LifeTogether THE MAGAZINE OF WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Spring 2019
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION FOR EMERGING MINISTRIES (TEEM) EDITION
LifeTogether The official magazine of Wartburg Theological Seminary for our alumni and friends. Permission is granted for additional use in congregations. Founded in 1854 and located in Dubuque, Iowa since 1889, Wartburg Theological Seminary is one of seven seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
PRESIDENT Rev. Louise N. Johnson
PRESIDENT’S CABINET Rev. Amy Current, Vice President for Admissions and Student Services Mr. Paul K. Erbes, Vice President for Development Rev. Dr. Craig Nessan, Academic Dean Mr. Andy Willenborg, Vice President for Finance and Operations
EDITOR Ms. Lindsey Queener, Director for Marketing
Cover artwork: provided by Enedina Casarez Vasquez, TEEM student at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest. Used with permission.
SPRING EDITION 2019 Wartburg Theological Seminary Dubuque, Iowa 52003 Phone: 563-589-0200 Fax: 563-589-0333 www.wartburgseminary.edu
Mission Statement Wartburg Theological Seminary serves Christ’s church through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by being a worship-centered community of critical theological reflection where learning leads to mission and mission informs learning. The community embodies God’s mission by stewarding resources for engaging, equipping, and sending collaborative leaders who interpret, proclaim and live the gospel of Jesus Christ for a world created for communion with God and in need of personal and social healing.
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“TEEM affirms the value and vitality of ethnic and geographic specific ministries as well as the vocation and gifts of candidates with alternative formal education opportunities.” REV. DR. FRANCISCO JAVIER GOITÍA PADILLA, EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
PRESIDENT LOUISE N. JOHNSON WITH MEMBERS OF THE HISPANIC MINISTRY EDUCATION NETWORK, INCLUDING GOITÍA, PICTURED SECOND FROM THE RIGHT IN THE FRONT ROW
Welcome to the TEEM Edition! Wartburg Seminary houses the largest Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program in the country and we take this work seriously, not only for the sake of the students who are part of the program, but also because we believe that this program will lead us to more faithful models of theological education in the future. Here’s why: I have been engaged in theological education for two and a half decades. In that time, I have worked to support theological education within the influential systems of academy, accreditation, and institutional church. These systems lead us to expect our potential students to come with certain credentials: a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, a strong GPA, letters of reference from pastors and professors, having begun a candidacy process, and so on. I am grateful to have encountered so many women and men over the years whose hearts, lives, and imaginations are captured by the gospel, who are called by the Holy Spirit, and who are eager to serve God’s world. Some of those people are prepared to enter theological education in the traditional route. Others are not and may never be. And I am beginning to believe they should not be. Traditional models of theological education have enabled the church’s ability to spread the Gospel but they have also hindered us from building a church that is rich and credible with the witness of those from a wide range of cultures, races, and ethnicities. Expanding traditional routes to theological education gives us the opportunity to hear about God from the voices and in the languages of
those with whom God regularly promises to be most present – those who are poor, marginalized, or regarded as outsiders to the religious community. More and more, I have come to believe that we have a responsibility as a church to design systems of education and formation to come alongside ALL those whom God has called. Period. TEEM does that. TEEM students come from a wide range of backgrounds, as you will see from the stories in this edition of Life Together. These students are already ministering to a wide range of communities and share a strong sense of call to serve God’s people. In the TEEM program, we honor these things as we provide rigorous, rooted, faithful theological education and formation. I invite you to read and sit with the stories of our TEEM students and learn more about the powerful ministry they are doing daily. Join us in our mission to think broadly about how the gospel is communicated to a world in need. Praying for creativity as we seek to extend the ways people are welcomed into pastoral ministry and identify leaders in your own community with gifts for ministry. In Christ,
Rev. Louise N. Johnson President LifeTogether I Page 3
Contents 06 Diverse, Vibrant, and Growing REV. PHOUTHALY ONELANGSY’S STORY, TEEM ‘19 GRADUATE
08 Emerging Out of Darkness ENEDINA VASQUEZ’S STORY, TEEM STUDENT AND COVER ARTIST
11 What is the TEEM Program? LEARN MORE ABOUT TEEM AT LSPS AND WTS FROM DEAN CRAIG NESSAN
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12 Creating Space for Something New REV. HEIDI HAGSTROM’S STORY, TEEM ‘18 GRADUATE
14 Grounded in Steadfast Love PHILIP DENG’S STORY, TEEM STUDENT
16 Faculty & Staff Updates and Alumni Notes ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ARCHBISHOP SAMUEL PENI
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Diverse, Vibrant, and Growing REV. PHOUTHALY ONELANGSY’S STORY “I see the hearts and souls of people who have faced countless struggles regarding their beliefs and have found a church and a community that they can worship and serve how they want.” - Rev. Phouthaly Onelangsy, TEEM ‘19 Graduate
Des Moines, Iowa is a long way from Vang Vieng, Laos, but this small town in the northern region of Laos is where Phouthaly Onelangsy calls home. In 1975, toward the end of the Vietnam War, Onelangsy’s home country fell into the hands of the communists. It was at this time that his father was captured and put into a prison camp; this is a lot for anyone to face much less an eight-year-old child. The third oldest of seven children, he was forced to give up his childhood and find ways to help support his family. He took on as many jobs as he could; he worked in the rice-fields, fished, and carried water from the river each day. Even with all the ways he helped his family they still barely had enough food or money to live. As a result of his family’s situation, he and his siblings had to sacrifice their education as they were not able to go to school during this time. He and his family struggled every day without his father for the four-plus years he was imprisoned, but in 1980, his father was able to escape from the prison camp and crossed the Mekong River in order to get to a refugee camp in the northern part of Thailand. Once Onelangsy’s family received word of his father’s escape they made plans to reunite with him at the refugee camp. In order to reunite with him, they had to leave their home, friends, and belongings behind, but they again made the sacrifice and were eventually reunited as a family. When asked about his faith during this time he explained that his family followed the tradition of worshiping and honoring their ancestors’ spirits. They would kill pigs and other animals as an offering to their ancestors each year to honor them; praying that they would grant them good luck, health, and protections. In 1983, Slate Hill Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania sponsored Onelangsy’s family to
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come to the United States. It was soon after immigrating that his family started attending the church that had sponsored them, and this is where he first met Pastor Malcolm Sawyer, a former missionary to Laos. Onelangsy credits Pastor Sawyer with first telling him the story of Jesus and considers him the one who inspired him to enter public ministry. Onelangsy serves St. Paul Lao Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Iowa: a diverse, vibrant, and growing congregation. When asked what he sees when he looks out the into the congregation each week he said, “I see the hearts and souls of people who have faced countless struggles regarding their beliefs and have found a church and a community that they can worship and serve how they want.” He finds great joy serving this community and the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program made it possible for him to serve in this context. While Onelangsy has been serving in public ministry since 1996, he knew the TEEM program would give him the needed training to serve as pastor in the ELCA. Onelangsy said while he had a passion for serving God’s people, he knew that he was “lacking in many parts of his ministry when it came to theology.” He says, “It was very easy to say yes to serving in public ministry. I felt that it was my calling for a large majority of my life. It was just a matter of time and I knew what God had planned for me.” The TEEM program has allowed him to use the many gifts and live fully into his story and journey of faith. Des Moines, Iowa is a long way from Vang Vieng Laos, but God has indeed been along the journey for Onelangsy. His story is one of courage, trials, and deep faith in God; a story he now gets to share, due to the TEEM Program, with his diverse, vibrant, and growing congregation.
REV. PHOUTHALY ONELANGSY PREACHING AT ST. PAUL LAO LUTHERAN CHURCH IN DES MOINES, IOWA
Emerging Out of Darkness ENEDINA CASAREZ VASQUEZ’S STORY Enedina Casarez Vasquez is a TEEM student at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest and the cover artist for this edition of LifeTogether. Enedina Casarez Vasquez has known she was called to ministry since she was nine years old. She faithfully attended her Catholic church every Sunday with her friend, Tony. One day she noticed that Tony wasn’t sitting with her but was instead processing with the priest and carrying the cross. Tony was filled with joy, smiling for all to see as he rang the bells and prepared the altar for worship. Vasquez was eager to serve as Tony was serving, but was told she could not serve since she was a girl. Vasquez says of that moment (and long after), “I felt less of a human being, and less of a child of God.” Not feeling worthy to serve God’s church, this deeply impactful interaction guided Vasquez’s life. Even though Vasquez eventually left the Catholic church, faith remained central in her life. She and her husband were very successful religious iconographers explaining the intersection of race, culture and religion until his death in 2004. Vasquez continued to use art as a tool to teach
faith, and eventually came upon an Episcopal church. It was in that space that she saw a woman serving as a pastor for the first time. She immediately joined that church and enrolled at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest to take courses. She received a certificate in Spiritual Direction with the hopes of one day becoming a pastor too. Upon completion of her time at the Episcopal Seminary, Vasquez got a call from her lifelong friend, Sister Norma, with an idea. They met up to discuss the idea and the “Platicas” ministry was born. Vasquez explains about naming this ministry: “in Spanish a ‘platica’ is more of a passionate gut-wrenching talk between people. It is a talk with someone where you share your story, hear theirs, and thus reach common ground. It is like when quilters get together and create, talk, laugh, cry, and find self among others.” Platicas invited women to meet and hear the word, pray, and learn to be comfortable again in as a follow-
Page 8 COLLABORATIVE | LifeTogether STUDENT, FIRST YEAR MARIETTA SHARING A CHILDREN’S SERMON ENEDINA CASAREZNELSON VASQUEZ- BITTLE CREATING ART WITH THE PLATICAS MINISTRY IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS WITH STUDENTS FROM HER CONGREGATION.
STRAND LUTHERAN CHURCH
TABOR WALLIN LUTHERAN CHURCH
BETHESDA LUTHERAN CHURCH
ARTWORK BY AND COURTESY OF ENEDINA CASAREZ VASQUEZ. USED WITH PERMISSION.
er of Christ. This goal to bring comfort and peace back into the faith lives of women in the Platicas ministry was so important for Vasquez, since they were like her: women who had been either rejected or perceived rejection from the church. Platicas was a group of all kinds of women—some who went to church, some who did not go to church, and some who had left the church. The women who came to Platicas were feisty, hardworking, and educated. The women came in all sizes, shapes, education, and professional levels, but all wanted something that they were not getting in church. They gather, break bread, worship, and create art. While creating the art related to the worship theme or scripture, they talk, share stories, and take the art home where it is often a conversation starter about faith. Sister Norma died six months after she and Vasquez began Platicas, but the legacy of her idea lived on in the ministry and through Vasquez. At one point, Platicas faced an ending because of a lack of funding and support. Vasquez was determined to keep the ministry going when she met Rev. Dr. Judith Spindt, then Director of Mission Development in the Southwest Texas Synod of the Evangelical Church in America (ELCA). They were in Denver as part of a group of Episcopal Latinos meeting with a group of Latino Lutherans. Vasquez says, “I spoke to those present at one of
the gatherings and I told them about my frustration that my Platicas Ministry was dying due to lack of funds and the ability to get support. I was at my last-ditch effort to get help. Spindt raised her hand and said to me, ‘I will help you.’ That day, right then and there she sat with me and asked me about the makeup of my ministry and helped me to form some sort of thoughts on petitioning the ELCA to help me. That was the day that changed my life forever.” Spindt had heard of Platicas and was eager to meet Vasquez in Denver. When Vasquez made the plea for support, Spindt jumped at the opportunity to find a way for the ELCA to support her and her ministry. Vasquez returned from that trip and continued working with the Spindt, who also worked diligently with the Episcopal church to keep Platicas alive. Eventually, the Lutheran church became the primary partner, and Platicas was moved to the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in San Antonio. Since then, Platicas has grown to three different sites meeting regularly in Lutheran churches and meeting the needs of unchurched women and families. Spindt raised her hand and told Vasquez she would help, and she has been a constant in Vasquez’s development ever since. She assisted by identifying people to support her outreach to women, she helped with finding funding, and also got the word out about Platicas in the synod.
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Vasquez was encouraged to pursue ordained ministry in the Lutheran church: “I have been ready all my life to do this.” She continues, “All I needed was support and for someone to know that Platicas is a way to get unchurched people to come back to a new church that is not judgmental and demanding. I have always been ready, I just needed help and it has taken me a life time to find it. God has worked a miracle in my life.” In conversation with her synod, the TEEM program arose as the best way forward for Vasquez. Of the program through Wartburg Seminary and LSPS, she says, “I chose this program because it was the best for me. This program is so helpful in getting qualified Latino Lutherans into the church and in getting them ready to become church leaders. In the TEEM Program I have met others who have gone through the system and they are already part of the church in all its capacities. I can see the future here, a place that is open to me to serve God to all my capability.” Vasquez serves the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in San Antonio, Texas, which is the congregation that hosts Platicas. Vasquez is hopeful about the future of the church because she knows so many people are hungry for a church that welcomes them as beloved and accepted by God, and the ELCA makes that possible. When asked about the ELCA, Vasquez shared: “My favorite part of being Lutheran is that
I think I have been Lutheran all of my life and it has taken me this long to know it. The Lutheran Church is where I am because I know that God loves me for who I am and for all that I have struggled. The more I learn, the more I am convinced that this Lutheran home is the place for all of the women who have been ostracized because of their race, gender, or orientation. Lutherans live the gospel and I am embraced totally by my Lutheran Church.” When Vasquez completes her TEEM certificate program, she will be ordained as the pastor to Good Shepherd Lutheran where she serves today. Vasquez is excited to bring to fruition the call to ministry she has felt since she was a young girl. She considers other young women and the potential roadblocks they face on a journey to ministry: “I often find myself wishing I could speak to all young women today. I want to say to them that if they love God and want to be of service in their church, any church, they should do it. Go to seminary, learn theology and church history, and keep working to change the paradigms that persist against women clergy. It is up to the women to say: we know better and we can do better. Women have emerged out of the darkness. We are the future of the church. We will nurture new generations of worshipers, believers, and doers. The image of God enfolds us and sets us free. All of us.” Amen!
“Women have emerged out of the darkness. We are the future of the church. We will nurture new generations of worshipers, believers, and doers.” ENEDINA CASAREZ VASQUEZ
ENEDINA VASQUEZ PREACHING AT HER Page CAESAREZ 10 | LifeTogether TEEM SITE, GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
What is the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) Program? Students enrolling in the Wartburg Seminary TEEM program have the option to base their studies in Dubuque, IA at the WTS campus or in Austin, TX at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest, a program of Wartburg Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
WHY TEEM? The ELCA developed the TEEM program for preparing pastors to serve in unique circumstances, such as small rural congregations or new congregations among recent immigrant communities. The TEEM program also provides flexibility for students whose circumstances make completion of a Masters degree unfeasible. For example, many TEEM candidates are entering pastoral ministry at the end of a distinguished career in another field.
CRAIG NESSAN, ACADEMIC DEAN
OPTIONS TO STUDY AT WTS AND LSPS Starting in 2004 Wartburg Theological Seminary (WTS) introduced a curriculum for the TEEM program, a second path to become a pastor in the ELCA alongside the Master of Divinity degree. Since then, we have welcomed dozens of highly qualified students into our TEEM program and accompanied them in meeting their educational and formation requirements for ordination to Word and Sacrament ministry. Upon completion, these graduates are recognized at our annual commencement and become WTS alumni. The Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest (LSPS) is a program of Wartburg Theological Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. LSPS is located in Austin, Texas and its core mission is to prepare leaders for Hispanic ministry contexts in the the Southwest and other cross-cultural ministries across the nation. LSPS programs have a strong focus on ministry as mission outreach in the multi-cultural contexts of the Southwest and other locations of transition. Students develop skills and sensitivity to serve in the midst of diversity, learn to adapt their ministry to the needs of the congregation, and they are prepared to address the changing cultural composition of the communities they serve.
Normally, TEEM students begin serving in congregational ministry at the same time as they are completing their course requirements. This makes their educational process very dynamic as they bring their ministry experiences into the classroom and apply learning from coursework immediately in their congregational context. TEEM students also provide pastoral services in congregations where otherwise there would be a vacancy. PROGRAM DETAILS The TEEM program consists of 16 courses, supervised internship, and Clinical Pastoral Education. WTS has developed an alternative program to fulfill the clinical requirement called the Clinical Program of Wartburg (CPW), designed for students in contexts where relocating for CPE would be a hardship. All TEEM students are approved for entrance by synod bishops and participate in the ELCA candidacy process. The strength of the WTS TEEM program depends on the commitment and expertise of the WTS faculty, who serve as the professors and advisors for TEEM students. In contrast to many certificate programs, the members of the regular WTS faculty are the primary instructors in the full range of theological topics—Bible, History, Theology, and Ministry. The TEEM students also have strong support from the WTS directors for candidacy and contextual education. The relationships of TEEM students with faculty and staff ensure high quality of education, which explains why the WTS program has become the largest in the ELCA.
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“Emerging ministry in my context is about creating space for something new to emerge out of deeply held practices...” REV. HEIDI HAGSTROM
REV. HEIDI HAGSTROM LEADING A CHILDREN’S SERMON. HAGSTROM SERVES BERNADOTTE LUTHERAN CHURCH, SWAN LAKE LUTHERAN CHURCH, AND FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH IN LAFAYETTE, MINNESOTA.
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Creating Space for Something New REV. HEIDI HAGSTROM’S STORY “It is a challenging and exciting time to be the Christian church today. I happen to think that the church’s global witness needs the witness of the ELCA right now. I think that witness is strengthened when it is articulated by persons of all generations.” – Heidi Hagstrom, ‘18 TEEM Graduate
The Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program offers alternative preparation for those who will provide pastoral ministry in emerging ministry contexts throughout the church. These contexts include ethnic specific, multicultural, rural, inner city, and ministry with deaf communities. Candidates for the TEEM program are nominated by their synods and approved by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Rev. Heidi Hagstrom, a 2018 TEEM graduate, first learned about Wartburg’s TEEM program in 2016, “I have never not felt called to ministry… I have always been a passionate advocate for lay ministry, but when I learned about the TEEM program the Spirit spoke to me. The time was right for me to think about a new way of serving Christ’s church and, after 18 years in Chicago, I wanted to be closer to my family and closer to the earth. My soul feels most at home in a rural environment, and when I learned there was a need for pastors in rural settings it just seemed like the right time. My whole life people had been telling me I should be a pastor. I guess it just took a long time for me to be prepared to accept that call.” Immediately before entering into the TEEM program, Hagstrom served as the Director for the ELCA Youth Gathering. The Youth Gathering is the largest ministry of the ELCA, bringing together over 35,000 Lutheran youth every three years. It was here that she met Wartburg professor, Dr. Kristine Stache: “she explained Wartburg’s commitment to the TEEM program as a respectable alternative path to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Kris invited me to dip my toe in and take the summer intensive course ‘Introduction to Lutheran Worship.’ I loved the class and I loved being part of the summer community at Wartburg. Prior to coming, I was nervous about performing well academically. I was an average student in college and I had been away from it for many years. But, Kris encouraged me to give it a try.
I left that week feeling affirmed, and like Wartburg was the right fit for me.” Candidates accepted into the TEEM program will prepare to meet the opportunities for ministry in the 21st century in emerging ministries, or ministry settings that are without ordained pastoral leadership. “Emerging ministry in my context is about creating space for something new to emerge out of deeply held practices that are intertwined with a sense of family and cultural traditions rather than Lutheran theological principles.” Hagstrom continues, “For my parish that means discerning what God is up to and figuring out how we are called to be a part of that. When we can create space for an awareness of the presence and action of God we will slowly experience a shift of consciousness in the way we do church.” Wartburg learning is collaborative. TEEM students are engaged with their classmates, mentors, supervisors, faculty, synod staff, and others. Hagstrom shares, “While I deeply loved the faculty and the learning, I think the best part of TEEM was the cohort with whom I made the journey. Many of us have stayed in touch via social media, and because there are several of us in the Southwest Minnesota Synod, we see each other often. We are able to share ministry challenges and joys, which brings our learning to life.” The TEEM program is designed to provide support, collaboration, and service to current and future church servant leaders. Hagstrom reflects, “Working through fears and moving to “the other side” is a central theme in my life and ministry, and in the gospel text I chose for my ordination service, Mark 4:35-41…Christ is the peace, and the strength, and the calm that we draw on…We need to continually seek that inner calm—that courage—because Jesus will keep calling us to go to that other shore.”
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Grounded in Steadfast Love PHILIP DENG’S STORY “I will say, there is nothing bad about Wartburg. I have heard that Wartburg pastors are some of the best in the nation. I am proud to be one of them.” - Philip Deng, TEEM student
steadfast love of God in Jesus Christ for all people. The civil strife he experienced as a child cost him a safe and secure childhood and resulted in his starting over in a new country as a teenager. He never tires of bringing good news to strengthen, encourage, and guide others who have similar experiences and continues to bring this trust and hope in Jesus Christ to the next generation.”
PHILIP DENG, TEEM STUDENT
Despite the volatile surroundings he grew up with in South Sudan, Deng has become a steadfast and dedicated presence to his community in service as the pastor to the South Sudanese Congregation at First Lutheran Church in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Philip has felt called to serve God’s people since a young age with the help of so many advocates along the way. The first person to encourage Deng in his call was his brother Mabil Deng, followed by a series of pastors and his wife. Upon coming to the United States as a refugee, Deng wanted to continue to serve God’s people by getting involved in a local congregation. Deng came to First Lutheran Church in 2006 and began a service in Dinka and Arabic for the South Sudanese community in 2007. The pastor at First Lutheran, Rev. Roger Lenander, shares of Deng’s ministry: “Philip’s personal journey of faith is grounded in the
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Deng says looking out at the South Sudanese worshiping community reminds him of being home in Africa when he first felt called to ministry in Sunday School. He loves looking out and seeing the children and “the happiness of people being together to share love and good news.” Pastor Roger Lenander and Bishop Roger Gustafson encouraged Deng in his ministry and the gifts he brings to the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It was then they started thinking about the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program as an option for Deng to pursue ordained ministry. Deng shared that Bishop Gustafson identified Wartburg Seminary as the best choice, and Deng came to agree with that. Of his education in the TEEM program, Deng shares, “I will say, there is nothing bad about Wartburg. I have heard that Wartburg pastors are some of the best in the nation. I am proud to be one of them.” The TEEM program has had a huge impact on Deng’s ministry. He describes the experience as lifechanging and as an integral part of his call to serve God’s people. Deng’s story and presence as a TEEM student at Wartburg Seminary has made an impact on staff and faculty, too. Rev. Louise Johnson, President of the seminary, shares
PHILIP DENG, WTS TEEM STUDENT ON PALM SUNDAY 2018 WITH THE SOUTH SUDANESE CONGREGATION AT FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH IN SAINT JOSEPH, MISSOURI
of her interactions with Deng, “My conversations with Philip helped to deepen my understanding of the challenges particular to our students coming from immigrant and refugee communities. It isn’t that the challenges they face are so daunting, it is that the systems we have designed preference a particular community, set of values and way of being in the world. God is at work calling leaders from a wide range of communities. We are committed to responding with excellence.” The response of excellence that President Johnson named grows out of our deeply relational faculty members, who care for, challenge, and nurture TEEM students in the same way they do for all of their students. Rev. Dr. Winston Persaud describes his knowledge of Deng, “Philip comes to his seminary studies with a strong desire to grow in his theological and pastoral formation, so that he might faithfully witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, particularly to immigrants from South Sudan. In conversations with him, it is obvious that he is pondering deeply how he might make connections between his primary cultural background and mainstream culture in the USA. He sees
making these connections as crucial to faithful witness to Jesus Christ in the ‘worlds’ in which he lives on a daily basis.” Deng brings his full self to ministry, affirming that a calling to ministry is not a simple job. Although he may try to be the perfect pastor with the ability to give himself away to his congregation members, he has to remind himself that he is human too. He is sustained by his deep abiding faith and compassion for those in his community and views emerging ministry as “the mission to serve individuals and families to provide and strengthen their faith, and also provide more global faith resources and experience, and to advocate for global responsibility.” Deng’s love for ministry and the community he serves is undeniable. The support he has received through the TEEM program, from his pastor, Bishop, and WTS have allowed for our church to gain a new leader, for the leadership of the WTS TEEM program to be strengthened, and for the leader himself to grow significantly in his ministry. Thanks be to God.
TONY ACOMPANADO OFFERS A BLESSING TO A STUDENT DURING WORSHIP IN HIS COLLABORATIVE CONGREGATION.
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Faculty & Staff Updates Ms. Jackie Baumhover, former Associate Director for Admissions has been appointed Director for Admissions. Jackie brings more than two years of experience on the Admissions team to her role, as well as deep passion for her work and strong strategic insight. Jackie also began as a part-time student in the WTS Master of Arts program this spring. Rev. Dr. Martin Lohrmann, Assistant Professor of Lutheran Confessions and Heritage, attended the Lutheran Historical Conference in October 2018, which met at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. He presented a paper on Auguste von Schwartz and the Baltic noblewomen who supported Wartburg Seminary in its early years. He also presented a paper at the January 2019 meeting of the Page 16 | LifeTogether
American Society of Church History on “Luther’s School of the Cross.” Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Giere, Associate Professor of Homiletics and Biblical Interpretation, served as the keynote presenter for the inaugural ELCA Young Adult Discernment Retreat, “Listening for God in a Noisy World,” at LutherRanch Bible Camp in Tallapoosa, Georgia in November 2018. He also wrote Homily Notes for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, January 2019 and published entries on WorkingPreacher.org throughout Christmas, Epiphany, and Lent - Year C. Rev. Dr. Winston D. Persaud, Prof. of Systematic Theology, Holder of the Kent S. Knutson and UELC Chair in Theology and Mission, and Director of the Center for Global
Theologies, completed a half-year sabbatical. He published the essay, “Welcome, Identity, Belonging,” under the rubric, Listening to Immigrant Voices, in Currents in Theology and Mission, 46:1 (January 2019), 5-6. He will give a presentation, “Hearing the Gospel in Select Luther Hymns for Witness to Jesus Christ in the 21st-Century,” at the Dairyland Conference of the Northwest Synod of WI on April 25th, 2019. Ms. Lindsey Queener, former Director for Admissions, has been appointed Director for Marketing. A Master of Theological Studies graduate from Boston University, Lindsey has experience in fundraising, social media marketing, project management, and telling the Wartburg story. She brings deep faith, energy, and fresh insight to the work of marketing, especially for Admissions. Lindsey previously served as a Development Officer at WTS.
Alumni Notes
WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ‘45 Rev. Erwin Franke died on September 24, 2018. He served St. Paul, Gaylord, MN; Emmanuel, Belgrade, MN; Zion, West Union, IA; Immanuel, Cresco, IA; and Deer Creek, Carpenter, IA. ’48 Rev. Harold Brokering died on February 18, 2019. He served Salem, Lenexa, KS; American Memorial, Denver, CO; Calvary, Grand Island, NE; Bethel, Windsor, CO; and Bethlehem, Longmont, CO; as vice president of the Central District of the American Lutheran Church; and on the Global Mission Board. ’53 Rev. Verlyn Kraxberger died on December 22, 2018. He served parishes in Lake Chelan, Brewster, Omak, Seattle, and Canby, all in Washington. ’57 Rev. Elias Rode died on September 22, 2018. He
served parishes in Paige, Dime Box, Houston, San Antonio, and Jourdantan (all in Texas) and as camp minister at Camp Chrysalis in Kerrville, TX. ’58 Rev. Marvin Hartmann died on January 10, 2019. He served parishes in Hecla, SD; Arthur, ND; and Wahpeton, ND. ‘62 Rev. Herbert Lammert died on October 19, 2018. He served First English Lutheran Church, Damon, TX; Our Savior’s Advent, San Antonio, TX; Peace, Rockdale, TX; and Faith, Meridian, TX. ‘65 Rev. Peter Boe died on October 22, 2018. He served parishes in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. ‘74 Rev. Larry Arganbright died on December 13, 2018. He served Faith,
Oberlin, KS; Bethany, Elkhorn, NE; and Sheridan Lutheran, Sheridan, NE. ‘79 Rev. Dr. Ellen SkatrudMickelson died on December 27, 2018. She served parishes in Bird City, KS; Midland, SD; Hartford, SD; and Billings, MT; as a hospice chaplain in Yellowstone County, MT; and on the Commission of the New Lutheran Church. ’90 Rev. Willard Hager died on October 22, 2018. He served parishes in Guyana and Wisconsin. ’00 and ‘18 Rev. David Thoresen, MA ‘00 and TEEM ‘18, was ordained on January 20 at Atonement, Sebring, FL, where he has been called to serve as pastor. ’05 Rev. Sherry Hoening died on February 19, 2019. She served congregations in Leland, IL; and Adams and
Big Flats, both WI. ’08 Rev. Loretta Betz died on December 14, 2018. She served as chaplain at Bethel Home, Viroqua, WI. ’10 Rev. Margaret Jacobus died on November 29, 2018. She served Oklee Lutheran Parish, Oklee, MN. ‘18 Rev. Dara Clifford was ordained on January 26, 2019, 2019 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Neenah, WI. Dara has been called to serve at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Combined Locks, WI. Ms. Kimberly Fears, wife of Rev. Roger Fears, died on December 13, 2018. Rev. Pam O’Donnell was ordained on January 30, 2019, at Christus Victor, Naples, FL. She has been called to serve at Faith, Ormond Beach, FL.
Wartburg around the World ARCHBISHOP SAMUEL PENI, ‘09
The Episcopal Church of South Sudan has elected Rev. Samuel Peni, Wartburg Seminary Master of Arts ‘09 graduate, Bishop of Yambio and Archbishop of the Church of South Sudan’s Internal Province of Western Equatoria. Archbishop Peni was previously serving as the first Bishop of the Nzara province in Sudan. Rev. Dr. Winston Persaud says of Archbishop Peni, “As a student, Bishop Samuel showed a deep, focused commitment to his call to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ in South Sudan. He displayed admirable skills in ecclesial leadership which was evident in personal conversations with him about the mission of the church in a global horizon. Bishop Samuel’s leadership is having and will have a vital shaping influence on Jesus’ witness.” IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF SOUTH SUDAN
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Wartburg Seminary Masters degree students traveled to the Texas Borderlands, led by Rev. Dr. Javier (Jay) Alanis pictured above far right, for their January Term course this year. Alanis serves as the Executive Director and Associate Professor of Theology, Culture and Mission at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest (LSPS) in Austin, TX. LSPS is a program of Wartburg Theological Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC).
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“I enjoy teaching a diverse student body whose cultural backgrounds reflect the diversity of the people of God. They remind me of the immigrant history of the church that we are called to serve.� REV. DR. JAY ALANIS
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Non-Profit US Postage PAID Permit #477 Dubuque, IA
333 WARTBURG PLACE DUBUQUE, IA 52003
Upcoming Events: April 23-25, 2019 Reformation and Reunion May 14, 2019 Admissions Online Open House May 19, 2019 Baccalaureate Worship Commencement - Class of 2019 June 18-28, 2019 Luther Academy of the Rockies
For more information and to register, visit www.wartburgseminary.edu or use the QR code above.
Let’s Continue the Conversation! If you or someone you know might be interested in learning more about the TEEM program, contact your local synod office and email admissions@wartburgseminary.edu.