Epistle magazine, Winter 2014 by Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

EPISTLE LSTC

WINTER 2014

Magazine of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Living into LSTC’s kairos moment: Esther Menn, LSTC’s new dean

PRESIDENT’S LETTER Dear friends in Christ: The second parish I served was in Anchorage, and nearly all its members were Iñupiat—Alaska natives from the area north of Nome. Many were in fact Kauwerakmiut, “the people of Kauwerak,” a longabandoned village their ancestors settled thousands of years ago. Today, these folks endure a complex, corrosive bicultural existence in an unsparing urban center. But whenever our talk turned to those daily difficulties and degradations, with typical Iñupiat reserve and nuance, they would redirect the conversation to what their ancestors faced. “The elders had it really hard,” they said, reciting a litany of adversities overcome long ago. Referring to the rough terrain and rocky bluffs around Kauwerak, they told how the ancestors even carried away the boulders to clear the village site. “Those old Kauwerakmiut weren’t like us,” they quietly, reverently added. “They were giants.” I’ve been thinking about giants lately and how paltry our efforts can seem by comparison. Elsewhere in this issue, you will read about a remarkable, generous gift we received in honor of Lyn and Stewart Herman. Stewart was my predecessor in this office, LSTC’s very first president, and I imagine the complications of those early days must have been fierce. Consolidating five different seminaries, supervising the completion of the new facility, navigating the backlash of neighborhood reaction—the list makes me shudder. Yet this was only part of Stewart’s ministry. In his years before the founding of LSTC, he was a Lutheran leader of national and global stature: pastor of the American Church in Berlin at the outbreak of the Second World War, active in refugee resettlement after the war, instrumental in creating the Lutheran World Federation, the list goes on and on. Can we still form such leaders? This coming June, our annual Leadership Conference celebrates the fortieth anniversary of Concordia Seminary in Exile, later called Christ Seminary-Seminex. The conference is entitled “Fear Not: Risks, Ministry, and the Gospel” for good reason, because those events four decades ago displayed a daring and commitment well worth remembering. After a dramatic period of accusations and responses, 45 seminary faculty and hundreds of students walked off their St. Louis campus to enter an unclear, nomadic future, driven by a passion for responsible scholarship and the free course of the gospel. Many of you reading this don’t need me

to recite the details because you lived them—and the rest of you should attend the June conference to learn more! As a student and young pastor in those days, I viewed these events from afar with a respect and awe I hold even today. Can we still show such courage? James Nieman Yet our admiration and respect for these giants should not drift into heroic adoration. To do so actually dishonors them in several ways. For one, it can leave us paralyzed. Bold ministry then belongs only to glorious days gone by, which becomes a fatalistic excuse for inaction here and now. It shows no disrespect, though, to say that yesterday’s giants would be ill-equipped for today’s challenges. That’s our calling for which God is preparing us anew. For another, it can distort our forebears. The diaries of Stewart Herman show someone who, amidst remarkable events and changes, was beset by ordinary views and biases typical for his time. Family members of Seminex leaders have told me how mundane those bracing days could be, routine tasks coupled with growing fears. I suspect that even the Kauwerakmiut, in moving all those boulders, had a few aches and pains. And so, of course, will we. Most of all, it ignores what we share. As Bernard of Chartres put it nine centuries ago, we can see further because we are perched atop giants, and for this we remain thankful. But in truth they and we stand on the same plane: the promises of God known through Christ Jesus. Neither their efforts nor ours, heroic or humble, are really the point. Instead, we are held by a hope that frees us to live for our neighbor, in the world, united to Christ. To such good news we, like those ancestors, can still gladly witness—regardless our stature.

James Nieman President

FEATURES LSTC

EPISTLE

WINTER 2014 • Volume 44 • No. 1 The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, forms visionary leaders to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. Vision statement LSTC seeks to build up the body of Christ and work for a world of peace and justice that cares for the whole creation. Visit www. lstc.edu or call 1-800-635-1116 for more information about LSTC’s programs, conferences and special events. Editor Jan Boden Stewart Herman III talks with LSTC faculty Designer Ann Rezny Contributors Jan Boden Erin Koster Jane Mar Keith T. Nelson James Nieman Mark Van Scharrel LSTC Board of Directors Michael Aguirre Clarence Atwood, Secretary Gordon Braatz Michael Burk Gregory Davis Melody Beckman Eastman Kimberlee Eighmy James Fowler Jay Fulkerson Trina Glusenkamp Gould, Vice Chairperson Tom Gooding J. Arthur Gustafson Greg Kaufmann John Kiltinen Mark Klever Dale Landgren Scott Leisinger Jane Mar Harry Mueller, Treasurer Melinda Pupillo Twila Schock Gerald Schultz Sarah Stegemoeller, Chairperson Harvard Stephens Jr. Ray Tiemann Keith Wiens Jean Ziettlow The LSTC Epistle is published three times a year by the Communications and Marketing Office. Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks Change of address? Please email the Advancement Office at advancement@lstc.edu. Please give the address as it currently appears followed by your new address. Cover: LSTC’s new Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Esther Menn Photo credits: John Beck, Jan Boden, Jason Churchill, Megan Clausen, ELCA Archives, Stewart Herman III, Ashley Hochhalter, Tricia Koning, Erin Koster

3 News from LSTC

Abossolo Mvondo, a 2013-14 Danker Fellowship recipient

13 Exploring all possibilities

LSTC renames AIAN Symposium for Vine Deloria Jr.

Louis Tillman has vision, purpose and connections

LSTC receives Lilly Grant to examine pathways to lower seminarian debt

by Jan Boden

5 2014 Distinguished Alumni named by Erin Koster

7 What does a wise pastor look like? A conversation with Jane Mar

8 Living into LSTC’s kairos moment

17 Fellowships offer crucial support to graduate students Meet 2013-14 fellowship recipients

by Erin Koster

19 The three legs of the stewardship stool by Keith Nelson

Esther Menn begins tenure as dean

Departments

by Jan Boden

President’s letter inside cover

10 Innovation for the sake of the church Herman Innovation Fund provides grants for new ideas

by Jan Boden

Opportunities at LSTC

Faculty News

Class Notes

Transitions & accomplishments 28

Opportunities at LSTC Cynthia Moe-Lobeda to preach at LSTC’s 154th Commencement On Sunday, May 18, Dr. Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda, a leading voice in defining what it means to be a public church, will preach at the Eucharist and Commencement Service for LSTC. The service will be held at 2:30 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 5472 South Kimbark Avenue, Chicago. Forty-eight students will graduate from LSTC’s six degree programs. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Moe-Lobeda, whose influential scholarship on being a public church has helped LSTC dramatically reshape its curriculum” said LSTC President, James Nieman. “Beyond this, her focus on ecology, economy, and liberation strongly connect with the commitments of our seminary and faculty. We are eager for her to enrich our efforts to offer a more ample witness in today’s world to the good news of Jesus Christ.” Dr. Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda, associate professor of theology and religious studies at Seattle University, is the author of Public Church: For the Life of the World, published by Fortress Press in 2004. It provided the theological context for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s call, in its 2003 Strategic Directions, to “step forward as a public church that witnesses boldly to God’s love for all that God has created.” During 2011-2013, Dr. Moe-Lobeda was the Wismer Professor of Gender and Diversity Studies at Seattle University. She also teaches ethics in the university’s Department of Environmental Studies. A sought-after speaker, Dr. Moe-Lobeda has presented scores of lectures and keynote addresses throughout the ELCA and at other religious and scholarly gatherings. Her writing is included in numerous books and journals. She has published six books, including Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation (Fortress Press, 2013); Healing a Broken World: Globalization and God (Fortress Press, 2002); and the forthcoming The Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life: A New Conversation, with Bruce Birch, Jacqueline Lapsley, and Larry Rasmussen. Dr. Moe-Lobeda is a graduate of St. Olaf College, the University of Seattle School of Social Work, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary.

Fear Not: Risk, Ministry and the Gospel—2014 Leadership Conference and Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration What do faithful leaders do when they need to take a risk for the sake of the integrity of the gospel and their call? The 2014 LSTC Leadership Conference explores that question, using the 1974 walkout of faculty, staff, and students from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and the formation of Christ Seminary-Seminex as a starting point. “Fear Not: Risk, Ministry and the Gospel” will be held in conjunction with a Seminex 40th anniversary celebration that starts the afternoon of June 17. Former LSTC President William Lesher is the keynote speaker for the session. Dr. Lesher is active in interfaith relations, serving as chair of the Parliament of the Worlds Religions from 2004-2009. A celebration dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. The keynote speaker on June 18 is the Rev. Heidi Neumark, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. She is the author of Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx, the story of her 19 years as pastor of Transfiguration Lutheran Church. The morning of June 19 is reserved for class reunions on campus and concludes with worship in the Augustana Chapel at LSTC. Hotel accommodations are at the new Hyatt Place Chicago-South at 5225 S. Harper Ave., in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Cost per night is $159 plus city and state taxes and includes a daily hot breakfast. To reserve a room, visit http://chicagosouthuniversity.place.hyatt.com/semi.html. Use the group code G-SEMI online, or call 800-233-1234 and mention “LSTC Seminex 40th Anniversary.” Registration for Fear Not: Risk, Ministry and the Gospel is $50 for June 17 and $75 for June 18. Cost of the June 17 Seminex Celebration Dinner is $25. You may register online for either or both at http:// www.lstc.edu/events/conferences/2014-conferenceseminex/. Or email leadershipconference@lstc.edu.

News from LSTC American Indian and Alaska Native Symposium named in honor of Vine Deloria, Jr.

State College in Bellingham, Wash. He became professor of political science at the University of Arizona in 1978 and established the first master’s degree program in the United States in American Indian Studies. He was on the faculty of the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 1990 – 2000, and then returned to the University of Arizona to teach in the College of Law. “Vine’s life journey was a struggle against the politics of assimilation and a commitment to the liberation of all from the mentality and practice of colonialism,” said the Rev. Dr. Cheryl Stewart Pero, director of the Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Multicultural Center at LSTC, the sponsor of the symposium. The 2013 symposium was the fourth sponsored by the Pero Multicultural Center. It is held each November. This year it included a basket making class by Janelle Adair (Cherokee), traditional storytelling by Choogie Kingfisher (Cherokee), stick ball in the LSTC courtyard, a presentation by the Rev. Gordon Straw (Brothertown Nation), music by Native flute player Bill Buchholtz (Ojibwe) and Red Line Drum, screenings of the films Native Nations and Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience, and an Indian Taco dinner. Vance Blackfox (Cherokee), director of Youth in Mission at LSTC, produces the symposium on behalf of the Pero Multicultural Center. View photos from these events at http://lstc.smugmug.com/201314/Events/ Pero-Multicultural-Center/.

On November 14, 2013, the Annual American Indian and Alaska Symposium at LSTC was renamed in honor of the late Vine Deloria Jr. Deloria graduated from Augustana Seminary, Rock Island, Ill., a predecessor school of LSTC. Special guests Susan Power, Elder (Standing Rock Sioux); Father Peter J. Powell, St. Augustine Center for American Indians; and Kirke Kickingbird (Kiowa) were part of the renaming ceremony that was held at LSTC. “Vine Deloria Jr., was a tremendous witness and testimony to the American Indian/Alaska Native understanding of humanity. His affirmation of Grandfather/Great Spirit as the creator of all life was also an affirmation of the first article of the Christian creed,” said the Rev. Dr. Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Historian, teacher, activist and author Vine Deloria Jr. helped focus national attention on American Indian issues with his book, Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, published in 1969. He was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. He was an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. After graduating from Augustana Seminary in 1963, Vine Deloria Jr. served as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. He earned a law degree from the University of Colorado in 1970 and began teaching at Western Washington

Susan Power, Elder (Standing Rock Sioux) and the Rev. Gordon Straw (Brothertown Nation)

LSTC receives Lilly Endowment Grant to examine pathways to lower seminarian debt The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago has received a $250,000 grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. to do research on three pathways to reduce seminary student debt. The grant builds on initiatives and methods used by LSTC that led to a reduction of overall student borrowing by 15 percent during each of the past two years. LSTC’s study will explore the practices of low debt load students, identify and test approaches to financial aid counseling, and examine ways to develop stronger support by congregations for students. “The impact of debt is directly related to the size of the debt, limiting where graduates may serve, undermining their credibility to speak about stewardship, and threatening their chances for sustainable ministry. After years of working on this complicated issue and noticing a drop during the past two years in overall student loans, we feel that the three interrelated pathways in this project hold further promise for reducing student debt,” said President Nieman. “LSTC is grateful to Lilly Endowment for this generous grant to pursue a topic of widespread concern, not only for our seminary and church, but for many seminaries and denominations in the U.S.” “Pastors are indispensable spiritual leaders and guides, and the quality of pastoral leadership is critical to the health and vitality of congregations,” said Christopher L. Coble, vice president for religion at the Endowment. He added, “The Endowment hopes that these grants will support broad efforts to improve the financial circumstances facing pastoral leaders so that pastors can serve their congregations more joyfully and effectively.”

including the type and timing of the intervention to reduce borrowing, is the goal of this pathway. Kate Fitzkappes, assistant director of financial aid, says that when the government changed the way it processed loans, it led to a change in the way students decide on how much to borrow. “We saw more students using online resources and fewer who talked with us about their circumstances. This made it more challenging to partner with our students on financial wellness issues” Fitzkappes said. “As economic and ministry climates change, we must adjust and find the most effective ways to promote financial literacy as it applies to our student body. This grant will allow us to forge ahead in the right direction.”

Another important factor affecting student debt involves how support from congregations, whether for a specific student or general support of the seminary, helps reduce student borrowing. The third part of the study will examine the connections between congregations and students and the most effective ways to strengthen those relationships and the resulting financial support. The project will begin in January 2014 and conclude in December 2016 under the direction of Laura Wilhelm, executive for administration, assessment and planning. Work on all three pathways will happen simultaneously. Written resources and public forums of student-generated methods for reducing debt will be one of the outcomes of the project. Insights from the project will be shared on the seminary’s web site and in its publications.

Three pathways to lower debt About one-third of LSTC students graduate with educational debt under $15,000. Debt load case studies will be examined to compare the profile of students with a lower debt load with the practices of those with higher debt. The first pathway of this project therefore studies which factors can be controlled by students to reduce debt. The second pathway is financial aid counseling. While fewer students are taking out loans, the average debt per graduate has increased. Developing the most effective method of financial aid counselling,

LSTC announces 2014 Distinguished Alumni by Erin Koster, M.Div. middler Every year, LSTC presents Distinguished Alumni Awards to outstanding leaders in the church. This year’s leaders demonstrate community engagement, leadership in mission, vision for the future, and new theological perspectives. Recipients of the 2014 awards are the Rev. David G. Abrahamson, the Rev. Dr. Keun Soo Hong, Diaconal Minister Jessica NippHacker, the Rev. Diane Dardón, and Bishop Gerald Mansholt. The awards ceremony will take place Wednesday, June 18 at 5 p.m.

vided extraordinary pastoral care to the Northern Illinois University community after a gunman killed six people on campus in February 2008. In 2011, her ministry brought Dardón to DePaul University in Chicago, where she is involved in community service and global mission work. She and her husband, Estuardo, have worked together to spearhead the building of a school in Guatemala. They have engaged hundreds of students and others in immersion trips to Central America.

Excellence in Parish Ministry: David G. Abrahamson

Witness to the World: Keun Soo Hong (awarded posthumously)

In 1974, Pastor David G. Abrahamson was part of the first graduating class of Christ Seminary-Seminex. Since then, he has served as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Luke in Chicago, first as associate pastor and, since 1982, as senior pastor. During his 40 years there, St. Luke Church has become home to the St. David Abrahamson Luke Academy, a jazz ministry, and a Bach Cantata series. Abrahamson’s work reaches beyond his own congregation. He has been a leader in neighborhood organizations working to maintain ethnic diversity and economic opportunity in areas undergoing gentrification. He has served on numerous leadership boards, including LSTC’s alumni board, and served as alumni representative to the board of directors. As a member of the steering committee, he was instrumental in the success of LSTC’s first comprehensive campaign, Equipping the Saints for Ministry.

The Rev. Dr. Keun Soo Hong’s work has had a profound impact in both the United States and in South Korea. His life was filled with a passion for social justice and peace. Dr. Hong’s work exemplified both leadership within his own parish and transformation within the larger Korean society. After earning a Ph.D. from LSTC in 1984, Hong returned to South Korea, where he worked as a leader in the Presbyterian Church. During the political upheaval in Seoul in the 1980s, Hong was a leader in the push for democracy. His congregation, Hyangrin Presbyterian Church, acted as a center for organizing and mobilization. Hong worked ardently for peaceful reunification of North and South Korea. As a Christian leader, he opposed every kind of military action and antagonism between South and North Korea. Because of his non-violent and radical advocacy for Korean unification, he spent 18 months as a political prisoner, beginning in 1991.

Called to Lead: Gerald Mansholt

Specialized Ministry: Diane Dardón Pastoral care is where the Rev. Diane Dardón’s passion lies. She has served God in joyful as well as tragic circumstances. After her 1995 graduation from LSTC’s master of divinity program, she served at two Iowa congregations before becoming campus pastor at the University of Northern Iowa and then the Northern Illinois University. Dardón pro-

Gerald Mansholt

The Rev. Dr. Gerald Mansholt graduated in the first class of Christ Seminary-Seminex in 1974. He also earned a doctor of ministry degree from LSTC in 1989. His first call was to a tentmaker ministry in Oklahoma, where he was a bulldozer operator in addition to his congregational responsibilities. He served congregations in Missouri

and Kansas, before he was elected bishop of the Central States Synod in 2001. As bishop, he provided leadership on the local, synodical, and national level in Lutheran and ecumenical organizations. Mansholt has served on organizational boards, including the LSTC Board of Directors and the Board of Bethany College. Mansholt is known for bringing a “pastor’s heart and a pastor’s spirit” to even the most difficult situations he faced during his 12 years as bishop: the arrest of the BTK Killer, who was a council member at one of his synod’s congregations; the murder of Dr. George Tiller in the narthex of a Wichita congregation on a Sunday morning; and responding to a lethal tornado that struck Joplin, Mo.

then joined the LSTC Advancement staff. She currently is coordinator of the ELCA Malaria Campaign. Nipp-Hacker is known for her ability to draw out positive qualities from others. Bishop Steven Ullestad of the Northeast Iowa Synod, one of her nominators, said, “Jessica has provided remarkable leadership for the ELCA Malaria Campaign. She is a visionary leader who encourages and supports the people that she serves.”

Faithful Servant: James Thomas The Rev. Dr. James Thomas has devoted many years to teaching future leaders of the church. He is currently the North Carolina Lutheran Men in Mission Professor of Bible and Mission at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary at Lenoir-Rhyne University. He also serves there as director of African American Ministries. In addition to earning his master of divinity from Christ Seminary-Seminex, he holds degrees from Concordia College, Union Theological Seminary, the University of Minnesota, the City University of New York, and Bank Street College of Education. Thomas is a reservist for the Christian Peacemaker Teams, on the Israel/Palestine Team. Previously, he served as a pastor at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Bronx, N.Y., as well as assistant to the bishop of the Minneapolis Area Synod. He was also a reserve Air Force Chaplain for 28 years, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has taught at Luther Seminary, Augsburg College, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and the Luther Program at General Seminary.

Emerging Voice: Jessica Nipp-Hacker Raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, Jessica Nipp-Hacker began to feel a call to Lutheran ministry during her time at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Her involvement with campus ministry led her to enroll at LSTC, where she completed her master of divinity degree in 2002. She was consecrated that year as a diaconal minister of the Jessica Nipp-Hacker ELCA and has been a leader for the church both nationally and internationally, ever since. Nipp-Hacker served as program director for the ELCA’s Wittenberg Center in Germany, and

What does a wise pastor (rostered leader) look like? A conversation with the Rev. Jane Mar When I think of wise pastors, I think of people who are sensitive to their relationship with others. Ministry is about relationships and is becoming more so. Wise pastors know themselves and where they need support. I don’t think of wisdom as an accumulation of knowledge, but being able to tap the resources that one needs. The old role of the pastor was as the person with the answers. That’s changed—a wise pastor is one who can find the answers, but doesn’t need to have all the answers. A pastor’s gifts can supplement the gifts that are already present in the congregation to help the members more fully live out their faith every day. The relationship piece can’t be emphasized enough.

crucial moments. We may not know what to say or do in a challenging or difficult moment, but if we are open, then God is fully present through us. There are many moments in ministry we can’t prepare ourselves for. We can learn all the lessons in seminary, do the internship and learn the practical skills, but that still will not prepare us for all of the difficult moments we will encounter. At those moments, the Holy Spirit gives us what we need. Wherever we go, God is there, with us. Wisdom allows us to open ourselves to that, again and again. It also gives us a sense of humility, knowing that it is God who works through us. We’re currently in the assignment process for first-call candidates. I hope I will find candidates who will see God at work in their midst, wherever they will be. The congregations they go to are eager, excited, and ready to love them. I hope that they will love their congregations in return and form good partnerships with the people there. And as I do my work, matching congregations and first call candidates, I pray of over them and trust God in this process.

Partnering for more effective ministry In the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Mission Area, we’re partnering in ministry more and more. We constantly ask “What can we do better together?” We’re finding ways to do that. It means being honest and transparent about the joys and challenges in ministry. Those partnerships may be with other ELCA congregations and clergy, or ecumenical partnerships. We have to maximize our network. The Lutheran church is not well-known in Texas. Several years ago, the congregation I was serving participated in a parade. The people who participated wore T-shirts with the church’s name on it and were asked by some of the spectators, “What’s a Lutheran?” We have plenty of work to do here helping people understand Lutheran identity. We proclaim a theology of grace in a “black and white” world—letting people know that God walks with us through all the gray areas.

Where do you find wisdom? In the words of Scripture, in hymns that filter through my mind each day as I do my work, and in the relationships with colleagues. Ministry isn’t always easy and it is good to have colleagues who support one another. I turn to the Word—that’s where I get grounded. The Rev. Jane Mar, a member of the LSTC Board of Directors, is the Bishop’s Assistant for Lifelong Leadership Formation for the Northern Texas–Northern Louisiana Mission Area of the ELCA. She received the M.Div. degree from Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Okla. She completed her Lutheran studies at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest (LSPS) before serving congregations in Arkansas and Texas.

Wisdom allows God to work through us Our wisdom begins with God—recognizing our relationship with God. In serving as pastors, we are the presence of Christ. We speak the words of Christ at

Living into LSTC’s kairos moment Esther Menn begins tenure as Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs by Jan Boden Picture a cat—the Cat in the Hat—balancing books and a rake, a dish and fish, and a dog and some milk; a teacup on top of his hat. Esther Menn could challenge the Cat in the Hat in this game of equilibrium. Menn is practiced in the art of calmly and good-naturedly keeping competing demands and concerns in balance. It’s a skill that will serve her well as she begins her tenure as Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at LSTC. How did she learn this skill? For the last seven years Menn, the Ralph W. and Marilyn R. Klein Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, has split her time between the classroom and directing LSTC’s master of theology and doctoral programs. Menn also balances her professional life with the demands of being a mom to three grade-school-age children (and a fourth child who is in college). She is able to hear the deep concerns of both sides as a participant in interfaith dialogue, primarily between Lutherans and Jews, but also between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

to the position and on January 1 she began her first five-year term. “Because the academic mission of LSTC is central to our identity, it needs the strong leadership Dr. Menn has already shown as a skillful teacher, fine scholar, and educational visionary,” said President Nieman. “Esther is respected and trusted by her faculty colleagues, and can build on the solid practices in the Academic Dean’s office left in place by her predecessor, Michael Shelley, for whose tenure we are also grateful. Supported by an excellent staff, she will bring fresh, creative thinking

Respected and trusted by colleagues Thirteen years ago, when Esther Menn joined LSTC’s faculty, she didn’t imagine that one day she would be the Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs. But, guided by her interests and values, Esther Menn assisting students in Hebrew class she is open to serving when presented with an opportunity. Nominated by another facto bear on our curricula, pedagogy, research, and ulty member, she said yes when President Nieman structures. I am eager for her to lead us in all these asked her to consider becoming Academic Dean. In areas during the years ahead.” May 2013, the LSTC Board of Directors elected her

Roots in academe

Instead, she studied Old Testament/Hebrew Bible with Jewish professors at the Divinity School, including Jon D. Levenson and Michael Fishbane. Walter Michel and Wesley Fuerst were her professors at LSTC. She learned Arabic during summer programs at Middlebury College Language School and the University of Chicago. Menn is still grateful for the scholarships she received at LSTC. But she also has a long list of places she worked to make ends meet when she was a student, including the JKM Library, the Museum of Science and Industry, Augustana Lutheran Church, and the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

Academia is a familiar world for Menn. Her father, Dr. Joe K. Menn, served as president of Texas Lutheran College (now Texas Lutheran University) in Seguin from 1970 until his death in 1976. “My dad went to what is now Trinity Lutheran Seminary, but he wasn’t ordained. I was born the year he was on internship,” Menn says. Menn’s father earned a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Texas at Austin. He taught at Texas Lutheran College and then at Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D., before being called back to Texas Lutheran to serve as academic dean in 1968. At the time he became president, enrollment was down and the college was struggling financially. “My father’s goal was to get enrollment above 1,000. He also started a number of building projects. He and my mother were a great fundraising team,” Menn recalls. “They planted hundreds of oak trees on campus. When I visit there, the trees and the buildings are a wonderful legacy to see.” But Menn didn’t plan to follow in her father’s footsteps. “I didn’t know what I wanted to study when I went to Luther College. I majored in art; took a lot of classes in geology, ecology, and botany to explore beautiful northeastern Iowa. I played the bassoon in the college orchestra. It was a good liberal arts education,” she says.

Return to LSTC and Hyde Park As she completed her coursework and field exams at the University of Chicago, Menn landed a job as an instructor at California Lutheran College. She returned to Chicago two years later, taught Biblical Hebrew at the Divinity School and received her Ph.D. in 1995. She joined the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, and several years later became the first person in many years to receive tenure. But soon after that, she and Tammen decided to return to the Midwest—at the same time LSTC was searching for a professor of Old Testament. “Bruce and I liked the idea of being back in Hyde Park,” Menn says. After returning, Tammen went on to found two choirs, Chicago Chorale and the Chicago Men’s A Capella. During the last13 years, Menn has helped the LSTC community live out some of its deepest values. She has been part of interfaith events, including organizing an annual Kristallnacht Observance that now includes local residents who survived the Holocaust. Menn and Professor of New Testament Barbara Rossing have led tours to the Holy Land to explore the land of the Bible and to shed light on ancient scripture, present-day tensions, and opportunities for reconciliation. She and her family are active members of the LSTC community—especially at student-led events. As she begins to balance the demands and concerns of her new role as Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Esther Menn is excited about what she sees happening at LSTC. She says, “It feels like a kairos moment in LSTC’s history. I sense that LSTC is living ever more fully into its identity as an inclusive and dynamic center of theological education for the ELCA and for all God’s people.”

Following a passion for Hebrew and Arabic Menn’s passion for Hebrew began with a college course taught by Richard Simon Hanson. Her passion for interfaith studies developed when she lived in Israel the year after she graduated from college. “I went on an archeological dig sponsored by Duke University and decided to stay in Israel. I lived on a kibbutz, and then with a Muslim family for several months,” she says. She is still in touch with the family and sees them when she leads tours to the Holy Land. Unsure of what to do when she returned to the U.S., Menn bought a bus ticket to Chicago to visit Bruce Tammen, a college friend with whom she had been corresponding. “Bruce always told me that I should go to the University of Chicago. He had studied there, supported by a job in LSTC’s archives.” She and Tammen married in 1982. Soon after she arrived in Chicago, Menn began her studies as a special student at LSTC and at the University of Chicago Divinity School. “I wanted to do interfaith studies, but no formal program existed at the time,” she says. “I would have had to create it myself.”

Innovation for the sake of the church Herman Fund for Innovation in Theological Education provides grants to try new ideas by Jan Boden Stewart W. Herman III is someone who knows about innovation and investment. His efforts to encourage sustainability research and to reduce the carbon footprint of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., require both. Dr. Herman, an associate professor of religion at Concordia, is also dedicated to the future of the church and to helping its future leaders meet the challenges they will encounter. He has made a $500,000 gift to LSTC to establish The Lyn C. and Stewart W. Herman Jr. Fund for Innovation in Theological Education to help LSTC students meet that future. “I expect that many LSTC graduates will find themselves stretched to respond to calls they had not imagined while in college, seminary, or their first careers. A seminary education, therefore, needs to offer experiences that prepare students for an unknowable future,” Herman says. Most colleges and universities lack funding to try out new ideas. “There’s just never as much money as you’d like to work on the making the

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academic program more innovative,” he says. That is why he has made this visionary gift in memory of his parents to establish the Herman Fund for Innovation in Theological Education at LSTC. This steady source of funding will allow faculty—and students—to try out new ideas that will prepare students to meet the challenges of serving in a changing church and world. The gift was made possible through the sale of the family home on eastern Long Island after Lyn Herman’s death. “What I received as a gift, I feel obliged to pass on as a gift,” Herman says. “It is fitting that the proceeds derived from the sale of their house be used to further my father’s vision for LSTC.”

Father’s life and vision an inspiration Dr. Herman’s father, Stewart Herman Jr., was LSTC’s first president. He assumed his duties on January 1, 1964, and was formally installed the following May. The Rev. Dr. Stewart Herman Jr. led the seminary through its formative first seven years. He raised money for the new building, guided the process of merging five faculties and student bodies into one school, and established the vision for LSTC. His life and ministry were the major source of inspiration for establishing The Herman Fund for Innovation in Theological Education. “My father had a cosmopolitan global vision of Lutheran higher education. He was deeply involved in the growth of the Lutheran church in Latin America, and had an interest in Asia and Africa as well,” says Stewart Herman III. “He shaped LSTC to be a dynamic, forward-looking presence of the church in the city. He encouraged faculty and students to look out through the thin glass walls that

Stewart Herman III shares memories of his father, LSTC’s first president, at the LSTC 50th Anniversary Celebration in May 2013.

Lyn C. and Stewart W. Herman Jr. When Stewart Herman III talks about their embassies closed. This work led his parents, it is clear that both his to the relief work he did after World father and his mother were extraorWar II. dinary individuals who shaped the Stewart Herman was among the Lutheran School of Theology at first civilians to return to Germany Chicago. after V-E Day, as he worked to revive He says that Ethelyn “Lyn” the churches there. He worked with Cantrell had “an adventurous spirit.” the World Council of Churches, the She grew up in a small town in United Nations and other agenGeorgia and was learning to be an cies to help more than 100,000 aeronautical engineer at Cornell displaced persons resettle to Latin University in New York when she America and elsewhere. met the man who would become Lyn accompanied Stewart upon her husband. his return to Europe in 1945 and In 1943, Stewart Herman Jr. was they settled in Geneva, Switzerland. on a preaching tour that took him Their son says, “It was a very difStewart W. Herman Jr. and Lyn C. Herman to Cornell. Lyn was in the audience, ficult time to be there. There wasn’t and Stewart frequently quipped much food and there was no heat in that, as he was walking up the aisle after delivering his their home for the first year they lived in Geneva.” All sermon, Lyn tripped him. She always denied the story, of their four children were born during the seven years but their children, knowing her independent spirit, they spent in Geneva. always assumed it had a grain of truth. The couple was married in 1945, a month before V-E Day. The Hermans at LSTC When Stewart Herman Jr. was elected president of LSTC in 1963, he came to the city on his own. Lyn Service in Europe before and after and the children joined him in 1964. “She became a World War II kind of hostess at LSTC, making social and aesthetic From 1934 until 1942, Herman was in Germany, first improvements to the bare-bones building. Faculty as a student in Strasbourg, and then as the pastor members (all male) adored her. They appreciated Lyn’s of the American Church in Berlin. In 1939, the U.S. cheerful presence on campus,” Herman says. State Department drafted him to join the Foreign After guiding LSTC through its first seven years, the Representation Section of the American Embassy staff Hermans retired to Shelter Island, N.Y., in 1971. in Berlin. He worked with the International Red Cross to organize inspection and relief tours of German Go to http://www.lstc.edu/lifelong-learners/resources/ to concentration camps, to arrange for communication read articles by Dr. James Scherer and Dr. Philip Hefner between allied prisoners and their home countries, and about Stewart Herman Jr. to assist foreign nationals stranded in Germany after

separated the school from Hyde Park, and envision how new forms of ministry might develop.”

and projects which otherwise would not be possible,” Herman says. This is a rare and unusual gift. “Dr. Herman is providing the resources for faculty members to design new approaches to instruction attentive to issues that are only still unfolding,” President Nieman says. “The creation of the Fund comes at an opportune moment, just as our faculty is redesigning the curriculum to form leaders better able to foster a ‘public church’ deeply engaged with our wider cultural context and its emerging ministry needs.”

Encouraging new ideas and new ways of learning As he worked with President Nieman on an appropriate way to honor both of his parents, Herman struck upon the idea of a fund that would allow LSTC faculty and students to experiment with new ideas and new ways of learning the enduring commitments and skills of pastoral ministry. “Faculty may propose projects. Students may propose projects. It is my hope that students and faculty will be inspired by a steady stream of significant funding to come up with ambitious new ideas

Herman’s prophetic witness at LSTC Stewart Herman’s interest in ethics brought him back to LSTC, thanks to a conversation he had with

Joseph Sittler. “I had already decided upon graduate study by the time I had an encounter with Joe Sittler in 1978 at a Lutheran conference in Wisconsin on nuclear power,” he says. “We had a long conversation and that persuaded me to choose religious ethics. So then I thought that I should go back to the beginning and go to seminary.” Herman fondly recalls the LSTC faculty he studied with in the 1980s. They encouraged him to “explore exegetical, theological and historical horizons, often with an emphasis on the prophetic side of Christianity.” He and a number of other students put into practice what they were learning. They mounted a two-year campaign to witness against South African apartheid, asking LSTC’s Board of Directors to move the seminary’s money out of a large downtown Chicago bank with holdings in South Africa to a smaller bank that invested in the local community. Stewart and other students built and lived in a shack in the LSTC courtyard to bring attention to the

conditions of South African Blacks under apartheid. “Some of LSTC’s African graduate students showed their support for what we were doing by staying with us while we built the shack. The campaign attracted support from the faculty, the administration, and ultimately a decision by the LSTC board to move seminary accounts to the local bank,” Herman recalls. According to Herman, the experience provided students a lesson about both the possibilities and limits of witness to an institution. “That was a most valuable lesson for me in thinking about how the church, as a fallible institution, can nudge the society towards justice. The experience gave me respect for those pastors and lay leaders who care enough to invest themselves in leadership with and for the vulnerable,” he says. “So I hope the Herman Fund for Innovation in Theological Education will inspire students and faculty to try out bold ideas—not only prophetic ministry, of course, but any kind of enrichment of seminary education, both inside and outside the walls.”

The shack that Stewart Herman III and other students built and lived in to urge LSTC’s board to move money out of a bank that invested in South Africa

Exploring all possibilities Louis Tillman has vision, purpose, connections and is discerning his call by Jan Boden “Why are there not a lot of people who look like me [in the ELCA]?”

Although he is a first-year master of divinity student, Louis Tillman already has the schedule of a CEO. In addition to taking classes full-time, Tillman works part-time, is involved in coaching and mentoring, and serves on several boards. In October 2013, Tillman was a delegate for the 3rd People’s Forum in Jeju Island South Korea and attended the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) meeting right after that, in Japan. He is a WSCF-NA board member, representing the ELCA. Tillman clearly knows how to connect with people. As we chat at a table overlooking the LSTC courtyard, everyone who passes the window or walks past our table exchanges warm greetings with Tillman. Still, he says that he doesn’t know what people mean when they tell him “you have the call.”

Louis Tillman is a first-generation Lutheran who was born in Savannah, Ga., and grew up in Atlanta. “My parents wanted their children to get good educations and to be connected to the church. They did research before we were born and decided that we would be baptized in the ELCA,” he says. They joined St. John’s Lutheran Church in Atlanta. Tillman admits that he wasn’t a very active member of the congregation and thought he was “done with church” after he was confirmed. But, when he was 15 years old, his older sister, who is now a student at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (and one of the first high school students to participate in LSTC’s Youth in Mission program), got him to volunteer at the ELCA’s Youth Gathering in Atlanta. It was a life-changing event for Tillman, but not in the same way it may have been for others who attended. “It really opened my eyes. I was shocked by the demographics,” Tillman says. “I wondered, ‘Why are there not a lot of people who look like me?’”

Eyes opened to possibilities Instead of walking away from the ELCA, Tillman got more involved. He went to his synod’s Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) gathering and was concerned that, of the 35 youth who attended, there were only two persons of color. “I got elected to the LYO board and that introduced me to a whole new reality in the church—working with the synod office, being a voting member at the synod assembly, being elected to synod boards. The more questions I had, the more I got asked to do,” he says. Tillman also got involved in the ELCA’s African Descent Lutheran Association. It has provided him with a wealth of mentors. He would like to see more seminarians of African Descent and is coaching young black men in the 18- to 34-year-old age range as a way to realize that vision. The summer of 2009 was a big one for Tillman. He attended the ELCA Region 9 Bishop’s School, Louis Tillman

a weeklong program for high school seniors held at Lutheran Southern Seminary. Led by seminary faculty, pastors, and other rostered leaders, it is an immersion in the basic theological tenets of the Christian faith. It is designed to “recognize, encourage, equip, enlighten, and inspire Lutheran youth.” It did just that for Tillman. “It was a stepping stone before I went to Carthage [College]. It opened my eyes to the possibility of [ordained] ministry. I thought, ‘I could see myself doing this.’” That summer he also was a voting member at the ELCA’s Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis.

Bullock, executive for administration in the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop; Wayne Miller, bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod; Yehiel Curry, pastor of Shekinah Chapel in Chicago; and Maxine Washington, interim pastor of Holy Family Lutheran Church in Chicago. “These are people who have been excelling in God’s ministry for a long time.”

“I am a servant, not a savior” With all of the competing demands of school, work, and continuing involvement in the church, Tillman’s number one goal is to stay stress-free. “I rely on good mentors—both pastors and lay members of the church—to do this. These are people who help me stay focused on and achieve my goals. “There has to be a purpose in our lives. A lot of guys I went to school with didn’t graduate from high school. Some are incarcerated now. I thank Christ for the opportunities I’ve had. This is the reason why I left Atlanta for Carthage rather than attending an historically black college: I was able to accept that I am not part of the majority culture. The U.S., as a whole, does not look like me. I can’t let that discourage me. I see other black pastors who have come through LSTC, other students of color. We talk with one another. There’s a mutual benefit to our conversation.” While Tillman has some ideas about what type of ministry he would like to do, he wants to explore all possibilities. “Where do I really see my call? My mind could change at any moment. I want to absorb everything here—be very open—with students, with professors, with the curriculum.” “I am a servant and not a savior. I see myself as a coach and mentor to those who are classified as an underdog. I specifically make it my duty and goal to reach out to those who have great potential and leadership qualities, but are voiceless in many different environments. I love to identify the various skill sets in these individuals and am more than willing to take them under my wing so I can help in developing them as leaders in our church. I believe that they are the ones who will soon be taking the reins and reforming the church in many new and innovative ways. “

Sees need for churches to have better business sense Louis Tillman is a Bridges Scholar, the fifth since the award was established. The Bridges Scholarship is a partnership between Carthage College and LSTC to provide full-tuition scholarships for persons of color who have gifts for ministry and plan to attend seminary. Before he started at Carthage, Tillman, his mother, and father visited LSTC. He says, now, “I felt LSTC wanted me to come here—I didn’t get the same sense from some of the other seminaries I visited.” Instead of studying religion at Carthage, Tillman chose to double major in business administration and public relations. He wants to use his knowledge in those areas in church settings. “God has allowed me to experience a lot of things going on with churches where people didn’t have business sense. We need to learn from our mistakes,” he says. Tillman is hoping to earn a dual degree while at LSTC—a master of divinity and a master’s in business administration through Valparaiso University’s program based here. Having worked with the ELCA’s ethnic-specific ministries, Tillman is also interested in racial justice ministry. He sees that there is a lot of education that needs to be done among the ELCA’s overwhelmingly European-descent membership. “My biggest fear is having to constantly educate people of the dominant culture of this church.” He is pleased to be at a school that so many people he admires attended including: Linda Norman, treasurer of the ELCA; Booker Vance, pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Chicago; Wyvetta

Fellowships offer crucial support to graduate students Introducing some of the 2013-14 fellows by Erin Koster, M.Div. middler Compared to graduate schools and divinity schools, LSTC’s fellowships are modest, but they provide crucial financial and moral support to dozens of students. Graduate study requires intense and extensive work made easier with the support of a fellowship. Here are the stories of three students who will graduate in May and what the fellowships they received have meant to them.

continue studying money metaphors throughout the New Testament. During her time at LSTC, Illian has felt affirmed in her call as a recipient of the Robert Marshall Graduate Fellowship. As someone with an ambitious academic workload, she admits, “You can do it out of love, but you can’t do it for free. It is a real encouragement to all of us to see a body in the larger church backing us in this effort and saying, ‘we also believe in what you’re trying to do.’” The last eight years have pushed Illian both intellectually and personally. She appreciates the dedication of the faculty, as well as the opportunity to work alongside international students. She says that it’s these experiences that have made her time at LSTC special: “There is always some interesting conversation happening that forces me to think in new ways, to consider other points of view that I haven’t encountered before. I am constantly being challenged in ways that have influenced both my scholarship and my personal life. And that’s no exaggeration. That’s just how it is.”

Bridget Illian—Robert Marshall Graduate Fellowship For Ph.D. student Bridget Illian, teaching and doing research is her way of answering God’s call to serve the church. After working in education administration, she moved on to pursuing her Ph.D. in Biblical studies. “I was totally fascinated with the Bible… and needed for myself and other people to get to the bottom of that—full-time, as it turns out,” she said. Almost eight years after first coming to LSTC, she will be graduating with her Ph.D. this spring. Her dissertation explores Bridget Illian the Gospel of Matthew. “Matthew uses the language of loan and debts, payment and repayment and owing people, not necessarily to describe actual money but as a metaphor for the moral life,” she says. Illian hopes to continue her academic work in a college or seminary setting as an instructor. She had a chance to experience that at LSTC when she taught introductory Greek last year. “It was an absolute kick, and I hope the students felt the same way,” Illian says. As a professor, she aspires also to

Yahu Vinayaraj—William J. and Elizabeth M. Danker Fellowship Theology is not just an intellectual exercise to Yahu Vinayaraj. As he nears the completion of his Ph.D. at LSTC, he sees it as a tool for meaningful global ministry. Vinayaraj is already a pastor in the Mar Thoma Church in India, where he will return when he completes his studies. His passion lies with those who are in need. “There are certain groups

Yahu Vinayaraj

of people who are being excluded from the mainstream, from the resources. They are being silenced. They are being unattended. Theology’s crucial role is to attend the issues of the silenced,” he says. That is why his dissertation focuses on God as being close to human suffering. In his writing, he contrasts European theology, which depicts God as “the Holy Other” and Indian Dalit theology, which views redemption as it is experienced through the political process of becoming and belonging. He believes that being at LSTC has encouraged him to explore these ideas. Vinayaraj is a recipient of the William J. and Elizabeth M. Danker Fellowship. As an international student, other avenues of financial assistance for his work are limited. “We don’t have any other financial support, so this support allows us to survive here. I’m grateful to the sponsors of this award,” he says. After he graduates in May, Vinayaraj will return to India with his wife and two sons. His bishop, Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan, has a close relationship with LSTC and is invited to assist in Vinayaraj’s hooding ceremony at graduation in May. After that, Vinayaraj likely will not be able to return to the United States, but his studies at LSTC have helped prepare him for the work that is ahead. He credits the faculty and especially his academic advisor, Dr. Vítor Westhelle, with his development. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to come here to this country, especially to Chicago. This is the one place I’m going to miss. In India, we don’t have this kind of possibility—academic possibilities and interactions. And so I’ll be missing this academic kingdom,” he says.

she’s describes as “always a dream.” English earned her M.Div. at Luther Seminary in 2001, but the desire to learn didn’t end with graduation. Her interests weren’t a match with a D.Min. program, so she talked with Ralph Klein, Christ Seminary- Jennifer English Seminex Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, who is a member of her congregation. He suggested she earn the Th.M. instead. Three and a half years later, she has made it happen. “I just didn’t know how to go about [further study] in a way that made sense for a full-time pastor. So it’s been a wonderful opportunity for me,” she says. Earning her Th.M. has helped English meet her goals. Besides the personal desire for knowledge, she has already started writing Bible studies for congregational use. Receiving the Luther and Ruth Sappenfield Fellowship has contributed to her ability to share God’s word with others in new ways. “Even though I am a full-time employee and have a source of income, there’s an internal dialogue that says, ‘if I’m not getting this degree to get a different job or merit pay, does it make financial sense for me to be doing this?’ It was lovely to have that piece taken out,” she says. English has no plans for further graduate degrees, but she intends to keep learning. She has privileges at the JKM Library that she will maintain as she continues to work as a pastor. Though she will soon have completed her degree, she will remember the interactions she has had throughout her program. “I’ve really appreciated the diversity of voices around the table in the classes…It’s a very rich gift LSTC has.”

Jennifer English—Luther and Ruth Sappenfield Fellowship Life is busy for Jennifer English. She is a full-time pastor at Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago, the church’s only full-time staff member. At the end of this spring, she’ll also have earned her Th.M. in Old Testament studies at LSTC. With the support of her congregation, she has taken classes one at a time, as a fulfillment of something

2013-14 Fellowship recipients Ralph W. Klein Ph.D. Fellowship in Biblical Studies

Twenty-seven doctoral and master of theology students received LSTC fellowships for the 2013-14 academic year. The fellowship awards range from $500 to $6,000, for a total of $102,700 given to students. Some students receive support from other sources— churches, denominations, or other agencies and organizations. Most students are also employed or take out student loans to fund their studies.

Designated for a doctoral student in Biblical Studies (especially Old Testament) Mary Tororeiy

Visionary Leaders Advanced Studies Presidential Seo Young Lee Mary Tororeiy Jeffrey Fitzkappes

Robert Marshall Graduate Fellowship Designated for North American doctoral students Adam Braun Bridget Illian

Servant Lydia Hernández-Marcial

William J. and Elizabeth M. Danker Fellowship

Visionary Leaders Hope Fellowship Prince Rajamony

Designated for international doctoral students, especially those studying World Christianity and Mission Chingboi Guite Ju Young Kim Eun Ae Lee Abossolo Mvondo Yahu Vinayaraj

Luther and Ruth Sappenfield Fellowship 50% for parish ministry in U.S. or mission worldwide, 50% for continuing education for parish pastors Jennifer English Richard Frontjes Kyung Taek Hong Stephanie Jaeger Jeffrey Schlesinger Emmanuel Penumaka Jonathan Wilson Chakravarthy Zadda

Eleanor and Arnold Scherer Fellowship Designated for international students, especially those studying World Christianity and Mission Yoseob Song

Kathryn Sehy Endowed Fellowship Designated for a doctoral student in interfaith studies Ayse Arslan

Fuerbringer Biblical Studies Fellowship In honor of Alfred Fuerbinger, President of Concordia Seminary before Tietjen Curtis Johnson Eun Ae Lee (left), recipient of a Danker Fellowship with Mary Tororeiy, recipient of the Klein and Visionary Leaders Fellowships

Emmanuel Maywood Advanced Studies

Chingboi Guite, recipient of a Danker Fellowship and International Women’s Scholarship, with her husband, LSTC graduate student Ashley Phaipi

Curtis Johnson

Baptist Doctoral Fellowship

International Women’s Scholarship

Chakravarthy Zadda

Designated for international women doctoral students Chingboi Guite

Esperanza de Santa Maria Fellowship Una Stroda

E. Theodore and Mercia B. Bachmann Fellowship

Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement Fellowship

Designated for doctoral students Matthew Frost Na Young Ha Jeffrey Meyers

Ayse Arslan Tanveer Azmat

T.H. and Ruth Rossing Scholarship Si Khaw

LSTC/ELCA Global Mission Partnership Fellowship Masresha Chufa Sanchita Kisku Ayalew Mengesha

ELCA Global Mission Support Jonathan Pimentel-Chacón Chakravarthy Zadda Chakravarthy Zadda, recipient of the Baptist Doctoral Fellowship and ELCA Global Mission Support, with his wife, Chosen Glory

Si Khaw—Rossing Fellowship and the ELCA Global Mission/LSTC Partnership Fellowship by Erin Schmidtke, M.Div. middler This academic year brings a lot of change to Th.M. student Si Khaw’s life. This is his first year in the United States, and his first year at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He comes from Myanmar, where ethnic minorities such as he are oppressed by the Burmese Buddhist majority. “We have [had] a political crisis for nearly a half century, nearly 50 years, so all our systems and our economics are under the poverty lines. And still, the people have hope and trust in God, since we are Christians,” Khaw said. That’s why he has come to LSTC to study. As a member of the Mara Evangelical Church in Myanmar, he plans to develop a theology that builds on the perspective of his ethnic group. He already has experience Si Khaw in the field. Because political upheaval shut down places of education in Myanmar, Khaw wasn’t able to earn his M.Div. in his home country. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Myanmar, he traveled to India to study for his M.Div., known there as a B.Div. He also earned his M.Th. there. Khaw later returned to serve as a pastor in Myanmar. Now, Khaw continues his courses at LSTC to pass the Th.M. qualifying exam in the United States. After he completes his program, he hopes to continue his studies as a Ph.D. student. Ultimately, Khaw will return home to teach at Lorrain Theological College. His wife is also a pastor in Myanmar and is waiting for him there with their children. Khaw is able to study at LSTC as a recipient of the T. H. and Ruth Rossing Scholarship, which is given annually to one post-M.Div. international student from an ELCA companion church. Khaw has also earned the ELCA Global Mission/LSTC Partnership Fellowship, which is jointly funded by the two institutions. “I have to say thank you to my sponsors—a big thank you to them. Because what they did is really a justice to us and a great blessing for our church, too,” he said.

The three legs of the stewardship stool by Keith T. Nelson, (1970, M.Div.), major and planned gifts, Office for Advancement give an income stream to their heirs. They had no federal estate tax concerns, but what were concerned about the income tax liabilities on their retirement plan assets. Ken and Louise decided to give their gifts to people and charities using percentages (giving between 1% and 100%) in their new will and on the beneficiary forms of their life insurance policies and retirement accounts. Why? Because the amounts designated to go to LSTC or other charities from a traditional IRA, 403(b) or 401(k) accounts are free of income tax. Income taxes are due when you or other people receive the proceeds from such accounts. However, these taxes can be minimized by using a Revocable Charitable Remainder Trust or a variety of other approaches. Through their wise stewardship and planning, Ken and Louise know that the blessings they received will be a blessing to the individuals and charities they care about. To learn more about tax-wise gifting and how to plan your “Final Stewardship,” contact: Mark Van Scharrel, vice president for advancement, at mvanscha@lstc.edu or 773-256-0676.

I met Louise and Ken a number of years ago. I had been doing Wills, Estates and Gift Planning Seminars in ELCA congregations for many years. Subsequently, I was often invited by participants and friends of LSTC and other ELCA ministries to meet with them to discuss their hopes and dreams for the distribution of their estates, and to share ideas about ways they could meet their personal, family and charitable goals. Ken and Louise had heard me say at the seminar that “an estate plan is a gifting plan.” When we die, we must give away all we have accumulated. They also heard me speak about “The Three Legs of the Stewardship Stool,” with “Final Stewardship” as the third leg. The first leg is “Regular Stewardship”—our dayin-and-day-out money management practices, our lifestyle, and our gifts as people of faith who share. It is the regular stewardship of using our gifts from God to take care of ourselves and our families; to build our estates; to set aside money for retirement; save for long-term family objectives; and give regular support to our congregation, ministries like LSTC, and other charities we care about. The second leg is “Special Stewardship.” It often requires evaluating and discussing our financial situation to determine the consequences of buying a big ticket item or giving a significant gift to a special appeal from a ministry or charity that depends upon us for support. It was the third leg of the stewardship stool, “Final Stewardship,” that Louise and Ken wanted to discuss with me. They had written a will when they were younger but their circumstances were different now. Hearing about final stewardship, they decided they wanted to be the best possible stewards of God’s gifts at the end of their lives, as they had tried to be during their lives. We talked about the options available to them to accomplish their personal, family, and charitable objectives and to put a new estate gifting plan in place. First, they wanted to provide support for their family. Second, they needed to determine how much and how best to provide that support: when to give their gifts to family— whether to give outright lump sum gifts or to

Gifts to LSTC Annual Fund matched until June 30 By Mark Van Scharrel, vice president for advancement • RENEWED – If you “got back on board” and started giving again to LSTC since June 1, 2011, your gifts will be matched again this year dollar for dollar.

Because of your continued support, LSTC has been able to increase financial aid during a time when many students, families, congregations, and synods were struggling and it has made a real difference. LSTC students, as a group, borrowed 15% less each of the last two years! Together, we can continue to help our seminary students graduate with as little debt as possible, support an outstanding faculty and staff, and care for the chapel, classrooms, and apartments which are “home” to the learning community we know as LSTC. Please remember that generous donors have extended our Annual Fund Challenge for a third year, offering to match $500,000 of new, renewed, or increased gifts to the Annual Fund received by June 30, 2014. Here’s how that works:

• INCREASED – If you’ve increased your giving the last two years, your “increase” will be matched dollar for dollar again this year. Does your gift to the Annual Fund matter? Yes! The Annual Fund Challenge has allowed LSTC to increase scholarship awards in a difficult economic environment when students and their families need additional help, and bring down our endowment spending rate at the same time. It’s easy to make a gift by using the envelope included with this issue of the LSTC Epistle, online at http://www.lstc.edu/alumni-friends/giving/ or contact the LSTC Advancement Office at 773-256-0712.

• NEW – If your first gift to LSTC was June 1, 2011 (or anytime since then), 100% of your gifts this year will be matched dollar for dollar. The 2014 callers, left to right: Clyde Walter, Francisco Hererra, Kendrick Berry, Nathan Klein, Rebecca Truland, Godson Jacob, Nathanael Pearson, David Peterson

Annual calling program connects with alumni and friends During March, you may have received a friendly call from an LSTC student. They are part of the annual calling program to connect students to alumni and friends who have given to the LSTC Annual Fund. They’re calling now to encourage the people they talk with to take advantage of the Annual Fund Challenge (see above) and have their gift matched. “We’re hoping to create the expectation among our alumni and donors of this kind of connection with students. The calling program is one way that LSTC’s Advancement Office is developing those connections,” said Jessica Houston, assistant vice president for advancement. “The students are doing a wonderful job. They have heard personal stories and shared ones of their own about what LSTC means to them.” The program is an opportunity to share news about LSTC and be brought up-to-date on what is happening in the lives of our alumni. “I can hear the students using good pastoral care skills when the alum has sad news to share. Very often they will end the call by saying, ‘Know that we are praying for you, and please keep us in your prayers,’” Houston added. If you haven’t received a call, it may be that LSTC doesn’t have your current phone number. If you would like to update your contact information, please contact Jessica Houston at jhouston@lstc.edu or 773-256-0697. Thank you to the generous alumni and donors who “answered the call,” shared their stories and made a gift to the LSTC Annual Fund. And thank you to our excellent team of callers!

Leadership Conference and Christ Seminary-Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration

June 17–19, 2014 at LSTC What do faithful leaders do when they need to take a risk for the sake of the integrity of the gospel and their call? The 2014 LSTC Leadership Conference explores that question, using the 1974 walkout of faculty, staff, and students from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and the formation of Christ Seminary-Seminex as a starting point.

Tuesday, June 17 Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration Keynote - William E. Lesher; Seminex faculty respond to keynote; Dinner speaker Bishop Robert Rimbo

Wednesday, June 18 Leadership Conference Preacher - Ralph Klein; Keynote - Heidi Neumark; LSTC alumni respond to keynote; Seminex alumni panel; Distinguished Alumni Awards

Thursday, June 19 Class Reunions For full schedule see www.lstc.edu/events/ conferences/2014-conference-seminex/ Conference Leaders William E. Lesher was president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago from 1978 until 1997. Heidi Neumark is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan. She is the author of Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx. Registration fees June 17 – Afternoon session: $50, Celebration Dinner: $25 June 18 – Fear Not – full day: $75, Distinguished Alumni Awards Reception: Free, please RSVP June 19 – Class Reunions: Free, please RSVP Register online at http://www.lstc.edu/events/conferences/2014-conference-seminex/ Accommodations Rooms are reserved at the new Hyatt Place Chicago-South/ University Medical Center 5225 South Harper Avenue, Chicago, just blocks from Lake Michigan. Daily rate: $159.00 plus taxes, with a full, hot breakfast is included. Call 800-2331234 and mention “LSTC Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration”. Reserve online at http://chicagosouthuniversity.place.hyatt.com/semi.html with the group code: G-SEMI. Reservation cut-off: Tues., May 27, 2014

FACULTY NOTES/NEWS Connect online For a full list of recent faculty activities and publications, visit www.lstc.edu/ about/faculty/sightings/ home.php. Teaching religion and science across the curriculum Terry Baeder, director of field education, and Lea Schweitz, associate professor of systematic theology/religion and science and director of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science (ZCRS), recorded a podcast at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, “Teaching Religion and Science across the Seminary Curriculum.” They talk about how LSTC faculty are doing this as a result of the John Templeton Foundation grant that ZCRS receive in late 2012 to integrate science and religion. The iTunes podcast is available at https://itunes.apple.com/ podcast/adler-night-andday/id212971304?mt=2 (episode 155). The current state of interfaith relations Mark Swanson, Harold H. Vogelaar Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies and Interfaith Relations, was part of the WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) panel discussion, “Does Interfaith Dialogue do More than Preach to the Choir?” on the Dec. 30 “Morning Shift” program. Hear what he had to say at http:// www.wbez.org/programs/ morning-shift-tony-sarabia/2013-12-30/morningshift-does-interfaith-dialogue-do-more-preach. Lessons of compost Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament, and Jim

Schaal, sustainability coordinator, contributed to a Jan. 3, 2014, online article for Religion News Service, “Congregations turn to compost for lessons on life, death and the environment,” by Adelle M. Banks. Read it at http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/03/ congregations-turn-compost-lessons-life-death-environment/.

Rossing advisor to The Lutheran magazine In November, Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament, was elected to a six-year term on the National Advisory Committee of The Lutheran magazine, by the ELCA Church Council.

at Augustana University in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria. In February 2014, he presented “Private Enemies in Biblical Law and in the Psalms of Lament” at Osnabrueck University, Institute of Evangelical Theology, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Joan Beck, Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation and Pastor to the Community, and John Beck, lecturer in pastoral care, led a two-day training on cultural competency for Eric Law’s Kaleidoscope Institute at the Minnesota Annual Conference of United Methodist Church Board of Ordained Ministry in December.

Thomas visiting scholar at CTS During her sabbatical from LSTC, Linda Thomas, professor of theology and anthropology, has been invited to be a Visiting Scholar in the Center for the Study of Black Faith and Life at Chicago Theological Seminary for the spring semester.

Presentations Klaus-Peter Adam, associate professor of Old Testament, presented “Private Enmity in Israelite Law: Perspectives on Exodus 21 and Deuteronomy 19” to the faculty of theology at the University of Rostock in Germany in November 2013. In December, he presented “Love your Neighbor! – Hating a Brother and Loving Your Neighbor According to Leviticus 19”

Joan Beck

Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament, presented “The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in Revelation” at the Fay and Alfred C. Grosse Seminar on Religion and the Literary Arts at Northway Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb. 8 for the Brite Divinity School’s Stalcup Lay School of Theology. Benjamin Stewart, Gordon A. Braatz Assistant Professor Worship and dean of the chapel, gave an invited presentation on natural burial practices to the director and board of Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in River Forest, Ill., in November. Stewart served as convener of the Ecology and

Liturgy seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 1 – 5, where he presented the paper, “Observed Spiritualities of Natural Burial,” to a joint meeting of the Spirituality and Liturgy Seminar and the Ecology and Liturgy Seminar. Stewart was the keynote speaker at the Tri-Synodical Theological Conference in Galveston, Texas, in January and gave two plenary lectures, “The Most Important Ordination: How Baptismal Identity Can Save Church Leaders from Themselves” and “Bathtub Theology: How Early Baptismal Fonts Can Expand Our Sense of God, Self, and the Cosmos.” He also led a workshop on the beach titled “Baptism and Beach.” Locally, in February, Stewart served on a panel at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chicago, on the question of electronic giving vs. physical offering plates in worship. He was part of an ELCA Churchwide Consultation on communion practices, especially examining the practice of communion before baptism. He led two adult forum sessions on “Liturgy and Ecology” at First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, Ill. Currently on sabbatical, Mark Swanson, Harold H. Vogelaar Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies and Interfaith Relations, participated in a conference co-sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation, “Creating Public Space: International ChristianMuslim Consultation on the Role of Faith in the Public Sphere,” in Münster,

FACULTY NOTES/NEWS Germany on Jan. 9-12. He gave the lecture “Spaces for Conversation: Occasions and Conditions for Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Pre-Modern Times.” While in Egypt, Swanson taught a January-term course, “Egyptian Church History in the Middle Ages: Selected Themes,” in Arabic, at the Evangelical Theological Seminary (ETSC) in Cairo. He also addressed the Scholars’ Seminar of the ETSC on the topic, “The Importance of Hagiography for Egyptian Church History.” In February, Swanson presented two lectures (in Arabic) to the monks of the Monastery of St. Macarios, “Patriarch Gabriel II ibn Turayk (1131-1145) as a Reformer” and “Common

Implications,” “Fifth Sunday after Epiphany: Pastoral Implications,” “Sixth Sunday After Epiphany: Pastoral Implications,” and “Seventh Sunday After Epiphany: Pastoral Implications.”

Wisdom: A Sermon attributed to St. Shenoute the Archimandrite.” He also preached in Arabic in chapel at the ETSC. Vítor Westhelle, professor of systematic theology, in November, preached and led an Adult Forum at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Prague, Minn., and presented “What the Church Is Called to Say about Money, Jobs and Politics,” at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn.

Ralph Klein, Christ Seminary-Seminex Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, published “The Messages of the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews,” in Where the Wild Ox Roams: Essays in Honour of Norman C. Habel, (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013).

Publications

Mark Swanson and J. Jayakiran Sebastian of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, contributed the dialogue, “Jesus the savior: How do

Joan Beck published four articles in the February/ March 2014 issue of Lectionary Homiletics, “Fourth Sunday after Epiphany: Pastoral

we witness to Christ in a world of living faiths?” to the December 2013 issue of The Lutheran magazine. Vítor Westhelle, published “Class, Sin and the Displaced” in Religion, Theology and Class: Fresh Engagement after Long Silence, Joerg Rieger ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). His chapter, “Luther in Latinamerika und Boff in Deutschland: Lutherische Theologie in Lateinamerika und ihre Anfragen an Europa,” was published in Luthers Unvollendete: Relevanz lutherischer Theologie aus europäischer und lateinamerikanischer Perspektive, Claudia Jahnel and Hans Zeller, eds. (Martin-Luther Verlag, 2013).

WE REMEMBER Mark W. Thomsen 1931 - 2014 The Rev. Mark William Thomsen, the first executive director of global mission at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and former director of LSTC’s Th.M. and Ph.D. programs, died Jan. 20 in Wautoma, Wis., following a three-month battle with cancer. He was 82 years old. Prior to his leadership role at the ELCA office, Thomsen led the global mission unit of the American Lutheran Church, which merged with the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America to form the ELCA in 1988. Thomsen is remembered for the inclusive approach he had to global mission, emphasizing the need for interfaith relationships and lifting up the gifts and expertise of people of color and language and women. Soon after his ordination in 1957, Thomsen and his wife, Mary Lou, traveled to Nigeria where they served as missionaries for 12 years. For the first year, Thomsen taught at the Secondary School in Numan and served as principal of the Lutheran Seminary in Lamurde, where he also started the first English-speaking seminary for the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria. He was the academic dean of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria in Bukuru from 1959-1966.

Upon his return to the U.S., Thomsen served on the faculty of Dana College; as pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church, Dubuque, Iowa; and on the faculty of Luther Northwestern Seminary (now Luther Seminary). Following his retirement from the ELCA office in 1996, Thomsen came to LSTC. He directed the Th.M. and Ph.D. programs from 1997 to 2006. During his final two years at the seminary, he also served as director of the Chicago Center for Global Ministries. “Mark Thomsen was a theological giant, whose consummate organizational and networking skills brought into practice a new understanding of mission within the ELCA and the global Lutheran world,” said Dr. Esther Menn, dean and vice president for academic affairs at LSTC. Mark Thomsen is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, their four children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held Feb. 15 at Hope Lutheran Church, Wautoma, Wis. LSTC Professor of New Testament Barbara Rossing paid tribute to Dr. Thomsen in her sermon at LSTC on Feb. 12. It is available as a podcast at http://www.lstc.edu/voices/ podcasts/2014-02-12-rossing.php

CLASS NOTES 1952

1970

Martin Marty (Concordia, St. Louis, M.Div.) was a guest speaker for a Celebration of Unity at St. Mary Catholic Church, Riverside, Ill., on Jan. 24, 2014, during the Week of Christian Unity.

Allan Rohlfs (M.Div.), who did not pursue ordination after graduation, has spent the last 44 years as a client-centered therapist and practitioner and teacher of Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

1953 Robert Andrew Wendelin (Concordia, St. Louis, M.Div.) celebrated 60 years of ordained ministry at a special service on Aug. 25, 2013, at North Park Church, Buffalo, N.Y., the service featured music by J.S. Bach and Dr. Paul Manz and recognition of Pastor Wendelin’s witness and service. 1966 Newell Stewart Nelson (M.Div.) and his wife, Sandi, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Dec. 28, 2013. They celebrated with family at The Biltmore in Asheville, N.C.

was the cover article for the Nov. 14, 2012, issue of The Christian Century. He has also taught NVC at Claremont School of Theology and Fuller Seminary. He is teaching NVC to the staff at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, a company that provides jobs and an escape from gangs for young men and women. 1979

Allan Rohlfs coaches workshop participants at LSTC

Since the 1990s, he has been co-teaching empathic listening skills with Dr. Kadi Billman, John H. Tietjen Professor of Pastoral Ministry Pastoral Theology and director of the Master of Divinity Program. His article, “Beyond anger and blame: How to achieve constructive conflict,”

WE REMEMBER Leander Rufus Vethanayagamony 1989 – 2013 The LSTC Community grieves the death of Leander Rufus Vethanayagamony, the son of the Rev. Dr. Peter Vethanayagamony (2000 Th.M., 2006 Ph.D.), LSTC associate professor of church history, and Serene Vethanayagamony. Rufus died in a head-on collision near Madison, Wis., on Dec. 30, 2013, when another driver swerved into his lane. A funeral was held on Jan. 4, 2014, at Alleluia! Lutheran Church in Naperville, Ill. A memorial service was held at LSTC on Jan. 25. The Vethanyagamony Family has established the Leander Rufus Vethanayagamony Endowed Scholarship Fund at LSTC in his memory. If you wish to make a gift to the fund, please make the check payable to LSTC and write “Rufus V. Fund” in the memo line. You may also make a gift online by choosing “Other” at the bottom of the gift form and adding “Rufus V. Fund” in the Gift Purpose field.

Christopher M. Miller (M.Div.) retired Dec. 31, 2013, from St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Loganville, Wis. He is running for the Wisconsin State Assembly, District 50. 1980 Ron Glusenkamp (Christ Seminary-Seminex, M.Div.), with singer-songwriter Peter Mayer, published the Advent devotion booklet Elements of Advent (Creative Communications for the Parish, 2013). Each day’s devotion was connected to a song by Mayer, available online at www.littleflockmusic.com/Advent2013. The booklet was available for download on Kindle or Nook. 1984 Wayne Miller (M.Div.), published “Response to Dr. Margot Kässmann” in Currents in Theology and Mission, (December 2013). 1990 Dan McKnight (M.Div.) completed a four-month sabbatical last year funded by the Lilly Foundation Clergy Renewal Program. Nine years after planting a federated ELCA-PCUSA congregation, Kaw Prairie Community Church,

in the Kansas City suburbs, McKnight spent two months in Europe, first in the U.K. with his oldest son, then on the continent as a whole family. They visited friends and their internship site in Frankfurt. McKnight explored Reformed church history in Geneva and Edinburgh to learn more about Kaw Prairie’s Presbyterian denominational partner, and multiple Luther and Bonhoeffer sites in Germany. With an eye to Kaw Prairie’s future, McKnight joined the 3dm Pilgrimage in Sheffield about discipleship. He met church-planters at the Freiburg and Geneva satellites of Zürich’s International Christian Fellowship. Kaw Prairie will call its first associate pastor for discipleship this year, and hopes to launch its first satellite in 2017. Benjamin Ntreh (1987, Th.M.; 1990, Ph.D.) presented “In Search of the African in African Biblical Hermeneutics” in the SBL Section on African Biblical Hermeneutics at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md., in November 2013 1994 Marilyn Olson (M.Div.) has joined the LSTC Advancement Office staff as part-time assistant to the vice president for advancement. She is on campus two days a week. See more about Olson on page 28. 1995 Monica Melanchthon (Ph.D.) participated in a panel on Preaching on the Environment in the SBL Section on Homiletics

CLASS NOTES and Biblical Studies and was part of a panel on 1 Kings 21 in SBL Seminar on Minoritized Criticism and Biblical Interpretation at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md., in November 2013. She also presided at the SBL Asian Asian-American Hermeneutics Seminar at the same meeting.

Society of Biblical Literature Section on Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible during its annual gathering held in Baltimore, Md., in November 2013. 2005

1999 Ahida Pilarski (Th.M.; 2008, Ph.D.), at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Biblical Literature in Baltimore, Md., in November 2013, was part of a panel on Migration in the meeting Section on Latino/a and Latin American Biblical Interpretation. She also was part of a panel on “Writing a Feminist Commentary” in the SBL Section on Women in the Biblical World. Christoph Schneider-Yattara (M.Div.) is now working for the Protestant Agency for Diaconia and Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2003 Robert Saler (M.Div.; 2007, Th.M.; 2011, Ph.D.) presented “Church History, Theology, and Philosophy in the RPP,” at the Society of Biblical Literature Section on Religion in the Past and Present, at the November 2013 SBL Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md. 2004 May May Latt (Th.M.; 2012, Ph.D.) presented “Does Not Sarah Also Bear the Promise?: Sarah and Zion in Isaiah 51:1-3” at the

at a Graduate Student Committee session with the theme, “Cultivating Leadership for the New Academy and Civic Engagement: Interrogating Leadership Skills, Styles, and Contexts,” presided at the AAR Graduate Student Business Meeting and New Member Welcome, and made a presentation, “Graduate Students as Contingent Faculty” to the AAR Academic Relations Committee.

Ian Burch, second from right, at his ordination.

Ian Burch was ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church on Jan. 5, 2014 and began his tenure as associate rector at St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in downtown Chicago. Burch spent nine years as a chaplain, which he describes as “fantastic ministry and formation.” He is pleased to be starting a new ministry in the parish. 2007 Elonda Clay (Th.M.), chair and student director of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Graduate Student Committee Meeting, presided at its meeting on Nov. 22, 2013, in Baltimore, Md. Clay co-presided at a combined meeting of the Graduate Student Committee, Society of Biblical Literature Student Advisory Board, and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion on the theme, “New Paradigms in Evolving Learning Contexts: Navigating Changes in Teaching Religion and Theology.” She presided

2008 Sarah Trone Garriott (M.Div.) is now associate pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Clive, Iowa. She began her service there on Dec. 9, 2013. Stoney Weiszmann (M.Div.) is now the Pastoral Care Chaplain to the Capital Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. She is providing additional pastoral care to pastors, parishioners, and community members with specific needs. She is offering counseling and “assisting people to understand life’s events as they relate to their spiritual and emotional well-being while respecting the dignity and faith tradition of each individual.” Weiszmann is also offering staff and council retreats to help sustain healthy and thriving congregations. 2009 Timothy Brown (M.Div.) contributed the reflection “We are dust – even children” to the March 2014 issue of The Lutheran magazine. He is pictured with his son, Finn. Brown is pastor of Luther Memorial Church

of Chicago. Jen (Renema) Kiefer (M.Div.) and husband, Chris, welcomed their first child, Eleanor, on April 8, 2013. In August 2013, Kiefer accepted a call to serve St. John Lutheran Church in Dundee, Mich. She was installed on Nov. 3, 2013. 2010 Barbara Kudirka (M.A.M.) was commissioned as an associate in ministry at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Ill., on Jan. 26, 2014. Dr. Ralph Klein preached and Metropolitan Chicago Synod Bishop Wayne Miller officiated during the service. Jeffrey Mikyska (M.Div.) published his first book, Breath of God: Works of the Spirit, a contemplative devotional study of our relationship with the Holy Spirit, meant for a group study or individuals. It is available through www.lulu. com, www.amazon.com, or www.barnesandnoble. com. Mikyska is currently serving Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aurora, Ill. 2012 Angela Nelson (M.Div.) was ordained on March 29, 2014 at Augsburg Lutheran Church, Toledo, Ohio. She has been called to serve at Christ Our Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Chatham, N.Y. Jonathan Pimentel-Chacón (Th.M.) presented “Le Spirale: Frankétienne and the Echoes of the Santo Domingo Revolution” at

CLASS NOTES 2013

the American Academy of Religion Section on AfroAmerican Religious History Group and Latina/o Critical and Comparative Studies Group; Theme: African Diasporic Spirits in the Americas, at the Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md., in November 2013.

Edward Baseman (M.Div.) was ordained on March 8, 2014, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wis. He has been called to serve at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Green Bay, Wis.

Mary Tororeiy (Th.M.) appeared on the cover of the December 2013 issue of The Lutheran magazine. She was pictured as a participant in the installation service of Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton held in October 2013.

Peder Hinderlie (M.Div.) was ordained March 21, 2104, at Valley of Peace Lutheran Church in Golden Valley, Minn. He has been called to serve at Milnor Lutheran Church in Milnor, N.D., and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Delamere, N.D.

Yahu Vinayaraj (Th.M.) published the article, “Spivak, Feminism, and Theology,” in Feminist Theology 2014. The online version of this article is at http://fth.sagepub.com/content/22/2/144.

Christopher Honig (M.Div.) was ordained Feb. 23, 2014, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, Ill. He has been called to serve at Acacia Park Lutheran Church in Norridge, Ill.

Lindsey Mack (Affiliate) was ordained Jan. 18, 2014, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Naperville, Ill. She has been called to serve as Regional Coordinator for Young Adults in Global Missions (YAGM) in Mexico City, Mexico.

of the ELCA Foundation’s Inspired Giving newsletter. Weinkauf talks about how her experiences doing Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at LSTC got her to develop an estate plan for herself.

Micah Sievenpiper (M.Div.) was ordained on March 29 at Concordia Lutheran Church in Chicago. He has been called to serve at West Ida Immanuel Lutheran Church in West Ida, Mich.

Kaila Hochhalter (M.Div.) was ordained Feb. 23, 2014, at Mountain View Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Ariz. Bishop Stephen Talmage of the Grand Canyon Synod presided and LSTC Youth in Mission Director Vance Blackfox preached. Hochhalter has been called to serve at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Fort Morgan, Colo.

Timothy Tahtinen (M.Div.) was ordained on Nov. 24, 2013, at Divine Word & Pentecost Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wis., where he has been called to serve. Amanda Weinkauf (M.Div.) was featured in a story on stewardship that appeared in the summer 2013 issue

2014

IN MEMORIAM Robert Allen Beckstrom 1933 – 2014 Central Lutheran Seminary Class of 1959 After graduating from Central Seminary in Fremont, Neb., Robert “Bob” Beckstrom was assigned to grow ministries at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Sioux City, Iowa, and then at Ascension Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Okla. While in Tulsa, he entered the life insurance and financial planning business and became a top performer for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance. During the 1960s and 70s, as a member of the Tulsa School Board of Education, Beckstrom helped the school district develop a voluntary racial integration program. His children were among the first to be part of the program.

Beckstrom loved music and performed with choirs and as a soloist. He was also a skilled carpenter and mechanic who built and restored houses, furniture, antique cars, and radios. Bob Beckstrom died on Jan. 31, 2014, in Tulsa, Okla. His funeral service was held Feb. 3 at Rest Haven Funeral Home-Rockwall Chapel. He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Lillian, and their son; his first wife, Leola, of 31 years, and their five children, and 14 grandchildren. Warren F. Best 1931 – 2014 Maywood Class of 1956 The Rev. Dr. Warren F. Best was ordained on May 20, 1956. From that year until 1986, he served as pastor to Norwood Lutheran Church

in Chicago. He retired from fulltime ministry in 1987, but continued to serve in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod as an interim pastor. Most recently, he served at Christ Lutheran Church in Melrose Park, Ill., from 1991–2013. For 50 years he had served as a chaplain at the Danish Old People’s Home in Chicago. Best earned a doctor of ministry from LSTC in 1984. He also completed postgraduate studies at Yale Divinity School and in Rome, Italy. Dr. Best died on Jan. 9, 2014. His funeral service was held Jan. 9 at Norwood Park Lutheran Church, Chicago. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy.

IN MEMORIAM Richard Gotsch 1933 – 2014 Concordia Seminary (St. Louis) Class of 1957 LSTC Class of 1965 The Rev. Dr. Richard Gotsch, pastor, teacher, and family man, died peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 25, 2014. Gotsch served as pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Northbrook, Ill., for 36 years, then at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Elk Grove Village, Ill., as interim pastor for four years. From 1960-64, he taught at Concordia University in River Forest, Ill. His doctorate in sacred theology, focused on the influence of Judaism on the early Christian church. On a sabbatical at Oxford University in 1987, he studied the intersection of science and religion. During the 1990s he taught Greek at LSTC. Service to others and his family were priorities in his life. He gave his time to the community by serving on the Northbrook Human Relations Commission and the board of the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights, Ill. A funeral service was held Jan. 29 at the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights. Pastor Gotsch is survived by his wife of 53 years, Elizabeth, four children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. Harold E. Hamilton 1922 – 2013 Central (Western) Lutheran Seminary Class of 1947 Pastor Harold E. Hamilton was ordained in 1947 by the Nebraska Synod of the United Lutheran Church in America and accepted a call to do mission work in Oregon. He served as pastor to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Portland, Ore, from late 1947 – mid-1951. After serving a second call in Salem, Ore., he accepted a call to Trinity Lutheran Church in Lawrence, Neb., where he had done his internship while in seminary. He was pastor there from 1954 until early 1972. He served three other ministries in Nebraska, including as chaplain of

Tabitha Home of Lincoln, before he retired in 2000. In addition to his parish ministry, Hamilton served as a member of the Lancaster County Election Board starting in 1962. Also, he and his grandchildren gathered, packed and delivered foodstuffs throughout the year to seven local charitable agencies. Hamilton died on December 5, 2013, in Lincoln, Neb. He was preceded in death by his wife, Darlene, and their son, Mark. He is survived by three sons and their wives, 10 grandchildren and a great granddaughter. A memorial service was held on December 14 at Southwood Lutheran Church in Lincoln. Michael S. McPherson 1947 – 2013 LSTC Class of 1973 The Rev. Michael S. McPherson was ordained in 1973 and was called to St. Mark Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo. In 1977, he was called to Hope Lutheran Church in Long Grove, Ill., and served that congregation for 36 years, until his retirement in 2013. He was instrumental in founding the Interfaith Council of Buffalo Grove (Ill.) McPherson died on Dec. 15, 2013. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Nancy; three children and their spouses; and eight grandchildren. A Life Celebration Service was held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Libertyville, Ill., on Dec. 20.

Henry Arthur “Art” Norstrand 1922 – 2013 Augustana Class of 1950 While he was finishing his undergraduate studies at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., Norstrand was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was trained as a surgical technician and as an interpreter of Mandarin Chinese. After his discharge from the Army, he completed a bachelor’s degree in Attic Greek and Mandarin Chinese. In 1950, he completed a bachelor of divinity degree and was ordained at Washington Cathedral. His first call was to establish a

Lutheran congregation in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Norstrand served a congregation in California before responding to a call for military chaplains. Norstrand served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force for 28 years. He was stationed in Texas; Labrador, Canada; California, Korea, Kansas, Germany, and Arizona during his career. Before he retired in 1984, he received numerous military and civilian awards including Meritorious Service Award and the key to the City of San Antonio. Pastor Norstrand died on Nov. 7, 2013, in Stanton, Calif. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Polly. He is survived by three children, Mark, Patrice (1977 M.Div.) and David (1985, M.Div.), and granddaughter, Sara. A memorial service was held Nov. 20 at Quaker Garden Chapel in Garden Grove, Calif. Gregg J. Selander 1949 – 2014 LSTC Class of 1976 The Rev. Gregg Selander was ordained in 1977. Except for a first call to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Garden Grove, Calif., his ministry was spent as a chaplain in medical centers in southern California and Oregon. He was Spiritual Care Director at Providence Newberg Medical Center in Oregon for the last 17 years of his ministry. Selander came to be accepted and trusted by hundreds of people of many faiths as he walked difficult paths with patients in his care. He also provided ministry to engaged couples as an incorporator and co-author of Lutheran Engaged Encounter in America. Selander retired in 2012. Pastor Selander died on Jan. 3, 2014, from complications of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. A memorial service was held Jan. 25 at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Portland, Ore. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Judy, and two sons, Jacob and Nathan.

TRANSITIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS Welcome back, Marilyn In December 2013, LSTC welcomed Marilyn Olson as the assistant to the vice president for advancement. Olson is a 1994 graduate of LSTC (M.Div.) and served as LSTC’s director of admissions from 1995-99.

Marilyn Olson

Olson went on to serve as assistant dean at the Valparaiso University School of Law and pastoral associate at Valparaiso’s Chapel of the Resurrection. From 2004-2010, she was assistant director for educational partnerships of the ELCA, working with all ELCA colleges, universities, and educational partnerships. Prior to coming to seminary, Olson was active nationally as a consultant, educator, and trainer in audiology. In this part-time position, Olson is on campus two days a week and also is telecommuting. She is working closely with alumni, the LSTC Guild, and colleagues to support the work of the vice president for advancement.

Accomplishments

Vance Blackfox, director, Youth in Mission, was a guest presenter at the Lakota Spirituality and Christian Dialogue class

at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in September 2013. In October, he was a presenter at the Borderland Christianity Seminar at the Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest. He attended the Cherokee Young Professionals Steering Committee meeting, an organization he helped found. He also co-chairs the steering committee. Blackfox was the guest preacher at All Nation’s Indian Church in Minneapolis, Minn.,in November. That month he served as the master of ceremonies for the International House Global Voices Program screening and Q & A session of “Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience.” He was the producer of the American Indian and Alaska Native Symposium at LSTC, Nov. 12–14. In December, Blackfox was a participant in the McCormick Theological Seminary’s Clergy & Lay Leadership Summit and at the annual meeting of the Campaign for Better Health Care. In January, he attended the Oaks Indian Mission Board of Directors meeting in Oaks, Okla. In February, Blackfox was the keynote speaker for the 5th Annual Festival of Stories, T7 American Indian Education Program of Chicago Public Schools in Chicago. He preached at the ordination service of Kaila Hochhalter in Phoenix, Ariz.

Required” in the Chicago Sun Times “Splash” section on Dec. 6. The article is about the Chicago Community Chorus, which Hampton founded and directs. Cheryl Stewart Pero, director of the Albert “Pete” Pero Jr. Multicultural Center, preached at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, on Feb. 16, for the school’s annual Gospel Sunday worship service. Jim Schaal, sustainability coordinator, and Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament, contributed to a Jan. 3, 2014, online article for Religion News Service, “Congregations turn to compost for lessons on life, death and the environment,” by Adelle M. Banks. Read it at http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/03/ congregations-turn-compost-lessons-life-deathenvironment/.

Church in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago on Feb. 16. Schwandt also led a workshop and master class, and presented a Hymn Festival with Rev. Paul Hoffman at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, as part of “A Transfigured Christ for a Transfigured World,” a weekend conference for church musicians and leaders, on Feb. 28-March 1.

We celebrate We welcome Penelope Rose Knutson born Nov. 10, 2013, to Cynthia Cespedes and Paul Knutson, facility operations manager. And we welcome Kalder Soren Schweitz born Nov. 15, 2013, to Kurt Schweitz and Lea Schweitz, associate professor of systematic theology/religion and science and director of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science.

Daniel Schwandt, cantor to the seminary community, was installed as the cantor of Immanuel Lutheran

Clarification In the Fall 2013 issue of the LSTC Epistle, abbreviations in the “LSTC by the numbers” chart “2013-14 Enrollment by Degree Program” were not explained. “HC = 261” means “headcount” or the number of students enrolled, full- or part-time, in a degree program, or as a special student. “FTEs = 196.0” means “full-time equivalent,” which is the result of a formula developed by the seminary’s accrediting agency to help measure the number of courses students are taking.

Keith Hampton, director, LSTC Gospel Choir, was featured in the article “The Pitch: No Experience

Life at LSTC

Clockwise from upper left: LSTC partnered with Faith in Place to host a Winter Farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Market in the refectory; seniors Bekki Lohrmann and Christie Webb were part of a Clergy Fashion Show that raised funds for their class gift; Profs. Richard Perry and Ray Pickett on a field trip with members of their J-Term Community Organizing class; Cheryl Hoth, James Nieman and Richard Perry applaud newly-installed Dean Esther Menn; Pastor Liz Munoz preaches at the 4th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at LSTC.

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Calendar of Events All events are at LSTC unless otherwise noted. For a complete listing and details, visit www.lstc.edu/events Ongoing through Spring Semester Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Future of Creation lectures. For details see the link in the “Of Interest” section on the LSTC web homepage April Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month 13 4 p.m. LSTC Gospel Choir Concert 21 2 p.m. Sacred Texts Conference , Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Ill. 22 4 p.m. Earth Day American Indian/Alaskan Native Worship 23 4:30 p.m. Seminary Sampler Night 24 4 p.m. Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage conversation and meal 24–25 World Mission Institute, Adele Halliday keynote speaker 27 1:30 p.m. Annual Sacred Texts Conference, American Islamic College, 640 Irving Park Road, Chicago

May 16 Spring semester ends 17 Class of 1964 Reunion 18 2:30 p.m. 154th Commencement at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church 19 Maymester classes begin 30 Maymester classes end June 17–19 2014 LSTC Leadership Conference and Seminex 40th Anniversary Celebration 18 5 p.m. 2014 Distinguished Alumni Awards presentation and reception 23 ACTS D. Min. in Preaching Program residency begins July 10 ACTS D. Min. in Preaching Program residency ends August 25–26 Entering and returning students’ retreats 27–28 Orientation September 2 Fall Semester begins 3 Opening Convocation