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I USED TO HAVE A REGULAR AND FRIEND-LY ARGUMENT WITH A DEAR FRIEND ANDCOLLEAGUE at another seminary who wouldargue that a good theological education fromanywhere will prepare a leader of the church toserve anywhere. We did agree on one thing: thecurriculum needs to be comprehensive and bib-lically and theologically sound and include allthe disciplines that integrate theological learn-ing with the practice of ministry. Our friendlydisagreements were over my belief in theimportance of context, both for the seminaryand for learning in context, for leaders of the

church.At the Philadelphia Seminary, we are blessedto be situated in the sixth largest metropolitan center of the UnitedStates and the second largest metropolitan area on the East Coast, with six million people, a convenient transportation system, and arich diversity of communities, institutions, and parishes. More than25 percent of the U.S. population lives within a 300-mile radius of theregion. Our contexts are always changing. They are becoming morereligiously pluralistic, multicultural, urbanized, and diverse. There arealmost one hundred communities of faith on Germantown Avenuealone. This means that our theological curriculum needs to adapt tofit the changing context, especially as many of our congregations needto be developed or redeveloped to do ministry in their changing envi-ronments. It also means that we need to look for the best contextualeducation sites available to provide the best possible practical learning environments.

As you explore this issue, you will learn from Dr. Charles Leonardand others how we take advantage of our context while preparing missional leaders. In Field Education, our first year students are senton a rotation to the best possible congregation sites in the metropoli-tan area. We discovered that an exposure to a variety of superlativesites had great outcomes. The students experience a depth and varietyof experiences that they bring to their first calls. The second year of Field Education provides the single parish focus that has been our pri-mary practice for decades. Excellence in worship, a missional empha-

sis, good stewardship, and Christian education is necessary for any parish to be considered as a Field Education site.

Not all LTSP students are preparing for Word and SacramentMinistry, with students preparing for roles in Christian Education,Youth Ministry, and other areas. These require different contextualeducation locations. Our exciting new Master of Arts in PublicLeadership prepares leaders for the intersection of theology and social

work, business or other disciplines, and students do internships in places like Lutheran World Relief or social ministry organization

The ELCA also requires the time-honoretradition of internship an extended perioof learning in a parish context, usually in ththird year of study. As faculty members, wealways impressed with how students havegrown and matured in their understanding oministry through their internships. As internships have become more expensive, new colaborative models have developed with insttions and congregations models that pro

vide a broad based learning environment an parish experience. Friends and institutionshave also helped to raise funds for internships like the newly creaLee and Dolly Butz internship for the Lehigh Valley to intersect ptoral ministry and community economic development. Some of thbest contexts for learning do not have the funds to make an internship possible, making more funding models essential. Alliances acollaborations can make it work.

When I would argue with my friend, I would point out that Jesdid not just teach in one place, but traveled all around the towns acities of Israel, and, ultimately, to Jerusalem, challenging the aposto do the same as they were being equipped for ministry. He wou point out that the Bible is all about diverse contexts and peoples ahow the Gospel of God addresses them all. My friend would empsize the classroom with innovative teaching from texts in a worldmany peoples and religions, and I would argue for integrated learin rich and diverse contexts. Indeed, both sides of this wonderful versation need to be cultivated. We need excellent teachers in theclassroom, and we have those at LTSP. We also need veteran supesors in the field who integrate the learning for our future leaders, we need places where our future leaders can try out their skills anmake the mistakes that insure good leadership.

As you read this issue of PS, please know how grateful we are fo your constant support as preparing leaders well for the church is acostly yet worthwhile endeavor.

Yours in Christ,

Philip D. KreyPresident

Message from the pres

ON THE COVER: The Rev. Maritza Torres-Dolich, MDiv 02, with neighborhoodchildren tending the vegetable garden outside of St. Stephen LutheranChurch in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Story on page 6.


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contents

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02010

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Celebrating our Past...Building our Future

Page 22

EDITOR/DESIGNMerri L. Brown

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS John Kahler

WRITERS John Kahler

Mark A. Staples

PHOTOGRAPHY John Kahler Jim Roese

EDITORIAL BOARDMerri L. BrownLois La Croix

David D. GraftonLouise Johnson John KahlerPhilip D. KreyAdam Marles

J. Paul Rajashekar

CORRESPONDENCE PS,

The Lutheran Theological Seminaryat Philadelphia,

7301 Germantown Avenue,Philadelphia, PA 19119

Telephone: 215.248.6311 or1.800.286.4616

Email: [email protected] us online: www.Ltsp.edu

PS is a publication of The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia, andis distributed without charge to alumni/ae,

faculty, staff, and friends of theseminary.

Copyright 2010The Lutheran Theological Seminary

at Philadelphia

Volume 93 Number 1

Centered in the Gospel of JesusChrist, The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia seeks toeducate and form public leaders whoare committed to developing andnurturing individual believers andcommunities of faith for engage-ment in the world.

FEATURES FALL 2010Ministry in Todays Context..........................................................6Alumni offer hopeful messages in trying times.

The Muhlenberg Tercentenary ................................................20Academic Year 2011-2012

UTI Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary ..................................22Celebrating an historic educational breakthrough.

DEPARTMENTSMessage from the President....................Inside front cover

Offerings ....................................................................................................2

Alumni News........................................................................................26

Alumni Spring Convocation 2011Faculty/Staff News and Notes..................................................28

Faculty/Staff Activities................................................................ 28 Passages................................................................................................32 In Memoriam..................................................................................33

From the Foundation......................................................................34

See extended videos of many of those interviewedfor this issue at www.Ltsp.edu/PSinterviews .

PS

To make a donation to LTSP, please go to www.Ltsp.edu/give


4/402 PS FALL 2010 www.Ltsp.edu

OFFERINGSLTSP INTRODUCES INTERFAITH STUDIESCONCENTRATION

Beginning in the fall of 2010, LTSP students are offered a newMDiv concentration (MAR specialization) in Interfaith Stud-ies. This is a new addition to existing concentrations in TheBlack Church (UTI), Metropolitan/Urban Ministry, Latino,and Multicultural Ministry/Mission at theMDiv level.

The addition of the Interfaith Studies concentration is in-tended to highlight the reality of the Christian encounter with other religious traditions, both past and present, to helpstudents develop skills for engaging in interfaith relationships

as a form of ministry in a religiously pluralistic North Ameri-can society, and to foster opportunities for a theologically in-formed and committed interfaith dialogue.

This new emphasis is in response to requests from students who want to engage with issues and challenges in doing Chris-tian ministry in a religiously pluralist society. The events of 9/11 and the continued controversies about Islam in Americaalso added an urgency to educate public leaders who areknowledgeable about theological, religious, cultural, and pas-toral issues that invariably come up in a multi-faith society.

Students will receive a certificate along with their degree by

taking a minimum five course units in the MDiv/MAR cur-riculum. LTSP offers a wide variety of courses to fulfill thiscertificate. Among the courses offered: World Religions,Christian Encounter with Other Faiths, Theory and Practiceof Interreligious Dialogue, Scriptures of the World: Authority,Meaning and Public Use, Theology of Religions, Jewish-Christian Relations, Luther and the Jews, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Jesus in the Islamic Tradition, Church andthe Holocaust, New Religious Movements in America, andChristian Engagement with Asian Religions.

LTSP also offers Interfaith Studies as a focus in the STM,DMin and PhD programs. Prof. J. Paul Rajashekar, Luther D.Reed Professor of Systematic Theology, directs the InterfaithStudies concentration.

LTSP THEME FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2010-2011Theological Education in the Changed Context of theChurch and Society

During the past few decades, theological education has beendergoing change. The change is more perceptible with regarthe gender, age, and racial/ethnic composition of faculty, staandstudents. Patternsof seminary attendance, academicscheand the structure of the curricula are undergoing change. Withe advent of computers, the Internet, and modern technolognew and creative modes of delivery of education have been oped. Students have exhibited diverse motivations and voca

aspirations. Degrees have multiplied, theological disciplinesbecome specialized, and sources of financial support have sThe cost of theological education, dwindling support from dnominations, debt load of students, pressure to reduce duratirequirements all have raised serious questions about the qity and sustainability of seminary education.

These changes to some extent reflect societal changes thaimpacted the church. The social location of the church and tlong-standing privileges the culture had extended to Christiachurches have now diminished. The religious landscape of ociety has undergone change. The face of Christianity too ha

changed due to immigration and migration of people. Mainldenominations have experienced significant decline in memship. Denominations and denominational identity have weakened. In short, the ecology of theological education has chaand will experience further changes.

The theme for the 2010-2011 academic year is focused onricular implications of the changes underway in theological cation. A series of presentations during the year are intendedaddress some of these critical issues.

Please see the inside back cover for schedule.

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION WITH YOUTHThis past summer, young leaders from across regions 7 and

8 of the ELCA participated in the programs of Theo-logical Education with Youth (TEY). TEY is a joint

initiative of Philadelphia and Gettysburg Seminariesthat creates spaces of theological exploration and discov-

ery for high school age disciples. For more information onTEY go to www.theologicaleducationwithyouth.com.


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PREACHING WITHPOWER 2011

The 29th annual Preaching with Power, one of the initia-tives of LTSPs Urban TheologicalInstitute, is scheduled for March6-10, 2011. Preaching withPower brings outstanding AfricanAmerican preachers to Philadelphiato celebrate the finest in African American preaching and scholarship, and this years

preachers and scholars include The Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis, The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Dr.Anthea D. Butler, Bishop Vashti McKenzie, The Rev. Dr. LoranE. Mann, and The Rev. Dr. Kevin Dudley, speaking and preachat LTSP and at venues throughout Philadelphia. More information and locations: www.Ltsp.edu/preachingwithpower.

FARMERS MARKET ON THE PLAZA William Allen Plaza on the LTSP campus takes on a differentlook on Tuesdays when the Plaza is home to theMt. Airy Farm-ers Market. The market attracts the seminary and Mt. Airy com-munity with products direct from the farm. Market sponsorsinclude LTSP, Valley Green Bank, Farm to City, and communitygroups including Weavers Way Coop, Mt. Airy USA, West andEast Mt. Airy Neighbors, Mt. Airy Business Association and Mt.Airy Learning Tree.

Valley Green Bank Marketing Director Leslie Seitchik andLTSP President Philip Krey, during a conversation, realized they

both had a dream to bring a farmers market to the center of Mt.Airy. Seitchik had connected with Farm to City four years ago,but didnt have a suitable space for the market. President Kreynotes, We have a lovely plaza and have envisioned this plaza to bea public space; a meeting and gathering place for the community.The Farmers Market is a great way to serve this purpose.

Learn more and watch a short video: www.Ltsp.edu/farmersmarket

LTSPS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

One of Henry Melchior Muhlenbergs dreams, of a seminary in the city of Philadelphia, wasfinally realized in 1864 with thefounding of The Lutheran Theo-logicalSeminary atPhiladelphia.In 2014, the school that attimes has been known as Mt.Airy Seminary, Philadel- phia Seminary, and LTSP will celebrate its150th an-niversary. The school hasgrown, moved, andchangedover the years, re-maining strong in its mis-sion and purpose. Plans arealready underway to cele-brate this grand anniversaryof this great school.

PS FALL 2010 www.Ltsp.edu



OFFERINGSBUTZ/HUNEKE HONORS AND EVENTSLTSPs mission is to raise leaders for the church in the world, andat the 146th Commencement,The Rev. John Huneke, 53, pas-tor of Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Brooklyn, NewYorks Highland Park Section, andLee A. Butz,chairman of Alvin H. Butz, Inc., were recognized for their long history of serv-ice to their respective communities with the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Both leaders began their service in their currentcommunities in 1973, with Pr. Huneke leading his congregationfor over three decades, and Mr. Butz heading the Butz contracting business until 2007, when he assumed his current role.

In addition to their commencement honors, both Pr. Hunekeand Mr. Butz were honored at events closer to home. The weekbefore commencement, on May 13, parishioners and friends of Pr. Huneke joined him at Reformation Church for an open housein celebration of the conferral of the Doctor of Divinity, and tosupport the establishment of The Rev. Dr. John G. Huneke En-dowed Scholarship Fund at LTSP, which will benefit studentsfrom the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA who are preparing to serve the church.

Lee Butz and his wife Dolly were honored at In the City forGood, an Allentown, PA, event recognizing them for their long commitment to urban areas and his philanthropy throughout theLehigh Valley, of which Allentown is a part. Friends, dignitariesand others from the Lehigh Valley came together to fellowship,taste a variety of foods from establishments in the Allentown area,and celebrate the conferral of the Doctor of Divinity on Lee Butz.Also recognized was the establishment of The Lee and Dolly Butz Scholarship Fund at The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary atPhiladelphia, which will support Lehigh Valley urban internshipsthat will develop the specialized leadership skills needed to con-tribute to the revitalization of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.

ATSI: A SUCCESS STORY

The Asian Theological Summer Institute (ATSI) conducted itsfourth Institute in June, 2010. Funded by The Henry Luce Fodation, ATSI began as a pilot project to mentor Asian and AAmerican doctoral students preparing for a teaching vocatiosuccess of the project convinced The Henry Luce Foundatiomake a five-year commitment to strengthen this unique prog

The institute brings together selected PhD and ThD candifrom all across North America for a week-long seminar at LTSeven prominent Asian and Asian-American professors andars are invited as guest faculty to mentor these students as th prepare their doctoral research proposals. This interdisciplin program has received so much attention that students had to waitlisted this year for the Institute to be held in June, 2011.Institute admits only 20 students each year. In 2010 we had 6nominations and 34 students formally applied.

The selected candidates came from the following 15 institions: Boston University, Brite Divinity School at Texas ChrUniversity, Calvin Theological Seminary, Columbia TheoloSeminary, Drew University, Duke Divinity School, Emory U versity, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Graduatological Union, Harvard University, Lutheran School of Theat Chicago, North West University in South Africa, PrincetoTheological Seminary, Toronto School of Theology and Vanbilt University.

The number of guest faculty was expanded to seven to acmodate the increased intake of candidates and the diversity odemic disciplines represented. The guest faculty included: DKwok Pui-lan (Episcopal Divinity School, MA, also the Preelect of The American Academy of Religion), Dr. Anne Johrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, IL), Dr. Eleazar Fern(United Theological Seminary of the Twin cities, MN), Dr. TEd Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania (left), and Dolly and LeeButz at the In the City for Good event .


7/40PS FALL 2010 www.Ltsp.edu

siong Benny Liew (Pacific School of Religion, CA), Dr. R.S. Su-girtharajah (University of Birmingham, England), Dr. J. JayakiranSebastian (LTSP, PA), and Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar (LTSP, PA).

The Institute also sponsored a public lecture on Post-ColonialBiblical Criticism, What Next? by Prof. R.S. Sugirtharajah of University of Birmingham. An off-shoot of ATSI is formation of an Association of Asian Theological Educators in North America.The Association hopes to develop a network of Asian-AmericanTheologians and contribute to the development of Asian-Ameri-can Theology.

The success of these programs is additional evidence of LTSPsrole in the development of theological education in a pluralist andmulticultural American society.

AND TO THINK SOME

INVESTMENTS ONLY BUILD

YOUR SAVI NG S.

September 30, 2008.Seeds of Faith Lutheran Church, Lisbon, Iowa.

How you choose to invest your savings is a reection of your values. Anyou invest with the Mission Investment Fund, you help fund building loedgling ELCA congregations like Seeds of Faith. Not only did Seeds of an MIF loan to install an environmentally friendly geothermal heating and csystem in its new building, the congregations members actually built mutheir new church building themselves. Just goes to show, sometimes sweat eis the best equity of all. To learn more, contact us at 877.886.3522 or elca.o

COMMENCEMENT 2010

Lutheran World Relief President and CEO John Nunes gave thekeynote address to eighty-one degree and certificate recipientsand their families and friends at the 146th Commencement of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). Theevent was held on the LTSP campus on Friday, May 21, 2010, a

sunny, warm day perfect for a celebration. Honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees were awarded toThe Rev. John Huneke, 53, pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, New York,and Allentown, Pennsylvania contracting executiveMr. Lee Butz.Class co-presidentsElizabeth Nees and William Peterson alsoaddressed the gathering.

A full report of the day, including photo galleries and stream-ing media of Commencement day are online: www.Ltsp.edu/commencement2010.

See more about Doctor of Divinity recipients The Rev. John Huneke and Lee Butz on previous page.


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M I N I S T R Y I N C O N T E X T

Ministry in

The Rev. Mariza Torres-Dolich, MDiv 02,

ventures onto the playground behind her

church to meet with neighborhood chil-

dren who have come to know her well.

The playground features a community

garden with a variety of growing vegeta-

bles planted by neighbors. I feel weneed to be engaged in min-istry out there beyond thesewalls of the church...


9/40PS FALL 2010 www.Ltsp.eduwww.Ltsp.edu

Todays

HARDSHIP,CONFLICT,ANDECONOMIC CHALLENGESarefamiliar realities in todays congregational contexts. These rties are hardly new, as seen in the translations of Lutheran Patarch Henry Melchior Muhlenbergs letters from the 1750s byThe Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphias (LTSP)Professor Timothy Wengert. But these realities nonetheless crate deep challenges for todays church professional leaders anthose they care about.

Do congregations focus more on preservation or mission? they replace the roof, add a coat of paint? Or do they instead patchwork maintenance as they stretch themselves to serve pe ple in need in new ways? The choices facing todays congregtions can be wrenching, and they can also lead to new-found in Jesus Christ.

PS magazine staff took a summertime journey to congrega-tions and a college chaplaincy led by LTSP alumni in rural, surban, and urban settings to hear their perspectives. Interview with alumni revealed gratitude for the seminary training theyceived in Bible, theology, and more practical matters, helpingthem to think out of the box. This story and others on these pages will afford faith-filled glimpses into what we found.

Generation Xers dont have the same spiritual priorities asthose of us who are older have for the church, reflectedThe Rev.Keith Rohrbach, MDiv 84, pastorof Trinity LutheranChurch inKutztown, Pennsylvania. He also leads a campus ministry init

tive at Kutztown University, just blocks from the church, and he rubs elbows every week with college believers and non-beers alike. Younger people are more concerned about serving people beyond the walls of a church building than caring for tbuilding itself. He speculates thisperspective could lead to a dferent lookingchurch decades from now.

Rohrbach, a 1984 LTSP graduate who recently returned froa youth mission trip to Pittsburgh, gets excited when he thinkabout how once reluctant youth were transformed by a projecfix-up the homes of older people without the resources to maksuch repairs.But mostofallhe likes to talkabout potatoes.

Alumni offerhopeful messagesin trying times


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www.Ltsp.edu

The Rev. Kim Cottingham, MDiv 03, with

a Vacation Bible School class of energetic

children, featuring Bible lessons, livelymusic and water balloon tosses. Cotting-

hams parishioners do not fear doing min-

istry beyond the church doors. She hasstarted an expanding campusministry initiative by regularlybiking over to Hudson ValleyCommunity College...

When we met with him he had just finished harvesting and bagging a bunch potatoes.

Trinity has parishioners without jobMoreover, Kutztown University has hato make employment cuts. So the community has its share of individuals whare hurting economically. And many ahungry.

Last year we had a couple in thechurch who told us they had an acre oland behind the house that was just sitting there. Why not do something withit?Rohrbach said. The idea that emerg was The Potato Project. The congretion planted 7,000 potatoes during the2009 growing season and harvested70,000. They gave the spuds to food pantries and shelters in the area. This year, Rohrbach explained, someone elin the community donated another fiveacres to the project. The estimated pot yield this year will be 430,000. I canlieve all that has happened, Rohrbachsaid. This year the project has turnedumenical. We have churches from all othe region doing their share to tend theharvest, and we tell them that they cantake the potatoes they pick back homeand distribute them to folks in need intheir own communities. I think that is part of the challenge for todays churc finding ways to keep people espcially youth excited about ministry

and making a difference. It calls forchurches to partner together across denominational lines in new ways. Sometimes that means deciding to be leadin with ideas others have, and it can chanthe church and change peoples lives.

In Easton, Pennsylvania,Pastor SueRuggles, MDiv 02,became pastor of S John Lutheran Church, a downtown cogregation where another LTSP alumnu


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TheRev. JohnSteinbruck, long agofounded ProJeCt, an ecumenical feeding and pantry initiative. Ruggles knows Eas-ton well, having graduated fromLafayetteCollege, where herhusband, Roger, teachescivil engineering. Pastor Ruggles saidmany would-be members of the churchfind it uncomfortable to go to church inan urban setting that feels less safe tothem. ProJeCt is still going strong, but what changed Pastor Sues life and min-

istry was that persistent knocking onthe church door soon after her installa-tion.

I found myself greeting ex-offenders who had been released from theNorthampton County Prison just up thestreet, she said. They wanted some foodor clothing, or perhaps a bus ticket hometo Berks County. Ruggles was able tofund or find what they needed, but the

encounters started her thinking. What if I took some time each week to visit in-mates? She started visiting male inmateseach Thursday afternoon, involving themin conversations and Bible classes. Many prisoners have listened to words of judg-ment about what they have done, includ-ing from other Christians who visitthem, Ruggles said. Her classes focus in-stead on the theme Making a Better

You. Were taught to feed the hungry,clothe the orphan, and visit prisoners,Ruggles said of her faith and seminarybackground. When I talk to the men, Iask them about what is missing in theirlives. How can we work together to buildtheir self-esteem? God forgives you. Can you then forgive yourself? What is it thatGod wants you to do now and in the fu-ture with your life? It is an encouraging Word she delivers. She hopes to persuadeother parishioners to join her. But it isdaunting, she admitted. It is hard to gothrough those five sets of locked doors todo these visits. I also tell people at St. Johnnot to focus on the numbers when theyget discouraged. Numbers are not theonly measure of success in ministry.

In Clay, New York,The Rev. RichardYost, MDiv 05,a one-time Verizon exec-utive, serves Immanuel Lutheran Churchin a rural suburb of Syracuse. He saidboth seminary teaching and life in corpo-rate management have assisted him in working with people in the church. A2005 graduate of LTSP, the 59-year-oldYost finds himself serving a church about20 minutes away from Camillus, the com-munity he knew as a child. Immanuel isreally doing pretty well in these times, hesaid. The church has known steadygrowth with parishioners who have cus-tomarily given more to the church each year during his five years of service. It is

the kind of place where the pastor will goto his car and find gift vegetables on theseat, planted there by generous church-goers with busy gardens. Joblessness is nota major current concern. People routinelydrive 20 to 30 miles to come to Sunday worship.

Ministry with older people is one pri-ority in Clay, Yost said. What once was aninformal luncheon of 15 folks at the

church the second Wednesday of themonth now involves 70 or 80 peoplefrom around the community and afeatured speaker. Immanuel is also part oan ecumenical outreach to military per-sonnel arriving at and departing from theSyracuse Airport. A number of Immanumembers help out distributing food andsnacks and conversing with soldiers eithfacing uncertainty in places likeAfghanistan and Iraq or rejoicing aboutreturning home.

In Allentown, Pennsylvania, LTSPalumnaThe Rev. Maritza Torres-Dolich, MDiv 02,acknowledges thatshe and older members find it difficult tmaintain a significant physical plant in aincreasingly multicultural setting just west of downtown. Funerals of aging parishioners are a regular occurrence, buPastor Maritza said the congregation has

a positive spirit. They encourage me toengage us in ministry that I think canmake a difference, she said. That can brisky, but they say, lets try it and see whhappens. On many mornings PastorMaritza ventures onto the playground behind the church to meet and chat withneighborhood children who have cometo know her well. The playground alsofeatures a community garden with a vari


We have churches from all over

the region doing their share to

tend the harvest, and we tell them

that they can take the potatoes

they pick back home and distribute

them to folks in need in their own

communities.

Pastor Keith Rohrbach

It is hard to go through those fivesets of locked [prison] doors to do

these visits. I also tell people at

St. John not to focus on the

numbers when they get discour-

aged. Numbers are not the only

measure of success in ministry.

Pastor Sue Ruggles

The Rev. Sue Ruggles The Rev. Richard YostThe Rev. Keith Rohrbach


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ety of growing vegetables planted byneighbors. I feel we need to be engagedin ministry out there beyond these wallsof the church, she said. Thechildren havegrownto depend on her visits and thoseof volunteers from other congregations ina program now called Playground in thePark. Sometimes she shares cookies andbeverages with the children. During ourinterview comes a knock on the door. Bri-anna, a neighborhood 10-year-old, hascome to inquire about piano lessons atthe church. Word has gotten around thatthe church offers lessons. Pastor Maritzaassures her it can happen. Brianna is ex-cited. Funds for such lessons come fromthe Pastors Discretionary Fund. PastorMaritza said if she gets stuck in the officeon playground days the children willknock on my door to see where she is.And through her conversations with youngsters, some of them about God,Pastor Maritza is getting to know a lot of people. Pastor Maritza calls The Rev. Dr.Nelson Rivera, associate professor of Sys-tematic Theology at LTSP, a true mentor.

LTSP turned my life upside down,she said. My preconceptions were blownapart. I learned from Professor (Timothy) Wengert in a class on Lutheran Confes-sions that you have absolutely nothing todo with Gods love for you. That love istotally unconditional and it cant be takenback no matter what you do. It is a mes-

sage she conveys to children and adultsalikeinmyriad ways tohelp themfeel betterabout themselves in an uncertain world.

At St. Timothys Lutheran Church inNorth Greenbush, New York,PastorKim Cottingham, MDiv 03, whose firstcareer was in the military, is busy with aVacation Bible School class of energeticchildren, featuring Bible lessons, livelymusic, and water balloon tosses. Cotting-

ham was influenced by her father and alsoher late uncle and mentor, The Rev.Henry Dierk, who decades ago was aCaribbean Synod Bishop for the formerLutheran Church in America. As an AirForce master sergeant once involved inlaunching satellites at Vandenberg AFB,Cottingham began to discern her call when she found herself caring less aboutthe mission at hand than for the welfareof military colleagues. She recalled thefirst night she began to wrestle with other

students at LTSP over the frightening prospect of learning Hebrew, and the advice of Old Testament Professor Dr.Robert B. Robinson: Dont overload.Relax. Find a balance between study, work, and life with colleagues. She saidthe advice has stood the test of time.

St. Timothys was born because of amission startup dream some 52 years ago.St. Paul Lutheran Church in neighboring Rensselaer wanted to sponsor a new

church and did. Ironically, St. Paul re-cently closed and the mission survived.Former St. Paul members worship at St.Timothy today. The St. Paul building isnow a homeless shelter for women andchildren that is bulging at the seams andhas a waiting list. Cottingham said eco-nomic conditions are better in NorthGreenbush than in neighboring commu-nities, and the church supports a food

pantry and feeding program in partnership with an Episcopal congregation iRensselaer, where many St. Timothy wshippers once went to church.

St. Timothys has a modest church fcility, and Cottingham finds her parishioners do not fear doing ministry beyothe church doors. She has started an ex panding campus ministry initiative byregularly biking over to Hudson ValleyCommunity College where she hangout in the student union. I bring somthing to eat and some reading materialshe said. Some students starting out atcollege have known her through an arcamping ministry and need some sup port to get through the transition, shesaid. Through them she meets others. When the subject of religion comes upsometimes involving students from fudamentalist backgrounds, she said shestarts the discussion by saying, This what is true for me. What is true for you? Lively debates ensue. With somstudents the conversation turns to theneeds of people around the campus an what might be done to serve others, atopic that also frequently comes up at Timothys. Cottingham also serves as EMT and chaplain for local firefighteHermilitary background fuels that inter

The Rev. Peter Bredlau, MDiv 96,Muhlenberg College chaplain the past years, hails from Wisconsin and found

faith being formed by a Lutheran sumcamp experience there. After college nhome, he took jobs in Western New Yoand at a publishing company in Philad phia. Looking for a different experienhe one day found himself in the officeThe Rev. George Keck, LTSPs admissions director at the time. I couldnt e plain to him why I was there, but weengaged in an amazing conversation,


10 PS FALL 2010 www.Ltsp.edu

Immanuel is part of an ecumeni-

cal outreach to military personnel

... a number of Immanuel members

help out distributing food and

snacks and conversing with sol-

diers either facing uncertainty in

places like Afghanistan and Iraq or

rejoicing about returning home.

Pastor Richard Yost


13/40PS FALL 2010

The Rev. Peter Bredlau, MDiv 96, does

not consider his call to have been a light-

ning strike experience. I take one day at a time, and itseems to work ... When collegstudents tell me they are uncertain

about what to do, what is ahead, I share

my story as a pastor, and it seems to

help them to know someone older per-

sonally understands what they are going

through.

recalled. And soon he was in seminary.Bredlau still does not consider his call tohave been a lightning strike experience. Itake it one day at a time, and it seems to work, he smiled. When college studentstell me they are uncertain about what todo, what is ahead, I share my story as a pastor, and it seems to help them to knowsomeone older personally understands what they are going through. It makessense today. I dont have it all figured out,and it is not terrifying. Vocation does nothave a terminus. It is a conversation youneed to engage in throughout life. He re-members seminary teachers fondly, someof them seeming then to be academicicons. It is great to know some of themnow as people President Phil Krey andDean (Paul) Rajashekar for example.Some of his best seminary memories areof working with facilities personnel,doing chores like shoveling snow on thecampus. He mentioned lots of faculty andstaff names and said simply, Mostly I am just grateful to LTSP for allowing me tobe there. I was struggling mightily withmy life, always asking, Why am I here?

These days Bredlau enjoys engaging students like the young man, now anattorney, who still stays in touch with him years after walking into the chaplains of-fice needing to talk. The subject turnedto many questions over many meetings questions about God and faith.

Lutherans today make up a compara-tively small percentage of Muhlenbergsstudent body, but students engaging withChaplain Bredlau, including a class in which he deals with the theme So WhatDo You Want to Be?, learn a lot aboutthe difference Reformer Martin Luthermakes in their lives today. He teachesabout Luthers writings. I tell them thatMartin Luther was a major figure in our

collective history who was a proponent of education and co-education. I tell themthat if you value critical thinking and theopportunity to challenge authority whenauthority is wrong, you have MartinLuther to thank for encouraging those values. I tell them that the idea of won-dering about what to do with your life isnot new, and that Luthers spin on Scrip-ture basically empowers them to do whatthey want to do. People come here withthe notion that theyve got to makemoney, and they sometimes have anxi-eties because they feel pressures to go this way or that way or do what others expectof them. Luther tells us you can be what you want, and you can figure out a direc-tion in life based on what you alreadyhave within you, and that what you havein you is enough. No matter what youchoose to do, that is enough and you areenough because you have gifts from God,and those gifts are enough.

In speaking of the present and futurechurch, in a congregational setting or oth-erwise, Bredlau believes Luthers under-standing of vocation is a truly profoundand unique legacy Lutherans need to cele-brate and espouse if they are to remain onthe road to relevance for todays and to-morrows believers and non-believersalike. It is a source of Good News centralto what God wants for us.

His message to the church is basically

the same one he delivers to students. Weneed to understand what we are and who we are, look at our reality and not try tobe something we arent, Bredlau said.What we have to say about vocation is arelevant core message that sets Lutheransapart from everyone else.

View extended interviews at Ltsp.edu/ PSinterviews.


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PhD Scholars talk about Connecting to the Worldfrom Different PlacesTwo 2010 PhD graduates from LTSP see a strong connection between serious scholarship and making positive changes in the world as Christian leaders.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Lohrmann loves the richness of the Lutherantradition and church history. Born and raised in Washington State,he studied and served as a pastor while gradually moving east.Lohrmann decided he wanted to deepen his educational back-ground by earning a PhD. I figured it would make me a better

teacher as a pastor, and if that didnt work out I could teach else-where, he said. At LTSP, he was profoundly influenced by Refor-mation Scholar Timothy Wengert. During his studies, Lohrmannwrote a thesis on a commentary from the Book of Jonah by Jo-hannes Bugenhagen, one among the circle of reformers surround-ing Martin Luther. Written after the death of Luther, the commentary

wrestled with renegotiating the role of the church after Lutheranslost a difficult war in the 1500s. In terms of the commentary, thethesis depicts how faith unfolds in the world context in terms ofthe Scripture found in Jonah.

This year, Lohrmann took a call as pastor of Christ Ascension

Lutheran Church in Philadelphias Chestnut Hill section, a congre-gation that has roots dating to the Civil War, and which is the prod-uct of a merger with Ascension Lutheran Church, once part of theLTSP campus. Now writing a history of the congregation,Lohrmann finds excitement being part of a church that has consis-tently involved itself in concern for its neighbors by operating a


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child care center and having members active in community con-

cerns. He describes examples such as the Philadelphia WalkAgainst Hunger, the Philabundance food program for disadvan-taged Philadelphians, work with Lutheran Settlement House,which features a domestic violence counseling program, and co-operative ministries involving nearby St. Michaels and TrinityLutheran Churches.

Lohrmann said in terms of his PhD studies that there are big-ger names out there, like Penn and Princeton, for earning a de-gree, but I believe the academic quality offered at LTSP is reallyabout the same. I wonder where else I could have gone that af-fords the high level of academic thinking, where people can thinkcritically and also learn how to struggle deeply with what it means

to be a person of faith.

The Rev. Dr. Charles Chaz Howard, chaplain at the University ofPennsylvania (Penn), calls himself a son of Baltimore, where hewas raised, and a godson of Philadelphia. Once, he thought of thescholarly pursuit of an advanced degree as detached from the in-tense connection of dealing with tough urban issues like home-lessness, poverty, and the role of women in the church. Along histheological journey, he decided that what mattered most is to re-late one-on-one to a diverse audience rather than being a parishpastor. He was profoundly influenced by historically important fig-ures like pastor and politician Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. of New York,

Drs. James Cone and Martin Luther King, Jr., and by mentors Dr.Cornel West of Princeton University and LTSP faculty member Dr.Katie Day. His LTSP thesis, Incomplete Prophecies, explored theintersection of Black Theology with capitalism, poverty, and theol-ogy of the 1960s. It helped him to appreciate economic systemsand both the local and global contexts for ministry. Today he over-sees a wide variety of Penns campus ministries involving all threeAbrahamic traditions plus Hindu, Buddhist, and other disciplines,and strives to provide a safe place for all faith expressions. Wheneverthere is a campus crisis involving, say, the death of a student, I getinvolved, Howard said. He counsels students facing issues suchas interfaith dating, grief and loss, and academic challenges.

Howard came to LTSP because, as he carried out his ministry atPenn, he needed a strong, nearby academic program that affordedhim flexibility to be with his family. I really needed somethingwith a teaching emphasis, he said, but what I found especiallycool was the inspiring way in which professors like Dr. (Phil) Krey,Dr. John Hoffmeyer, and Dr. Day through their mentoring andthe lives they lead demonstrate an involvement of Christ-likefaith in todays culture. He cited Dr. Days Germantown AvenueProject (a photo history of evolving faith communities on German-town Avenue) and the work of the Urban Theological Institute asexamples that paint ministry using a theological brush.

View extended interviews at Ltsp.edu/ PSinterviews.


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www.Ltsp.edu

Field work beyond the classroom has always been a vital dimen-sion of seminary education for candidates studying for ordinationat The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). Can-didates engage in clinical pastoral education, often in a hospital orother clinical type setting, and usually in the summer at the end oftheir first year of study. Often, the third year of their degree work is

a full-time residence internship in a congregation or other setting.A comparatively new wrinkle to field work, known as contex-

tual education, has been a rotation model for seminarians dur-ing the first year of study. This model involves students observingworship and congregational life, spending three Sundays at a timein a church before moving onto another location, visiting eight to10 congregations overall during an academic year.

Seminarians often come to us having experienced life in com-paratively few churches, explained The Rev. Dr. Charles Leonard,associate professor of integrative theology and director of contex-tual education at the seminary. He has supervised contextual edu-cation at the school for the past 14 years.

The rotation model challenges seminarians to scrutinize whatthey see happening in a congregation. We ask them to try to un-derstand what they observe, Leonard said. Who are the leadersand what do they do? What are the roles of women and youth?What is the worship style? How are they reaching out beyond the

church walls? What are their views onserving where they are located?The seminarians are asked to keeptrack of questions raised, and dis-cuss them in Monday afternoonreflection sessions with parishpastors who lead the discus-sions. These congregationsand the pastors who lead the re-

flection sessions are folks we re-ally trust, and they play a vital

role in the education we provide,Leonard said.The model involves seminarians in

widely expanding their perspectives, hesaid. They experience worship in churches

of denominations and multicultural settings

Rotation Field Work ModelHelps Seminarians ExpandHorizons

continued on page 17



Alumnus Ann Colley Challenges Lutherans toShare their Faith Stories with StrangersGet outside your church walls. People desperately need to know God has a purpose for their lives no matter what they have done...

The Rev. Ann L. Colley, MDiv 06, a Baptist who lives around thecorner from LTSP, said enrolling at the Lutheran seminary downthe street was a tactic to run away from my calling to serve as apastor. But what I learned at the seminary is a lot about the Godof all of us. I once was very dogmatic, but I discovered a real heart

for God at LTSP. The biggest thing I picked up was the Lutheran un-derstanding of grace and what that means about loving people. Nojudgments. No critiques. I came out (in 2006) more loving, open,and grace-filled toward others.

Colley, an African American who is dynamically articulate aboutcommunicating her faith, is a single mother who is associate pas-tor for evangelism at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in NorthwestPhiladelphia, a congregation with 15,000 parishioners, and whereThe Rev. Allyn Waller is pastor. Her son, Christian, 11, is a vital partof her life. I have seven years left before he goes off to college,and I have been learning that a vital part of my ministry is beingthere for him.

Colley, once a pharmaceutical executive who became dissatis-fied with corporate life, holds an MBA, and once thought shewanted to earn a PhD to qualify her to teach Bible and Religion. (Insome of her spare time she teaches marketing and management inthe Business program at Holy Family University.)

She energetically rattles off the professors who influenced her John Hoffmeyers approach to thinking about God, Pam Cooper-Whites (now the Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor ofPastoral Theology, Care and Counseling, at Columbia TheologicalSeminary) teaching about pastoral care, Katie Days conversationsabout the myriad faith communities she has researched along Ger-mantown Avenue, Jon Pahls media wisdom about how faith

speaks through the use of art, the liturgical and worship gleaningsshe learned from Gordon Lathrop. I met so many students from awide variety of backgrounds and walks of life. I made life-longfriends at the school.

Part of the core of Colleys ministry is reaching out to women inseveral prisons and leading visits involving Enon members to insti-tutions like Bethesda Court, a personal care facility, and InglisHouse, which serves individuals with disabilities and supportsthem to enjoy independent living. Of her overall ministry Colleysaid bluntly, I would hate to have lived and said I never witnessedto how good God has been to me.

In her prison ministry, Colley said she has learned that a com-paratively small number 20 percent or so are hard core crim-inals. The other 80 percent were in circumstances of survival, notmurderers or robbers but rather involved in prostitution to getmoney to care for their children, or drug abuse because they felt

overwhelmed by life and wanted to escape its realities. I tell them Ihave no judgment on them, that all of us have fallen short in life. Itell them that no matter who they are or what they have done, Godhas a purpose for their life, and they can begin right now to liveout that purpose. We pray for each other, for other inmates and forprison guards and officials who are their captors.

It is the same message of purpose she also uses on the streetwhen she and Enon members go out day and night to meetstrangers. We meet people who are down on their luck, and ifthey want to come we bring them to the church for worship andoffer them spiritual and practical kinds of help, she said. That in-cludes counseling and support to change unhealthy habits, includ-

ing recovery options. We just tell these strangers we love themand that God has a purpose for them too, she said.

One initiative she leads is to support seven Lutheran congrega-tions trying to improve their evangelism approaches. The Luther-ans accompany her in her street outreach in places likePhiladelphias Olney section. She said she teaches the Lutheransthat we have a burden for souls. As Christians we have a goal tocommunicate that no soul goes unsaved, to serve our neighborsno matter what the circumstances.

A self-described city girl, originally from Chicagos south side,Colley has a message for Lutherans and others striving to make adifference in their communities, but who may feel uncertain about

how to go about it. I know what God saved me from. It happenedbecause of Gods grace and mercy. Tell others your story. We allneed to get outside the walls of our churches and extend a hand toothers to witness to the love of Christ. Be willing to be uncomfort-able, to be stretched. Lutherans have so much to give. If you getoutside the walls it will be OK. If people give back a message of re-jection, it is Christ they are rejecting and not you. We are not per-fect, but we have a message for people, that God forgives us nomatter what we have done. We can be released from guilt and finda purpose God has in mind for us. Today, no matter where you are,people desperately need to hear that message.


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Senior seminarian Amanda Range, a North Carolina native, wasbaptized as an Episcopalian, grew up in a church of the LutheranChurch - Missouri Synod, was president of the Christian Fellowship(campus ministry) program at Hollins University in Roanoke, Vir-ginia, and now belongs to a mission congregation of the Evangeli-

cal Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Wilmington, NorthCarolina.

No wonder she felt completely at home during her first year ofseminary, taking part in the rotation model field work experiencewhere she and a small group of classmates visited eight congrega-tions for three consecutive Sundays each to observe and partake inworship and drink in the climate at each church. We visitedLutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and a new missioncongregation among the sites, Amanda recalled. The churcheswere in urban, suburban, and rural settings. It was an amazing ex-perience. We met with pastors and lay leaders, shared a meal inmany of the host churches, and had a chance to ask questions.

The Monday after each Sunday visit, a pastor/facilitator met withAmandas group and helped them debrief their observations.

We felt welcomed at the churches we visited, Amanda re-

called. We took part in many different styles of worship and cameto know a variety of traditions.

Amanda said the rotation model continued her exposure to ecu-menical traditions she came to know in the Hollins campus min-istry program she led.

In college I came to appreciate other traditions and enjoyed in-terfaith conversations, she said. I think that kind of exposure isimportant for believers of all traditions. I came to LTSP in part be-cause I wanted to be a part of a seminary that shares those values.I feel rooted in ecumenical openness, and so I was really open tothe rotation model and all it offered me and my colleagues. Shenoted that the model is useful as well to seminarians who come toLTSP without the kind of broad congregational experience she hasknown.

I think the collection of experiences and background I haveknown at seminary have opened me to God and the Holy Spirit inmany special ways, she said. I also think this kind of exposure

will make me less nervous than many peer leaders without the ex-perience when it comes to dealing with ecumenical and interfaithopportunities I hope to encounter as a future professional leader.



Ecumenical Understanding Fostered byRotation Model Field ExperienceIll feel less anxious about interfaith and ecumenical relationships when I become a pastor.

Seminary Emblematic of Episcopal/ Lutheran Partnership, PhiladelphiaCathedral Dean SaysThe Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are close cousins,said The Very Rev. Judith Sullivan, newly appointed Dean of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathe-dral in the citys University City section. Sullivan refers to Called to Common Mission (CCM),the ecumenical agreement between the two church bodies, as emblematic, a restorative signof the Kingdom. It defines that what we share runs far deeper than the much smaller differencesbetween us. CCM is truly a model for ecumenical work.

Sullivan is herself an embodiment of the agreement. A resident of Philadelphias ChestnutHill, Sullivan holds her MDiv from General Seminary, an Episcopal school in New York, but shetook much of her seminary training at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP),


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To designate your Thrivent Choice Dollars to The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia go towww.thrivent.com/thriventchoice

enrolling in the Fall of 2001 and completing her studies there al-most two years later before finishing her requirements at General.

When I think of LTSP I just have to smile, she said. I couldwalk to the school from my home. It was such a formative time inmy faith journey. Faculty and student body friends are people I re-main in relationship with. Among the seminarys great gifts to mewere liturgical study with Professor Gordon Lathrop and what Ilearned about Pastoral Care from The Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White, who was an Episcopal member of the LTSP faculty, now theBen G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology,Care and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary. Dr.Cooper-White is a great friend and mentor. Other highlights werestudies in the areas of preaching, Bible, and theology, and an inde-pendent study of church history undertaken with LTSP Professorand President Philip D. Krey. Sullivan said she is indebted to theseminary for her training and calls the school a powerful institu-tional presence in the ecumenical partnership between Episco-palians and Lutherans. It was such a wonderful community forme to be a part of, and it was very hard for me to leave the semi-nary, she said.

The Cathedral is a unique place in the history of the EpiscopalChurch, Dean Sullivan said. It is the seat for the Bishop of theEpiscopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The Cathedral is in the com-pany of a variety of neighborhood churches, hospitals, colleges,and universities including Drexel University and the University of

Pennsylvania, she added. We see ourselves as an open door, aconnector between the Episcopal Church and the complex urban,suburban, and rural communities in the five-county region sur-rounding us, she observed.

Current connections include ecumenical work to feed hungrypeople in University City and to form a hospitality consortium op-erating a food pantry. Were part of a mural arts initiative in thecity, and were working on an interfaith healing garden at 38th andChestnut Streets, she said.

Dean Sullivan noted that the Cathedral is facing many of thesame challenges familiar to other worshiping communities. A lotof folks we are in touch with are dealing with joblessness, she

said. Were an older church facing stiff costs to maintain our prop-erties, and were not able to support the infrastructure as before.Our endowment isnt fulfilling our needs. We have a lot of peoplein our community who are in pain because of todays many uncer-tainties. When we look at the past we realize that today we arelooking at a new normal time, one of struggle and uncertainty.

But our plan is to meet those challenges by keeping on beingthe church, proclaiming the Gospel and living amid these temporalchanges, Dean Sullivan said. In these difficult times we areblessed to have a Christian faith that is so deep, eternal, and assur-

ing that we are really where we want to be as a community of be-lievers, despite all the challenges. Our faith has the power to openpeoples ears so that they may hear and learn of a different way ofthinking to support them in a secular age frequently known for itsexploitation.

Dean Sullivan added that todays Christians are more blessed byreligious freedom than their predecessors. Were not thrown to thelions as was once the case, she said. The cost of being a followerin the twenty-first century is not what our forebears once endured.


they may never have known before. And what we feel they learn

is that everyone has strengths and weaknesses in what he or shedoes, and no one has all the answers. Some are strong in worship.Some are strong in hospitality or evangelism, some are good withstewardship or teaching and preaching and others are not. Butthose with weaknesses have strengths as well. And what the stu-dents learn may profoundly impact how they conduct their leader-ship in churches after they graduate. Ecumenical partners includethe Presbyterian Church USA, Reformed Church in America,United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Moravian Church, theUnited Methodist Church, and independent congregations as wellas Lutheran churches, he said. The total scope of contextual edu-cation helps students learn much about themselves and elementsfor the vision a congregation they serve might have.

Were trying to help our students learn how to be the most ef-fective leaders in this challenging time, Leonard said. Many con-gregations today have lost their way and forgotten the mission ofthe church. Churches are called to reach out and do something be-yond themselves. The issue is how do they make Christ known?How do they show hope to others? Self-service is not the way. Ifthey are content to fall into a hole rather than connecting with oth-ers, how effective will they be for people around them and for peo-ple in the pews? He said the current state of the economy is afactor in the decision by many churches to pull back rather thantaking risks in serving others.

Rotation Field Work Model continued from page 14


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Investing in the Churchs Future Criticalfor Two Synods and their BishopsT WO EVANGELICALLUTHERANCHURCH IN AMERICAR EGION 7 BISHOPS whose synods have pledged significantcampaign support for student scholarships at LTSP say that morethan ever the church needs well-trained, creative professionalleaders in order for congregations to survive by making a differ-

ence for Christ in their communities.Were facing declining numbers, and our members are aging,saidThe Rev. Marie Jerge,MDiv 78,Bishop of the UpstateNew York Synod. She noted that population centers like Buffalo,New York have had dramatic population losses in recent decades,and many in the younger generation have been making the deci-sion to move out. Increasing costs in areas such as health carehave meant that congregations just have fewer dollars in thesetransitional times. But she added that, despite the challenges, opportunities abound. Many churches that cannot afford to replace a full-time pastor are thinking creatively and collaborating with others in order to do effective ministry.

Were a Resurrection people, Jerge said. Were asking our people to pray first and ground themselves in the Bible as theythink through what their mission in Christ is at this time. Howare they being called? Were challenging people to grow in theirfaith and challenging our pastors to preach hope in what seemsto many to be a hopeless time. I find that many of our youngest pastors first call pastors are showing incredible vitality andcreativity in their ministry as they provide pastoral care to their people and hold up their congregations while they move in newdirections. Its exciting! Much of the most creative work, shesaid, involves pastors from different denominations thinking strategically together about how to make the best difference. Shedescribed a suburban-rural congregational partnership in Buffalothat has strengthened and energized both churches, and a second partnership involving two Buffalo churches where the ministryand pastors are shared. Attendance there has doubled.

Were supporting theseminary becausewe need a place for people to be trained and well-grounded in Bible and theology,but we also need leaders who are prepared to engage their parish-ioners in how to think and think creatively in these times, Jerge

said. An LTSP alumna, Jerge said the seminary grounded h well in many basics, but also taught her to think carefully athe context of a pastorate and how to approach ministry in aticular setting. The Bishop said that as part of a fund-raisingcampaign, the synod has pledged to find donors who care t

port the education of the churchs future leaders.Bishop Samuel Zeiser, MDiv 77,STM 89,of the North-eastern Pennsylvania Synod said the synod council had appthe idea of a long-standing financial relationship with the senary to build up its financial resources and support studentthe church is to have a vibrant future it will need solid leadeand we need to make an investment in that future. He notedthat support of the seminary is part of a synod campaign curently under development.

Zeiser said the context for ministry in the synod is changrapidly. Were really engaged in a transition in the way peearn their living, he said. Once stable large industries likelehem Steel and Mack Truck are either changing or are gongether, and so the economics of our people and churches arreally impacted. These industries once were a way people stheir identities. What we want to say is God still has a placethem and a plan for what it means to be the church in this ti We need to help people identify themselves as Gods peopluncertain times. The once farm-centered rural areas of thesynod have changed in many locations to feature housing another forms of development. Coal region communities no lohave the economic vitality they once had with the decline omining in those areas. That change, combined with multicutransition, has redefined what it means to be part of a congtion. Congregations no longer have the kind of stable and cfortable ministry they once knew, and that challengescongregations not only in terms of their ministry within church but how they figure out what they should be doing itheir communities.

Zeiser described the developing new approach to ministrShenandoah, a coal region town. If you only looked at the tics you might think this church should be closed, but the co


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gregation has opened itself up to its His- panic neighbors by providing clothing, afood pantry, and recovery programs forthe community. He said a Departmentof Public Welfare official in the commu-nity had appealed to him, Please dontclose this church down. It is the only place that no matter what time of day ornight people come to me I can send themthere for help. Zeiser said that while suchcongregations are facing huge challenges,their context also presents great opportu-nities. We need to sustain them and findnew strategies for doing so, and that willtake special leaders in the future who notonly have a strong grounding in Scripturebut also the ability togive character, color,and direction to their ministry. It is notsimply social service, but telling the storyof the Resurrection of Jesus and what thatmeans for people today. He said such acontext for ministry is not for the uncer-tain. It takes a leader who knows themeaning of grace and what it means to bea Lutheran. It takes someone able to deal with a wide variety of personalities, some-one who is well grounded and accepting of others, someone with a lot of energy!

Zeiser, who grew up not far from thecoal region community he described, saidthe seminary for him is a place that workshard at bringing together people from diverse cultures and backgrounds and creat-ing a powerful sense of community. I

found LTSP to be a challenging academicenvironment, he said. I also got a senseof what the church had invested in mycall, that it had made a commitment, thatit wasnt just about me, that it had a stakein what I did. It gave me a sense of the vi-sion and standards and breadth of thechurch that I had not known beforegrowing up in a place like Jim Thorpe,Pennsylvania.


Bishops Canoe Adventure Raises $6,000for Lutheran Archives at LTSP

It began as a simple idea. Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Bishop Samuel Zeiser and col-league The Rev. Carl Shankweiler, both alumni of The Lutheran Theological Seminary atPhiladelphia (LTSP), had attended a meeting of the Schuylkill Mission District and hadpaused to gaze at the Schuylkill Canal. It was a beautiful spot in the river, water lappingover the rocks, so scenic and peaceful, Zeiser said.

Carl said to me, What if we got into a canoe and took a ride on the river. Wed proba-bly really enjoy that. Zeiser thought that would be the end of it. A week later Shankweilercalled to say he had bought a canoe on eBay. Shankweiler mused about going forward witha canoe trip. He also wondered about whether the trip might be used to garner support bythe mile for a favorite interest the Lutheran Archives Center at LTSP. The Archives is amajor repository for Lutheran history both regional and from around the country.Shankweiler reflected with Zeiser about the colonial travels of Lutheran Patriarch HenryMelchior Muhlenberg identified in Muhlenbergs journals. Maybe they could learn first-handabout what it was like to travel in those 1750s days in something other than a car. Maybewe could raise a few hundred dollars for the Archives by getting donations by the mile,Shankweiler said. They put an announcement in the packet given out at the synod assembly.

Before we knew it the project was growing beyond our imagination, Zeiser said. The Reading Eagle newspaper wanted a story and a photo. The Lutheran magazine did a pieceaboutus. Channel 69 News dida story. Onecongregation donated $1,000 toward theproject.

On a June day, the duo paddled to Reading from Hamburg. The 23.4 mile trip lasted from9:30 am to 4:00 pm with stops along the way in Shoemakersville and Leesport.

Muhlenberg did not spend a lot of time in a canoe from what we have been able tolearn, Zeiser noted, but we did find a reference in his journals to his crossing the river bycanoe. Apart from that, the trip did help Carl and me to recognize the way natural geogra-phy played a role in the way colonial era pastors got from place to place. With cars today,you just dont think much about travel, but it was not always easy.

The project raised about $6,000 for the Archives. The amount raised might have beenless than that, but some donors upped their gifts when they heard Shankweiler and Zeiserhad briefly gone overboard in the midst of their journey!


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M U H L E N B E R G 3 0 0 t h


DURING THEACADEMIC YEAR 2011-2012,The Lutheran Theological Semi-nary at Philadelphia (LTSP) will markthe tercentenary of the birth of HenryMelchior Muhlenberg. We are doing thisin partnership with many organizations,most notably Muhlenberg College, andover 100 congregations from Georgiathrough New York whose legacy is di-rectly tied to Muhlenberg. Special pro-grams and events are being planned forfamilies, for women, for scholars, foralumni, and for congregations. Artifactsand historic documents are being pre-

served and readied for display including Peter Muhlenbergs robe, Henry Mel-chior Muhlenbergs journals and diaries,and a beautifully painted wooden box be-longing to Anna Muhlenberg. Special ex-hibitions are being planned at UrsinusCollege in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, as well as at the German-American HeritageFoundation in Washington, D.C., and atraveling exhibition from Halle, Germany will tour across the United States.

Resources are being gathered and posted on the Muhlenberg 300 websitefor congregations a speakers bureau, worship materials, and a curriculum forcatechetics. Website pages are being cre-ated to include an online map highlight-ing Muhlenbergs churches and other points of interest, and a comprehensive

calendar noting the events of the year of all of our partners. An internationalscholarly conference is being organized byMuhlenberg College, LTSP, and the Mc-Neil Center for Early American Studies atthe University of Pennsylvania. Together we are working to tell the story of thisLutheran pastor who was a church ad-ministrator, an immigrant father of chil-dren who themselves became leaders inearly America, a colonial pacifist, and a prolific writer whose words paint a clear picture of life in the colonies.

As we work toward this year, some may

question the value of looking back. Somemay suggest that because we are a verydifferent church than we were whenMuhlenberg lived, there is little value tostudying a man who was born 300 yearsago. But it is in preserving our historythat we preserve our identity. It is by look-ing at the past honestly that we learn ourstrengths and weaknesses. It is by under-standing where we have been that we can plan for where we are going.

In one of the old family Bibles is ashort verse Henry Melchior Muhlenberg wrote at about the time he was confirmed:

Two hands, both fresh and strong,did my Creator give;

They shall not idle be as long as I shall live;

First I will raise them up to God to praise and pray,

And then they may begin what laborbrings each day.

Today, almost 300 years later, theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Amer(ELCA) defines its mission in the sim phrase: Gods work. Our hands.

Two very different moments in timeOne common call.

During the forty-five years of his mistry, Muhlenberg organized new conggations as continued immigration led t

the establishment of new communitiesToday the church he nurtured on Amercan soil numbers 4.5 million membersand nearly 10,500 congregations acrothe U.S. and Caribbean in the ELCAalone. The church has continued themissionary enterprise that brought Mulenberg to America. The challenges ofimmigration, language, and planting nchurches continues. Join with us as wediscover together our shared past and write a new chapter in the Churchshistory.

Visit the Muhlenberg 300 website at www.muhlenberg300.org.

TheMuhlenbergTercenAcademicYear2011-2012



...The scales that weigh the destinies of man defy his understanding. A moment may determine the course of

generations of human lives. It was to such a moment that the hands of the dial moved on the evening of

September 6, 1741, when Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, now recognized as the patriarch of the Lutheran

Church in America, received the call to leave family and friends, in a land that then enjoyed comparative

comfort, to serve the leaderless Lutherans in Pennsylvania.Other Lutherans had gone to America before him. Others had planted their churches in the American

colonies. But to Muhlenberg fell the task of organizing scattered Lutherans along the Atlantic Seaboard, of

establishing churches for them, and of forming the Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States, the

mother synod of the United Lutheran Church in America.

The above excerpt is from a publication edited by Gordon B. Fister as part of the Muhlenberg Bicentennial Celebration organized by Muhlenberg College in 1942.


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TO HEARTHE STORY OFTHE R EV . WILLIAMB. MOORE is to learn theheart and soul of the 30-year-old UrbanTheological Institute (UTI) at TheLutheran Theological Seminary at

Philadelphia (LTSP). No wonder Moore,the pastor of Tenth Memorial BaptistChurch in North Philadelphia, has re-cently embraced an appointment as chairof the Urban Theological Institute Com-mittee of Advisors (UTICA).

Before Moore departed North Car-olina to accept a call in Philadelphia, he was telling a neighboring pastor, The Rev.T. Robert Washington, that he wanted tocomplete his education. If you are calledto ministry you are also called to prepara-tion, and we must take that preparationseriously, Moore said recently.

You should check out LTSP, Wash-ington told him. Thats my seminary.Several years after becoming pastor of Tenth Memorial Church, the UTI initia-tive began under the leadership of the lateRev. Dr. Randolph Jones and The Rev.Dr. Andrew Willis, who envisioned andfounded the program enabling studentsto study part time while they held regular

jobs. Working with LTSP and then DeanFaith Burgess, Jones and Willis have beenfond of saying that LTSP embraced theiridea when no one else would. Mooreenrolled in the program.

I found UTI offered three criticalqualities, Moore said. First, it was rele- vant. It met the needs for my ministry atTenth Memorial. It had the ingredientsnecessary for success for someone like me.Second, it was high quality, not fly bynight. It was well-respected academically.I knew I had found a gold mine with theseminarys long history of quality andsubstance. Third, it was convenient for afull-time pastor like me with times forclasses that met my needs Tuesdayevenings and Saturdays. He completedthe requirements for his MDiv in four years during the 1980s one of thescores of graduates connected with UTI.

And what a ministry has unfolded atTenth Memorial, where Moore has servedfor 36 years. The congregation hosts adrug recovery program. You cannot drivethrough the churchs community withoutseeing the transformation that Mooresaid has been inspired by the people he

loves and his UTI education. Homes,more than 200 in one form or another,dot the neighborhood rehabilitatedrow homes, a six story high rise apartment building for retirees, 51 homes f

low and moderate income residents, a10 homes especially built for first timhome-buyers. A sign in front of some the newest properties advertises their at $110,000.

Weve wanted people to find afforable housing so that they could affordraise their children in these hard timesand afford their education and managethe rest of their lives, he said. Havingood home is a critical piece of that liformula.

Moore is not a fan of the prosperitgospel trend in which pastors, on telesion and elsewhere, suggest believers predisposed to wealth. These pastorsconvey that it is all about their listenerand viewers. God doesnt promise anything like that. God wants us to be comfortable, certainly, and God promises tbe with us, but it is really not about usis about serving others, not just aboutserving ourselves.




Moores appreciation for UTI isechoed by several colleagues The Rev.Dr. Ernest Morris, pastor of Mt. AiryChurch of God in Christ; The Rev. Dr.G. Daniel Jones, pastor of Grace Baptist

Church in Philadelphias Germantown,and The Rev. Dr. Richard Franklin Nor-ris, Bishop of the First Episcopal Districtof theAfricanMethodist EpiscopalChurch.

Jones and Morris have been host pas-tors since its inception for UTIs 28-yearold Preaching with Power initiative, which each spring invites highly regardedAfrican American preachers to Philadel- phia pulpits. Norris celebrates a collabo-ration with the AME Churchs PayneSeminary in Ohio that he said has made possible a whole new flavor for relation-ships involving aspiring church leadersacross denominational lines. He notesthat local AME students through the col-laboration can take some of their classesat LTSP without having to travel to Ohio.

Jones, a past UTICA chair, praises theseminary and UTI for the genuine senseof inclusivity, innovation, and opennessthey have generated so that trained lead-ers have the knowledge to meet urban

challenges. UTI was a breakthrough 30 years ago in that it enabled bi-vocationaland bi-professional students to take semi-nary courses that only had been availableduring the day. The program forged a

change in the educational concept andideology of the time. Morris said simplythat for working people interested in pro-fessional church leadership 30 years ago,there was no opportunity for formal ed-ucation. When UTI was offered it openeddoors for them. It has been so helpful toso many men and women who have beenable to enhance their ministries.

With the Fall 201030-year celebration,UTI Director The Rev. Dr. Quintin L.Robertson said his leadership goal look-ing toward the future is to strengthen thefoundation established by founders Jones and Willis in collaboration withother leaders. UTI is expanding its hori-zon these days, overseeing a Black ChurchConcentration within LTSPs MDiv pro-gram, and a Black Church Specializationin the Master of Arts in Religion pro-gram, both aimed at professional churchleaders interested in Black Church issues.UTI also oversees a Black Church focus

in LTSPs DMin program. A new UTIcertificate offering in Christian Ministrycomplements a Certificate in ChurchLeadership. Quarterly seminars in part-nership with African American religious

communities are being established as weWe want to cultivate a deeper under-standing, appreciation of, and respect foAfrican American theological inquiryand religious history, explained Dr.Robertson, an ordained elder of theChurch of God in Christ. Such an out-reach, he said, will further enrich thechurch and the seminary community.

The three-day fall gala celebrationOct. 13-15 included an African AmericaSacred Music Concert coordinated bySheila D. Booker and including greetingfrom Philadelphia Mayor Michael A.Nutter, a worship celebration with TheRev. Dr. Carolyn A. Knight as guest preacher, and a gala reception and ban-quet with featured speaker The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes.

View photos and videos of UTIs 30th Anniversary Celebration at www.Ltsp.edu/ UTI30.


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BISHOP LOISBARKSDALE, recent grad-uate of The Lutheran Theological Semi-nary at Philadelphia (LTSP), said God was always involved as her remarkable ca-reer unfolded. The right people werethere every step of the way for me, shesaid with typical enthusiasm. That wasGod at work in my life. I know it.

First, she was a licensed beautician.Then came retail, her becoming one of only two African American buyers forStrawbridge & Clothier in PlymouthMeeting, Pennsylvania. Peter Strawbridgethen asked her to open a new store in theNeshaminy Mall. Next a friend told herthat she should take the federal civil serv-ice exam and get a job with the govern-ment. Youd be good at that, the friendtold her. Once a straight A student atGratz High School where she was class president, Barksdale passed the test easily.She steadily rose through the pay graderanks within the Department of Labor.Barksdale was the first woman to serve inthe Philadelphia office as an investigator.My responsibility was to examine the in-ternal affairs practices of labor unions,check out financial and election practices

and assure that union members in goodstanding had their rights, she said. Some-times cases she worked on made the head-lines. She investigated United Mine Workers election practices involving Joseph Jock Jablonski and his presiden-tial successor Tony Boyle, and the unionreran the election. Jablonski was a re-former who had campaigned on behalf of mine safety issues. In 1974, Boyle was

convicted of having hired a hit on Jablon-ski, his wife and daughter in Clarksville,Pennsylvania, on January 5, 1970, and allthree were killed.

Over a 30-year Department of Laborcareer she worked both in Philadelphiaand Washington, DC, becoming the firstarea director for the Department. Sheended her government career in 1995,having served as the national director of field operations. Becauseof herexperience,knowledge, and dynamic personality,Barksdale was regularly invited to serve asa consultant or speaker by organizationslike the U.S. Air Force, the Tennessee Val-ley Authority, housing authorities inNewark, New Jersey, and St. Louis, andthe American Federation of GovernmentEmployees. She could have made a newcareer from accepting such invitations.

But by 1995, I knew that I was done with secular work, she said. God wascalling me in a new direction. That year,Barksdale founded Word Alive WorshipCenter, a church of the Pentecostal As-semblies of the World in rental space inPhiladelphia. Her husband,Jerome,a dea-con,was then, as well as now, at her side.

(The couple married in 1961. DaughterBeverly, born in 1964 is a licensed minis-ter in Delaware. Jerome has held a varietyof vocational posts, including service as aPhiladelphia transit worker.) Recognizedas a gifted administrator as well as a pas-tor, Barksdale served 15 years on herchurch bodys state council, 10 years asgeneral secretary for New Destiny Fellow-ship International, a mission organiza-

tion, and three years as assistant pastoPentecostal Bridegroom Temple inPhiladelphias West Oak Lane section.

God also came to her 11 years ago the formof her brother,anLTSPalumnand Barksdale became persuaded thathaving an MDiv would give her impotant credentials as an influential leaderand pastor.

She studied part-time in the seminaUrban Theological Institute (UTI) forroughly one-third of that programs 30 year history, receiving her degree in M2010, and thus she fits the classic profof many UTI scholars who frequentlyspend many years to achieve their academic goal. She said coincidentally sh was appointed Bishop for her churchbodys Region 1 (Eastern Pennsylvaniand Delaware) after she graduated. I nt seek that appointment, she said. I was perfectly happy to support otherleaders. Now she regularly meets wit pastors in her region to provide them with support and counsel.

Studying in the UTI was an awesoexperience for me, she said. I was im pressed with the history, how the scho

developed a partnership with UTIfounders Dr. Randolph Jones and Dr. Adrew Willis to enable African Americleaders needing an additional educatioand credentials the opportunity to getthem while remaining part of the work world and studying part-time. I really an awakening through my studies. Ilearned the Creeds. I learned about theevolution of the church by taking an In

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UTI Alumna Lois BarksdalesStory: Many Roles with Godas her Guide


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troduction to Christianity course. Ilearned the church has a mosaic and dis-covered how all the pieces fit. I studiedGreek and the Bible, and understandmore now about its translations. UTI provides its scholars with a bridge to getfrom where they are to where they needto be in todays world. Jesus Christ reallyerases any caste system in the faith. InUTI, those of us with different faith per-spectives had the chance to interact witheach other and talk about what we believeand discover how to deal with each other.It was just awesome.

As Barksdale learned at seminary, she was also praying about finding a perma-nent home for her congregation. God re-moved some early stumbling blocks, andfive years ago Word Alive moved into a vacated church building at 801 West

Luzerne Street in Philadelphias Hunting Park section. The building was once thehome of St. Simeons Lutheran Church.The church is truly located in the statescrime capital, she said. A park down thestreet is known as a haven for prostitu-tion. Two summers ago she confrontedthe neighborhood drug lord and askedhim to stop selling drugs next to thechurch. The two began to hold conversa-tions, and she worked to bring the churchinto the young mans life. I really believehe was headed here when he was shot todeath outside the door, she said. She is part of a police clergy organization thatholds prayer on neighborhood street cor-ners and provides telephone numbers incase neighbors feel they need to talk about what is going on in the community. Shebelievesit iswherehercongregation belongs.

In these hard times, Barksdale believeit is a new day for the church. When thheater breaks or something like thatsomeone always comes forward to helpout financially, she said. We alwaysmake the budget. But its not all aboutnumbers. We want people to come to ourchurch and truly feel the presence andlove of God without some preconceivednotion of what we stand for.

We need to think through how we dochurch today. Pentecostalism is a way to worship that is upbeat, fiery and differ-ent. Its a description that seems to suitBishop Lois Barksdale to a T. Is she thining of retiring anytime soon? She chuckled. Im an adrenaline junkie, she said wouldnt know what to do if I retired. Ialways have to be doing something for tLord.


Founded in 1847 as a Lutheran college, Carthage highly values its affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America. Our liberal arts curriculum includes coursesthat explore and celebrate religion and spirituality.Faith-oriented programs and student religious organizationsoffer students many opportunities to strengthen their faithas they discover how they can serve others in the Churchand in the world.

800-351-40

carthage.edu/mi

Inspiring Service



ALUMNI NEWS

THROUGHOUT HISSERVICETOTHECHURCH , our 2010 DistinguishedAlumnus/a, The Rev. George E. Handley56, who received his award at the 2010Spring Convocation Alumni Banquet,has been committed to parish ministry,the wider church, and to LTSP. AfterHandleys ordination in 1956 by theUnited Lutheran Synod of New York andNew England, UCLA, he served in three parishes: St. Thomas, Jamaica (Queens),New York, Christ Lutheran in York,Pennsylvania, and Grace Lutheran in Waynesboro, Virginia. Following hiseighteen years of service in the parish,Handley was chosen to be Secretary andAdministrative Assistant to the Bishop of the Virginia Synod of th

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