Life Together 2015, Issue 1

LifeTogether WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

| ISSUE 1, 2015

In Quincy, Mass., a New Ministry Engages an Ancient Tradition PAGE 4

Farewell to President Olson PAGE 6

A Generous Heart PAGE 7

Congregations Walk with Students through Seminary PAGE 8

WTS Announces Election of 14th President PAGE 9

Call Stories: Common Treads of Discernment and Mentoring PAGE 10

From the President

Seeing and Showing—for the World Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and the repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:46-48

Jesus challenged his disciples and the Church today to proclaim to “all nations.”

The Church has seminaries not just to serve itself but because our witness is to and for the world.

With this text in mind, I have been thinking about the dual meaning of the word “witnesses.” We Christians are witnesses who have seen the power of God in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. And, we are witnesses who that story of Jesus with our words and with our lives.

All God’s people are witnesses in this double sense—seeing and showing. For all of us, the target audience is the world—proclamation to all nations.

Seminaries are always about witnessing. Wartburg Seminary’s mission is to enhance the capacity to see and the capacity to show--proclaiming Christ.

This is my last column for Wartburg Seminary’s magazine Life Together because I will retire this spring. For four and a half years, my own witnessing—seeing and showing Jesus—has been in the context of the Wartburg community and of the Church of Christ that Wartburg serves. I am deeply grateful for the privilege of being a witness together with all of you.

But as I say thank you and good bye, I want to call particular attention to the audience Jesus envisioned for our witness. He challenged his disciples and the Church today to proclaim to “all nations.” The Church has seminaries not just to serve itself but because our witness is to and for the world. Wartburg’s mission statement concludes with the reminder that our work is always “for a world created for communion with God and in need of personal and social healing.”

I am delighted with the election of Pastor Louise Johnson as your next president. She will serve with great wisdom and energy as Wartburg continues to ask prayerfully and with careful assessment and innovative adaptation, “What does the Church need from Wartburg so that the Church can serve Christ by serving the world?”

I thank God for Wartburg Theological Seminary and its service to the church and the world! My own prayers and support will continue.

In Christ,

Stanley N. Olson Often in our years together, I’ve talked about the formation of servant leaders for Christ’s Church.

That is one good way of stating the purpose of this seminary. The congregations and institutions of the Church do need faithful and effective pastors, diaconal ministers, deaconesses, associates in ministry, youth workers and lay leaders.

LifeTogether Issue 1, 2015 Wartburg Theological Seminary 333 Wartburg Place Dubuque, IA 52003 Phone: 563-589-0200 FAX: 563-589-0229 www.wartburgseminary.edu

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PRESIDENT, WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

PRESIDENT: T he Rev. Stanley N. Olson, PhD EDITORIAL, PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN: WTS Communications Team Janelle Koepke, Vice President for Mission Support Shelby Wartick, Director for Communication Life Together is a publication 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 eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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.

Wartburg Seminary Launches New Website Find the WTS calendar, academic information, course registration, events, congregational resources, WTS community stories and more at the all NEW www.wartburgseminary.edu!

The responsive website is easily viewed on your smartphone, tablet, desktop or laptop.

Centers of Learning

Three academic and missional centers offer partnerships and opportunities Three academic and missional centers are found at Wartburg Theological Seminary, all of which are built on Wartburg’s historic strengths in global theologies, rural ministry, and youth and family ministry.

Center for Global Theologies Through the Center for Global Theologies, Wartburg partnered with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque and Loras College this February in co-sponsoring a two-day LutheranRoman Catholic event that observed the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council, and celebrated the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

Dr. S.D. Giere, who is serving as Director pro tem for the Center, called this event “a wonderful opportunity for conversation, fellowship, and prayer in celebration of our common witness to the Triune God.” It was the first in a series of Center for Global Theologies events marking the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The next event, February 2016, will focus on global Lutheranism.

Center for Theology & Land The Center for Theology & Land is happy to welcome a new partner in its mission of building up rural churches and communities. This September, Dr. Mark Yackel-Juleen will begin serving as a Director for Small Town and Rural Ministries

(STaR) at WTS. Rev. Dr. Mark Yackel-Juleen has served as the rural ministry coordinator for the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA and is finishing as a parish pastor of a six point area parish. He is also the founder and current Executive Director of Shalom Hill Farm, a nonprofit education and retreat center providing hands on rural immersion experiences.

Ann Fritschel, WTS Faculty and Director for the Center for Theology and Land, says, “We are excited to have Mark come to Wartburg Seminary. The Center of Theology and Land has worked hard to offer courses and immersions for students and an annual Rural Ministry conference. With Mark’s addition to the faculty and the Center, I see the Center becoming once again a vibrant place of research, resources and relationships among interested people and congregations.”

Center for Youth Minisitries Each summer, the Center for Youth Ministries offers the Wartburg Youth Leadership School (WYLS) for 9th-12th grade youth. WYLS give these young people from all over the country the chance to join together for an “ultimate faith journey” and share in adventure, service, study, music and worship. The director of WYLS, Dr. Kristine Stache, said of this July’s event, “We are very excited to have this summer’s WYLS participants provide leadership at the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit. Together with 30,000 other Lutheran Youth, they will see and experience firsthand what it means to be church together.”

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New England Initiative Not Your Ordinary Mission Start

In Quincy, Mass., a New Ministry Engages an Ancient Tradition

Michael L. Sherer mlsherer@yahoo.com

“The older ones, who came here from China, came out of secular Communism. They learned, growing up, that religion is bad — maybe even evil. For generations, the state promoted atheism. It’s not easy convincing them to give Christianity a chance.”– REV. WING SHING (RYAN) LUN (WTS ‘10)

It’s not often that a Wartburg Seminary graduate heads out to organize a foreign-language congregation — in New England, no less. But that’s what the Rev. Wing Shing (Ryan) Lun is about with his outreach to Chinese Americans in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Lun, a 2010 graduate of WTS, is working among Cantonesespeaking residents of this large bedroom community south of Boston. And there are a lot of them there. “A few years ago, Quincy was one-quarter Chinese,” Lun explains. “Now it’s approaching one-third.”

A native of Hong Kong, Lun knows the challenges of breaking through to unchurched Chinese Americans. “The older ones, who came here from China, came out of secular Communism.

They learned, growing up, that religion is bad — maybe even evil. For generations, the state promoted atheism. It’s not easy convincing them to give Christianity a chance.”

On the other hand, younger generations tend to be more open, Lun explains. Many are seeking meaning and purpose for their lives. But even then, there are challenges. Lun describes one incident that illustrates the difficulties involved.

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“A new convert, a young man whom I invited to Christ, eventually told his father he’d become Christian. His father, a Communist, told him his conversion to Lutheranism was unacceptable. The father was a visiting scholar in the U.S. The family eventually went back to China. I have no idea what finally happened to that young man, religiously, after they returned.”

There are ways to reach out to a skeptical community other than confronting them directly in religious terms. Lun has developed several approaches. One is to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a party to which the community is invited. There is also a summer celebration that is visitor friendly.

And then there’s the whole area of computer literacy. Lun explains what he’s begun to do in that regard. “I am now teaching computer classes for older folks. People who are retired have time to come and learn technology. Some of them have gadgets their children gave them. Now they want to learn how to use them — iPhone, iPad, computers. I started the class.

It’s a kind of outreach. After the class each time I can have conversations with these folks, and not just about computers.”

One older person who came to the classes was baptized last Christmas.

There have been Lutherans in North Quincy for at least 70 years.

That’s how old Good Shepherd ELCA is, an Anglo congregation

that has generously opened its doors to Lun’s ministry. Now members of Good Neighbor Chinese Lutheran congregation meet in Good Shepherd’s space. There are two Sunday worship services, Lun’s flock meeting first, followed by the host congregation.

“Good Shepherd continues a good ministry and forms a mission partnership with us,” Lun says. “We try not to bump into each other [when sharing the physical space]. They average 50-60 at worship. I sit in on their monthly church council meetings.”

It’s hard work trying to grow a new congregation from scratch.

Fortunately for Lun, his wife, Man Hei, also a graduate of Wartburg Seminary, helps out. Also a Hong Kong native, she’s a PhD candidate at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, but she has reached the point in her program where she no longer needs to live on campus in Pennsylvania.

Lun and his wife met in Hong Kong, where they married.

They met at an Asian Lutheran conference in Indonesia. Man Hei had been serving with Lutheran World Federation and had served for a time at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

For his part, Ryan Lun came into the Lutheran Church rather serendipitously. “One of my classmates invited me to summer camp,” he remembers. “I got acquainted with Lutheranism in that way. I was baptized by a U.S. missionary stationed in Hong Kong, the Rev. Philip Bauman.”

Lun’s parents weren’t Christian, but they felt his becoming Lutheran was not a bad thing. “My mom attended my baptism,” he says. “She believed it was good for me to become involved in something that taught good values.”

Another ELCA missionary serving in Hong Kong, the Rev. John Peterson, suggested to Lun and his spouse that they consider enrolling at Wartburg Seminary. “I had been working for Lutheran Social Services in Hong Kong,” Lun explains. “I also had done youth ministry. Even though he himself was a Luther Seminary graduate, Pastor Peterson knew that Wartburg Seminary had a program with a youth ministry focus.”

It’s a long way from Hong Kong to Massachusetts, but Lun believes God has a purpose for his being where he is now. The Chinese Americans among whom he works are educated and motivated. They appreciate interaction with people who are professional and have an appreciation for education. “Many of the Chinese in Quincy are employed in the financial sector, some in real estate, some in banking, some in hotel management, some in the restaurant field. And they ask for something more in their life and that is where the gospel should be.”

Lun interacts well with these folks. The 40-year-old pastor draws support from other ELCA clergy serving congregations in Chinese American communities. “You can find Chinese Lutheran ministries in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Houston and Hawaii. Every year in September, the Chinese pastors have an annual gathering. We have good interaction and share ministry stories when we get together,” he says.

Of his seminary training, Lun says, “Wartburg Seminary is a good place for training for mission. ‘Learning and mission’ is an important theme there. The seminary was helpful to me in many ways. I got a good foundation in theological education. I liked being in the Wartburg community. My wife and I recently went back to visit. It was like going back home.”

“Wartburg Seminary is a good place for training for mission… My wife and I recently went back to visit.

It was like going back home.”

– REV. WING SHING (RYAN) LUN (WTS ‘10) LifeTogether | Issue 1, 2015 5

Saying Farewell to President Olson Sincere expressions of gratitude have been offered by members of the boards, faculty, staff, –PRESIDENT STAN OLSON AND NANCY OLSON WITH students, REV. STEPHEN CORNILS, CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS alumni, and friends for the leadership of President Stanley N. Olson and Nancy Olson. Olson has served as Wartburg Theological Seminary’s 13th President since January 2011. Stan and Nancy will say farewell to the Wartburg Community this June and retire after more than 39 years of ministry. The following words of gratitude represent the sentiments of many members of the Wartburg Community both near and far.

President Stanley N. Olson has exemplified for the Wartburg community and throughout the Church the essence of effective servant leadership. As highly valued leaders, Stan and Nancy Olson have deepened and extended Wartburg core values: a worship-centered community experienced in “Life Together, ” and expressed in “Die Sendlinge” (The Sent Ones), witnessing the love of Christ to the world. The Wartburg community could not be more grateful for unstinting and effective service gifted by God through our beloved first family, Stan and Nancy Olson. – REV. STEPHEN CORNILS, CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stan Olson’s leadership is marked by a grace-filled discipline. He is unambiguously committed to the mission of Jesus Christ. Strategic in his approach and particularly skilled at interpreting Christ’s mission contextually, Stan’s ministry consistently benefits the community within which he serves, and through that community, the whole church. For the presidency of Stan Olson, for his positive impact on the present and future of Wartburg Theological Seminary, thanks be to God. – REV MICHAEL BURK, BISHOP SOUTHEASTERN IOWA SYNOD

It is already widely known that Stan Olson has had a successful presidency here at Wartburg Seminary. He has fulfilled and exceeded the expectations and responsibilities of the job he was called to do resulting in a presidency that got this seminary exactly where we need to be today. Stan has done much more here than just

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fulfill a job description. What the student body will remember most about this president how he modeled for us what it looks like to be a pastor. Stan and Nancy entered into this community in unexpected ways. They have been our teachers, neighbors, and friends. These are not presidential duties. These are acts of kindness and grace done by two people who daily live out their calls to ministry. We, the student body, give thanks to God for the gift of their presence among us. – ANNE VAN KLEY, CO-PRESIDENT WARTBURG ASSOCIATED STUDENTS

President Stan Olson brought to Wartburg Theological Seminary profound appreciation for the Christian vocation of serving the neighbors God gives to us in life. He has lived and served among us by steadily and humbly building up the Christian vocation of students, staff, faculty, and the entire WTS constituency.

Pastor Olson arrived at a time in the seminary’s history, when we needed exactly this strong and wise servant leadership. He and Nancy generously have shared with us their lifetime of service in the church from so many rich and varied positions. For Dr. Olson this includes incomparable wisdom about and commitment to the value of theological education for the life and mission of the church of Jesus Christ. Together Stan and Nancy, beloved children of God, have witnessed among us to the words of Jesus that“the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves” (Luke 22:26). – REV. DR. CRAIG NESSAN, ACADEMIC DEAN The Board of Directors knew we needed a leader who valued the power of collaborative work and sought a leader that the Wartburg community could trust. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we were privileged to welcome Stan Olson as our 13th President. Collaboration was his strength and faculty and staff have delighted in the empowerment he has given them to do their work. Stan listened and respected the gifts of this community which created the trust that gave Wartburg the ability to move forward. We are grateful for the legacy Stan and Nancy have left Wartburg Seminary. – MS. RITA DUDLEY, FORMER CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A Generous Heart for Engaging God’s Future Reprinted from Walking Together with permission from the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.

“For the first 10 to 12 minutes every morning, I thank God for my blessings...I ask God, ‘What is the best thing I can do today with all that you have given me?’”

–KEN BECKER , LONG-TIME WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SUPPORTER

Son, father, brother, former savings and loan executive, World War II B-17 navigator, proud University of Wisconsin alumnus, person of faith, philanthropist, all describe long-time Wartburg Theological Seminary supporter Ken Becker of Lodi, Wisconsin.

They also take you to the heart of his generosity.

Ken grew up in a family that despite having limited resources was always generous. “My dad was a janitor at the church for a while and every month they gave a dollar to the church. Growing up during the Depression, needy people would come around and my mother always had a sandwich for them,” said Ken. Times were tough. Ken shared that his mother made most of his clothes from hand me downs from other people. Many of their family meals consisted of one piece of bread with a little bit of sugar and milk on it because that was all there was to eat. “What the Lord has given me now...well, I can have more than a piece of bread for supper!” reflects Ken.

Ken was baptized, went to Sunday School and was confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. After graduation, Ken wanted to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison, but his parent did not have the money for his tuition.

Instead Ken went to vocational school in Milwaukee as a sheet metal apprentice. After a year, Ken’s older sister told him, “You are going to school.” She helped him find a job at the local A&P and Ken enrolled at Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin. With a $60 inheritance from his grandfather and with the money that Ken had saved, he had the $100.00 he needed to attend school.

“My dad bought me a pair of shoes for $6.00 and I had my suit that I graduated high school in and at a garage sale, I got a sport coat for 75 cents. I had two ties. At Northwestern in those days, I’d wear my suit one day with one tie and my sport coat the next

day with another tie. I worked all day Saturday and two nights a weeks at the A&P, so I helped a little bit what I could in the apartment with my sister,” Ken said.

Ken applied to the aviation cadets, but while at Northwestern, they offered to make him an officer right away if he signed up for the military. Ken enlisted, was called to duty and at the same time was also accepted into the cadet program. “While I was in service, most of my money went home so I could finish school.

When I was in Italy for three years and receiving officer’s pay and combat pay, 100% of my check went to my savings account so I could finish school at the University of Wisconsin upon my return,” commented Ken. Generosity is simple to Ken. He is just giving back to God all that God has given to him. “For the first 10 to 12 minutes every morning, I thank God for my blessings,” shared Ken. “I ask God, ‘What is the best thing I can do today with all that you have given me?’”

One of Ken’s passions is continuing education and raising up future leaders in the church. A way that Ken partners with WTS in the formation of future church leaders is through charitable gift annuities. “Gift annuities just make sense! I receive a regular income, get a tax deduction and have the joy of giving.

It’s actually kind of selfish! I get so much more than I give,” commented Ken. What Ken Becker wants most is for his generosity to be contagious. He wants everyone to feel the joy of giving back to God all that God has given to us.

To learn more about charitable gift annuities or giving to Wartburg Seminary, contact the Department for Mission Support at (563) 589-0336 or missionsupport@wartburgseminary.edu.

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Congregations Walk with Students through Seminary “When this banner came it perfectly conveyed how I feel about my future ministry and what I teach others of the hope of Christ even in darkness.”

–KIM STURTZ, FINAL YEAR MASTER OF DIVINITY STUDENT

Each spring the Von Schwartz Refectory on the Wartburg Seminary campus is adorned with colorful banners for each of the final year students. These banners are reflective of the individual students and made with love by members in students’ home congregations or internship congregations.

The banners represent the support and care that congregations share with students throughout their seminary journey.

“The banners are but just one aspect of the ways congregations, and the individuals within them, play a role in the formation of these gifted and talented leaders.”

–REV. AMY CURRENT, DEAN FOR VOCATION AT WTS

“The role of the home or internship congregation is to lift up and nurture those who have been called by God to serve as leaders for the church. The banners are but just one aspect of the ways congregations, and the individuals within them, play a role in the formation of these gifted and talented leaders,” said Rev. Amy Current, Dean for Vocation at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

One particular banner was sent by Calvary Lutheran of Nillsville, WI to Kim Sturtz, a Final Year Master of Divinity student.

“Before coming to Seminary my husband and I lived in Duluth, MN and were taken by the spiritual power of Lake Superior.

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When deciding on creative route for my banner, Calvary Lutheran, the church I grew up in, asked for me to send a sermon that was powerful to me, personally, to make connection with our particular class verse of ‘Be still and know I am God.’ I sent them my senior preaching sermon, which I preached on the first week of Advent, and talked of learning to walk in the darkness while candle-light snowshoeing along Split Rock State Park’s shore line years ago. It taught me to walk humbly yet courageously with Christ in the dark, even though chaos may overtake different aspects of life,” shared Kim Sturtz.

Many congregations also take on a role of supporting the students from their congregation financially throughout their theological education. And other congregations who don’t currently have a student attending seminary offer prayers for students, gifts of scholarships or general financial support for the seminary.

All support from congregations, and the individuals who are represented among them, becomes a meaningful representation of the body of Christ supporting one another in God’s call.

Thanks be to God!

To learn more about what you or your congregation can do to support future leaders, email missionsupport@wartburgseminary.edu or call (563) 589-0336.

WTS Announces Election of 14th President PHOTO BY JIM RO

ESE

“We are nimble, faithful, cohesive, missional - and more than these, Wartburg is ready to serve God and the church.”

–REV. LOUISE N. JOHNSON, WTS PRESIDENT-ELECT

In its spring board meeting, the Wartburg Theological Seminary Board of Directors elected its fourteenth president, Rev. Louise N. Johnson. Rev. Johnson is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary and has served at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) since 2004 where she is currently Vice President for Mission Advancement.

Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and Chair of the Board of Directors, Rev. Dr. Stephen Cornils, said, “The Wartburg Seminary Presidential Search Committee and Board of Directors believe God has called the Rev. Louise N. Johnson to extend Wartburg’s deep commitments, traditions and shape of mission forward in bold visioning and holy experimentation: serving the Lord’s Church as a spirit-driven seminary hardwired for courageous cultural engagement and evangelical effectiveness.”

Johnson has served in various roles at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia since 2004, most recently as the Vice President for Mission Advancement, a position she has held since 2012. Prior to her time at LTSP, she served as the Associate Director of Admissions at Wartburg Theological Seminary from 1999 to 2004 and also as the pastor of Salem Evangelical

Lutheran Church in Spragueville, Iowa from 2000 to 2004.

Johnson received her Master of Divinity degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary (1999) and her Bachelor of Arts in German from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio (1991).

President-Elect Johnson said of her new appointment, “I am incredibly proud to be a WTS graduate. We can certainly claim our fair share of Bishops, teachers, and churchwide leaders, but what makes me really proud to say I am a graduate are the thousands of church leaders who are on the front lines making the difference in people’s lives everyday – those who sit by bedsides and stand at gravesides, those who preach and pray and accompany, the ones who tend to children, and serve and love the least, the lost, and the broken. I am proud to be part of this tradition and proud to lead the school that has formed valued leaders for 161 years and running. We are nimble, faithful, cohesive, missional – and more than these, Wartburg is ready to serve God and the church.”

Johnson will begin her leadership for Wartburg Theological Seminary on June 17, 2015. She follows President Rev. Dr. Stanley N. Olson, who has served at Wartburg since January 1, 2011.

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Call Stories: Common Threads of Discernment and Mentoring When I got home, I just feeling very peaceful and I just decided to open the Bible and start reading through the passion narrative.

It really hit me, I think this is what God is calling me to do. I remember, my wife was at work, so I called my mother. I told her, ‘I think God is calling me to be a pastor.’ She immediately said, ‘David, that’s the Holy Spirit. You need to call pastor.’ And then hung the phone up on me. My mom doesn’t do that, so I called my pastor and he said, ‘I think you need to come down now.’ I did, and five hours later, I walked out of the office and pretty much knew what God was calling me to do. It was Easter Sunday when I made the proclamation to my home congregation and I’ve been on that journey ever since.”

DAVID TIELBAR, FINAL YEAR MASTER OF DIVINITY STUDENT

Current students, David Tielbar and Sarah Stansfield, share their own compelling call stories and two very different journeys that led them to be formed as future leaders for the church at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

David Tielbar, a final year MDiv student, is originally from Guttenberg, Iowa. Prior to enrolling at Wartburg Seminary, David worked in a group home for mentally and physically challenged individuals. David was also a member of the Iowa Army National Guard where he served for 23 years.

After retiring from the National Guard, David found himself following a call that has been working within him for quite some time. “I have been on a long journey, at least that’s the way it feels,” says David. “My call to ministry in the beginning was more external. I’ve had people tell me that I’d make a good pastor someday. Of course, that didn’t quite jive with me at that point in my life.”

David shared, “But I remember very distinctly, Good Friday in 2002. I had just assisted at Good Friday services. It was a Tenebrae service, and I remember walking home from church.

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The pastor that walked with David as he felt God calling him to become a pastor is Harold McMillan, Wartburg Seminary Class of ’72. After Holy Week, David and Harold came down to Wartburg Seminary and talked to members of the admissions and vocation team. As David walked down the halls filled with photos of WTS graduates he said, “I can pretty much find everybody that had an influence in my life at some point: baptism, confirmation, Sunday school, you name it, and they are all there. So I had a good idea of where I was going to go for seminary.” After that he started a conversation with the candidacy committee that recommended he get his bachelor’s degree. The degree process took a bit longer than anticipated because of military deployments, but now David graduates this spring from Warburg Seminary with a Masters in Divinity and will be sent out to serve the church.

David’s call story happened over many years and after a fulfilling career. God’s call is different for everyone. Sarah Stansfield shares how one tragic moment changed her life course from becoming a band director to finding a calling in ministry.

Sarah Stansfield has just finished her first year at Wartburg Theological Seminary. She came to Wartburg directly from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where she graduated with a double major in cultural music and religion, with a faith and leadership concentration.

Sarah felt a call to ministry about half way through her freshman year of college when she attended church a few days following a traumatic experience life experience and recalls, “I sang in the praise team at church and that Sunday there was a healing

“I realized that I was being shaped as a leader, a pastor, my whole life, I just hadn’t realized it.”–SARAH STANSFIELD, FIRST YEAR MASTER OF DIVINITY STUDENT, PICTURED RIGHT

service. Towards the end of the last song we were singing, I realized that I should probably talk to someone about what had happened to me. I thought a pastor might be a good place to start. So I said a quick prayer in my head, ‘God, if you really want me to talk to Pastor Heather, you make it abundantly clear that this is what you want me to do.’ At that time, the song ended, and Pastor Heather walked to the front of the church and said, ‘If anyone needs to talk to me about anything I will be in the Fireside Room after the service.’”

Pastor Heather continued to walk Sarah through a difficult time in her life and helped her get the support she needed. A few months later, Sarah reached out to Pastor Heather through email and asked her to be a mentor. “My fiancé was looking over my shoulder while I put together the email and said, ‘Sarah, you know, she’s going to think that you want to be a pastor or something.’ My response, ‘yeah, she just might...’”

It was at that point in Sarah’s life that everything in her life seemed to make sense. “I realized that I was being shaped as a leader, a pastor, my whole life, I just hadn’t realized it. I needed someone to voice it for me, and once it was said, there was no turning back.”

Like David, Sarah also had many pastors throughout her life nurture her call to ministry. Sarah says, “I’m very lucky to have pastors and mentors in my life.” Sarah grew up always knowing Wartburg as she was surrounded by Wartburg Seminary graduates including her father, grandfather and godfather.

During her junior year of college, Sarah came to a Considering Your Call weekend to explore Wartburg since she had never been to the campus. “From the moment that I stepped on campus, I just felt like I was home. It just felt right. I gave other seminaries a chance, I really wanted to like other ones. I didn’t want to go here just because everybody else had gone here, but in the end there was just no question in my mind that this was the place for me,” stated Sarah.

Currently, Sarah finds herself completing her first year at Wartburg Seminary and shares this message with others who might be discerning a call to ministry, “Be open minded. Don’t think you have all the answers because you don’t and you won’t.

Don’t wait for all the answers because they’ll come one by one throughout this whole process. Just go with what you really feel in your heart.”

Be a sender Like David and Sarah, many of the students at Wartburg Seminary find that they have been nurtured in their call to ministry by members of their congregations, mentors, and pastors.

With the ever growing need for leaders in the church, YOU can play an important role in engaging others who may be interested in the mission of the church.

How can you be a sender?

• Lift up and encourage those who may have gifts for public ministry.

• Share your own call story with others in your congregation.

• Refer someone who may be considering a call to www.wartburgseminary.edu.

• Utilize the WTS tool kit at www.wartburgsemianry.edu/toolkit to share in conversation about vocation and Wartburg Theological Seminary.

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Exploring Faith Online Course: Spirituality and Discipleship in Daily Life The goal is to make theological education more accessible to all people in all vocations and places in their lives.

PICTURED RIGHT: TIMOTHY SNYDER, ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR OF THEOLOGY & SPIRITUALITY

“Well, it’s bold, that’s for sure,” says Timothy Snyder, Adjunct Instructor of Theology and Spirituality at WTS, when asked to describe Wartburg Seminary’s new Exploring Faith curriculum.

This curriculum is a component of a new venture Wartburg Seminary has embarked on this academic year called Learning for Life - Seminary for Everyone, the goal of which is to make theological education more accessible to all people in all vocations and places in their lives.

This spring, Snyder taught one of the Exploring Faith online courses, “Spirituality and Discipleship in Daily Life.” Snyder lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and in addition to being an adjunct instructor for WTS, currently is serving a call as a director of education at Faith Lutheran Church in nearby Cambridge.

Snyder is also working towards his doctorate in theology from Boston University. He is teaching and doing research there as well, with his work focusing on the relationship between theology and religious practice in the contemporary American context.

The spirituality and discipleship course Snyder taught this spring for WTS was an introduction to the challenges and opportunities for faithful practice across what he calls the “domains” of daily life - home, work, public life and popular culture. Snyder explains, “We considered the home and we talked about our families and about mundane things like doing the dishes and the laundry. We considered our work and learned that some of us were retired and others were considering major career transitions. We considered our public lives together and struggled with impromptu case studies that ask difficult questions such as, ‘how ought we respond as a congregation when a young black kid is shot by a cop and neither I nor my pastor know how adequately respond?’ We considered popular culture by listening together to Kanye West, Arcade Fire, U2, Billie Holiday and Leonard Cohen. We considered these things and then tried to make sense of where is God in all of it. We 12 LifeTogether

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quickly learned that we need all hands on deck to make sense of faith in everyday life.”

WTS will offer more Exploring Faith online PHOTO CRED IT: KATIE ERNS courses such T as this one this summer, beginning June 1, as well as fall courses beginning September 14.

Courses are offered at both entry and advanced levels. Snyder feels anyone would be able to benefit from one of Wartburg’s Exploring Faith courses. He shares, “In my spring course, I had students who had taken several online courses, students with MDivs already behind them and students for whom this was their first graduate course, their first theology course and their first online course. It was a pretty wide spectrum and that’s what I loved about it. So, anyone and everyone should consider taking an entry-level course. The advanced courses are a bit different since they’re tailored more carefully towards the continuing education needs of our congregation leaders, but certainly if you’re a rostered leader or lay leader in a congregation you should take a look at those courses.”

Snyder is excited to be part of these courses and this new concept of Learning for Life –Seminary for Everyone. He says he feels privileged to be a part of the initiative, especially in its infancy, and looks forward to seeing where it goes. He’s also impressed by the boldness of this venture that Wartburg Seminary has undertaken. “We may be a small seminary,” he says, “but when it comes to the future of theological education, we’re thinking bigger than I might have expected.”

Wart burg Theological Seminary

Whether you are new to theological education, looking to explore your faith, earn a certificate in a ministry specialty area, or a professional minister looking for an advanced course, Wartburg Theological Seminary has a Learning for Life program that is right for you.

Wartburg Theological Seminary is pleased to announce the development of Exploring Faith, online and intensive courses open to everyone.

Exploring Faith Online Courses

• •

•

5 week and 8 week sessions Taken individually or in groups from a congregation Entry level and advanced level topics

Entry Level Course Offerings Fall 2015 Courses:

The Struggle for Faithfulness & Flexibility: From the Reformation to the Present There is a continuing tension in the life and mission of the Church. On the one hand, the church must remain faithful to the unchanging truth of God revealed in and through Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. On the other hand, the Church much proclaim this truth in meaningful and relevant ways in many different cultures and times. This course will look at church history as the story of the Church’s efforts, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discern how it can be both faithful to the truth and engaged with the world in meaningful and relevant ways. Dr. Jerry Folk (Online; September 14-November 6) The Gathered - Scattered Church: Releasing God’s People for Ministry in the World The church at its best is missional; our very nature and purpose are defined by our participation in God’s redemptive mission in and to the world. Yet we have not lived into that call because we have not been able to move beyond an understanding of church as a gathered, corporate entity. This course will help congregations and their leaders find new meaning, vitality, purpose and even joy by letting go of our preoccupation with the vitality of the institution and re-forming ourselves as communities that prepare, support, encourage, equip and send people into their everyday lives as God’s partners in the care of all creation. Rev. Dwight DuBois (Online; September 14-November 6)

Intensive Courses

• Held on campus at Wartburg Theological Seminary • 3 days of learning and conversation

Connecting Faith & Daily Life This course will provide ways to develop the congregation and other faith communities as “confirming communities” using Martin Luther’s Large and Small Catechisms in highly experiential ways. The group will be using a wide variety of methods; the content will be participants’ own lives and the foundations of the faith. Participants will gain skill in leadership in education among all ages.

Dr. Norma Cook Everist (Intensive; October 16-18)

Mark Your Calendar for These Events: June 22 - July 2, 2015 Luther Academy of the Rockies July 11-21, 2015 Wartburg Youth Leadership School (WYLS) September 20-23, 2015 Claiming Your Vocation for Life October 18-20, 2015 Reformation and Renewal

All alumni are encouraged to attend, and the following class years will celebrate class reunions: 2010, 2005, 2000, 1995 1990 – 25 Year Reunion 1985, 1980 1975 – 40 Year Reunion 1970 1965 – 50 Year Reunion 1960, 1955, 1950 Note: The 40 and 50 year reunions will be celebrated at this event.

Advanced Level Course Offerings

Fall 2015 Courses: Old Testament in the New Testament The authors of the New Testament drew heavily on their Scripture (what many Christians now call the Old Testament) when writing their stories or correspondence about Jesus and what it meant to follow him. This course explores the various ways that these authors used the Old Testament to make sense of their experiences of Jesus. Rev. Allison deForest (Online; September 14-October 16) Church History for the Practice of Ministry This course offers an overview of the history of Christianity from the apostolic age to the 21st century. Two central emphases will link the Christian communities surveyed. First, we will discuss and evaluate how churches have responded to broader societal shifts, including responses to different religious traditions, political realities, understandings of gender and sexuality, and globalization. Second, students will be asked to consider what role narratives of the history of Christianity play in contemporary conversations within the church. Rev. Philip Forness (Online; September 14-October 16)

Connect with WTS via Podcasts

Go to www.wartburgseminary. podbean.com Sermon podcasts are from Wartburg Seminary’s daily chapel service which is central to Wartburg’s worship-centered community of learning. The sermons are given by Wartburg Seminary faculty, staff, and guests. ifeTogether | | Issue Issue1,1,2015 2015 13 13 L LifeTogether

Church outdoors in the beautiful hill country of Texas

By Rev. Elizabeth (Liz) Stein, D.Min, Development and Administrative Associate

“Often times the bird song, or the rabbit, or the deer cutting across visually is perfectly wonderful and appropriate.” - REV. CARMEN RETZLAFF they already have of finding God in nature and yet being in community. We believe that you can have both and that they are not in contrast to each other.

Dr. Stein: It sounds like you are excited about this ministry.

Is there something in particular that excites you more than anything else?

Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest (LSPS) is a program of Wartburg Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. LSPS prepares leaders for Hispanic ministry contexts in the borderland of the Southwest and other cross-cultural ministries. The following interview took place in Dripping Springs, TX outside of Austin. Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Stein interviews Rev. Carmen Retzlaff, a former student of LSPS, who is now serving as a pastor and mission developer at New Life Lutheran Church in Dripping Springs, TX. Rev. Retzlaff has been serving New life for more than two years.

Rev. Retzlaff describes her ministry setting: New Life is an outdoor worshiping community on a 12 acre piece of land in the beautiful Texas hill country; it is easy to feel close to God there.

The ministry started in a pizza parlor which was closed on Sundays, and then the worshipping community rented a space in a strip center. One year ago a decision was made to move from the strip center onto the 12 acres of land and become an outdoor worshipping community. The outdoor worship space offers a place where many people can have an experience that

1414 LifeTogether 1, 2015 LifeTogether| Issue | Issue 1, 2015

Rev. Retzlaff: I am really excited. It is the two things of being out in the community and being in creation. There is an enthusiasm about being a part of a mission church, a new start, where we are by definition creating things that are different and thinking outside the box. In this particular setting at this particular place it has included this gift of being out in creation and deeply living into those ideas about environmental stewardship, about theology of creation and where we fit into it, about interactions with other cultural understandings of how we relate to creation, how we connect to our human neighbors as well as our animal and plant neighbors. It is an opportunity to think about our stories of being God’s people, of tabernacle, of wandering in the desert when you are really in the desert.

Thinking of Jesus’ ministry being outside, teaching and being mobile.

Dr. Stein: I am aware as we sit outside for this interview, the background noises of the birds singing, airplanes and emergency vehicles. How do you deal with that in your worship setting?

Rev. Retzlaff: Often times the bird song, or the rabbit or the deer cutting across visually is perfectly wonderful and appropriate.

When you are silence and in prayer and you hear bird song it is astonishing. Other things force us to feel like we are more in the community, both the natural community and the human built environment. I try to talk about sirens and emergency vehicles that are more audible when there are no walls between you, as an opportunity to pray for our neighbors and be mindful of the first responders. And sometimes when wind is loud we talk about the Holy Spirit or sometimes when the rain is loud, I say that it is a better sermon than I would have preached and we listen to it for a while. Actually it is related to our theory of welcoming children.

We have a place for them to go to do work that is related to the topics that we are discussing. We have a table in the worship area and so we have gotten used to distractions and making them a gift rather than a subtraction. We have made them an addition.

Dr. Stein: Share about how your call was shaped.

Rev. Retzlaff: My previous career was in public health. I did a lot of HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, and migrant farm worker health work. My call came as the parts of my life as a parent, as a community member, and as a person working in public health came together thinking about how we relate to our neighbors.

My own spiritual journey connected. LSPS has been a part of that. As I was discerning my call to ministry, I discovered LSPS and this was a wonderful place for me to come and to dig deeper into those ideas of who was our neighbor and where God was calling me to serve in this exciting time and place.

Dr. Stein: What aspects of the LSPS community have you taken with you into your ministry site?

Rev. Retzlaff: I have taken some concrete things like: language skills. I can preside in both English and Spanish — bilingually.

Being able to talk more comfortably in pastoral Spanish with my neighbors. The main thing that I have taken with me, that I see other graduates of LSPS also have taken with them, is a perspective on interacting with the world. A global perspective, an ability to imagine all the points of view that are coming into play in every conversation in every community. Being on the lookout for that; being aware of that. Hearing those different voices and perspectives is the main thing that I take from LSPS. Dr. Stein: Now that you have you have been serving in ministry for a few years, what excites you most about God’s call and how has that compelled you to share with others?

Rev. Retzlaff: What excites me most about God’s call, is being involved in mission development. I didn’t expect that. Being a part of a new start is very exciting. Again, I credit LSPS for some of this. The way of thinking contextually. I honed some of

those skills at LSPS but I am still honing those skills. It is still a challenge and an exciting part of my call to continually ask, ‘What is the Holy Spirit up to in this place at this time?’ And, ‘How am I participating in that and how is this community participating in of that?’ We are being challenged and called to go deeper into environmental ministry; we are being challenged and called in Dripping PICTURED: REV. CARMEN RETZLAFF, Springs to go deeper into LSPS GRADUATE AND PASTOR AT NEW LIFE LUTHERAN CHURCH real concrete thinking about how we relate to our neighbors including our immigrant neighbors from the south. As well as who the Holy Spirit brings to this community. The thing that excites and challenges me is to be open to changes in direction or other calls that come from other people who join us.

Dr. Stein: The mission of LSPS is forming leaders to minister in a globalized world. What would you say about the importance of this mission for the future of the wider church?

Rev. Retzlaff: I think it is crucial, not just in terms of numbers of people in the pews, but crucial in reminding us of our call, our mandate from Christ to serve our neighbor. It involves knowing our neighbor. Those are skills that we must learn and practice.

How to know our neighbor; How to engage with our neighbor who may not be the person that we normally engage with. We must practice crossing those bridges and building those bridges.

And coming up against the other, whoever that might be for us, in order to teach us more about ourselves, and about God and how to be in relation with each other. The mission of LSPS grounds us back into our mission as Christians.

LSPS Upcoming Offerings: Building Congregational Capacity for Hispanic Ministry (Level II Intensive) June 7 - 12, 2015

To register go to www.wartburgseminary.edu or email: lsps@lsps.edu.

LifeTogether | Issue 1, 2014 15

Faculty & Staff Updates Rev. Dr. Nathan C.P. Frambach, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of the Center for Youth Ministries, has returned to teaching at Wartburg Seminary after a sabbatical year during 2014. He presented a post-sabbatical lecture at WTS on April 22, 2015 entitled “Whither Church, Now & Then: What the Church of the Future Will Look Like?” He also gave a presentation at the WTS Three Year Reunion on April 9, 2015 entitled “What is the Cultural Commute?” Frambach will also serve as the keynote speaker and Bible study leader at the South Carolina synod assembly May 28-30, 2015 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The focus of the presentations at the assembly will be faith formation across the generations and public ministry. Frambach will also be teaching an intensive class at WTS in early June on “Pastoral Care in Context” as a part of Wartburg’s distributive learning program.

Rev. Dr. Craig Nessan, Academic Dean and Professor of Contextual Theology and Ethics, led the January Term immersion to Germany in January 2015 with the theme “Luther, German Pietism, and Bonhoeffer.” Alumni and friends of WTS are welcome to join him for the next study tour to Germany in January 2017. Nessan has also been collaborating with others in the Covenant Cluster Network on a Life of Faith Initiative. The purpose of the Life of Faith Initiative is to stir up a culture change that frees the church to make the service of the baptized in the arenas of daily life the central focus of its mission.

This initiative intentionally builds on the premise and success of the Book of Faith Initiative. This project has included the development of a model resolution for synod assemblies. There is also a group on Facebook devoted to the Life of Faith Initiative.

Rev. Dr. Thomas Schattauer, Professor of Liturgics and Dean for the Chapel, has returned to teaching following the second half of a 16 LifeTogether

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sabbatical in the fall of 2014. Last July, Schattauer attended the fourth triennial meeting of the International Loehe Society in Neuendettelsau, Germany, where he was elected co-president of the society. He presented a paper entitled “A Liturgical People: Liturgical Formation for an Apostolic Community in the Work of Wilhelm Loehe.” He will present an expanded version of that same paper at the 25th Congress of Societas Liturgica in Quebec City, Canada, August 2015.

Schattauer also contributed a reflection piece entitled “Exploring the Baptismal Foundations of Eucharistic Hospitality” for the ELCA conversation about the relation of baptism to communion. It can be found on the ELCA website at www.elca.org/ worship among the perspective papers in the “Table and Font” resource. Schattauer is enjoying a shorter commute these days from Decorah, Iowa, where his wife, Paula Carlson, now serves as president of Luther College.

Rev. Dr. Winston Persaud, Professor of Systematic Theology, Director for the Center for Global Theologies, Holder of Kent S. Knutson and UELC Chair in Theology and Mission, is currently serving as Acting Academic Dean at Wartburg Theological Seminary during Dr. Craig Nessan’s sabbatical (Feb. 1, 2015- Jan. 31, 2016). Dr. Winston Persaud and Dr. May Burt Persaud served at teachers-of-the-church-in-residence at St. Andrew’s LC, Mahtomedi, MN, Jan. 10-16, 2015. Persaud preached and taught at the weekend Mission Fest, Jan. 24-25, 2015, Zion LC, Iowa City, IA, and he taught two sessions on “The Doctrine of the Trinity,” Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 2015, First LC, Cedar Rapids, IA. He was co-presenter for ordination of WTS 2013 graduate, Lisa Burbank, Feb. 22, 2015, Salem LC, Sandwich, IL He preached and presided at the Sunday worship service at the WTS event, Considering Your Call, March 15, 2015. Persaud assisted in the planning of and was a co-presenter with Dr. Janine Idziak (Loras College) at the LutheranRoman Catholic Event, Feb. 12-13, 2015: Observance of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation; Observance of the 50th Anniversary of the Closing of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65); Celebration

of the 15th Anniversary of the Signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (October 31, 1999), which was co-sponsored by WTS through its Center for Global Theologies — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, and Loras College, with additional funding from a grant from Humanities Iowa.

Persaud’s article, “Scripture, Creed, and Empire: Negotiating the Challenges to Find Norming Norms,” was published in Dialog 54, No. 1 (Spring 2015): 72-79.

Persaud attended the Central States Synod Candidacy Committee meeting, Kansas City, April 10-11, 2015 and the Augsburg Fortress Publishers Board of Trustees meeting, April 17-18, 2015. This spring, he is teaching Systematic Theology (with Rev. Dr. Duane Priebe); Readings in Theology — JDDJ and L-RC Dialogue documents: The Hope of Eternal Life (round XI), and The One Mediator, The Saints and Mary (round VIII); The Doctrine of the Trinity (area elective in theology), and Luther and the Religions (capstone in theology). Also, he is teaching the Select Online course, Systematic Theology.

Molly Weber, Student Services Specialist, was the 2015 recipient of the John E. Moore Award, an honor presented by the Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators to an outstanding Financial Aid Office that has demonstrated the highest standards of service and commitment to their students and community. Weber describes her “kitchen table” approach to financial aid as being student centered and meeting students and their families where their needs are. She notes that financial aid isn’t about specific events, such as receiving a financial aid package or disbursing student loans, but rather is about an ongoing relationship between the student and the institution centered on the funding of education and financial wellness.

Sending Leaders for God’s Mission Wartburg Seminary Commencement, May 17, 2015 Wartburg Theological Seminary honored forty-six degree and certificate candidates at commencement exercises on Sunday, May 17. Graduates of the 161st class of Wartburg Seminary are now sent forth for service in the church as leaders for God’s mission in the world. As pastors, teachers, diaconal ministers, chaplains, teachers, youth leaders and associates in ministry they will proclaim the Gospel in communities, congregations and ministries throughout the country and world.

PICTURED ABOVE: MS. RITA DUDLEY AND HER FAMILY - RITA WAS PRESENTED WITH THE LIVING LOEHE AWARD.

PICTURED ABOVE: CLASS OF 2015 PICTURED BELOW: REV. AMY CURRENT DELIVERS COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS WHILE PRESIDENT STAN OLSON LOOKS ON.

PICTURED ABOVE: THOMAS FRANKLIN O’MEARA, O.P. RECEIVES THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF DIVINITY.

LifeTogether | Issue 1, 2015 17

Alum Notes

Wartburg Theological Seminary Dr. Lee Griffin died October 21, 2015 in Spokane, WA. He served as Prof of Pastoral Care at Wartburg Seminary 1970-72, Luther Seminary 1973-80, and consultant to ALC bishops & Global missions until retirement.

‘40 Mrs. Marie Hoefer, wife of Rev. Erich Hoefer, died February 24, 2015.

‘45 Dr. Arthur Becker died January 23, 2015. He held an MA in Pastoral Care from Andover Newton Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Pastoral Psychology from Boston University.

He was recruited to Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 1955 to establish the department of Pastoral Care and taught there until his retirement in 1985. During that time he also was instrumental in starting interdisciplinary course with ministry, law, and medicine in social ethics, and was appointed to the first Norman A. Mentor Chair of Pastoral Theology.

He served on the first Task Force to establish standards for Lutheran Chaplains in nursing homes, and started a Chaplaincy program at Children’s Hospital (now Nationwide Children’s Hospital) as a training site. He spread the developing field of pastoral care abroad by introducing Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at the seminary in Natal, South Africa and teaching CPE in Namibia (1970). He also presented workshops on Ministry to Older Persons to churches throughout 18 LifeTogether

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Australia and in New Guinea (1988). Among his many publications, Ministry With Older Persons is still in print and used by congregations in lay ministries to older persons. He was awarded the Christus in Mundo Medal (Christ in the World) by the Lutheran Church for lifelong contributions to the field of pastoral care.

Arthur retired to Estes Park, Colorado with his wife, Elizabeth, where they were founding members of Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church. Becker was also instrumental in securing the presence of Good Samaritan Homes independent and assisted living facility in Estes Park.

Rev. Roland C. Brandt died March 1, 2015. He served as a missionary in New Guinea, as principal for Vernacular Teacher Training School; as chaplain for Katherine Lehman School; First and Highland, Sherman, SD; Bethlehem, Bayport, MN; and St. Paul, Stillwater, MN. ‘51 Mrs. Naomi Ruth, wife of Dr. John Northwall, died November 10, 2014.

‘52 Mrs. Ruth Thomack, wife of Rev. Alwin Thomack, died October 16, 2014.

‘53 Rev. Robert Hansen died December 29, 2014.

He served congregations in Oregon, WI; Selma, CA; and Northfield and Harmony, MN. Rev Gerhard Nygaard died January 23, 2015.

He served a congrega-

tion in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada and CushingLuck, WI. Gerhard was Administrator-Chaplain of Sunset Nursing Home.

He then accepted a call to Northfield Retirement Center, Northfield, MN. ‘54 Mrs. Ruth Aden, wife of Dr. Leroy Aden, died January 1, 2015.

Rev. Arthur Mees died March 24, 2015.

He served Lutheran Church of the Cross, Sacramento, CA; Christ, Compton, CA; Grace, Kingman, AZ; founded Mt. Olive, Lake Havasu City, AZ; and American, Tucson, AZ. After retirement he started Gloria de Christo, Yuma, AZ; St. Andrew, Las Vegas, NV; and Christ Evangelical, Goodyear, AZ. He also experienced serving as a Relief Pastor in expatriate communities in Saudi Arabia, ministering to Christians from around the world from 1986-1991. Art was the vice-president of the Lutheran Welfare’s Northern California Board. He and his wife, Gladys, were a Clergy Couple with Lutheran Marriage Encounter.

They co-chaired Arizona Lutherhostel for 12 years and organized annual Lutherhostels at Luther College’s summer music program in Decorah, IA. ‘55 Rev. John T. Beck died March 1, 2015. He served as Chaplain to the U.S. Navy in locations around the world from 1955-1975. He received a bronze star for his humanitarian work during his service at Marine headquarters in

Da Nang, Vietnam. After his retirement from the Navy in 1975 he served at St Mark’s, Chula Vista, CA; Director of Development at Dana College, Blair, NE; First, Fremont, NE and the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home board for eight years.

‘56 Rev. Eugene Hannemann died November 5, 2014.

‘57 Rev. Benjamin F. Davis died March 3, 2015. He served in the mission field of Papua New Guinea and parishes in Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota and Arizona.

‘58 Rev. Emmett Busch died January 14, 2015.

He served two churches in Saskatchewan, Canada, Peace in Yellow Grass and St. John in Lang; St. John, Greene, IA; St. John, Bellevue, IA. Emmett helped start up Bellevue Meals on Wheels and was the Conference Dean for 4 years. He was a volunteer fireman for 15 years, an ambulance volunteer for 10 years and a Rotary member for 28 years.

Emmett also drove a morning bus route for 20 years for the Bellevue School District.

‘60 Rev. Gerald Westerbuhr died September 1, 2014. He served as a Parish Pastor and Chaplain for forty-five years.

‘61 Rev. John Beem died December 26, 2014.

He served as an intern in Clara City, MN and began his pastoral min-

istry in Humboldt, IA. He then served other parishes in Muskegon Heights, MI; Dubuque, IA; and Oshkosh, WI. He became bishop of the East Central Wisconsin Synod in 1988 and retired in 2000. John and his wife, Carla, moved to Alexandria where he continued doing interim ministry at various congregations. He was active as a leader in the formation of Living Word, an LCMC congregation.

Dr. Charles Dickson is the author of a new book titled, Experiments in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. This book is his 11th publication and his fourth in the field of chemistry. He has also written books in other areas including theology, history and Scandinavian studies.

Additionally, he writes for newspapers and periodicals including The Wall Street Journal, The Priest (a national magazine for Catholic clergy) and The Christian Science Monitor. Dickson also authored a previous syndicated column on alternative medicine for The New York Times.

Currently, Dr. Dickson is an adjunct instructor at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC and is interim pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lenoir.

‘62 Rev. William A. Dressen died January 12, 2015.

He served Immanuel, Camp Cole, MO; Trinity, Stover, MO; Faith, Talmage, NE; and Christ, Syracuse, NE. He spent a year studying French at

the Alliance Francaise, Paris, France in preparation for serving in the mission field as school principal and teacher in Cameroon, Africa.

Rev. Steven G. Vander Tuig died October 30, 2014. He served Immanuel, Glenvil, NE and Messiah, Aurora, NE.

‘67 Rev. Duane Everson is the author of a new book entitled, Un Parishable Stories (by a parish pastor). Everson served 47 years in Minnesota and recently retired and lives in Northfield, MN. ‘69 Rev. Richard Lang died September 26, 2014.

‘76 Rev. Dr. Norman Ullestad died November 17, 2014. He served churches in Manly, Bettendorf, Postville, and Des Moines, IA and Salina, KS. ‘77 Rev. Dr. Paul Hill has accepted a call at Lake Wapogassot Lutheran Bible Camp, Amery, WI. He previously served Vibrant Faith Ministries, Minneapolis, MN.

‘92 Rev. Mark Gruner accepted a call at Spring Lake, North Branch, MN. He previously served Blanchardville, Blanchardville, WI. ‘93 Rev. Bonny Kinnunen went on leave from call to answer a call to serve and volunteer at Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta India for January through Easter 2015.

‘97 Rev. Elizabeth Polanzke has accepted a call as a Regional Gift Planner for Central Pennsylvania for the ELCA Foundation. She previously served Luther Memorial, York, PA. ‘99 Rev. Erik Goehner has accepted a call to Holy Trinity, Thousand Oaks,

CONSIDERING

your call Considering Your Call Weekend November 14-16, 2015

gather...

CA. He previously served Mt. Cross, Camarillo, CA. ‘00 Rev. David Lund has accepted a call at Christ, Hartford, SD. He previously served as Associate Pastor at Trinity, Yankton, SD. ‘01 Rev. Jack Way, Jr. has accepted a call at Luther Valley, Beloit, WI. He previously served Barneveld, Barneveld, WI. ‘04 Rev. Mike Carlson has accepted a call at St Andrew, Mahtomedi, MN. He previously served at Shepherd of the Lake, Prior Lake, MN. Rev. Jan Rippentrop has been elected by the Board of Directors of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago as the Axel Jacob and Gerda Maria (Swanson) Carlson Professor of Homiletics effective July 1, 2015. Jan has designed and taught homiletics courses for

MA, TEEM, Distributed Learning, and MDIV students at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

She also taught worship at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and served as a teaching assistant for two ecumenical and diverse homiletics courses at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.

‘06 Rev. Linda Rose has accepted a call at First, Havre, MT. She previously served Emmanuel, Shepherd, MT. ‘10 Rev. Ellery Dykeman accepted a call at Peace, Dickinson, ND. He previously served Wayne Zion, Monticello, IA. ‘11 Rev. Susan Haukaas has accepted a call at Trinity, Jamestown, ND. She previously served Adams Mountain Lutheran Parish, Adams, ND.

key was ordained February 8, 2015. She has accepted a call at Salem, Lake Mills, IA. ‘13 Rev. Lisa Burbank was ordained on February 22, 2015. She has accepted a call at Scenic Hills Lutheran Parish, which consists of St. John Evangelical, Massbach, IL; Trinity, Derinda, IL and St. Paul, Hanover, IL. ‘14 Rev. Michelle Kanzaki was ordained February 16, 2015. She has accepted a call at Trinity, Cordova, NE. Rev. Chris Strohm was ordained on April 18, 2015. He has accepted a call at Bethesda, Bristol, SD and Butler, Butler, SD.

Rev. Melinda McClus-

We invite you to consider your call with us at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

No matter where we are in life, in age or career, God calls us all. Wartburg offers residential and distributed degree programs, as well as on-campus and online courses and programs. To schedule a campus visit, attend a “Considering Your Call” event or learn more about exploring your discernment, call 563.589.0203 or email admissions@wartburgsemianry.edu.

experience...

explore...

LifeTogether | Issue 1, 2015 19

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Upcoming Events: June 22 - July 2, 2015 Luther Academy of the Rockies July 11-21, 2015 Wartburg Youth Leadership School (WYLS) September 20-23, 2015 Claiming Your Vocation for Life October 18-20, 2015 Reformation and Renewal November 14-16, 2015 Considering Your Call Weekend For more information on these events, visit www.wartburgseminary.edu

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