary in Argentina, and as circulation manager of Currents in Theology and Mission. Baker lives in Hyde Park with her spouse, José David Rodríguez. Her email is kbaker@lstc.edu.

Jason McGovern joined the Communications and Marketing Office in June as LSTC’s web and media man-ager. He will maintain and improve the website, develop and implement a content strategy and production plan for new audio and video, and coordinate content for LSTC’s social media sites. McGovern has experience in web, audio, and video devel-opment and production. He has worked for the University of Iowa College of Medicine, St. Xavier University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He lives in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood with his spouse, Amy, and son, Zane. His email is jmcgovern@lstc.edu.

Farewell and GodspeedSince April 2005, Roger Bottorff has been LSTC’s web manager. He retired on June 30. Almost everything you’ve seen (and heard) on the LSTC website has been touched by Roger. In addition to managing the many details of maintaining the site, Roger contributed many fine photos of LSTC and Chicago. In retirement, Roger will continue to pur-sue his many creative inter-ests—photography, print making, painting, gardening, and being a patron of live music and the theater. The LSTC community expresses its deep appre-ciation for Roger’s creativity

and dedication. We wish him Godspeed, good health, and many years of doing the things he most enjoys.

AccomplishmentsEmilie Pulver, special proj-ects librarian, JKM Library, published a review of “Field Guide to Fynbos” by John Manning in The Bulb Garden, (Summer/Fall 2013).

Paul Knutson, facilities opera-tion manager, received a mas-ter’s degree in cinema from DePaul University, Chicago. Watch the video produced by Knutson for LSTC at www.lstc.edu/voices/videos/.

MilestonesEach May, LSTC recognizes staff and faculty anniversa-ries. These faculty and staff celebrated 20 or more years of service:

20 yearsBarbara Rossing, professor of New Testament

30 yearsBob Berridge, vice presi-dent for operations

35 yearsMike Huckelberry, director of building services

These faculty members cel-ebrated 20 or more years of ordained ministry:

20 yearsChristine Wenderoth, director of the JKM Library

25 yearsRay Pickett, professor of New Testament

30 yearsJoan Beck, Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation and pastor to the community

35 yearsMichael Shelley, director of A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice

TRANSITIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Kimberlee Eighmy

Mark Klever and spouse, Pastor Karen Parker

Gerald Mansholt

Ph.D. grad Bridget Illian in her Doctor Who scarf.

Pastor Heidi Neumark, keynote speaker for “Fear Not: Risks, Ministry, and the Gospel”

The Rev. Linda Norman preached at the closing worship of the 2014 Leadership Conference.

Dr. Vitor Westhelle, Dean Esther Menn, Ph.D. grad Yahu Vinayaraj, President James Nieman, and the Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church, Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma

The Rev. Dr. James Thomas accepts his 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Former President William Lesher spoke at the Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration June 17.

Life at LSTC

NON-PROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCHICAGO, IL

PERMIT NO. 9556

1100 East 55th Street • Chicago, IL 60615 • www.lstc.edu

Address Service Requested

All events are at LSTC unless otherwise noted. For a complete listing and details, visit www.lstc.edu/events

August25–29 New and returning student retreats and

orientation

September2 Fall Term begins3 Opening convocation4-10 Lutheran World Federal Hermeneutics

Conference5 Timothy Wengert lecture, “Matthew’s Gospel for

the Reformation”8 ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton preaches

in chapel22 Scherer Lecture, “Coptic Mission in a Changing

World”25-27 Music that Makes Community Workshop $

October 4 LSTC Guild Fall Meeting $12 Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Multicultural Center Benefit

Concert13 Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Lecture 14-17 Reading Week20-24 Donor Appreciation Week at LSTC26-28 Seminary Sampler

November 3 Richard J. Perry Jr. lecture, “From Church Spaces

to Public Spaces: Lutheran Ethics on the Move”6-8 Vine Deloria Jr. Symposium10 Kristallnacht Service of Remembrance and

Repentance13-15 Board of Directors Meeting24-28 Thanksgiving recess (no classes)25 Giving Thanks Community Meal

December5 Fall Semester ends

Calendar of Events