Ps Magazine - Spring 2009

Volume 92

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SE EP AG Spring ✛ 2009 Number 1 E1 CO 0f N or DE APR VOC TA A ILS IL 27 TIO -2 N2 an dR 9 009 EG IST RA TIO N!

MDiv ’08 “The church has a role to play in public life.” see new Public Leadership Concentration on page 4

Message from the president AS I AM WRITING THIS ARTICLE, I am basking in the good feelings of having experienced the annual Pre-seminary Project Connect Meeting where almost ninety young college-age persons — of whom fifty were prospective seminarians —and their mentors gathered at LTSP. They are the wonderful results of an Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries’ program funded by the Lilly Endowment to raise up a whole new generation of leaders for the ELCA. Among these promising young persons —identified by their pastors, teachers, campus ministers, families, and others who are fulfilling their call to raise up public leaders for the church — are young persons who wish to serve as pastors and, increasingly, young persons who want to serve out their baptismal callings working in social ministry organizations, chaplaincies, health ministries, advocacy ministries, camp ministries, and youth ministries. As a seminary, we have had to learn to prepare both those who will do public ministry through word and sacrament and through word and service. In response, we are developing a new concentration to prepare candidates who can lead publicly, competent in theology and in the specialties that I noted above: equipped with business and administrative skills, social work competencies and more. We will be offering courses under the Master of Arts in Religion program as we pilot this concentration while a proposed MA degree in Public Leadership is considered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Social ministry organizations and charities like Lutheran World Relief and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services have asked us to help in this program. We are collaborating with Gettysburg Seminary in the Intersections Institute which has received a generous grant from the Thrivent for Lutherans Foundation for a program that will raise up current and future leaders for our Lutheran institutions. Participants will be able to obtain certificates or concentrate in the MAR degree. The collaboration with Gettysburg and later Southern Seminary in this program has great promise for the church. Our roles as seminaries keep changing for a changing world, but our missions stay the same:

to prepare theologically trained leaders for the church and the world. Our primary focus will always be to prepare pastors for congregations, but we are responding to the leadership needs of the whole church. To that end, we need your support as together we all face a challenging economic future. I want to thank each of you for your constant and faithful support. The Leadership Fund (our annual fund), for example, surpassed all expectations last year, and this year it is dramatically ahead of last year. This is critical to make up for the losses in our endowment due to the economic downturn. We have a goal of raising one million dollars in the Leadership Fund this year. We are on track to raise $750,000, and are asking every congregation in Region 7 and in our relationships to take up an offering for the seminary on Good Shepherd Sunday, May 3, 2009. We have received authorization from every Region 7 bishop for this, and hope to make this an annual event to raise up students for public ministry and support for their studies. Much of the Leadership Fund is designated for financial aid so desperately needed by our students. We need supporters like you to be our champions in each congregation to make the Region 7 Seminary Sunday offering a success. I am also delighted to announce that Larry House is back, working with us as the Director of Leadership Giving. He will be working with Dr. Paul Brndjar, who will remain the Interim Executive Director of the Foundation, and our talented staff as a major gifts officer in Region 7. We could not be more delighted that Larry has chosen to return to help us to support our mission to prepare a new generation of leaders for the church and the world. A friend has returned — and I thank you, dear friends. In Christ,

Philip D.W. Krey

ON THE COVER: Passionate healthcare advocate Marissa Harris, MDiv ’08, (in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg), works for Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa, www.lamp.org) as an Advocacy Developer. To learn more about Harris and her call to public ministry, go to www.Ltsp.edu/publicleadership and read her full story as well as view a video interview.

EDITOR/DESIGN

Merri L. Brown DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

John Kahler WRITERS

Louise Johnson John Kahler Mark A. Staples PHOTOGRAPHY

Gralin Hughes, Jr. John Kahler Jim Roese Mark A. Staples EDITORIAL BOARD

Merri L. Brown Lois La Croix Louise Johnson John Kahler Philip D.W. Krey Adam Marles J. Paul Rajashekar CORRESPONDENCE

PS, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, 7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119 Telephone: 215.248.6311 or 1.800.286.4616 Email: [email protected] Visit us online: www.Ltsp.edu

contents FEATURES ✛ SPRING 2008 New Public Leadership Concentration at LTSP ............4 LTSP meets the needs of a new generation and a rapidly changing world.

Surrendering at Church: Alumnus’ Initiative Helps Fugitives Turn Their Lives Around ..........................................8 The Rev. Dr. Ernest McNear spearheads a surrender initiate at the True Gospel Tabernacle Church in South Philadelphia. He calls the initiative a demonstration of law and grace. Page 4

DEPARTMENTS Message from the President ....................Inside front cover Offerings

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Alumni News ........................................................................................10 Alumni Convocation 2009 Faculty/Staff News and Notes ..................................................12 Faculty/Staff Activities ................................................................12 Passages ................................................................................................17 In Memoriam ..................................................................................17 From the Foundation ......................................................................18

PS is a publication of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and is distributed without charge to alumni/ae, faculty, staff, and friends of the seminary.

© Copyright 2009 The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia Volume 92 Number 1 The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is committed to preparing ordained and lay ministers of the Word as leaders for the mission of the Church in the world.

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CONVOCATION 2009

APRIL 27-29 SEE PAGE 10 for DETAILS and REGISTRATION!

OFFERINGS✛ L. JACK BRADT GIVEN AWARD OF DISTINCTION AT ANNUAL ADVENT RECOGNITION DINNER

L. Jack Bradt (second from left) receives the Soli Deo Gloria. With Bradt, from left, are Dr. Addie J. Butler, chair, Board of Trustees; Bradt’s wife, Dr. Patricia Bradt; and Trustee Dr. Robert Blanck.

L. Jack Bradt, a pioneering Easton, PA, business leader for more than 50 years, and also a teacher and dedicated community-minded volunteer, was presented with the Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone the Glory) Award for 2008 by LTSP. The honor was conferred December 7, 2008, at the seminary’s annual Advent recognition dinner. The dinner is an opportunity for the seminary to thank those faithful and generous donors who help carry on the mission of LTSP. Seminary president The Rev. Dr. Philip D.W. Krey and board chair Dr. Addie Butler took advantage of the occasion to thank those gathered, as well as important supporters including the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation, for their continued support during these challenging times. Bradt was honored “in gratitude for outstanding leadership and service to the Church and to the mission of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.” REGION 7 SEMINARY SUNDAY ON MAY 3, “GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY” LTSP is returning to a traditional annual regional Seminary Sunday on May 3, 2009, “Good Shepherd Sunday,” that will strengthen ties and educate congregations on the importance of LTSP in the life of all the region’s one thousand congregations. We deeply value the backing of the Region 7 Bishops, and ask you to support this effort in your congregation! For further information, go to www.Ltsp.edu/seminarysunday

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“BROOD OF VIPERS:THE MEDIA,THE GOSPEL AND PUBLIC LIFE” ADDRESS BY JOURNALIST AND ACTIVIST CHRIS SATULLO Chris Satullo, formerly a columnist and director of civic engagement at The Philadelphia Inquirer, and now Executive Director of News and Civic Dialogue at Philadelphia public broadcaster WHYY, explored the connections between the media, faith and the public in a lecture entitled “Brood of Vipers: The media, the Gospel and public life” at the Tuesday, November 18, 2008, convocation at Ltsp. Mr. Satullo looked at the challenges the media and the church face in presenting and reporting on the position of the church in public life, and how these groups with different missions and goals come together in the public square. View “Brood of Vipers: The media, the Gospel and public life” online: www.Ltsp.edu/satullo ONLINE LEARNINGTO GROW AT LTSP While the physical classroom will always be a place for seminary learning, LTSP is planning to expand online for-credit courses to reach students, both first professional and advancedlevel, who find the opportunity to learn online a valuable alternative to attending classes on campus. Offerings this June and for the next academic year include Media Literacy, taught by Prof. Richard Stewart, and Old Testament 1 and 2, taught by Prof. Wil Gafney. For more information and additional courses as they become available: www.Ltsp.edu/learnonline. TRAVELTO EGYPT WITH LTSP STUDENTS A group of LTSP students, led by LTSP Prof. David D. Grafton, traveled to Egypt during January term for a globalization experience. They shared the experience with others through a Web blog. Read their reflections and view photos: www.Ltsp.edu/egypt.

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LTSP CELEBRATES WITHTHE FIRST EVENT ONTHE NEW WILLIAM ALLEN PLAZA The new William Allen Plaza, built at the southwest corner of the LTSP campus and designed to open the campus to the Mt. Airy business district and add a beautiful new approach to the Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel, was introduced to the community with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony and carol sing led by members of the seminary and New Covenant Church choirs and musicians from the Salvation Army on December 5, 2008. The plaza was designed as a public space that connects the seminary’s 14-acre campus to Mt. Airy’s revitalized business district along Germantown Avenue, and will also be the entrance to the new offices of the bishop and staff of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, planned for the lower level of the seminary chapel. The bishop and staff moved from Norristown to Philadelphia to temporary quarters on campus in January. See more on the event including photos of the festivities online: www.Ltsp.edu/treelighting The Mt. Airy community gathers on the new William Allen Plaza for the first-ever event.

Please consider creating a link to LTSP’s Web site (www.Ltsp.edu) on your congregation’s Web site. Thank you! PS ✛ SPRING 2009

KRAUTH MEMORIAL LIBRARY: 100YEARS OF SERVICE & SCHOLARSHIP In this year-long centennial celebration of the Krauth Memorial Library, we remember the call of Martin Luther who said in 1524, “Finally, one thing more merits serious consideration by all ... It is this: no effort or expense should be spared to provide good libraries or book repositories. ... This is essential, not only that those who are to be our spiritual and temporal leaders may have books to read and study, but also that the good books may be preserved and not lost ...” (Luther’s Works: The Christian in Society II Volume 45. Helmut Lehmann and Walther Brandt, Editors. Fortress Press, 1962, page 373) Visit the library’s centennial page on the web to see the Rt. Rev. Dr. Frederick Borsch and The Rev. Dr. Philip Krey talk about some of the unique treasures that have been preserved in the Krauth Memorial Library: www.Ltsp.edu/krauth100.

LTSP’S NEW WEB SITE The beginning of February was not only the start of the spring semester, it also marked the launch of the new LTSP Web site. Still located at www.Ltsp.edu, the site not only looks different, it’s a completely different site from technology to capabilities. The site navigation uses buttons and menus similar to computer programs, making it easier to move around in the site and see what’s available from the home page, without being overwhelmed by dozens of links. In addition to the updated content from the previous site, Ltsp.edu is much simpler to update, allowing for more updates on a regular basis. Give it a look!

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PUBLIC LEADERSHIP

Filling the Educational “Gap” with New PUBLIC LEADERSHIP Concentration byTHE REV. LOUISE JOHNSON, DIRECTOR of ADMISSIONS

ive-year-old Richard watched and chattered as I walked down to the fellowship hall, slipping out of my vestments. I reached for the tab collar in my clergy shirt, pulled it out and stuck it in my book. “That’s not where that goes,” Richard said, eyeing me closely. “What?” I responded. “That’s not where that goes,” he continued. “It goes in your pocket.” It took a minute to register. We had both observed our fathers’ ritual for years. In what seemed like one fluid motion, Richard’s dad would whisk the tab collar from the neckband of his shirt and tuck into his shirt pocket. My newly pressed women’s clergy shirt didn’t have such a pocket. I smiled, feigned the proverbial collar-in-the-pocket tuck and gave him my best “What do we do now?” look. I shook my head and mumbled, “It’s not our fathers’ church anymore.” My father’s church, with deep and abiding faith, took care of its members and cemeteries, gladly assumed the communal tasks of baptizing and confirming, and operated under the auspices of councils and committees. We gathered together, we prayed, we worshiped. We wrote thoughtful and measured statements about current issues. We volunteered at the local soup kitchens and food banks. We held bazaars and suppers. We understood “evangelical” as a word to describe the denominations we were not and “evangelism” as an intrusion. And the notion of church intersecting with anything like business or government was not only a foreign concept, but also a terrifying one. Principles such as the separation of church and state

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and Reformer Martin Luther’s understanding of the two kingdoms meant that the lines between what happened on Sunday morning and the rest of the week extended only to an individual’s moral formation. While there is much about “my father’s church” to celebrate, it is a model of church struggling to meet the needs of a new generation and a rapidly changing world. Declining numbers tell only part of the story; the longing for genuine and integrated discipleship is palpable. Darken the doors of nearly any church institution these days and, beneath the stories of success, you’ll hear the nervous rhetoric. “If the church doesn’t change (insert relevant concern here), it will die.” In the circles where I live and move, the particular concern is for the quantity and quality of church leaders. And rightfully so. On top of an already demonstrable clergy shortage, in the next 10 years more than one-half of the clergy roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is eligible to retire. And not only are we facing a crisis among existing leaders, but demographic and cultural trends are seemingly to our disadvantage as well. More and more, young leaders of faith are expressing the desire to see work as a direct extension of faith, but to find its expression outside of the framework of ordained pastoral ministry, outside the frame-

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work of “my father’s church.” They are drawn to on-the-ground ways of communicating the gospel. They are articulate and serious about their faith commitments and eager to serve. This generation grew up participating in service learning and feeling their faith take root in the places where the church ventured out into the world. They have been part of programs like Theological Education with Youth, Young Adults in Global Mission, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and a whole host of others. They are eager to serve, but feel disconnected from traditional forms of ministry. They are searching for the land between ministry-in-daily-life and takingup-residence-in-the-parsonage. Together these two trends spell disaster for a church dependent upon its clergy for leadership and committed to the community of faith within the four walls of the sanctuary. And, so, for church as we know it, these trends start to feel like the beginning (or middle) of the end. As a theological seminary in the city, LTSP has long struggled in the gap between “my father’s church” and the need to train leaders for Germantown Avenue. On that avenue, 80 places of worship exist, along with poverty and wealth in their extremes, and people of every creed, race, and nation — all in an eight-mile stretch. Our response has been to create a curricular emphasis, Public Theology, that intentionally blurs the lines between church and world. Public Theology means we live and learn, form and teach, lead and serve in the Spirit, following the example of God in Christ who crossed the boundaries between heaven and earth, between sinners and saints, between life and death. Public Theology prepares leaders who refuse to live as if the

Gospel were meant only for “us,” only for Sunday mornings, only for the four walls of a church building. Public Theology means we are, as our tagline says, both “of the Spirit” and “in the world.” Public theology was at the heart of Reformer Martin Luther’s work. Following his example, because we are confident in God’s saving grace, we risk direct action in the world. This action turns the typical “quietistic” interpretation of the “Two Kingdoms,” so familiar to my father’s church, on its head. In fact, the “Two Kingdoms” doctrine frees us precisely to engage in the world through diverse vocations available to us as citizens in a religiously pluralistic world. Dr. Jon Pahl, Professor of the History of Christianity in North America at LTSP, had already rolled up his sleeves to work with our colleagues in the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries and representatives from several Lutheran social ministry organizations on a collaborative certificate program called Intersections Institute (“II”). Out of “II” has grown a new concentration in LTSP’s Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) program focusing on Public Leadership. Eventually upon anticipated accreditation approval, this concentration will “graduate” into a new degree program called the Master of Arts in Public Leadership (MAPL). The new concentration, which begins this fall, will be offered by LTSP in conjunction with the Fox School of Business at Temple University and the Temple School of Social Service Administration, among other partners. The first of its kind, this integrative, innovative concentration, expected to become a degree initiative, is a pilot for what we hope will be a long line of integrative degree programs that find their life at the intersections between such things as theology and law, and theology and medicine. “… I’ve felt acutely the gaps that exist between what the church says about justice, what people in pews and social ministry organizations know about justice, and what actually gets continued on next page

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done,” said Dr. Pahl. Our hope is to train leaders who will be in church buildings, yes, but also in office buildings. Our hope is to train leaders who are conversant in the languages of business and theology and savvy about how to weave theological and biblical principles into the world’s economic, political and social fabric. Our hope is that the blessings of community and care from “my father’s church” might take shape in justice and advocacy in streets and prison cells, in hospital rooms and court rooms and, indeed, in the lives of those for whom the gospel is but a distant notion. Our hope is to prepare leaders whose calling is to close the gap between what we know and say and what gets done. And we suspect that the Holy Spirit might just be at work among us, transforming the church into a vibrant community serving the needs of a world longing for healing, justice, mercy and life.

The Concentration The new Public Leadership Concentration is an extension of the aforementioned and newly formed “II,” and is designed to meet the growing needs of social ministry organizations, numbering well over 300 across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The “II” will offer a certificate at the intersection between business and theology for those already working in social ministry. The idea is that those who have business training and acumen will have the opportunity to develop theological training and acumen, and vice versa. For both will be the opportunity to integrate the two subject areas

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through a range of team-taught, praxisoriented, integrative courses. The Master of Arts in Religion Public Leadership Concentration will follow the same trajectory, but offer deeper engagement and significant opportunity for field experience and education. It will prepare students from the ground up for leadership in social ministry and advocacy ministries. The concentration might also be extended to meet the needs of a variety of vocations where the intersection of business and theology is critical. Vocations in outdoor ministry, community leadership, and ecclesiastical administration are among many. “Many people in pews — and many pastors! — have no clue about what social ministry organizations do. Many people in social ministry organizations have no clue about the theological foundations that motivated Lutherans to found those organizations,” said Dr. Pahl, whose scholarship is in the field of American religious history and culture. “The new MAR Concentration — as we envision it — exists to fill these gaps, by raising up a new generation of leaders who want to work at the intersections of God’s yearning for justice, human need, and the structures of American society.” Dr. Pahl is the chief architect of the new concentration and has worked in collaboration with LTSP’s faculty and colleagues from a number of disciplines including business schools, social service administration, law, and healthcare, and with managers and executives of social ministry organizations. “In our conversations, there is strong

agreement that with greater integration across professions, drawing on the deepest motivations in religious faith, many of the social problems that plague the United States — and the globe — can be solved. Illiteracy, crumbling families, drug abuse, hunger, environmental degradation, poverty, violence, and social conflict are not mysteries but systemic processes that require integrated solutions across policy and practice,” Pahl said. “Through a creative, flexible, and practical curriculum, the new initiative will help prepare leaders at the intersection of religious traditions and practical professions for the twenty-first century.” Situate the new educational approach between two institutions with strong commitments to serving the public, namely LTSP and Temple University — founded as a seminary in 1884 by American Baptist minister, lawyer, and orator Russell Conwell, which grew into an egalitarian school for the working classes, and home to one of the most diverse student bodies in the world — and you have what is not only an innovative, interesting and relevant program, but also what just may be the work of the Holy Spirit bidden by “my father’s church.”✛ More information at www.Ltsp.edu/ publicleadership. Join us on the LTSP campusThursday, April 23, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm for an Informational Session for the Public Leadership concentration. For further information and to register: www.Ltsp.edu/publicleadership

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Pittsburgh’s Sara Jane Luley: Focus on PUBLIC LEADERSHIP a Chance to Live Her Passion FOR PROSPECTIVE SEMINARIAN Sara Jane Luley, the seminary’s new Master of Arts in Religion Concentration in Public Leadership is becoming a key to serving God in a special way. “I always knew quite certainly that I am not being called to ordained ministry, but I see a lot of places in the world, especially where the church doesn’t reach, where God is calling people to work,” Luley said. “That’s what excited me about LTSP’s new MAR program and their general interest in promoting other kinds of professional ministry besides ordained ministry. I think there are a lot of people out there like me who don’t think seminary is for them because they don’t find themselves cut out to be a pastor.” These days the Pittsburgh, PA native is “staying connected” to her faith by volunteering for the Academy of Hope in Washington, DC, as an adult education instructor for a diverse group of adult students.The Academy is part of the Americorps-connected Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC). She lives in the Dietrich Bonhoeffer house with five other LVC members. Americorps is a federally funded endeavor that encourages young adults to serve others in a wide variety of ways. “When the teacher is younger than the students and from a completely different background, it becomes more of an environment where everybody has something to teach everyone else, and I really enjoy teaching in that kind of environment,” Luley said. She first became interested in LVC while doing a week-long program about homelessness called Faith Active in Love at Pacific LutheranTheological Seminary in Berkeley, CA. “While in the Bay area we visited a house of LVC-ers, and I really liked how they were living out what they stood for at their volunteer placements,” Luley said. “After working for social justice all day, they weren’t coming home to sit in front of the TV and eat a steak dinner. In this way LVC struck me more as a movement toward solidarity than charity. I would definitely say my faith was a motivating factor in deciding to do LVC.” Luley’s faith was forged in large measure at Faith Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh, where she was active in her youth group and served as youth representative on the congregation council. But, she explained a lot of her church involvement stemmed from activities at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA, where she belonged to the campus chapter of the Lutheran Student Movement and served as student assistant to the chaplain.

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“My job in the chaplain’s office was part of a university scholarship initiative where a few students are chosen from each incoming class to work four years with a university professor,” she explained. “One of the most rewarding parts of that job was to help plan yearly service-learning trips to Central America. I also started a FairTrade Festival at the school as a socially responsible option for Christmas shopping in our community.” The festival sold fair trade chocolate, coffee, tea, and handcrafts, and promoted the Heifer Project and the Church World Service Best Gift catalog. “It was a venue too for our Student AdvocacyTeam, which I belonged to, for educating shoppers about social justice issues.” (She worked closely with cofounder Alina Gayeuski, another prospective LTSP seminarian.) Luley majored in International Economics and Spanish in college (with what she calls a fun but unrelated minor in Music Performance/Cello). “My big passions for living out my faith are social justice, fair trade and international service,” she noted. She spent a semester during her junior year living in Cordoba, Argentina. What of the future does she anticipate after hopefully completing her work at LTSP? “I suppose it depends on what is available at the time and what God is calling me to do,” Luley said. “I would really enjoy working with social ministry of some kind or another, especially if it would involve international travel.” Of the new LTSP initiative, Luley suggested, “I hope more programs like this one are created that remind us that the church and our faith are connected with everything else in the world.” Adds Louise Johnson, the seminary’s Director of Admissions, “A primary mission of ours remains to prepare future leaders for ordained ministry in the church, but as I and others visit college campuses and congregations throughout the U.S., we increasingly hear a plea for educational alternatives like our new concentration. I think it reflects a rapidly changing global context that challenges the church to explore its relevance in a really exciting time.”

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ERNEST McNEAR

by MARK A. STAPLES

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magine your congregation’s sanctuary turned into several “courtrooms” featuring judges from your city or community and all the technology found in a typical courthouse. Imagine nearly 1,300 non-violent offenders streaming to your church over four days to “turn themselves in” in exchange for “favorable consideration” regarding charges for such crimes as drug possession, scofflaws or other summary violations. Hard to picture? That was the scene in September, 2008 at True Gospel Tabernacle Church at 16th and Mifflin Streets in South Philadelphia in what was called “Fugitive Safe Surrender,” a U.S. Marshals Service program brought to the city by The Rev. Dr. Ernest McNear, a 1999 graduate of the Urban Theological Institute (UTI) of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). McNear founded

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Surrendering at Church: Alumnus’ Initiative Helps Fugitives Turn Their Lives Around the True Gospel congregation as a storefront church in 1985 while working as a computer librarian for the Philadelphia Electric Co., now known simply as PECO. For the past 11 years the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) congregation has occupied a one-time Episcopal Church building it has renovated. Through the four-day “surrender” program, offenders turned themselves in at the church, clearing warrants, sometimes setting court dates or finding their cases disposed of altogether. Many came away from the church crying in relief. Some had been “wanted” for four years or more. The offenders only came from Philadelphia. Juvenile, traffic, or domestic relations cases were not included. Why would a church get involved in such a program, especially when its members or neighbors are so often vic-

timized by crimes such as drive-by shootings, rapes, robberies and burglaries? McNear calls the initiative a demonstration of law and grace. “Before the eyes of God we are all offenders in one way or another,” he said. “We all sin and could be found guilty in the eyes of God. And yet those of us who are believers know that God loves us unconditionally. You hear a lot in the news these days about terrorism, and we in this urban community experience terrorism daily in the form of violence. To minister in this community is an exercise of faith because we see instances where a child is raped or someone is shot. It is painful and hard. But we also experience help through the healing power of God. Faith in action is not letting fear have its grip upon us.” The “surrender” initiative is a winwin situation for both the church and the justice system, McNear said. “We’re

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not allowed to evangelize during the program,” he said. “What we are doing is living the Gospel, not preaching it. But the reality is that offenders feel more comfortable about surrendering in a church than they would be by going to a jail or a police station. That helps the justice system. For those who surrender here, the environment is a safe one. The program promotes safety for police officers too, who often fall into harm’s way out on the street. And through the initiative, the justice system has a constructive and efficient way to dispose of hundreds of cases on its books.” True Gospel Church runs a learning center for 130 youngsters in kindergarten through fourth grade, in part because “the lack of education is a direct cause of incarceration,” he said. “More than 70 percent of those in jail have not graduated from high school,” and most of those in Pennsylvania jails, including 26 state correctional institutions, come from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg. “If we are going to conduct a meaningful ministry in this community, then we have to be involved in ministry with offenders and with people in prison,” McNear said. “I tell young people in trouble that they are not the only ones going to jail. They put their families in jail. They put everyone who cares about them in jail. Their family members visit them in prison. They send them money while they are in jail.” McNear knows first hand about the trials of the justice system. A 1968 high honors graduate of Simon Gratz High School, McNear grew up in the projects of Philadelphia. “My mother and

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grandparents raised me and we were poor.” He gave the valedictory address at the Gratz commencement exercises. A gifted musician, he went off to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and played professionally for nearly 10 years. But at the same time he fell into drug abuse. In his early 20s he was arrested in Philadelphia and did some time. “It seemed like I knew everyone in the jail cells around me,” McNear recalled. “And they kept telling me, ‘What are you doing here? You don’t belong here!’ But there I was.” During some of his darkest days he attended his 10th class reunion at Gratz. And there he was reminded of what he had once been able to accomplish and of the gifts he had. He began to turn his life around. “I realized that all along God was preparing me for something.” In the 1990s he heard about LTSP from The Rev. Dr. Andrew Willis, “a mentor who founded the Urban Theological Institute at LTSP,” McNear recalled. Willis insisted that McNear needed to study seriously for the ordained ministry, and study McNear did. “LTSP was just an amazing place for me,” he said. “The academics were rigorous and the professors amazing. What I appreciated the most was how inclusive the education was. The school is a Lutheran seminary, but the professors and the community as a whole encouraged me to be who I am as I learned. Being part of an inclusive community like that was pivotal to my growth as a pastor and theologian. My education at LTSP influences me every day of my ministry.”

True Gospel Church today has more than 600 parishioners. McNear has guided many significant ministries including missionary work with 65 pastors in Ghana. (He persuaded former Philadelphia Mayor John Street to donate two desperately needed refurbished trash trucks to the city of Cape Coast, Ghana.) The congregation runs an educational and support ministry to people with AIDS. He still plays the saxophone he played professionally during his 20s. He sometimes plays Gospel music in a “smooth jazz” style during worship. “But music for me today is not the most important thing,” he said. “It is just a part of the ministry of the Word that is central to what we do at True Gospel.” Central to McNear’s ministry clearly is prison ministry outreach. The congregation is the hub for the four-yearold Kingdom Care Reentry Network for ex-inmates, which inspired McNear to bring the “surrender” program to Philadelphia. The four-day “surrender” program took many months to organize. But McNear said the hard work was well worth it in view of the outcome. “So many people with warrants who had been living in fear were able to turn their lives around during those four days,” he said. “At True Gospel we meet such souls at our door,” McNear said. “We work diligently to reintegrate them into society. We tell ex-inmates who come to us that God loves them, that they are somebody and that as people of faith they can seek their destiny as part of our church family.”✛ Expanded video interview with Pr. McNeal online: www.Ltsp.edu/UTIalum www.Ltsp.edu

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alumni spring convocation 2009

ALUMNI NEWS✛ Alumni Spring Convocation 2009 April 27 to 29, 2009

Path of Forgiveness

CLASS REUNIONS: 2008, 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979, 1974, 1969, 1964, 1959, 1954, 1949, 1944, 1939, and 1934

Spring Convocation 2009 will be held in memory and celebration of the life and work of The Rev. Dr. John H.P. Reumann (1927-2008). This time of remembrance includes: ✛ Official beginning of fundraising for the John Reumann Chair of Biblical Studies ✛ Workshop on Philippians (A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary) by John Reumann ✛ Tuesday Memorial Evening Prayer ✛ Alumni Banquet will include remarks by Dr. Erik Heen and Reumann Family Keynote Presenter: Dr. David Augsburger, Professor of Pastoral Counseling, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary

Hotel Contact Information Ft. Washington Holiday Inn 432 Pennsylvania Avenue Fort Washington, PA, 19034 215.643.3000 www.fwholiday.com Discounted room rate: $104 (4/27,4/28) until Monday, April 8. When making your hotel reservation, indicate that you are attending The Lutheran Theological Seminary’s Spring Convocation. Check-in is at 3:00 pm. Check-out is at 11:00 am.

Walter Wagner, BD ’60, visiting professor/adjunct faculty at LTSP, as well as Moravian Theological Seminary and Moravian College, authored Opening the Qur’an: Introducing Islam’s Holy Book (University of Notre Dame Press, October 2008). Available online at www.amazon.com.

The Rev. Robert G. Schaefer

The Rev. Jennifer Ollikainen

LTSP alumnus The Rev. Robert G. Schaefer, MDiv ’84, became executive for worship and liturgical resources of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) effective March 1, 2009. LTSP alumna The Rev. Jennifer Ollikainen, MDiv ’02, STM ’06, is also a member of the staff of Worship and Liturgical Resources as Associate for Worship Resources. Information about ELCA Worship and Liturgical resources is at www.ELCA. org/Growing-In-Faith/Worship.aspx

For further information and to register online: www.ltsp.edu/convocation09 10

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DANIEL 12:3: “THOSE WHO ARE WISE SHALL SHINE LIKETHE BRIGHTNESS OFTHE SKY ANDTHOSE WHO LEAD MANYTO RIGHTEOUSNESS, LIKETHE STARS FOREVER AND EVER.” This Star Quilt, hung in the Lull Lounge, is a gift of the artist, The Rev. Dr. Sarah Henrich, LTSP class of 1979, currently Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a former student of Professor Timothy Lull. “Like so many other people, an astonishing number really, my husband and I cherished our friendship with Tim Lull, our teacher and mentor. He was so outgoing, gracious, and creative that he always knew just where to engage our minds and our hearts, helping us find ways to channel passion into fruitful work and thoughtful leadership. We loved him. Tim never knew me as a quilter. But I was captivated by the design of this quilt, the patient attention needed for every little triangle of fabric used to create the big picture of graduated color in a huge sky, and the sweeping lines of thread, stardust come among us. “When Tim died, the quilt seemed to capture his patient attention to the many persons, books, commitments, ideas that shaped his life and his picture of God’s way of being among us. It also picked up both the biblical vision of Tim among God’s shining stars AND Tim’s love for the American West and its big skies. Tim’s sister Jean later shared his childhood love of stars and astronomy, as well of Robert Louis Stevenson’s great poem, ‘Escape at Bedtime.’ In every way, over and over again, it became clear that this quilt was Tim’s.” — The Rev. Dr. Sarah Henrich

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faculty/staff

NEWS✛NOTES 2008Q uodlibet

FACULTY/STAFF ACTIVITIES

THE RT. REV. FREDERICK HOUK BORSCH, PHD Professor of NewTestament and Chair of Anglican Studies authored: Day

DR. ERIK M. HEEN, LTSP PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT AND GREEK, was the 2008 distinguished presenter for Quodlibet, where each year a member of the faculty at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia is presented with “any question whatsoever” and responds in this tradition-based, rigorous academic exercise. Prof. Heen responded to questions under the theme “From the Great Plains to the Cross.” Among the points addressed in the November 4 lecture: Through Scripture, God reveals God’s self to us through Christ crucified on the cross for our sins. That reality alone makes it a good thing to read the Bible. And in keeping in mind the theology of the cross, it is a great challenge for disoriented believers to constantly keep their guard up against that “trickster” the devil, lest we allow the devil to substitute for God “something less than God.” Read highlights and view the lecture online: www.Ltsp.edu/quodlibet2008

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by Day: Loving God More Dearly (Morehouse Publishing, January, 2009). The popular song from Godspell, “Day by Day,” is based on a prayer from the Middle Ages composed by Richard of Chichester, a saint remembered for his humility, his perseverance in times of hardship, his care for the poor, and the strength and generosity of his faith. In these theological meditations, Fred Borsch uses the life of Richard to illuminate and guide us as we seek day by day to see more clearly, love more dearly, and follow God more nearly. Available from amazon.com and your local bookstore. DR. KATIE DAY The Charles A. Scheiren Professor, Church and Society; Director, Metro/Urban Concentration acting co-dean

with Dr. Robert Robinson during Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar’s sabbatical; attended the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and Religious Research Association meeting in Louisville, KY; participated in a Women in Leadership conference of the Association of Theological Schools in Pittsburgh,

PA; Dr. Day chairs the Religion and Cities consultation for the American Academy of Religion and convened several panels in Chicago with faculty and graduate students participating; January 2009: participated in week long Hess Seminar at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. on “Teaching the Holocaust and Genocides”; had several book reviews published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and the International Journal for Public Theology (IJPT) and continues research on the Germantown Avenue Project; full article published last spring in the IJPT: “The Construction of Public Theology: An Ethnographic Study of the Relationship between the Theological Academy and Local Clergy in South Africa.” DR. WIL GAFNEY Associate Professor of Hebrew and Hebrew Scripture October 2008:

Co-edited The Peoples’ Bible (Augsburg Fortress, 2008), (Numbers, Judges, Ruth, Introduction to the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books, Judith, Azariah and the Three Jews, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Study Notes); participated in the Association of Theological Schools Women in Leadership Workshop: “Women Exploring the Future in Theological Education Leadership” in Pittsburgh, PA; preached at Episcopal (St. George and St. Barnabus, Philadelphia) and Lutheran congregations, (Tabernacle ELC, Philadelphia); November 2008: participated in The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Annual Tea for African American Women as part of a focus group and was subsequently interviewed by The Inquirer; gave the D’var Torah, the sermon, at the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the German-

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town Jewish Centre in Philadelphia; presented a paper “A Biblical Literalist Reading of Marriage and Family,” at the Religion, Culture and Society Scholars Convening by Public, Private Ventures and the Arcus Foundation in Philadelphia; gave a number of papers and presentations at the Annual Congress of the Society of Biblical Literature in Boston, MA; January 2009: attended second phase of the Wabash Workshop for PreTenure Faculty at Theological Institutions; gave the D’var Torah at the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the Germantown Jewish Centre in Philadelphia.

cal Conference, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY; presented paper “Revising the 1865 Van Dyck Arabic Bible? Struggles with issues of wahy and communal identity in the Middle East” at the Cambridge University Symposium on Language and Knowledge in Middle Eastern Societies, Cambridge, England; November 2008: taught four week adult forum series “Religion and Society in the Middle East” at St. Luke Lutheran Church, Devon, PA; attended Dialogue Forum Annual Interfaith Banquet; led adult forum on “Interpreting Islam” at Trinity Lutheran Church, Dover, NJ; December, 2008: taught three week adult forum series on Advent; January, 2009: led LTSP Globalization seminar to Egypt; forthcoming publication: Piety, Politics and Power: Lutherans Encountering Islam in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock 2009).

DR. DAVID D. GRAFTON Associate Professor, Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations; Director of Graduate Studies

June 2008: attended New Jersey Synod Assembly; August 2008: preached at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Souderton, PA; September 2008: led four week adult forum series “Islam in the Modern World” at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ardmore, PA; preached at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rahway, NJ; October 2008: presented paper: “An Early American Orientalist Lutheran Perspective of Islam: Lewis Eichelberger and his Sources,” at the Lutheran Histori-

DR. ERIK M. HEEN Professor of NewTestament and Greek

Publications: Erik M. Heen, Henry G. Brinton, Karoline M. Lewis, and David F. Watson: New Proclamation: Year B, 2009: Easter Through Christ the King, ed. David Lott, (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008). [Pericope studies of Revised Common Lectionary Texts for the Season of Easter]; continued on next page

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First Annual Nolde Lectureship and Seminar

President Krey, Nancy Nolde, and Canon John Nurser at the Nolde Lectureship and Seminar.

IS THERE A ROLE FOR CHURCHES IN ADVOCATING FOR A NEW ECONOMIC WORLD ORDER? This is the question raised by Canon John S. Nurser, the distinguished lecturer for the first annual Nolde Lectureship and Seminar event, held at LTSP on December 2, 2008. Canon Nurser looked at the work done by influential leaders of the church during the mid twentieth-century, including work by the late LTSP Professor O. Frederick Nolde, for whom the Lectureship is named. Canon Nurser reflected on how the work done in the past could inform the church today in its mission and involvement in the unsettled world we live in, and answered the question of whether there is a role for the church with a resounding “Yes.” LTSP students and alumni who are involved in advocacy work responded to Canon Nurser’s presentation. “One of the most extraordinary personal achievements of American history was rooted at LTSP,” Nurser contends. “Professor O. Frederick Nolde, who taught Christian Education there during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, played a crucial role in mobilizing American Protestants to demand a post-World War II ‘global order,’ and one based on human rights. On behalf of the World Council of Churches, he was instrumental in rallying national delegations at the United Nations to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. He drafted the Declaration’s Article 18 on freedom of religion. Our present economic crisis is evidence that we in the Christian churches have the responsibility now, 60 years later, to mobilize support for a responsible economic global order.” View the Nolde Seminar, read a summary, comments, and more online: www.Ltsp.edu/noldelecture. www.Ltsp.edu

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Dr. Storm Swain Joining LTSP Faculty

THE REV. DR. STORM SWAIN has been appointed to the position of Assistant Professor for Pastoral Care and Theology and Episcopal Studies at LTSP effective July 1, 2009. Prof. Swain has already begun to teach at LTSP, serving as an adjunct professor this spring teaching Introduction to Pastoral Care. Prof. Swain recently completed a PhD in the Psychiatry and Religion program at Union Theological Seminary in New York, with her dissertation topic “Trinity, Trauma and Transformation: A Trinitarian Pastoral Theology reflected in the experience of the Chaplains at the 9/11 Temporary Mortuary at Ground Zero.” She holds a Bachelor of Theology (1992) from the University of Otago, New Zealand, having attended Knox Theological Hall majoring in Christian Thought and History, a Master of Sacred Theology (1999) and Master of Philosophy (2004) from Union Theological Seminary, and from the Blanton Peale Graduate Institute, graduate certificates in Psychoanalysis and Pastoral Psychotherapy. After graduation from Otago University, Prof. Swain served as Chaplain to Mental Health Services and later also as a CPE supervisor in Dunedin, New Zealand. She is also a priest in the Episcopal Church, most recently serving the 14

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church as Canon Pastor at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York. Speaking from her office in the Hagan Center, Prof. Swain shared, “I am delighted to have been appointed to the position here at LTSP, which has a reputation for good scholarship, sound formation, and a strong, well respected Pastoral Care program. As an Episcopalian, hailing from another part of the Anglican Communion, I look forward to engaging in Common Mission as part of a seminary that is committed to both an ecumenism that is lived out in practice and a global consciousness that sees beyond the boundaries of its own community and culture.” Surrounded by books and symbols of her ministry that range from a chalice and paten from Taize, a pottery fern from New Zealand, calligraphy from an Episcopalian monastery, to a bobbled-headed Freud from a market in New York, Swain noted that “My own ministry has been shaped both in the U.S. and overseas by incredible individuals in hospital and home, from the streets of Harlem to the hallowed halls of academic institutions, from the Pit of Ground Zero to the holy ground of daily life in this world, from those gathered around the Eucharistic table or sharing pizza at another table, who have taught me about the strength of the human spirit and awesome love of God who will not give up on us even when we do the worst of what we can to each other. I continue to look forward to being part of a great faculty and community here at LTSP, working with students who, at whatever stage in their ministry and whatever shape that may take, are willing to learn more about and reflect on this complicated and simple call to love one another as the God who loves us.”

FACULTY/STAFF ACTIVIT “Cyril of Alexandria, Writing,” in Treasury of Daily Prayer, ed. Scot A. Kinnaman, et al. (Saint Louis: Concordia, 2008); Presentations: “Paul: The Man and the Message,” Guest Speaker for the Sunday Afternoon Series, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill, PA; “1 Corinthians,” Adult Forum, Christ Ascension Lutheran Church, Chestnut Hill, PA; “How Lutherans Read the Bible,” Theology on Tap Series, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Doylestown, PA; “AntiJudaism and the New Testament,” The American Interfaith Institute, Philadelphia, PA; “Reading the Bible with St. Paul,” Alumni Fall Forum: “Reading the Bible — Biblical Interpretation,” LTSP; “How Luther Understood the Bible,” and “The Bible and North American Culture,” How Lutherans Read the Bible: All Day Men-in Mission Event, LTSP; “Quodlibet: Any Question Whatever,” LTSP. DR. KARL KRUEGER Director of the Krauth Memorial Library; Associate Professor, History of Christianity October 2008: pre-

sented paper, “The 1560 English Geneva: The Exodus Bible for God’s Newly Chosen People” at the Sixteenth Century Society & Conference, in St. Louis, MO; in addition to preaching in German at Old Zion Lutheran Church in Center City Philadelphia, he is mentoring confirmand Alonzo Harding through the second year of catechetical instruction at Christ Lutheran Community Church in Upper Darby, PA. DR. JON PAHL Professor, History of Christianity in North America edited An American

Teacher: Coming of Age, and Coming Out, the Memoirs of Loretta Coller (Infinity Publishing, 2009), that documents the life, loves, and murder of a lesbian in twentiethcentury America. In poignant and

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TIES continued used by Diakon for new employee orientation and annual review. The Media Center plans to offer, at cost, generic and customized versions of the materials for use by other Lutheran social ministry organizations.

Philadelphia; November 2008: attended meetings of the ELCA Church Council in Chicago; January 2009: participated in a consultation on “Theological Education in the ELCA” in Chicago; February 2009: delivered key-note address, “The challenge of Globalization to Asian Churches,” at the Asian Lutheran International Conference in Hong Kong, China. DR. NELSON RIVERA Associate Professor, SystematicTheology and Hispanic Ministry; Director, Latino Concentration Fall 2008:

powerful vignettes, Southern California educator Loretta Coller (b. 1931) illumines her struggles to gain a successful livelihood, and to find peace with a life-partner she loses too soon to cancer. In the process, Coller shares lessons learned about coping with the silences so often imposed upon gays and lesbians. In an Introduction and Epilogue, Pahl, who Coller asked to help publish her memoirs prior to her death, interprets Coller’s story in its contexts, and narrates the circumstances leading to Coller’s murder in 1994. An American Teacher will be fascinating reading for anyone concerned with the status of gays and lesbians in American culture. Further information, including excerpts and link to purchase, at: www.Ltsp.edu/ coller; creator and writer for booklet, brochure, and video package, Who are the Lutherans (And Why Did We Start So Many Social Ministry Organizations), for Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries. The materials, produced by the LTSP Media Center, tell of the history of the Lutheran church and explain the concepts of grace, faith and calling, and help those new to working in social ministry understand why Lutherans are called to social ministry. Materials will be

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DR. MELINDA A. QUIVIK Associate Professor of Christian Assembly November 29, 2008:

preached at Reformation Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, at a healing service to commemorate World AIDS Day; participated in two professional organizations: The North American Academy of Liturgy, and the Academy of Homiletics; met with the Metro New York Synod Candidacy Committee; organized a holy communion liturgy for Epiphany on January 6, 2008, at LTSP, followed by a reception honoring Mark Mummert’s 18 years of music and teaching at LTSP. DR. J. PAUL RAJASHEKAR Dean; Luther D. Reed Professor, SystematicTheology on sabbati-

cal from August 1, 2008. to February 1, 2009; September 2008: participated in a seminar on “Pedagogies for Interfaith Dialogue” at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA; October 2008: led a three-part weekly series on “Fundamentalism and Pluralism” at St. Peters Episcopal Church in

on sabbatical; September 2008: participated in a panel presentation on the Pew Foundation’s report “Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion” for the New Jersey Synod, ELCA; published article in the Immigration Issue (December 2008) of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics. THE REV. DR. J. JAYAKIRAN SEBASTIAN H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures; Director, Multicultural Mission Resource Center

September 2008: presented “Continuing to Search for Ecumenical Understanding: Remembering the Legacy of William H. Lazareth,” at A Day of Remembrance and Celebration: Remembering Prof. William Lazareth and Celebrating 100 years of the Krauth Memorial Library, LTSP; October 2008: participated, Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion Conference for Graduate School Deans and Program Directors, Indianapolis, IN; presented “Importance of (Lay) Leadership in Mission Development,” at South Asian Pastors Round Table organized by the ELCA Asian and Pacific Islanders Ministries, LTSP; November 2008: presented “Water of Life —

Water of Baptism,” Theological Education with Youth Affirmation of Baptism Festival, LTSP; organizer, session on “Global Youth Collaborative on Peace and Security,” with EastWest Institute, New York, Multicultural Mission Resource Center, LTSP; December 2008: participated, Multicultural Planning Group Meeting, Project Connect, LTSP; Publications: “Interrogating Christian Practices: Popular Religiosity Across the Ocean,” in Thomas F. Best, ed., Baptism Today: Understanding, Practice, Ecumenical Implications (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press/Geneva: World Council of Churches Publication, 2008); “Why Should Asian Theologians Read Texts of the Early Teachers of Faith?” in Asian Christian Review, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Spring 2008); “Constituting the Human: Rights, Responsibilities and Risks in India Today,” in C.I. David Joy, ed., Transforming Praxis: God, Community and Church — Essays in Honour of Dr. I. John Mohan Razu (Bangalore/Delhi: UTC/ISPCK, 2008). DR.TIMOTHY J. WENGERT Ministerium of Pennsylvania Professor of the History of Christianity September 2008:

week-long consultation of Lutheran-Roman Catholic team of scholars writing an ecumenical commentary on Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, in Paderborn, Germany; October 2008: speaker for the Northeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA, on Luther’s understanding of the Bible; speaker at the Northern Rockies Institute of Theology on Luther’s Catechisms; November 2008: speaker at a Wheaton College conference: “Reading the Decalogue through the Centuries.”

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ANNOUNCINGTWO IMPORTANT ADDITIONS to the LTSP STAFF

THE REV. DR. QUINTIN L. ROBERTSON is the new Director of the Urban Theological Institute (UTI). Dr. Robertson officially begins his work at LTSP on May 1, and already has been introduced to the LTSP and UTI community at this spring’s Preaching with Power events. He will oversee the three programming areas of the UTI: first professional degrees with an African American focus through the MDiv Black Church Concentration and MAR Black Church Specialization, the UTI Certificate Programs, and Public Programming, of which Preaching with Power is the capstone event. A native of Newark, New Jersey, he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Howard University in Washington, DC, and his Master of Business Administration Degree from Clark Atlanta University in At-

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lanta, Georgia. He furthered his education by earning a Master of Divinity degree and Doctor of Ministry degree from the Charles Harrison Mason Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC). Dr. Robertson is an ordained Elder in the Church of God in Christ and a member of Cathedral of Faith in Atlanta. He is a member of the Board of Directors for All Saints Bible College in Memphis, TN. He has mentored and trained many students in ministry throughout the U.S. He has served as Director of Admission and Recruitment for the Interdenominational Theological Center for ten years and Director of Campus Ministry for the Church of God in Christ in the Atlanta University Center for four years. Among other responsibilities, Dr. Robertson is looking forward to recruiting new students to the UTI, developing additional certificate programs to serve additional needs in congregations not served by advanced degree programs, and adding to the public programs offered by UTI. He also looks forward to teaching periodically to remain in touch with the degree programs connected to the UTI.

DR. MICHAEL KRENTZ joins LTSP July 1 as Director of Music Ministries and Seminary Cantor. An Associate in Ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Dr. Krentz comes to LTSP with some 30 years experience in parish music. He received Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Music degrees from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He is a pastDean of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and has served in the leadership of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, including chairperson of ALCM’s 1997 national conference, president of Region 1, and national Secretary-Treasurer. In addition to leading the seminary choir and providing musical leadership for seminary worship, Dr. Krentz’s part time role will include teaching in the first professional curriculum and guiding Master of Arts in Religion students in the Liturgy and Music Specialization. Read more about Drs. Robertson and Krentz at www.Ltsp.edu/newstaff.

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PASSAGES

IN MEMORIAM

Friend of LTSP Mercia Brenne Bachmann has died

The Rev. Frederick S. Weiser, STM ’66 retired Lutheran pastor from New Oxford, PA, died January 26, 2009, in York Hospital. He was 73. Weiser, a member of Christ Lutheran Church in York, PA, graduated from Gettysburg College, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He served parishes in Germany, Lancaster and Biglerville, where he was pastor of St. Paul Lutheran for 19 years. He was archivist for Gettysburg Seminary from 1966-71. He wrote books about the Lutheran diaconate, German folk art and his family.

MERCIA BRENNE BACHMANN, who along with her late husband seminary alumnus E. Theodore Bachmann was a long time supporter of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), died peacefully on February 2, 2009, in Townshend, Vermont. She was 96. Mercia and Dr. Bachmann, known as Ted, who died in 1995, were known in Lutheran circles as partners in international ministry. Mercia, a long time resident of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, and a founding member of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Princeton Junction, donated their extensive library to Princeton Seminary and LTSP when she sold the Princeton Junction house in the late 1990s, and remained in the Princeton area until she moved to Vermont to live with her daughter in 2007. Born on a wheat farm in Saskatchewan on January 2, 1913, Mercia was the second of five daughters of a circuit riding Lutheran pastor. She grew up in the Midwest in a variety of parsonages, attended St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota, and became a social

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worker since her father counseled her that the time was not ripe for female ministers. In 1941 she married E. Theodore Bachmann, then a budding young church historian from distant Philadelphia, and was his life’s companion, soulmate, critic and editor for 54 event- filled years in Wilmington, Chicago, post-war West Germany, St. Paul, Berkeley, Brazil, Switzerland, and Princeton as he served in a wide variety of positions within the Lutheran church. They marched in Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ardent travelers, they visited some 50 countries and together wrote Lutheran Churches in the World. When Dr. Bachmann died in 1995, Mercia spent the next two years finishing his final book, The United Lutheran Church in America, 1918-1962. Mercia is survived by her son, F. Brenne, of Vimmerby, Sweden, and daughter, Mary, of Putney, Vermont, plus their spouses, Catharina and Christopher, and two granddaughters, Eva and Anna. She is also survived by two sisters, Carola Boe of Amery, Wisconsin, and Audrey Peterson of Mesa, Arizona. See http://archive.elca.org/communication/timeline/1941.html for more on Ted and Mercia Bachmann’s contributions to the Lutheran Church.

The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Marshall, former president of the Lutheran Church in America, one of the predecessor church bodies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, died December 22, 2008, in Allentown, PA. He was 90. Mary M.Taylor, MDiv ’87, a teacher who became an Episcopal priest later in life, died on Christmas Day in Whitehorse Village in Newtown Square, PA, from the effects of Parkinson’s disease. In the 1990s, she was vicar at All Saints Church in Fallsington, Bucks County, and after that served at St. Mary’s Church in Chester, Delaware County. She is survived by son, Conrad W. Jr., daughters Delia and Polly Turner, five grandchildren and her first husband, Conrad W. Turner, Sr. Her second husband, Robert H. Taylor, predeceased her.

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from the

✛FOUNDATION The LTSP fiscal year

which began July 1, 2008, has been a challenging one. Despite the economy, the Foundation continues to work hard to complete the campaign for The Brossman Center in four of our synods (Metro New York, New England, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Upstate New York) and has less than $3 million of the $20 million goal to go. We are also moving closer to our $1 million Leadership Fund goal. In fact, the Leadership Fund is on pace to have more donors and more contributions than ever before. LTSP is truly blessed to have such dedicated alumni and friends, and it needs your support now more than ever. The stories appearing here exemplify those among us who ensure the vitality of the seminary’s mission. The pastors and congregations at Faith Church and Blue Church demonstrate the vision and commitment to theological education that the future of the church depends upon, and we graciously thank them for their gifts. Adam F. Marles Managing Director of Development To make a contribution online, go to: www.Ltsp.edu/give

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Whitehall, PA, Teacher’s Legacy Yields $50,000 Church Gift to LTSP

IN THE DAYS when the late Edna Krock taught first grade in what was then the rural community of Whitehall, Pennsylvania, most children and their parents knew personally of Edna’s dedication to education, explained the man who was her pastor, The Rev. Michael Bodnyk of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Allentown suburb. “Edna taught just about everyone growing up in the town during her career,” Pr. Bodnyk said. “She touched a lot of lives.” Edna and her late husband, Herbert, were also dedicated to Faith Church, a congregation of 900 members where Pr. Bodnyk has served as pastor for the past 13 years. They left a large portion of their estate to the congregation with the understanding that one-half of the bequest could be used to benefit the congregation, with the rest

to be used beyond the walls of the church. Edna died in 2002. So when Pr. Bodnyk was asked whether Faith could consider pledging a considerable gift to support the financial challenges facing seminarians at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), “it was natural to think of using some of that money in support of educating present and future church leaders,” Pr. Bodnyk said. “It also helped that our congregation had come to know many seminary interns serving as vicars over the past seven years or so.” “I got a great education at the seminary,” Pr. Bodnyk recalled. A 1976 graduate of LTSP, he attended seminary with The Rev. Charles Leonard, LTSP’s director of contextual education who oversees the field work part of the education of many seminarians. “We’re aware of the kind of sacrifice seminari-

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ans make to become pastors,” Pr. Bodnyk said. “They have to manage quite a bit of financial debt, and they are not going to make the kind of income during their careers that people in many other careers earn.” And so Pr. Bodnyk encouraged several Faith Church leaders to meet with him and The Rev. Kenneth Feinour of the LTSP Foundation. When a pledge of $50,000 over five years to support seminarian education through LTSP’s Leadership Fund was suggested, “they thought it was a great idea,” Pr. Bodnyk said. The congregation council agreed. Then The Rev. Louise Johnson, LTSP’s director of admissions, came to preach one Sunday and the congregation voted on the idea “without dissent,” Pr. Bodnyk said. “People seemed to think it was an excellent way to keep Edna Krock’s legacy alive.” Education is plainly part of the life of Faith. The congregation hosts the Lehigh Valley Lutheran School, a parochial program that educates 60 children in grades kindergarten through 8th grade. The congregation also hosts Scouting programs and an initiative called the Community Justice Panel, a citizens organization from the community that deals with the issues of troubled youth in the schools. Pr. Bodnyk’s wife, Sandra, is an executive for National Penn Bank, and she serves as a member of the seminary’s President’s Advisory Council. “My favorite thing about being a pastor is working with people, visiting with them, and preaching,” Pr. Bodnyk said.✛

Historic Church, Historic Pledge: Blue Church Makes $50,000 Gift to LTSP ST. PAUL’S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN BLUE CHURCH, nestled in a picturesque rural setting in Coopersburg, PA, is one of the 10 original charter congregations established by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg in the Ministerium of Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. Nearly 270 years later, the congregation is continuing to make history. St. Paul’s, known as the Blue Church for the one-time color of its exterior, recently took the step of pledging a five-year $50,000 gift for seminary scholarships to the Leadership Fund of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). The pledge came in the midst of trying financial times. “This congregation is struggling, as is the case for many churches,” explained The Rev. Mark Swanson, LTSP class of 1988, who has served St. Paul’s for more than 11 years in a building the church has occupied since 1833. “But even though we are struggling, we have recognized our responsibility to reach out to create new apostles for professional church service in an increasingly secular world. We’ve seen that today’s seminari-

ans are enduring significant debt in order to get an education to serve the church as committed key leaders. That’s a major sacrifice on their part. Just as the Holy Spirit has guided St. Paul’s over the years to endure and survive many challenges, we have felt the need to continue to plant seeds to make the church grow in this important time. We continued on next page

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feel called to share our gifts, and we have been richly blessed.” The gift became a reality after The Rev. Kenneth Feinour approached the congregation representing the LTSP Foundation. Feinour asked whether the historic congregation might support a generous gift. Pr. Swanson suggested that Feinour offer the church several gift choices. Four options were proposed, the most generous of which would be a pledge of $10,000 each year over five years. When Pr. Swanson presented the proposal to the congregation council, he said he was pleasantly surprised when council president Troy Cooper spoke up to say, “Why don’t we approve option four, a $50,000 pledge over five years? We need to be generous with our resources to help others.” The council approved the suggestion unanimously and, according to Pr. Swanson, decided to recommend to the congregation that it commit to gifts to LTSP “in perpetuity” after the pledge period concludes. The congregation quickly voted to approve council’s recommendation. Pr. Swanson, obviously moved by the monetary pledge to his alma mater, said St. Paul’s has “many lay leaders who have been moved in their ministry by the work of the Holy Spirit within them. They want to empower new rostered leaders to serve the present and future church. It is a priority for them.” The congregation has also eagerly supported community-based partnerships with two neighboring Lutheran congregations, St. James and Friedens, and also with two Moravian congregations in town. “We share Bible study and pas-

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PS ✛ SPRING 2009

toral care activities with these churches and other activities as well,” Pr. Swanson said. “For me it is a model of what community ministry is all about.” Pr. Swanson talks about how his seminary training has supported his daily life ministry to the people of St. Paul’s. “I think about (the late) Dr. John H.P. Reumann’s teaching of Bible to me,” he said. “His teaching constantly influences my study of Scripture and the way I teach the Bible today.” Other great influences include the teaching of preaching by The Rev. Dr. John Vannorsdall and The Rev. Dr. Robert Hughes. “We’re obviously a congregation that is proud of its significant history,” Pr. Swanson noted. “But we’ve also learned the importance of sometimes setting aside our pride and focus on history in order to work with others to strengthen our community and the work of the church beyond.” Pr. Swanson’s wife, The Rev. Laura Csellak (LTSP, class of 1986) formerly served as alumni/ae director for the LTSP Foundation, and for the past five years has been pastor of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, in Palmer Township (Easton), PA.✛ Prs. Bodnyk and Swanson reflect on ministry and their LTSP connection at www. Ltsp.edu/alumnispeak.

The seminary is pleased to announce that Larry House has been named Director of Leadership Giving in the seminary development office. House, a long time friend and supporter of the seminary, most recently served as Vice President for Advancement at Liberty Lutheran Services (LLS). For over 16 years before joining LLS, House served the seminary in a number of fundraising roles, during which time he estimated he had invited more than 25,000 people to consider financially supporting the seminary. House’s role will be to reconnect with many of those he encouraged to support the seminary, as well as new friends. He will be inviting them through their gifts and financial plans to help insure the seminary continues to carry out its mission to prepare ordained and lay ministers of the Word as leaders for the mission of the church in the world. House began his work in March. He is an Associate in Ministry (AIM) in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and holds CFRE certification. A member, along with his wife Karen, of Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler, PA, he and Karen reside in Plymouth Meeting.

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LTSP Events Spring 2009 Saturday, APRIL 18, 2009 MEN IN MISSION Stewards of God’s Creation Bear Creek Camp, Wilkes-Barre, PA www.Ltsp.edu/meninmission Tuesday, APRIL 21, 2009 CONVOCATION Dr. Nelson Rivera Vocation of Scientists and Theologians 11:30 am The Brossman Learning Center Thursday, APRIL 23, 2009 PUBLIC LEADERSHIP INFORMATION SESSION 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm For prospective students interested in the new Public Leadership Concentration LTSP campus www.Ltsp.edu/publicleadership Sunday, APRIL 26, 2009 SACRED TEXTS — MODERN ISSUES: GETTING FROM ONE TO THE OTHER A trialogue for Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, seminarians, students, and those interested in interfaith learning 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm The Brossman Learning Center www.Ltsp.edu/trialogue Monday-Wednesday, APRIL 27-29, 2009 ALUMNI SPRING CONVOCATION The Brossman Learning Center

Saturday MAY 2, 2009 PROSPECTIVE STUDENT DAY 8:30 am to Noon LTSP Campus Tuesday, MAY 5, 2009 CONVOCATION Social Ministry 11:30 am The Brossman Learning Center Sunday, MAY 17, 2009 COMMENCEMENT 3:00 pm LTSP Campus Tuesday-Thursday, MAY 26-29, 2009 ASIAN THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE LTSP Campus Monday-Friday, JUNE 15-19, 2009 LUTHERHOSTEL What Would Luther Say? A week that includes Bible study and discussion, music and worship, and a look at service opportunities for older adults LTSP Campus www.Ltsp.edu/lutherhostel09 Thursday, JUNE 18, 2009 PROSPECTIVE STUDENT DAY 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm LTSP Campus

For information and updates go to www.Ltsp.edu or sign up for @PS, our eNewsletter at www.Ltsp.edu/enews.

The Krauth Memorial Library is celebrating “100 Years of Service & Scholarship.” For further information, go to www.Ltsp.edu/krauth100

7301 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19119-1794 www.Ltsp.edu

Have you remembered LTSP in your estate planning?

alumni

CONVOCATION 2009 APRIL 27-29

SEE PAGE 10 for DETAILS and REGISTRATION! To keep up with the latest news from LTSP, sign up for @PS, our eNewsletter at www.Ltsp.edu/enews

Join us in meeting our $1 million goal by making a gift today online at www.Ltsp.edu/give. Your gift today to the LTSP Leadership Fund will ensure that we can continue to educate, prepare, and nurture leaders of the church, both for today and for generations to come.

GIVING MAKES A DIFFERENCE www.Ltsp.edu/give