PS Spring 2012 - The Magazine of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

Listening

THE PHILADELPHIA SEMINARY

PSMAGAZINE

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Changingof a

to theVoices

SPRING 2012

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Message from the deanENVISIONINGTHE FUTURE OFTHEOLOGICAL EDUCATION

This issue’s academic focus, featuring a lead article by President Philip D.W. Krey andmy editorial, takes a close look at the future of theological education, and all theseminary is doing to remain appropriate academically in this challenging time. Thisissue features stories from Prof. David Grafton about our reaccreditation process,alumni, a seminarian, and Trustees.

— J. Paul Rajashekar

Theological education in North America hasundergone change and will continue to do so,reflecting shifts in church and society. Everydecade or so, the faculty at The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP)undertakes a curriculum review and introduces a“new” curriculum for the MDiv and MAR degrees.You might ask, “What’s wrong with our

existing curriculum?”Actually, our current curriculum has served us

well since 2004, when it was introduced with anoverarching theme of “Public Theology.” Judging bythe assessment data, the curriculum has fulfilled itsobjectives. The effectiveness of our curriculum ismeasured through various instruments, includingmeasures of student learning outcomes at variousstages of their study. The Curriculum and Assessment Committeeoversees the effectiveness of the curriculum, proposing changes whennecessary, and reports the assessment data regularly to the facultyand the Board of Trustees.Dr. Mirnalini Sebastian is the Director of Assessment and

Institutional Research, and compiles our assessment data gleanednot only from students but also faculty, alumni, bishops, contextualeducation supervisors, and judicatories. Our objectives includemaking sure that our graduates are not only well-prepared academi-cally, professionally, and spiritually, but also are well-equipped withpastoral skills and fit to undertake the challenging task of ministryin today’s world. Assessment is an ongoing process. We spent theacademic 2010-2011 listening to various voices in specialconvocations about our curriculum and how it is being taught.Once in a while, when LTSP alumni visit the seminary, some-

one will ask me: “What theologians are you reading these days inSystematic Theology?” They don’t often recognize the names I cite.They were expecting me to say, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Emil Bruner,Soren Kierkegaard, and the like. I remind them that we live in adifferent century. The challenges and issues we face and the contextsfor life today are vastly different from what theologians onceexperienced. The necessity to adapt is inevitable.This past fall we embarked on yet another curriculum review.

Assumptions and objectives that framed our existing curriculummust be rethought given the changes we are experiencing in church

and society, such as declining membership in ourcongregations, growing numbers of un-churchedin society, affordability of a full-time pastor,pervasive biblical illiteracy in society, increasedcost of theological education, dwindling financialsupport from our church constituencies, increaseddebt load of our graduates, declining number ofcandidates for ministry, and the emerging realityof religious and cultural pluralism in our midst.LTSP has continually sought to reinvent itself

by broadening the range and appeal of theologicaleducation in the present context. We recentlyintroduced two new degrees: Master of Arts inPublic Leadership (MAPL) was begun in 2009 incollaboration with Fox School of Business and theSchool of Social Work Administration of Temple

University in Philadelphia. This degree is intended to attractstudents interested in Christian ministry (especially service to socialministry organizations), but who are not seeking ordination. Valuingthe importance of qualified teachers in theological institutions wealso launched a PhD program in Public Theology in 2005.Committed to Christian ecumenism, we have established a

“Methodist Advisory Committee” with faculty member Dr. KarynWiseman as director. LTSP is certified by the University Senate ofthe United Methodist Church (UMC) as a recognized institutionfor UMC students. An “Advisory Committee for Anglican Studies,”with faculty member Dr. Storm Swain as director, has been inexistence for several years. These initiatives, together with the UrbanTheological Institute (UTI) program (now over 30 years old!) andgeared toward the African American constituency, are intended toprovide support for students from a variety of church traditions.We’ve responded to congregational needs by adding concentrations

to ourMDiv andMAR curricula helpful for these times: Metropolitan/Urban Ministry, Black Church, Multicultural Ministry/Mission,Latino, and recently, Interfaith Studies. We have made efforts to offer“online” courses in collaboration with The Lancaster TheologicalSeminary.In addition, our curriculum offers “Spanish for Ministry.”

Recognizing the reality that Spanish is becoming the secondlanguage in the U.S., we are offering “Basic Spanish” this springsemester for students, faculty, and staff.

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FEATURESEmbracing the Future Strategically: Listening

to the Voices of a Changing Church ........................................................12

Chair Perspective: Education That Respectsboth Tradition and Change ........................................................................................13

Trustee Perspective: Helping Seminarians Embrace the World ..............14

Alumni Perspective: While We Wait, As We Work..............................................16

Student Perspective: Vocational Challenges and Opportunity ........................17

The Future Shape of Theological Education ................................................................18

Global Perspective: Speaking theUniversal Language of theGospel ........................19

Two Faculty Perspectives: The Hunger Crisis: A “Walking the Walk”Public Theology Approach ..........................................................................................................20

An Exhaustive Self-Study: Why? ......................................................................................22

DEPARTMENTSMessage from the Dean ....................................................Inside front cover

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

Alumni News ........................................................................................................24

News and Notes..........................................................................................26

Faculty/Staff Activities ..................................................................26Passages/In Memoriam ........................................................28

Philanthropy..................................................................29

Around Admissions ..............................32

Look for this icon throughout themagazine for extraWeb content!

PS MAGAZINE � SPRING 2012

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EDITOR/DIRECTOROF COMMUNICATIONS

Merri L. Brown

WRITERSJohn Kahler

Mark A. Staples

PHOTOGRAPHYJohn Kahler

Maria Fumai DietrichRoxi Kringle

EDITORIAL BOARDMerri L. BrownLois La Croix

David D. GraftonLouise Johnson

John KahlerPhilip D.W. KreyJohn V. PuotinenJ. Paul Rajashekar

CORRESPONDENCEPS,

The Lutheran Theological Seminaryat Philadelphia,

7301 Germantown Avenue,Philadelphia, PA 19119

Telephone: 215.248.6311 or1.800.286.4616

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

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

faculty, staff, and friends of the seminary.

© Copyright 2012The Lutheran Theological Seminary

at Philadelphia

Volume 94 Number 1

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

ONTHE FRONT COVER: PresidentPhil Krey is featured, listening to thevoices of a changing church.

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OFFERINGS�

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Muhlenberg 300: September 6 CelebrationWhat a birthday!Tribute to Patriarch Henry Muhlenberg recalls aproud legacy that launched the Lutheran Church in colonial times

Keynoter Martin Marty urged listeners to be inspired by Muhlenberg’s organizingand gathering ideas as a means to think about how to creatively renew andenergize today’s church

If only the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, father of theLutheran church in North America, could have been there to seethe celebration of his 300th birthday party at The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) September 6, 2011.Had he been present, he certainly would have been familiar withthe drenching, windswept rains he regularly described in hisjournals and that accompanied his travels through the colonies andbeyond to found some 115 congregations located from Savannah,Georgia, to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. But the inclement weatherhardly provided a damper for the day. The highlights?

Two sets of remarks were delivered by internationallyregarded scholar, the Rev. Dr. MartinMarty, the Fairfax M.Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the Universityof Chicago Divinity School, who in his keynote explored thetopic, “Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and the Current AmericanChurchscape.” What was a key idea useful for today? “HenryMelchior Muhlenberg was a good example of ‘exemplum,’ one whodefines, lights and invites cultivation,” Marty said. In his diaries arefound stories of “unimaginable travails, difficulties, physical painand illness, occasions for disappointment,” Marty noted. Butoverall, Marty said, Muhlenberg was less into whining about hiscircumstances than he was passionate about being a minister of theGospel and an organizer of the church. Marty suggested today’sbelievers can study and practice the Muhlenberg example asinspiration to “gather and organize” in our time. Marty wasintroduced by one of his former students, the Rev. Dr. Jon Pahlof the seminary faculty.

A stirring opening worship sermon from Bishop Roy E. Rileyof the New Jersey Synod described the work of three pioneersthrough time to explain what he called “…the spirit’s reach of graceand peace that extends beyond even our best imagination.” InNovember 1891, James Augustin Scherer came to St. John’sLutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina determined toserve as a missionary. In 1892 he became the first Lutheranmissionary to Japan, “planting” the Japan Evangelical Lutheran

Church. St. John’s, Riley explained, traces its beginnings to150 years earlier when Muhlenberg arrived in North America and“planted” St. John’s in 1742. Three weeks later against all advice

and determined to carry out his call from Halle in Germany toserve three struggling Pennsylvania churches, Muhlenberg boardedan ill-equipped sloop in November for a dangerous, storm-tossedjourney to Philadelphia. Riley cited many Muhlenberg journalentries about the trip. Here’s one: “During the past night the windwas so violent we sailed more under the water than on it. The crewlay all over us. Oh, how long the minutes and quarter hours werefor me! Around me I had the soaked sailors and dreadfulblasphemers, from above the rain fell on me, from below and fromthe sides the seawater came into my bed. In my stomach the fear ofvomiting tormented; in my blood the fever raged, on my bodypreyed the vermin which were an accumulation of my own andthose of the crew. Only one thing comforted and sustained me inpatience, and that was the thought that if the ship cracked, it wouldgo down and carry my wretched, sinful body down into the depthsand let my soul come to my Redeemer…” “Those of you nowserving the church and preparing for it are not likely in your worstdays to experience ones like these,” Riley said. His sermonic adviceincluded recalling in Scripture the three times denial beforeCaiaphas by Peter of knowing Jesus. “This denial was the polaropposite of the missionary zeal” exhibited by Muhlenberg, Rileysaid. “But in the Gospel we learn that even one who has turnedaway will be received again by the Lord…The experience of graceand forgiveness is related to the mission of ‘feeding my lambs’, themission offered Peter by Jesus,” Riley preached. This past July, Rileydescribed sitting in a pew during worship some 110 miles to thenorth of Charleston in Lexington, South Carolina, with his 88-yearold mother to hear the stories of the Rev. Yasunori Tajima oftoday’s Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Tajima described hisexperience earlier in the year of having been invited by Buddhistand Shinto priests to preside at ceremonies of cremation ofhundreds of unidentified remains being shipped to Tokyo in theaftermath of the catastrophic tsunami. “We stood side by side for


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hours saying prayers I knew were being heard by Jesus,” Tajimatold the congregation. “It was incredible to feel the mercy of Godthere in the midst of such suffering and grief.” Riley’s conclusion?With what was achieved then and now through the lives ofMuhlenberg, Scherer and Tajima, “who can imagine what elseGod can accomplish?”

Four captivating workshops were led by three LTSP facultymembers and a Temple University doctoral student best knownfor his archeological work at the Henry Melchior MuhlenbergHouse in Trappe, Pennsylvania. Krauth Memorial Library DirectorKarl Krueger discussed “From Halle to Philadelphia: Have CallWill Travel.” The Rev. Dr. Jon Pahl, professor of the History ofChristianity in North America, explored “The MuhlenbergMatrix: Muhlenberg’s Ministry with Women and Their Influenceson Him.” The Rev. Dr. Timothy Wengert talked about “HenryMelchior Muhlenberg: America’s First Pastor-Bishop.” Wengertis the Ministerium of Pennsylvania Professor of ReformationHistory and editor/translator of two volumes of Muhlenberg’sCorrespondence. “Discovering the Domestic Sphere in theMuhlenberg Summer Kitchen” was described by the Templearcheologist, Louis Farrell. A few sample snippets from two ofthe workshops: Krueger talked about the risks inherent in the14-weeks Atlantic crossing Muhlenberg made aboard a packetsailing ship where one-third of the passengers and crew couldexpect to die when provisions and water would run out. Contrarywinds extended the trip greatly, but Krueger described howpassionately determined Muhlenberg was to pursue the ministry inAmerica he had been called to, initially serving congregations inTrappe, Germantown and New Hanover in Pennsylvania in amission of faith that grew to so much more. Krueger saidMuhlenberg brought to the young American church a constitution

in 1762, a hymnal and liturgy so that the church might growand survive. “Muhlenberg did not have an ‘edifice complex’(preoccupation with buildings),” Krueger said. Wengert describedpastor and bishop Muhlenberg as one who “lived among thepeople” in his organizational ministry. “He was someone trained inthe best traditions of his time” in Germany despite having hailedfrom a family of simple means. In America, Muhlenberg “was neversimply a parish pastor, but he was also a missionary and EvangelicalBishop focused on the zip code of the day. He trained believers tobe pastors. He lived and worked with the people around him.”Muhlenberg wrote the first constitution of the young Ministeriumof Pennsylvania, an organizational structure of the church he wasgathering into place. And he preached that church people areinterconnected and interdependent upon each other and thathaving an aggregate of congregations was crucial to survival of theyoung church. Wengert said that as passionate as Muhlenberg wasfor his ministry he was not without his “warts.” Muhlenbergfrequently wrote to his benefactors in Germany that his ministrywas woefully underfunded — that his congregants were more poorthan their Mennonite and Moravian counterparts and thus hiscolonial churches rested on shaky foundations. Despite hiscomments about other “competing” churches, Muhlenbergmaintained an ecumenical spirit, Wengert said. He added thatMuhlenberg suffered from depression at times. “He had a heart forpeople but constantly worried about finances,” Wengert noted.“The challenges and difficulties Muhlenberg faced were absolutelyno different from what our churches face today,” he concluded.

Proclamations celebratingMuhlenberg’s legacy were broughtto the seminary from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett,represented by Barbara Frankel, director of the Pennsylvania

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Bishop Roy Riley: “Even one who has turned awaywill be received again by the Lord!”

President Krey with Mayor Nutter. In remarks he“rescinded” the 1917 rejection of the campus‘sMuhlenberg statue.

Dr. Martin Marty: Encouraged believerstoday to use Muhlenberg‘s inspiration“to gather and organize.”


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OFFERINGS�

Historic and Museum Commission, and Philadelphia MayorMichael Nutter. Corbett’s proclamation noted that a Muhlenbergson, Peter, once served as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania andthat Muhlenberg’s pioneering efforts to found an organized churchin North America was part of a freedom of religion legacy “wecontinue to cherish” in Pennsylvania. Frankel announced theapproval of a Pennsylvania grant of $1.25 million to fund aconnector between The Brossman Learning Center and its archivesand the Krauth Memorial Library. Nutter’s personally deliveredproclamation celebrated the educational traditions of MuhlenbergCollege and LTSP, co-planners of the day along with localMuhlenberg-founded churches, and he paid tribute to the semi-nary for the central role it plays as a Mt. Airy landmark. Nutterespecially highlighted Muhlenberg’s concern that young peopleof his day have a chance for the kind of education he was able toobtain as a young person. He referenced the Muhlenberg Statue atthe LTSP driveway entrance, taking note that Philadelphia’s leadersin 1917 rejected locating the statue on city grounds because of hardfeelings toward Germans due to World War I. Nutter drew arousing, standing ovation from 190 banquet attendees when, aspart of the proclamation, he said that he was “hereby rescinding”the 1917 rejection of the statue by the City of Philadelphia and the“great intolerance” represented by the rejection.

Attending the festivities was a direct descendant ofMuhlenberg — Daniel Muhlenberg, a self-described rock banddrummer who belongs to Advent Lutheran Church in New YorkCity and who works as a sexton in two congregations to helpsupport his musical endeavors. Clearly moved by the birthdayspectacle, Daniel Muhlenberg told an interviewer, “I am surprised

to learn about what a man of the people Henry Muhlenberg was. Ialways thought he was kind of an aristocrat. It’s truly inspiring tome to learn about what he went through and what he accom-plished. I’m so glad I could be part of this.” Daniel describedhimself as a sixth or seventh generation descendant of Henry’s andas most closely related to Gotthilf Henry Ernest Muhlenberg, abotanist who Daniel said was Henry’s youngest son. Muhlenbergand his wife, Anna Maria (Weiser) had 11 children, seven of whomsurvived to adulthood.

Bringing greetings during the evening banquet fromMuhlenberg’s birthplace in Einbeck, Germany was Dr.Uwe-Jens Saltzer, who devotes his energies toward historicalpreservation in Muhlenberg’s birthplace. Saltzer explained thatMuhlenberg’s parents were baptized in St. Mary’s Parish in the oldtown, relating closely to a parish structure that has not survived.“We send you kindest regards from the town that had such acreative son. We are proud of what stemmed from inside our walls,that we laid a strong cornerstone that led to a strong LutheranChurch in America.”

The day was co-sponsored by Thrivent Financial forLutherans and Reinhard Schwartz, MD, and his wife Helga,MD, ofMorristown, New Jersey.

A giving opportunity, the HenryMelchiorMuhlenbergLegacy Scholarship, was introduced during the banquet by theRev. Dr. Philip D.W. Krey, seminary president, and the Rev. John V.Puotinen, vice president of the LTSP Office for Philanthropy. Thescholarship will be offered each year to a student who embodiesthe characteristics that defined Muhlenberg. Preference will beaccorded graduates of Muhlenberg College or members of congre-gations Muhlenberg founded. In brief remarks appealing for gifts,Puotinen explained that it costs a seminarian about $31,000

Muhlenberg 300: September 6 Celebrationcontinued…

More than 200 participants enjoyed the celebration. Led by Prof. Jon Pahl, the Groove Daemons provided musical entertainment.


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annually to attend seminary with about 40 percent of that figure ingrants providing significant relief, thanks to donor gifts. Anyonedesiring to make a gift to underwrite the scholarship can donateonline by going to Ltsp.edu/muhlenberglegacy, or by calling theOffice for Philanthropy at 215.248.6316.

On display during the day was an exhibition entitled “HenryMelchiorMuhlenberg, Patriarch of American Lutheranism,”a presentation detailing Muhlenberg’s life and legacy. Developedby the The Francke Foundations of Halle, Germany, the exhibitincludes 20 colorful banners and is traveling the country. Qualifiedinstitutions interested in staging the exhibit, on permanent loanto the seminary, may obtain use of it for the cost of shipping bycontacting Carrie Schwab at [email protected].

A dinner presenter was playwright Steve Seyfried who brieflydescribed his stage play based on Muhlenberg’s journal entries.Seyfried read moving excerpts from Muhlenberg writings that arefeatured in the play, entitled “Providence.” The play, free and opento the public, will be performed in seven congregational settings inthe near future.

The dinner and day concluded with the singing of a powerfulhymn, “Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow,” composed by PaulGerhardt (1607-1676). The hymn was sung by Muhlenberg and hiswife, Anna Maria, as their son, Samuel, lay dying of pneumonia intheir arms. Karl Krueger emceed the dinner.

Featured at the reception at the bookstore table of LTSPBooks &Gifts was a figurine ofMuhlenberg developed througha partnership with Byers Choice Ltd., in recognition of theTercentenary. The figurines may be purchased for $60. To ordera figurine, email [email protected].

Planning for theMuhlenberg Tercentenary took manymonths. During the dinner Krueger paid tribute to them. Theplanners included from the seminary family Karl Krueger, NatalieHand, Tim Wengert, Jon Pahl, John Kahler, Carrie Schwab, andEllen Anderson. Planning input from regional Muhlenbergcongregations came from Herb Michel, Richard Buckmaster, JeanGodsall-Myers, James Knisely, Martha Kriebel, Carl Shankweiler,Karl-John Stone, John Van Haneghan, and Lee Wesner, who servedas volunteer photographer for the event. Key volunteers fromMuhlenberg College contributing to the planning were PresidentRandy Helm and past chaplain Peter Bredlau.

Special guests for the day included Bishop Claire Burkat of theSoutheastern Pennsylvania Synod, who presided at the openingworship; Bishop Samuel Zeiser of the Northeastern PennsylvaniaSynod, who gave the dinner invocation, and the Honorable ConniePeck, mayor of the Borough of Trappe, where Muhlenberg residedduring his colonial ministry.

The opening worship also served as the occasion for launchingthe seminary’s academic year.During his opening remarks as the

service began President Krey paid brieftribute to Muhlenberg and referenced theMuhlenberg Statue, dedicated nearly 100years before the celebration. Assistingministers during worship in the

Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel were LeslieScanlon and Timothy Hearn, who serve as

sacristans. Music during worship wasled by Michael Krentz, the seminary’s

director of music ministries. TheRev. Dr. Jayakiran Sebastian isthe seminary chaplain.

An exhibit describing Muhlenberg’s life was provided by theFrancke Foundations.

Muhlenberg figurine developed for theoccasion of LTSP’s Muhlenberg 300celebration through a partnership withByers Choice Ltd.




OFFERINGS�


CONGREGATION DAYCelebrating the Life of Henry MelchiorMuhlenberg: Something for EveryoneCongregation Day, held this past October 15, celebrating the300th anniversary of the birth of North American LutheranChurch organizer Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, had a littlesomething for everyone.

If you enjoy listening to thought-provoking, entertainingaccounts of larger-than-life figures, then the Rev. Dr. Karl Krueger’s(Associate Professor, History of Christianity, LTSP) stirring lectureon the life and sea-tossed trials of Muhlenberg was right up youralley. Krueger directs the Krauth Memorial Library on the campusof The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP),which hosted this second initiative recalling Muhlenberg’s life.

If you were part of the German Evangelical Lutheran Conferencein North America, then the day was an ideal highlight to this year’sconference gathering.

If you were a young confirmand from Faith Lutheran Church inMt. Penn, near Reading, Pennsylvania, and you think in terms ofTweets and texting, then getting to look over Muhlenberg’s 250-year-old journals featuring his scripty handwriting with a quill penmight have opened up a “new” old world for you. Plus, you got achance to try journaling the old-fashioned way in The LutheranArchives Center in The Brossman Learning Center at LTSP. Thatexercise was led by the Rev. Ellen Anderson, Director of Alumniand Church Relations for LTSP’s Office for Philanthropy.

If you appreciate an important overseas perspective, thenthe presentation by Dr. Thomas Muller-Bahlke, Director of theHalle Foundations, was for you. Halle, Germany was the place thatsponsored Muhlenberg’s missionary exploits to North Americabeginning in 1742. Muller-Bahlke described the history andimpressive work of the Halle Foundations today, with its sponsor-ship of four schools, including the teaching of gardening and music,and its remarkable library.

Finally, if you are captivated by history, then the bus trip toTrappe in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania probably madeyour day. You got to hear the Rev. Herbert H. Michel, DD, pastoremeritus of Augustus Lutheran Church, tell the story of howfarmers, who lived in simple log cabins with dirt floors, helpedMuhlenberg construct the church building in 1743. Augustus’soriginal church is the oldest Lutheran building still in continuousworship use today. The building (no electricity, heat or air-conditioning, just as Muhlenberg would have known it) is onlyused for worship between Father’s Day and around Labor Day, plusfor Christmas Eve worship, where candles furnish the only scantwarmth. The rest of the year the congregation praises God in the“new” 1850 building next door.

Krueger’s lively presentation to about 70 people attending theday traced Muhlenberg’s birth in Einbeck in Northwest Germany’sHannover on Sept. 6, 1711, and his historic career in the colonies.He described Muhlenberg’s study of theology at the University ofGottingen, and his efforts with classmates to teach disadvantagedchildren how to read, write, and learn arithmetic. In Halle inMiddle Germany, Muhlenberg spent the year 1738 at an orphanagefor 2,000 children, which featured a school and pharmacy andcontinues a vital mission in education today.

During that time Muhlenberg was influenced greatly by AugustHermann Francke (1663-1727), and gained a global perspectiveas well as a knowledge of an important approach to educationand social work. Francke’s son, Gotthilf August Francke, was aconsiderable influence too.

Then came Muhlenberg’s call to the agricultural community ofGrosshennersdorf, east of Halle, in 1739, following his ordinationin Leipzig. He was the assistant pastor until the patron for thecongregation died. “Henry was downsized. His salary was reduced,”Krueger explained. “And he began to reconsider his possibilities.”On Muhlenberg’s 30th birthday, he learned he was to be sponsoredas pastor to a new land.

In May of 1742, he got his letter of call for three years. Of course,once in North America Muhlenberg never returned home, but firsthe had to get to Philadelphia (via Savannah) from London in whatKrueger described as a harrowing trip aboard a packet ship withcargo and 10 cannons, the vessel pushed in zig-zaggy directionsby ornery, contrary winds and which ran out of food and waterbefore reaching the East Coast of the colonies. There was anothercomplication, once Muhlenberg announced his presence to thethree congregations he had been called to serve in Philadelphia,

“History detectives” at Augustus OldTrappe Church.



REFLECTIONS ONTHE 2011 FALL FORUM

BYTHE REV. DR. CLAIR ANDERSONWhat does Henry Melchior Muhlenberghave in common with BartholomaeusZiegenbalg? At the November 7, 2011 FallForum at The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), ananimated, engaging LTSP professor, the Rev.Dr. J. Jayakiran Sebastian, acknowledged thatboth men were sent out as missionaries bythe University of Halle, Germany, to spreadLutheran pietism beyond Europe.

In 1706, Ziegenbalg brought the message of salvation throughJesus Christ to South India as the first Protestant missionary,sponsored by the Royal House of Denmark. Realizing theimportance of understanding the Indian people before convertingthem, he engaged them in disputations and published his findingsin the book Detailed Description of South Indian Society, showingtheir need for the Gospel. The book had an impact upon Europeand may have inspired Muhlenberg to seek a missionary appoint-

ment to South India. However, Halle responded to the need forpastoral leadership among the infant congregations along theeastern seaboard of America by sending Muhlenberg there. Hisministry is described in his Journals and in his Notebook of aColonial Clergyman. Ziegenbalg imported a printing press so hecould have the Bible printed in the Tamal language, as well as aTamal grammar book and dictionary.

Dr. Sebastian began his afternoon presentation with a touchingpersonal story about the impact of missionaries on his own life. Thetragic death of his Hindu grandfather led his grandmother to seekrefuge in a Christian mission in India, where Dr. Sebastian’s fatherwas raised. As a teenager, his father cranked a missionary’s Victrolaand listened to J.S. Bach records. When asked what name he wouldtake, his father requested “Sebastian.”

Moving from mission past to mission now, Dr. Sebastian raisedthe question, “What is the paradigm or motivation for missiologytoday?” The last 50-60 years have been dominated by Missio Dei,or the mission of God. A theological critique of this paradigm isneeded and begins with the question who is responsible for mission?He advocates a new Missio Humanitas, or mission to God, whichtakes seriously the human condition as well as human responsibilityfor mission in a pluralistic, post-colonial world. What does theBible mean for people in our society now? Mission to God forcesus to contemplate who God really is and who we are in relation toneighbors we have, not those we might choose. What are theconsequences of our choices and actions? How does mission relateto the victims of globalism, those who have suffered and continueto suffer?

When asked what mission to God would look like, Dr. Sebastiandrew upon a Buddhist image of the person who reaches bliss, butwaits to cross over so he or she can help others to cross. Jesusaccompanies us on the pilgrim journey as our guide, but instead ofgoing on ahead of us, stands along side and encourages us to pass on.We too serve as guides pointing to God. There was a good questionand answer exchange at each session.

Dr. Sebastian’s spirited, personal, relational style was well-received by those present who greatly appreciated being openedto an unknown area in a stimulating, thought-provoking manner.Dr. Sebastian was born in Bangalore, India, and educated there andin Germany. He served several congregations in India and taught atan Indian seminary for 10 years before joining the faculty at LTSPin 2008 as H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures,and Director of the Multicultural Mission Resource Center.

The Rev. Dr. Clair Anderson is a retired ELCA pastor and LTSPalumnus, living in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He tells his connection tothe Muhlenberg Legacy on the Muhlenberg 300 website atLtsp.edu/MuhlenbergStories.

Providence, and New Hanover (Falckner’s Swamp). “No onehad told them he was coming,” Krueger said. Muhlenberg thenhad the indelicate task not only of introducing himself and hiscredentials, but also of unseating his less-qualified predecessors inthe three pulpits.

Then began his remarkable decades of ministry in the colonies,organizing more than 100 congregations from Savannah, Georgia,to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. As both Krueger and Michelexplained, Muhlenberg was really like a modern-day Bishop forthe young church.

“He established a constitution for the church, a liturgy and ahymnal, and reviewed the qualifications for those seeking to bepastors,” Michel told visitors to Augustus Church. Krueger toldhis audience at LTSP that 280 people signed the young church’sconstitution in October of 1762, “a declaration of interdependencesigned 14 years before the Declaration of Independence in thecolonies.” During the 1780s came the liturgy and in 1786 camethe hymnal.

The opening worship for the day was led by the Rev. MarthaKriebel, United Church of Christ pastor for New Hanover UnionChurch. The closing worship at Augustus Church was led by theRev. John H. Van Haneghan, pastor of St. James Lutheran Churchin Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

Congregation Day continued…



OFFERINGS�MARITIME MINISTRY AMONG “LITTLE-KNOWN” BI-VOCATIONAL OR “DUAL CALL”OPPORTUNITIES ACROSSTHE U.S.Some opportunities for bi-vocational or “dual call” part-timeministry are little known across the church. Bivocational situationsinvolve someone working part-time as a pastor and part-time inanother vocation, such as teaching or engineering. Dual callsituations involve a pastor or other rostered leader called to twoprofessional ministry settings at the same time. As economicrealities strain the resources of churches and other initiatives ina position to call a pastor or other rostered leader, bivocationaland dual calls are becoming more commonplace.

An example of such an opportunity is maritime ministry, whichhas some 150 locations around the country, including Seamen’sChurch Institute (SCI) in Philadelphia, and Seafarer’s InternationalHouse (SIH) in New York City. Both ministries offer personalsupport, encouragement, and advocacy to seafarers from otherhomelands. The seafarers they contact face many challenges. Theyare away from their families for many months at a time. Tight portsecurity and stringent working conditions leave most little or noopportunity for even brief shore leave.

Recently, five first-year seminarians from The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) were part of a first-time visiting field work experience to SCI. They were Susan Loneyof Wilmington, Delaware; Kerri Walsh of Medford, New York;Daniel Spigelmyer of McClure, Pennsylvania; Alexa Epstein ofPhiladelphia, and Rachel Anderson of Newington, Connecticut.They toured the Maple Mighty, a steel cargo ship from Chinadelivering goods to the Camden-Beckett Terminal in New Jerseyalong the Delaware River. They found out the 168-year-old SCIinitiative, an ecumenical and interfaith ministry, serves 32,000seafarers annually and visits 1,500 ships in a given year in thePhiladelphia Port’s 31 terminals along 125 miles of Delaware Rivershoreline — from Fairless Hills to Marcus Hook in Pennsylvaniaand from Burlington to Paulsboro in New Jersey.

They learned the vast array of cargo ships bring fruits, cocoa,oil products, steel, wood, and gypsum to make sheetrock to Phila-delphia, and that 95 percent of goods made use of by regionalcitizenry come to consumers by water. The seminarians were hostedby the Rev. James Von Dreele, an Episcopal priest who serves asexecutive director of SCI; the Rev. William Rex, a Lutheranchaplain to SCI on call from Seafarers International House in New

York City, and Mark Staples, seminary writer for LTSP,and a volunteer shipboard visitor for SCI. Arrangementsfor the visit were made by the Rev. Dr. Charles Leonard, aone-time U.S. Navy Chaplain who supervises contextualeducation at LTSP.

Epstein summed up some of the thoughts of theseminarians by remarking about the “complexity” of thosewho participate in the life of the Port of Philadelphia. “Allthe different goods that come through the port, and all theagencies that are a part of the work — the ministry of SCIbrings a humanizing dimension to it all.”

“I very much appreciate LTSP’s Dr. Charles Leonard’sinterest in helping seminarians explore a dimension ofministry that is very much below the radar screen in thechurch,” explained Von Dreele, who serves as chaplain tothe Port of Philadelphia. “I came to maritime ministrysomewhat by accident but have found it to be extremelychallenging and fulfilling. It is a unique model of ministryin which the local maritime business community expects

and demands that the church be a part of its life. There is a definitesynergy of values between the church and business for the sake ofseafarers who are often quite vulnerable. As many port chaplainsare reaching retirement age, there will be opportunities for youngerclergy to consider this as a vocational choice. In general, maritimeministry organizations are looking for people who as chaplainswill be entrepreneurial, self-starters, and risk-takers.”

Five LTSP scholars took part in the first ever field work visit from theseminary to the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) September 24, 2011.From left are Pastor Bill Rex, Lutheran Chaplain to the Port ofPhiladelphia, called by Seafarers International House in NewYork City;seminarians Daniel Spigelmyer, Susan Loney, Rachel Anderson, KerriWalsh, Alexa Epstein, and the Rev. JamesVon Dreele, SCI executivedirector and chaplain to the Port of Philadelphia.The seminarians learnedof SCI’s ministry of hospitality to 32,000 seafarers visiting thePhiladelphia Port each year.They also visited the crew of the Chinese-flagged cargo ship, Maple Mighty, seen behind the seminarians.The shipwas delivering steel to the Camden-BeckettTerminal in New Jersey.




Pastor Rex is serving a dual call. His other “hat” has him servingas pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Ferndale, Pennsylvania.

Rex and Von Dreele both say maritime ministry is truly“incarnational.” “We provide the only hospitality most seafarersreceive,” Rex said. “That makes us the face of Christ to them, andalso the face of America.”

Information on Lutheran seafarer chaplaincies around the U.S.and Puerto Rico may be found at the web site for Lutheran Advo-cates for Maritime Mission (LAMM) where the Rev. MarthaMcCracken is President of the Board of Directors: lammworld.org.She may be contacted by email at: [email protected].

SEMINARY HONORS STATE SENATORLEANNAWASHINGTONThe inscription beside a newly unveiled portrait of State SenatorLeAnna Washington (D-PA 4th Senatorial) said simply, “Withouther support and that of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, thisfacility would not have been possible.”

The facility in question is The Brossman Learning Center atThe Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), andthe portrait hangs outside of Brossman’s Benbow Hall, which hostsscores of community events each year. Washington spearheadedefforts to secure funds from the Commonwealth to help pay forthe structure.

Sen. Washington, whose district includes the seminary and thesurrounding community, has supported the seminary’s developmentof several facilities including The Brossman Center. Most recently,the senator secured a $250,000 grant to aid in construction of aconnector between The Brossman Center and the century-oldKrauth Memorial Library, giving handicap access to this historicand important resource. While integral to the academic work of theseminary, both the library and The Brossman Center are open tothe public, with the library often used by members of thecommunity for research, and The Brossman Center hosting avariety of community events.

Perhaps the prayer petitions by Washington’s pastor, the Rev. J.Louis Felton of Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, best summed upboth the spirit of the occasion and the momentous communitypartnership with the seminary that led to the gift of state funds.“We have separation between church and state, but we do not havedivorce,” Felton said. “We still have visitation rights.” Thosevisitation rights were also referenced in remarks by Dan Muroff,former president of East Mt. Airy Neighbors, a communityorganization, when Muroff referred to The Brossman LearningCenter as “the Town Hall in Mt. Airy.”

In brief remarks paying tribute to Washington, LTSP PresidentPhilip D.W. Krey said, “No public official has done more for thisschool than you have.” Krey described as an example ofWashington’s life of public service her passion on behalf of victimsof domestic violence, and described an event exemplifying theseminary’s partnership with the community — an annual banquethosted at LTSP on their behalf and organized by Washington.

“These are challenging times for the seminary and challengingtimes for political leaders,” said the Rev. John Richter, chair of theseminary’s Board of Trustees, who expressed thanks to Washingtonon behalf of the Trustees. “We are grateful for your partnership andgenerous commitment to do what you have done for this littlecorner of God’s kingdom.”

After the portrait was unveiled, a grateful and visibly movedWashington, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from LTSPtwo years ago, said the initiative to raise support for the seminarywas an example of her low profile commitment over 18 years inoffice to “getting things done” in the name of public service. “Assoon as I met President Krey, I came to appreciate his vision forthe seminary and its relationship to serve the community,” shesaid. “And I felt an immediate connection to that vision and adesire to help make his dream for that vision of a broadercommunity relationship become a reality.” She cited the seminaryas an example of putting public funds to good and visible use interms of the community.

The Rev. Dr. Jayakiran Sebastian, chaplain of the seminary, leda brief religious service during the event, featuring the prayer ofgratitude for the seminary and the service of Sen. Washingtondelivered by Pastor Felton.

LeannaWashington, with portrait, is flanked, from left, by President Krey, theRev, John Richter, chair of the LTSP Board, and Dan Muroff of EastMt. Airy Neighbors.

Maritime Ministry continued…


OFFERINGS�


JOHNAND ROBERTASHERHONOREDWITH SOLI DEOGLORIA AWARD AT PHILADELPHIASEMINARY’S ANNUAL ADVENTVESPERS DINNERFor noted candy executive and philanthropistJohn L. “Jack” Asher, Jr., the dinner honoringhim and his brother, Robert, featured a bigsurprise.

Asher and his brother were this year’srecipients of the Soli Deo Gloria Award foroutstanding leadership and service to the churchand to the mission of The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). (Robert wasunable to attend the annual Advent Vespers inthe seminary’s Brossman Center.)

LTSP Trustees Robert Blanck and Board ofTrustees Chair John Richter presented theaward to Jack Asher, and just as he stepped tothe microphone to extend remarks of gratitude,Blanck asked him to stop. And into the hall for asurprise performance tribute to Asher and the dinner audience came60 members of the 150-member Keystone State Boychoir featuringdirectors Joe “Fitz” Fitzmartin and Steven M. Fisher. Jack Asher isthe choir’s founding Board member. The surprise tribute wasarranged by the seminary’s Director of Communications, MerriBrown. Her son, Graeme, was a soloist for the occasion.

Visibly proud and moved, Asher explained the accomplishmentsof the vocal group, who call his congregation — The FirstPresbyterian Church in Germantown — their home. The choir, hesaid, has performed on every continent.

Jack Asher, who has served on LTSP’s President’s Council, hasbeen a driving force behind the seminary’s capital campaigns andstrategic planning. In opening remarks LTSP President Philip D.W.Krey thanked Jack Asher “for helping me to make the rightassociations and meet the right people when I became President.” Inexpressing appreciation for the honor, Jack Asher, a nativePhiladelphian, called LTSP “one of the signature places that I alwaysremember.”

In his greetings to dinner attendees, Krey noted that the annualAdvent Vespers program to follow under the direction of MichaelKrentz, seminary choir director, is in honor of the Rev. Dr. RobertE. Bornemann, the late professor of Hebrew and Old Testament atLTSP, who directed the Seminary Choir he founded from 1955 to1990. Krey told the audience that gifts to the Bornemann MemorialFund secure the present and future of a vibrant program of music atthe seminary. The vespers were held in the Schaeffer-AshmeadChapel following the dinner. Krey told his audience of invited

donors, “We live in troubled times. This is a challenging time for thechurch, institutions and the country. It is a tall order to keepvenerable institutions like the seminary stable and thriving. Thankyou for understanding the challenge. I count you as our bestfriends…” Krey said in the current time of transition improvementsto the seminary’s Krauth Memorial Library, including a connectorto The Brossman Center, are beginning to unfold. Highlights ofcurrent seminary life include plans for a new curriculum, theongoing 300th birthday anniversary celebrating of the life ofLutheran Patriarch Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, and a recentgathering of Philadelphia religious leaders, who strategized over “theincreasing challenge of hunger in our city.”

Seminary Student Body President Laura Gorton, who is studyingfor a Master of Arts in Religion with a focus on ChristianEducation, told the audience she is striving for a career as a directorof Christian Education (DCE) and urged the audience to keep inmind the rich diversity of graduates, including pastors, DCE’s,directors of music, social workers and diaconal ministers. “Thankyou for supporting us with your gifts in these tough economictimes,” she said.

“We watch and wait expectantly for the Christ who was given tous as a child, brother, and Savior,” Dr. John Puotinen, said in briefremarks. Puotinen is Vice President for Philanthropy and ExecutiveDirector of the LTSP Foundation. “I welcome you to thiscelebration of God’s generosity,” Puotinen said. “I thank you andthank God for sending you here to provide leaders for the church —

Soli Deo Gloria recipient “Jack”Asher gives the audience background on the Keystone StateBoychoir.The Philadelphia native described the seminary “as one of the signature places I alwaysremember.”



COOKIN'WITHWHO?What better way to bring together the community

than to offer great and interesting food, communityleaders, and the chance to support three keycommunity organizations than with a celebrity chefcompetition? That is the concept behind the firstannual “Cookin' with Who?” event held November 3,2011 at The Brossman Center. LTSP, along withcommunity groups East Mt. Airy Neighbors (EMAN)and Neighborhood Interfaith Movement (NIM) wereboth sponsors and beneficiaries of a night full oftasting, bidding on auction items, more tasting, andvoting for the Best Chef. Most of all, many participantsnoted, it was a fun, informal way for the NorthwestPhiladelphia community to gather, chat and, yes, eatwhile supporting the sponsors.

The smell of good food prepared by chefs fromLTSP’s food service vendor, Cura Hospitality, andsounds of a good time filled Benbow Hall for severalhours. In the end, best chef prize, the now coveted “Mt.Airy Platinum Spatula” (designed by EMAN ExecutiveDirector Elayne Bender) went to NIM’s ImmediatePast Executive Director Rabbi George Stern, whoshared his take on traditional beef brisket and latkes,both the traditional potato and his own creation,curried sweet potato latkes. LTSP’s chefs were PresidentPhilip Krey and his mother’s impossible-to-resistdonuts, Prof. Tim Wengert’s favorite, his mother’sGerman potato salad, and LTSP alumna the Rev. AnnColley’s own recipe of vegetarian spaghetti.

making use of gifts already given to you by God.”Brief remarks were also delivered by Richter and seminary Dean J.

Paul Rajashekar. Rajashekar introduced the Rev. Dr. JayakiranSebastian of the seminary faculty. Sebastian becomes LTSP’s new Deannext academic year as Rajashekar returns to the classroom. The Deanalso introduced the Rev. Dr. Richard Stewart and his spouse, Dawn.Stewart retired from the faculty at the end of 2011. The opening prayerfor the dinner was given by Trustee, Dr. Addie J. Butler. The closingprayer was delivered by Bishop Claire S. Burkat of the SoutheasternPennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

After his father’s death in 1966, Jack Asher and his younger brother,Robert, took over Asher’s Chocolates in Philadelphia’s Germantownsection and expanded the business. In 1991, Asher’s acquired the GossCandy Co. in Lewistown, PA, and renamed it Asher’s Chocolates,Lewistown. The enterprise has grown dramatically over the years tobecome nationally known. In 2006, Jack Asher was elected to theCandy Hall of Fame while serving as president of the firm and co-chairof Asher’s Chocolates. His honors have included being named SmallBusiness Person of the Year (Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce,1988). He’s served on many boards including as President of theGermantown Business Association, President of Whosoever GospelMission, Germantown, President of the Germantown HistoricalSociety, and the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. He’s served as avolunteer firefighter for 35 years and today helps direct re-enactmentsof the Battle of Germantown from the Revolutionary War period. Hehas served his congregation — The First Presbyterian Church inGermantown — as Deacon, Trustee, Elder, Head Usher, and Presidentof the Couples Club. Jack and his wife, Carolyn, have three adultchildren.

Native Philadelphian Robert “Bob” Asher serves as co-chair of theBoard of Asher’s Chocolates as well as President of Robert AsherAssociates. He is a member of the Session of Oreland EvangelicalPresbyterian Church, Oreland, Pennsylvania. He is a Pennsylvaniamember of the Republican National Committee and served as co-chairfor the Tom Corbett for Governor Campaign. Bob Asher serves onseveral boards including the Delaware River Port Authority,Philadelphia Hospitality, Greater Philadelphia Tourism MarketingCorporation and Greater Philadelphia Executive Committee Chamberof Commerce. He is a graduate of the University of PennsylvaniaWharton School of Business and Commerce and is a U.S. Armyveteran. He has been recognized for public service by the MontgomeryCounty Association for Retarded Citizens, Boy Scouts of America andthe Union League of Philadelphia. Bob Asher has been a key networkeron behalf of LTSP, facilitating the securing of grants for seminarycapital projects. Bob and his wife, Joyce, have three children and sevengrandchildren. Both brothers are members of the Union League ofPhiladelphia.

To see all the chefs talk about their recipes, and moreon the event, go to Ltsp.edu/CookinWithWho.

Cookin’ withWho Best Chef Rabbi George Stern (in chef’s hat).


We need to value the many things that we are doing well.Among them we cherish the biblical and confessionaltradition for which we have been made stewards. Wehave a shared vision of ecumenical partnership and passionfor public theology. Our Mt. Airy community loves ourcommitment to public service. We have a rich diversityof offerings in degrees and programs. We have a longtradition of academic excellence and preparation forministry and have wonderful alumni who demonstratewhat they have learned in their various congregationaland institutional settings.

We attract a diverse and extraordinarily gifted studentbody year after year. As you will learn from the dean’seditorial in this issue, (see the inside front cover) ourcurriculum receives high marks from our alumni for itseffectiveness. Our worship and community life on campus isfaithfully rich and filled with diversity. Our library andlibrarians are a treasure. After 30 years our UrbanTheological Institute (UTI) has renewed itself once againand is thriving. We do urban ministry well. Recently aLutheran college president came to see me and proclaimed,“You have beautiful buildings and a gorgeous campus!” Wedo and thank God for this gift. We are grateful for all of youwho have given so generously and all the faculty and staffwho work so hard to make LTSP such a wonderful school.Of course, we need you to continue your support because ofthis fragile time in the midst of the present economicclimate for the church and the nation.

EMBRACINGTHE FUTURE STRATEGICALLY:

12

Changing ChurchListening to the

of aVoices

BYTHE REV. DR. PHILIP D.W. KREY, PRESIDENT

THE LUTHERANTHEOLOGICAL SEMINARYAT PHILADELPHIA (LTSP) is well known for itsinnovative and imaginative tradition by which it readsits context and proposes cutting edge programs for thechurch of the future and not the church of the past.While faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and ourwonderful Lutheran tradition, we also embrace thefuture that God provides. As the global, national,and ecclesial context has changed once again, at LTSPwe are going back to the drawing board and drawingupon our faith, tradition, and visionary capital in ouralumni, leaders, staff, and faculty to develop newstrategic directions for the school.We are not starting from scratch as we spent the lasttwo years listening to consultants, current students,alumni, and one another about the state and future ofthe church and theological education. Two years agothe faculty, staff, and board, with the leadershipof our dean and the planning committee of the board,adopted a newmission, vision, and values statementfor the school (See Ltsp.edu for our newmissionstatement).We are also currently listening to allstakeholders about what they need in leaders and thechanges that are going on in their churches,congregations, and ministries.We want to know what you think as well. Sendemails or letters to me at [email protected] or come,visit, and teach us.


Institutions do not change quickly.They change course like ships thatturn slowly and deliberately.


CHAIR PERSPECTIVE

Education that RespectsbothTradition and ChangeBY THE REV. DR. JOHN C. RICHTER,CHAIR, LTSP BOARD OFTRUSTEES

The Board of Trustees of The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia(LTSP) serves as stewards of the treasurethat is LTSP. Our task is to sustain theseminary’s role as servant to the church, andto provide the next generation of leaders forthe church. We seek to do this in the midstof new financial realities, changingdemographics, and the needs of the church.

When I was ordained in 1975 and called to serve a congregation in Brooklyn, NewYork, there were no “social media.” The church bulletin was printed on a mimeograph.There were no cell phones, no emails, no Internet, no texting.

Of course we can’t imagine living without these technologies today. And, as withmost technological advances, life has been made both more manageable and morechallenging. While we are grateful for improved means of communication, the speedand constancy of such hi-tech wonders (among many other sociological realities) havecontributed to the reshaping of the culture.

The church lives in this rapidly changing society, and the seminary seeks to educatechurch leaders with both respect for our tradition of sound preparation (BiblicalStudies, Church History, Theology, Pastoral Care, Homiletics, Administration) andthe reality of a changing culture that seems to be less anchored to the church thatnurtured many of us over the years.

Therefore, in addition to providing the foundation of a seminary education inthe traditional sense, LTSP emphasizes the need for future leaders to engage ministryat the intersection of faith and public life. If in fact people no longer easily find theirway to the doors of the congregation, how might the congregation go forth from thepews to meet people where they are? How does the education we provide createfaithful, creative, entrepreneurial leaders who are visible and competent both in theparish hall and on the sidewalk, comfortable and proficient in both the pulpit as wellas the bleachers of a high school athletic event, speaking meaningfully with someonewho has grown disenchanted with the church, or even someone who has never beena part of any faith tradition? How do we teach the prophetic voice, and challengesystemic poverty?

So there is curriculum review and revision. Strategic plans have shorter horizons.We converse with the church about perceived needs. What specific skills will churchleaders need as we move into this future that God has set before us? And how willLTSP provide it?

Societies have relentlessly evolved over the last 2,000 years, and the church hasevolved as well. The history of the church, as much as we respect and often embracetradition, is also about change. Worship and congregational life seem very differenttoday compared to what I experienced in that congregation I served back in 1975.In a little more than a generation, the changes have been profound. The seminary’sBoard of Trustees seeks to respond to those changes in a manner that serves thechurch, and all the people of God.

Our global, national, and churchcontexts have changed. We need to rereadthem well and continue to aim the schoolin the right direction for the sake of thechurch’s leaders and the world. By God’sgrace we will have read our contextsappropriately. We will inevitably makemistakes, and difficult challenges like thecurrent economy will arise. We pray thatGod will help sustain our historicmomentum so that these challenges donot overwhelm our capacity to onceagain contribute to the future positivetrends in theological education.

At the last seminary Board of Trusteesmeeting the faculty, staff, and trusteesspent a day reviewing the new landscapefor theological education. The denomi-national, financial, and environmentalchallenges that Christian ministry as aprofession is facing are dramaticallydifferent than they were a generation ago.We noted that while many congregationsare struggling in the current environment,many including those led by our alumniare thriving.


PS�SPRING 2012 Ltsp.edu 13



ASSUMPTIONSAND STRATEGICDIRECTIONS

The following points represent someassumptions and strategic directions thatwe will be addressing over the next twoyears. Again, your input is welcome andexpected.• Fewer congregations can afford to

call full-time ministers, thus increasingthe demand for bi-vocational ministers;nevertheless there will always becongregations that will be able to callfull-time clergy and staff, and we needto continue to prepare these candidates.The days in which we will only prepareordained clergy are over. Our studentbody will become more and morediverse.

• Minority and immigrant churcheswill likely grow. Denominations witha critical mass of ethnic congregationsmay have a better chance of attractingminority communities. Seminaries witha critical mass of minority students andfaculty will attract others like them, andthis diversity is a strength of LTSP.

• In 2012 our accrediting standards forthe MDiv will change, giving us moreflexibility in terms of the structure,content, and duration of the program.

• We need a paradigm shift in trainingfor ministry. The feedback loop fromexperience in a variety of currentcongregations and faith-based insti-tutional contexts to the classroom mustbe fluid. We need to strengthen ourmodel that values the best experience inpractice, reflection, and academics.

• We will reduce the number of courserequirements and develop more flexiblescheduling, especially for part-timestudents, many of whom will be servingin parishes, communities of faith, orinstitutions already. We need to reviewhow courses are selected, especially theelectives, in relation to the curriculum.All courses currently taught need to bereevaluated based on a set of objectivesand outcomes.

continued from page 13TRUSTEE PERSPECTIVE

Helping SeminariansEmbrace theWorldBY SARA E. LILJA, LTSP BOARD OFTRUSTEES

The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) Board of Trusteesrecently adopted this mission statement...

Centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia seeks to educate and form public leaders whoare committed to developing and nurturing individual believers andcommunities of faith for engagement in the world.

This mission statement communicates the direction of theological education atLTSP. The seminary will educate leaders who are “centered” in Jesus Christ. Whilethe seminary is a “multi-denominational” teaching, learning, worshiping, and livingcommunity, we maintain our Lutheran identity and theological understandings.

We seek to educate students to live in the world, embracing our neighbors ofall faiths and traditions. Living in the world involves dialogue, cooperation, andshared community — building activities with people of other faiths or no faith.This task is more urgent in the midst of broken or fractured communities of oursociety. We seek to educate leaders to engage in building up the Kingdom of God,seeking peace and advocating for justice.

You may have noticed that the language to “teach pastors” is not present inthis mission statement. We believe that it is our responsibility to educate allbelievers for public leadership. Some may be called to ordination, while othersmay be inspired toward various other vocations of service in the world. We

understand that congregations may be served bybi-vocational leaders who practice and model theirfaith in daily life. The learning process includesacademic formation but is primarily the developmentof a “habitus,” a way of living and practicing the giftof faith.

You may have also noticed that the language of“church” is not in the mission statement.

The church is a community of saints and sinners,but it is not monolithic or singular — even withina denomination. The seminary seeks to nurtureleadership so that students have the ability to relate

to diverse forms of communities. In some ways we see the future direction of theseminary as expanding our expressions of church. As the prophet Jeremiah says,“Enlarge the place of your tent; stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, sparenot; lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs.” (Isaiah 54:2) During difficultdays, trust in the promises of God.

The mission statement is our attempt to express what we see as the future oftheological education at LTSP. We are living into this statement as the curriculumis being revised and programs developed to embrace this vision. LTSP is movinginto the future with an understanding of God’s activity in the world, ever changingand challenging, ever comforting and compelling.

For more thoughts on LTSP’s mission statement, please visit Ltsp.edu.



• Our new Master of Arts in PublicLeadership and our traditional Masterof Arts in Religion programs havesignificant potential for developmentand growth.

• We will focus on redeveloping theTEEM (Theological Education forEmerging Ministries, a non-degreecertificate) and Latino programs.

• We will continue to have a strongLutheran and ecumenical residentialstudent body that will prepare forthriving congregations that haveadapted to their new contexts. We covetour wonderful relationships with thesynods of Region 7 and the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America (ELCA).We will, of course, continue this strongtradition. We will also develop ourstrong relationships with ecumenicalpartners and constituencies in thePhiladelphia area.

• God has given us a new day. To greetthis new day we need to be goodstewards of our resources and reachour target for the 150th anniversaryinitiative of $32 million in studentscholarships, faculty development,endowment growth, including therenovation of perimeter student andfaculty housing.

• We will require full-time faculty toteach in distance education coursesand on evenings and Saturdays on arotational basis. We will offer coursesthroughout the year (except July 15-August 15) and increase offerings ofdistance education courses with thehelp of adjuncts.

• A student will be able to finish aprogram by taking regular daytimecourses, courses online, evening andweekend courses, intensives, andsummer courses. Less travel and lessmoving should make completion oftheir programs less expensive withless debt.

• This economy would make it possiblefor bi-vocational students in alldenominations to prepare to bebi-vocational mission developers andcongregational redevelopers. Abi-vocational minister will make itpossible for congregations that needredevelopment to afford professionalleadership.

• We will organize a track for missiondevelopers and redevelopers who areboth ordained and not ordained.Any student who would be in thistrack would receive substantialscholarship aid.

• We need to listen ever more closelyto our second professional/advancedstudents and alumni to let them definethe courses and program offerings thatthey need, and we will help provide thefaculty and resources for them.

• We will also prepare a cadre of lay-persons in a certificate program whowill work as leaders in witnessing intheir communities.

• We will rethink the division of facultyareas and consider developing cross-disciplinary areas in redesigning thenew MDiv curriculum. The traditionalfaculty areas may work best at theadvanced-level degree programs.

STRATEGIC GOALS

Here are the goals we are shaping:

1. Complete a thorough revision of thecurriculum to begin in the academicyear 2013-2014.

2. Arrive at financial equilibrium throughcollaboration with our partners andgood stewardship of our resources.

3. By 2015 complete the $32 millionendowment initiative for studentscholarships, endowment growth,faculty development, and therenovation of perimeter housing.

4. Grow the student body to 500 by 2014by increasing the admissions by 20 peryear in all programs.

5. Prepare for the 150th anniversary of theseminary by embracing the future thatGod is sending.�

What do you think? How would you shapeor reshape these goals?Will you vigorouslysupport LTSP so that we can be a witnessto the Gospel of Jesus Christ by developingleaders and communities of faith for thesake of the world?

To comment, email President Krey [email protected].



I left my apartment at The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia(LTSP) on June 28, 2011. I was called tobe pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Churchin South Plainfield, New Jersey, onSeptember 11, 2011. In those 75 daysbetween leaving seminary and being calledI did many things. I lived in a friend’s attic,worked at an inner-city church camp,trained a Boxer puppy to heel, preached ata couple of churches, and sent out emails— lots of emails.

I asked a representative from everysynod and each regional coordinator,as well as a variety of recently graduatedseminarians and bi-vocational pastors,a set of questions about bi-vocationalityand waiting for a first call.

Why did I do this? Because myclassmates had been hearing a lot aboutwaiting an extensive time for a first call,as well as a need for pastors to becomebi-vocational (sometimes called practicingshared-time ministry, but strictly definedmeans working in two vocations at thesame time). As we explored the impli-cations of these two realities for our futureministry we quickly realized that we werein fairly uncharted territory — at least inrecent history.

In order to change this, we’ve decidedto create a booklet of advice for seminar-ians awaiting call and for bi-vocationalministers. It will also contain recommen-dations to various expressions of thechurch on both of these subjects. We willpresent the finished product to our varioussynod assemblies.

I am spearheading the initial datacollection aspect of this project, but we will“crowd source” the writing of this bookletvia an online document readily availablefor and editable by anyone willing to helpbetter the lot of bi-vocational pastors andseminarians waiting a first call.

Reading responses from fellow first-callers has been enlightening, and heartbreaking.

Some candidates haveused their wait time tolearn a new skill. Somehave relished their last fewSundays as non-pastors byeither skipping church entirely or going tochurches outside the Lutheran tradition.Yet, almost everyone has described theperiod of waiting as “paralyzing.”

Many tell of broken leases and uprooteddaughters and sons. Several speak of thisperiod of waiting nearly breaking aparttheir marriages. Some complain thatseminary only gave a description of theideal call process — not what seminariansare actually experiencing. Many plead thatsynods and regional coordinators commu-nicate with candidates, even if it is just tocheck in — communicate!

Synod and regional representatives haveresponded with “best practices” for theircolleagues, as well as advice for thoseawaiting call.

They recommend that synods tellpotential candidates right from the startthat the landscape of the church haschanged and that waiting quite a while fora call will be the new normal. They alsorecommend synods help “fine tune”candidates’ Rostered Leadership Profilesand hold mock call committee interviewsfor candidates who wait for a call.

To first callers they say, “Trust theprocess.” Know that the waiting is notabout you, it is not a reflection of yourvalue to God, to the church, or to yourfuture calling congregation. The waitingis, however, “part of your baptismalvocation and, thus, the context in whichGod is now drawing you to serve theworld for Christ’s sake.”

Bi-vocationality has been a hard nut tocrack. For example, once we use terms likevocation we are linguistically sanctifyingwhat we are talking about. That meansbi-vocationality has to be about more thangetting a second job in order to pay the bills.

For that matter,all pastors arebi-vocational; ourbaptismal vocationisn’t subsumed in our

pastoral vocation. If a pastor is a parent, adaughter, a neighbor, a brother, or ahusband, he or she is already bi-vocational.

Nonetheless, talking with bothbi-vocational pastors and synod leadership,a few things about bi-vocationality havebecome clear. All of these people haveaffirmed that the non-church vocation istruly a vocation and so it must not “betreated as of secondary value” — a meansto an end.

Seminaries need to prepare studentsto be bi-vocational ministers. How? Thetwo biggest tasks of bi-vocational ministersare properly empowering lay folk andcommunicating expectations clearly.Seminaries need to both model these twothings and teach them.

I am still acting the ecclesial “AlfredKinsey,” so if you have had experiencewith waiting for first call or bi-vocationalministry and would like to fill out myquestionnaire please contact me [email protected] that matter, if you want to be part ofthe crowd sourcing process or introducingthe eventual booklet to your synodassembly please do the same.

ALUMNI PERSPECTIVE

WhileWeWait, AsWeWorkBY THE REV. CHRIS HALVERSON,MDIV ’11



leave it to the students to make their ownchoices? Can an individual who does nothave a second career, spouse, or some othersource of financial support expect to beable to afford to pay all of his or her billssolely on a new pastor’s salary? Again, doesthe seminary have a responsibility to enterinto this conversation with students in aformal way to help provide solutions thatstudents can work on while they arematriculating?

Many students expressed an interest incounseling, education, and various otherfields that would complement their workas pastors and help new pastors earn alivable wage. Whatever path students orthe seminary decide to take, there are goingto be challenges. I suppose that’s the goodnews. Whenever challenges are present, sois opportunity. We live in a world thatneeds the church more then ever, and weshould face these challenges head-on sothat we are able to exercise our spiritualgifts as fully as possible.

The challenge for seminarians isdeveloping a financial plan that gives arealistic picture of what is to come. I amsure that is a challenge that we can allmeet head-on.

and allow them to quit their jobs. Theirattitude is that if the church can afford itthen great, but if not, the pastor needs towork to grow the ministry to the pointwhere it can become a full-time job andwork a second job in the meantime.

Those I spoke with who are part of amainline denomination have the expecta-tion that they will not have to work asecond job. If they are placed at a smallerchurch that cannot support their fullsalary, it is only fair that the larger churchesin the system who can afford to do so willpick up the slack so that everyone at all ofthe churches in the system gets paid —two opposing but very interesting viewson what to expect after graduation.

As budgets continue to tighten in allchurches, I am certain that the seminary iswrestling with how it can help ensure thenext generation of LTSP graduates hasa realistic view of what lies ahead withrespect to being able to survive as a pastor.

There is a point that one’s student loandebt will be higher then a new pastor cantypically afford to repay. Does the seminaryhave a responsibility to get involved in thistype of planning, or should the institutionstay out of the conversation altogether and

Mt. Airy was a great place to grow up.Over the years I passed The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia(LTSP) many times and never thought thatone day I would be enrolled as a student.When it came time to seriously considerwhere I would pursue my theologicaleducation, I only added LTSP to my shortlist when I saw a sign for its wonderfulProspective Student Day prominentlydisplayed on Germantown Avenue!

I heard of the Urban TheologicalInstitute (UTI), although I couldn’tremember where, and I figured it couldn’thurt to attend the event, so I registered.What stuck in my mind most about thatday was the running theme of preparationthat was available for the professionalministry, post-graduate studies or both. Iwas interested in both, as well as the studyof the Black Church, and it seemed like aperfect fit.

Now in my final year of study, I canreflect on the seminary’s ability to deliverwhat initially drew me to the school as Ilook toward the future.

I have engaged in many interestingconversations with classmates on the sub-ject of moving into professional ministryand how church finances relate to thatpursuit. Most of us who intend to enterordained ministry as full-time pastors aftergraduation expect to be paid for ourservices. Some very interesting dialoguebetween us has speculated on what thatpay structure will look like.

Being a Baptist, my perspective on thesubject seems to be somewhat differentfrom my classmates who belong tochurches that are part of a “connectional”system, particularly those in mainlinedenominations. In recent conversationswith fellow UTI classmates — many ofwhom are already serving in a ministerialcapacity at their home church — I learnedthat they do not have the expectation thatupon graduation they will be called to achurch that will pay them a livable wage

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Vocational Challenges and OpportunityBY DAVID HOXTER,MDIV ’12, UTI David Hoxter:

urged a strongcollaborativeeffort to helpseminariansplan for theirfutures.

David Hoxter can be reached at [email protected].



AS A FAITH COMMUNITY, we are at a place where we areexperiencing rapid transition. Church as we once knew it ischanging rapidly. The stability and consistency that we were onceable to rely on is slowly becoming a thing of the past. We no longerlive in the days where nuclear families are the norm. Young peopleseem to be disappearing from the pews. Societal factors have creptinto the church and caused us to reevaluate the way we do ministry.

The transition we are now experiencing may have contributed toFrederick Schmidt’s article, “Is It Time To Write The Eulogy? The

Future Shape Of SeminaryEducation.” Schmidt arguesforcefully that seminaries aredying and the Master of Divinityhas lost the credibility it oncecarried. As a seminary graduateand as a pastor, I strongly disagreewith Schmidt. The benefits of aquality seminary education areevident throughout one’s career.Countering the author’sargument, I contend that aseminary education is morenecessary than ever.

Reflecting upon my seminaryexperience years ago at The Lutheran Theological Seminary atPhiladelphia (LTSP), and comparing that experience to myobservations of the contemporary scene, there has been a shift infocus in many places from praxis and faith learning to theologicalstudy. This shift is most visible at mainline seminaries seeking toprepare students for the professorate, rather than the parish.

This shift is obviously a change in the direction of many institu-tions. Previously, seminaries and divinity schools were institutionswhere people matriculated to be trained in theology and thus enterinto the parish with the skills that would be necessary in order toeffectively minister to God’s people. Theological education wasnot set apart from ministerial praxis. The two were linked andintertwined, and the seminary’s classrooms were in constantconversation with the churches to which their students wouldeventually be called to serve. In this way, Karl Barth’s concept oftheology as a secondary language and the church’s vernacular asprimary was continually realized. The tangible relationshipbetween clergy and the academy was also reflected in the academy’sprofessorate; nearly all of whom were former or current pastors.

Today, however, seminaries’ and divinity schools’ mission isnot about the parish, but academic scholarship. In recent years, theemphasis on theology as a separate discipline has marked a changein the approach and nature of theological study. Students no longerenter into the classroom expecting to leave and one day enter thepulpit. They now come into the classroom to earn multiple degrees

not as practitioners but as scholars and researchers. As a result, theyare equipped with the tools that are necessary to function as full-time academicians, rather than full-time pastors.

Despite this shift and its obvious consequences in the parish,many mainline denominations have continued to stress thenecessity of traditional theological education for their clergy.In several denominations, one need not consider candidacy forordination without first obtaining an MDiv. The consequencesof these faith-based institutions’ consistent reliance on academicinstitutions that no longer foster faith may be catastrophic. In fact,many within the mainstream lines have come to question the valueof a theological education today.

This transition that we are experiencing is indeed shaping theway we view ministry in the twenty-first century and, in turn,shaping how we must train men and women for ministry. In orderto remain effective in the context in which God has called us toserve, what we define as ministry must be constantly reassessed.There is a multiplicity of needs, and we must be best equipped tomeet those needs.

There is no other place than seminary and no other degree thanthe MDiv for pastoral candidates that will allow us to understandwhat we do and how we do it through the lens of the Bible. Thereare many other degrees that will help one be a better business personand a better counselor, but these will not help you to be the bestwell-rounded pastor. Only a seminary education will offer that.

Seminary is a crucial component in ministry as a calling andas a career. We can adequately and safely wrestle through ministryas our vocation. It is within the four walls of the seminary that weare able to come to grips with the calling the Lord has ordained usto fulfill. It is there that we learn to best utilize gifts and talentsto carry out responsibilities in the faith community. There is atheological perspective that can only be obtained within theconfines of seminary. There, we can safely and adequately learnto think theologically about everyday matters that take placewithin the church.

The author, an LTSP alumnus, is senior pastor at Tenth MemorialBaptist Church in North Philadelphia and chair of the AdvisoryCommittee of the Urban Theological Institute (UTI) at LTSP.

The Future Shape of Theological EducationBY THE REV. DR.WILLIAM B. MOORE



move out of the region and go to Europeor North America, where they would feelmore secure. What a hard decision. Youthafter youth shared with us that they fear fortheir personal safety, and struggle to live inthe hope and promise of the Gospel and tonot be ruled by this fear. But none of theseyouth was ready to leave. They felt thatGod was calling them to be there. After all,they said, what kind of witness would it beto the people of the Middle East if all theChristians left? For the sake of the Gospel,they must stay.

After their moving testimony, I had theopportunity to talk further with one ofthese Lebanese Christians. She remindedme that struggle between fear and theGospel playing out in their lives is notsomething unique to Middle EasternChristians. It is something that Christianseverywhere are struggling with. It is noteasy to be a Christian in any culture,especially, as she said, in a culture likeNorth America, where money, power,and military might rule the day.

What the students at UMD sharedseems to be consistent with her analysis.These students have said, as they try tobe humble and to serve others, they aregetting the message on a lot of levels thatthey have to think only about themselvesand prop themselves up. With thecompetitive job market today, they areconstantly told their classmates are notfriends, but competitors.

An attitude of suspicion toward ourneighbor and even strangers should notbe the norm. Several years ago, whilevolunteering at a home for street kids inArusha, Tanzania, I led them to a nearbyfield to play soccer. Upon arriving, Inoticed a Lutheran church nearby. Duringhalftime, all sweaty and in a t-shirt andshorts, I wandered into the church. Insidethe evangelist told me they were about tohave a worship service, and that I mustcome. Underdressed, smelly, and withwhite skin, I stuck out like a sore thumb.As it came time for the offering, a younggirl next to me leaned over and asked ifI had any money for the offering. Havingjust come from the soccer field, I waspenniless. She reached in her pocket, tookout some money, and gave it to me.

church that iscurrently withouta full time pastor.I quickly learnedthat, althoughI was completelyfascinated bywhat I learnedin lectures at

The Lutheran Theological Seminary atPhiladelphia, (LTSP), teaching collegestudents with that same style quickly putsthem to sleep, and they will not botherto come back.

Enticing the students to come to ourLutheran student group at UMD usingfood will only go so far. How can we lift upthe good news of Jesus Christ in a way thatwill not put them to sleep? How can wecommunicate with these students and tellour story, the story of Christ, when we arecompeting with so many other storiesthat, frankly, have nice jingles and flashycommercials (compared to our boring fliersand below average web site)?

For the last seven years, I have had theprivilege of serving on Echos, the WorldCouncil of Churches commission onyoung adults. With 24 other youngadults from around the world and acrossconfessional lines, we have met everyyear-and-a-half. Our last meeting, whichconcluded at the end of October 2011, washeld at a Roman Catholic monasteryoutside of Beirut, Lebanon. As part of ourexperience, we met many local Christians,including regional leaders in the WorldStudent Christian Federation fromLebanon and Syria. They shared with ustheir experiences of what it is like to be aChristian in the Middle East at this time.

The question that each of them wrestleswith today is whether they should stay intheir homeland or whether they should

About a day into my yearlong servicein Argentina through the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America’s(ELCA) young adult in global missionprogram, I realized I did not knowSpanish. I had studied it for years,beginning in the sixth grade and onthrough my final year of college.Sure, I knew some of the grammar andvocabulary and could read a bit, but I didnot know how to speak Spanish or howto really understand its basic and essentialskills when it comes to communicating inanother language.

That year, being immersed in theculture and language, I slowly becamemore comfortable communicating in mysecond language. And not only that, I alsomanaged to learn more about English inthat one year than I had in my previousdecades in school (with apologies to myEnglish teachers).

I am quite sure that my experiences witha foreign language are not unique. Manyof us learn things in the classroom, butwhen we get out in the world, we find wehave trouble communicating those things.After being in a seminary or on internshipworking in a church for the last four years,how can I communicate with the peoplein my new context? How can I talk aboutJesus and faith in a way that makes senseto someone who has not taken BiblicalHebrew or Koine Greek? How can I learnfrom being immersed in a language andculture other than my own?

Seven months after my ordination, I amlearning how to communicate. This crashcourse has certainly included some crashes.In my first call I am serving as the LutheranCampus Pastor at the University ofMaryland (UMD), while also providingpastoral care at Good Samaritan LutheranChurch in Lanham, Maryland, a nearby

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Speaking the Universal Languageof the GospelBY RAY RANKER,MDIV ’11



The situation continued to get worseand our commitment continued to deepen.Last spring, in addition to the City Soupjourney, we held a Prayer Breakfast atLTSP, thanks to a grant from ThriventFinancial for Lutherans. Over 150 faithleaders came and were led in prayer byChristian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy.Mayor Nutter and Congressman ChakaFattah attended. Our speaker for the daywas Joel Berg, a nationally known hungeradvocate from New York. There will be aPrayer Breakfast this spring — 2012Interfaith Prayer Breakfast: Hungry forJustice— Friday, April 20, at 8:00 am atLTSP. Please visitLtsp.edu/PrayerBreakfastfor more information and to register.

This past fall we continued our effortsto resource the faith-based communityabout the crisis of hunger in our region.There are many churches that have foodpantries and soup kitchens — over 700throughout the city. (The numbers ofthose relying on these efforts have tripledin the last few years.) These faithfulcongregations are reaching the limits oftheir capacity, however. We look to ourpublic leaders therefore, to develop policiesthat will coordinate non-profit efforts andensure that nutritious, affordable food isaccessible to all in our city.

We also sponsored the “Orange CardCampaign,” in which we distributed30,000 bright orange postcards that weredelivered to Mayor Nutter, calling for new,effective food policies to be put in place.

On campus, we had aOne SeminaryOne Book initiative, with the wholecommunity reading Exodus from Hungerby David Beckmann (President of Breadfor the World). The author led aconvocation at LTSP this past February.

Public theology, as is well known, is theorganizing paradigm of the curriculum atLTSP. But public theology is not justacademic — something we teach in theclassroom and read about in the library.Public theology is what we do as well.

As tough as the recession has been onchurches and seminaries, it has been harderfor the poor. One congressional district inour city has become the “second hungriest”for two years now. As unemployment andpoverty rise, our neighbors increasinglycannot afford to eat — approaching one inthree people in Philadelphia now.

In response to this crisis, a few of us atLTSP quickly organized a project calledCity Soup in the winter of 2010. DianeLoucks (a recent LTSP graduate andhunger activist), Marissa Krey (fromLAMPa), and I developed a pilot programwith others, including representatives fromNIM (Neighborhood Interfaith Move-ment), EMAN (East Mt. Airy Neighbors),the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the HungerCoalition, and the Archdiocese of Phila-delphia. City Soup is an educationalresource for congregations to spend sixweeks learning about hunger, sharing asimple meal, praying together, and takingaction. Although we originally intendedthis to be a Lenten journey, we learnedthat those from other traditions were alsointerested. The first year, over 30 groupsparticipated, setting aside funds that wouldhave been used for their normal dinnersand contributing $4,000 to local feedingprograms. They also walked in the Walkagainst Hunger, and sent letters —hundreds of them — to legislators askingfor more permanent solution-orientedpolicies to be put into place.

TWO FACULTY PERSPECTIVES

The Hunger Crisis: A “Walking theWalk” PublicTheology ApproachBY DR. KATIE DAY, CHARLES A. SCHEIREN PROFESSOR, CHURCH ANDSOCIETY; DIRECTOR, METROPOLITAN/URBAN CONCENTRATION

I walked up with the rest of the con-gregation and dropped something inthe offering plate.

Not only did she give me some-thing to offer to God and the churchon that day, but she also gave meanother gift that continues to affectme to this day. She taught me a littlemore about the kingdom of heaven,about what it means to communicateGod’s love. And, thanks to her gift, Iwill share her story and her example,hoping it will help others understandthe good news.

Being in an ecumenical and indeedinterfaith setting, and in a globalcontext, immerses us in a languageof faith. People around the world,through their stories, have taught mehow to communicate the good newswith those here in my context.Experiencing God, the church, andthe world on a global scale only helpsus to do this, as interactions withthose with different theologies helpus to understand our own theology aswe learn more about who God is.The stories of the saints help us tothink about our own story andremind us of the church universal,which transcends all time and place.

Pastor Ray Ranker is a 2011graduate of LTSP from Reisterstown,Maryland, currently serving asLutheran Campus Pastor at theUniversity of Maryland. He can bereached at [email protected] oron Facebook.

Speaking the UniversalLanguage of the Gospelcontinued from page 19



In September, 2011, we held a preachingworkshop led by Prof. Wiseman andDiane Loucks, equipping participants topreach about hunger on World Food Day(October 16, 2011) and beyond. Studentsand clergy took advantage of the workshopand the word is spreading: more and moreof our sisters and brothers are “food insecure.”

As people of faith, we are called to feedthose who are hungry, as if they were Jesus(Matt. 25). City Soup is striving to equipcongregations to work both faithfully andeffectively for food justice so that all maybe fed. We are grateful to both the ELCAand Presbyterian Hunger Programs fortheir support. We hope you will join us!

For more information, go tohungercoalition.org/citysoup.

BY DR. KARYN L.WISEMAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HOMILETICS;DIRECTOR OF UNITED METHODIST STUDIES

Public Theology is at the heart of all we do at The Lutheran Theological Seminary atPhiladelphia (LTSP). We teach and model for our students a theology that walks and talksboth in the pulpit and in public in profound and important ways. In our classrooms wewant our lessons — regardless of the subject matter — to be lived in our students, in ourown and in their communities, in our congregations, and in our wider world. This kind ofpublic engagement is a hallmark of what we do at LTSP. Our own website states, “Centeredin the Gospel of the crucified and risen Christ, LTSP forms leaders for public ministry.”Your time here as students will prepare you to be a Christian public leader. Whether yourcall is to care for the dying, advocate for those who have no voice, lead a congregationstruggling to meet the needs of a rapidly changing community, teach, preach, or be about thework of the Gospel in any way.” This is what we have centered our work on and it is a corevalue we honor.

One area of theological engagement that we have spent significant time addressing overthe past year has been the issue of poverty and hunger. In spring 2011, a Hunger Breakfastwas held on our campus inviting persons from throughout the wider Philadelphia com-munity to come together to address the startling fact that one in four Philadelphians isfood insecure. (go to Ltsp.edu.PrayerBreakfast for information on this year’s Prayer Breakfastbeing held April 20, 2012) That means that 360,000 people, 108,000 of whom are children,have to skip meals due to a lack of money and resources. One of the events that sprang fromthat meeting was the September 23, 2011 workshop on Preaching and Justice, also held onour campus. This event trained area preachers to address the issues of poverty and hungerfrom the pulpit on World Food Day, October 16, 2011. The participants spent timediscussing what it means to preach the Good News with a hurting and hungry world from aframework of justice. The partnership between LTSP, LAMPa (lutheranadvocacypa.org/)and City Soup to hold this training event is just the type of public leadership we are about.City Soup’s work on the issue of hunger and poverty is known throughout the community.Their own website hungercoalition.org/citysoup provides a wide variety of resources,including a video, hunger data, a weekly congregational study guide, and other materials tohelp interested persons get involved.

Hunger is an issue that we as a country have tackled in the past and once had nearlywiped out of existence. If hunger and poverty are top priorities for us to eradicate — we haveto walk and talk that into reality. Being an advocate for those who have no voice is what weare led to do. Being a public leader on issues that affect so many in our communities inadverse ways is what we are called to do as Christians. Spend time preaching and teachingabout this issue — and together we can change the world for the better.

Left: Leaders involved in hungeradvocacy include, from left,Diane Loucks, MAR ‘09, MarissaHarris Krey, MDiv ‘08, and Prof.Katie Day.


Bottom left: Prof. KarynWisemandiscusses the origins of foodserved at LTSP with RobertWilson, a seminary food servicesemployee.



An Exhaustive Self-Study:Why?

The Lutheran Theological Seminary atPhiladelphia (LTSP) has been involved ina two-year evaluation process under mysupervision. The purpose of this “Self-Study” is for LTSP to comply with anaccreditation process undertaken every10 years to evaluate its mission of highereducation. This is done through theAssociation of Theological Schools (ATS)and the Middle States Commission onHigher Education (MSCHE). Theseaccrediting agencies visited the campusMarch 4-7, 2012.

This Self-Study has been an institution-wide endeavor involving more than 60persons (students, staff, administration,faculty, board members, and alumni). Sixworking groups were organized to respondto particular questions about our mutuallife and mission as an institution and toprovide a report for the Self-Study SteeringCommittee. These six working groups are:

• Educational Assessment• Faculty and Administration• Information Resources• Institutional Mission and Integrity• Institutional Resources• Student Services

AN EXHAUSTIVELYTHOROUGHPROCESS

The steps to arrive at the Self-Studyhave been exhaustive. Following an intro-ductory training period with ATS andMSCHE, a 10-person steering committeerepresenting all these constituencies haskept the process on track over most ofthe two years. In March 2010, a publicconvocation was convened to apprise thecommunity of the purpose and plan of theSelf-Study, as well as its goals. A Self-Studyweb page was created on the LTSP websitein order to provide public informationregarding the process (Ltsp.edu/selfstudy).The Steering Committee next invitedapproximately 60 persons to serve onsix different working groups to assureadequate representation, according to ATSand MSCHE standards. Updates to thecommunity on our progress were reportedeach term to the to the student body, staffand faculty. The Board received formalreports of the Self-Study process at each ofits meetings in April 2010, October 2010,April 2011, and October 2011.

The working groups were providedMandates and Research Questions toanswer based upon the ATS and MSCHEStandards within their area of seminarylife. Each group was provided a platformon a seminary-wide Blackboard Site inorder to store and share documents. Theworking groups worked in different styles,some assigning questions on an individualbasis, others working together as a com-mittee of the whole, and others usingthe Blackboard Site as a discussion boardfor conversation.

By March 2011 the final reports fromthe working groups were compiled into anExecutive Summary of the Self-Study,which was presented to the Board ofTrustees at its April 2011 meeting, whichspent time discussing some of the initialfindings of the Self-Study. In June 2011 theworking groups officially concluded theirwork and were disbanded.

In October 2011 a final report, nearing100 pages, was presented to the Board ofTrustees. Once passed by the Board thedocument will be shared with the com-munity and placed on the seminary websitefor public view.

The document was forwarded to theaccrediting agencies in December 2011in preparation for the accreditation visitin March 2012.

BY DR. DAVID D. GRAFTON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, ISLAMICSTUDIES AND CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS AND DIRECTOR OFGRADUATE STUDIES; SELF-STUDY DIRECTOR

The current Self-Study has

focused upon the theme of

“change.” If anything is true in

the world of theological

education it is that “change”

is the new normal.The

dramatic changes in our

North American society

over the last 10 years have

affected the way education is

undertaken, the way teachers

teach, the way students learn,

and the way institutions

evaluate their effectiveness.



THEME OFTHE SELF-STUDY

The current Self-Study has focusedupon the theme of “change.” If anythingis true in the world of theologicaleducation it is that “change” is the newnormal. The dramatic changes in ourNorth American society over the last 10years have affected the way educationis undertaken, the way teachers teach,the way students learn, and the wayinstitutions evaluate their effectiveness.The dramatic changes in affordabletechnology have provided ever-shiftingexpectations about the availabilityof and access to information. Thedramatic changes in the church in North America, especially amongthe “mainstream” denominations, have tested traditional residentiallong-term theological education. The dramatic changes in theEvangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have led tothe loss of subsidized theological education and higher debt of

graduates. These dramatic changes have all impacted LTSP in waysunthinkable 10 years ago. To this end, this Self-Study has focusedupon the question, “What is our mission in the midst of thechanging landscape of the church and theological education inNorth America?”

LTSP is situated in the midst of dramatic changes within thechurch and theological education. As noted in one working groupreport, much of the work that was done over the past few years hasanticipated these massive changes and is responding to thosechallenges. A new mission statement (see sidebar by Sara E. Lilja,page 14) and an anticipated new curriculum driven by this missionstatement will serve the institution well. With a diverse studentbody, invested in high quality theological education and ecumenicalengagement, and a committed faculty, LTSP has the core of anexciting and effective place of teaching, learning, and research.

The campus and its resources have proven to be a major assetfor recruiting students, maintaining a quality campus life, andserving the educational needs of both the institution and the localcommunity. With the library situated next to The BrossmanCenter, the seminary provides roots in its historical legacy as wellas its commitment to twenty-first century education. Teachingtechnology will require continued investment in IT infrastructuresto maintain a high quality learning experience.

An ever-increasing amount of financial, state, federal, andaccrediting regulations regarding everything from academicguidelines to liability issues has undoubtedly put pressure on theprivate institutions, and will continue to do so in the future.

Reduced income from traditional ecclesiastical partners,increased debt load of students, and an unstable world economyhave prompted the seminary to engage in a review of its fundraisingand the school has embarked on ambitious efforts.

As a seminary of the church, LTSP has worked hard at remainingfirmly within its Lutheran heritage while being inherently ecu-menical. The continued strength of the Urban Theological Institute(UTI), the hiring of faculty from different denominational back-grounds, partnership with a local Anglican diocese and the UnitedMethodist Church, and a diverse student body, demonstrate boththe commitment and the ability of the seminary to engage incritical, free inquiry within an engaging, exciting, and supportingcommunity of teaching, learning and research. LTSP currentlyeducates and forms public leaders who are committed to developingand nurturing individual believers and communities of faith forengagement in the world and will continue this ministry intothe future.�

LTSP…educates and forms public

leaders who are committed to

developing and nurturing individual

believers and communities of faith

for engagement in the world.

Prof. David Grafton:Seminary is enduring“dramatic changes.”



LTSP Alumnus Steve Jensenfinds aWoundedWarriorsMinistry in Retirement

ALUMNI NEWS�

IT BEGAN A YEAR AGO WITH AREQUEST FROM A FORMER OFFICERin charge of a Wounded Warriors ministryin Hawaii.

Would retired U.S. Navy ChaplainSteve Jensen, an alumnus of The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia(LTSP), provide pastoral counseling to acouple having a particularly difficult timewith the husband’s IED wounds, traumaticbrain injury, Post Traumatic StressDisorder (PTSD), and coping with adozen or more medications?

“There was no funding for a chaplain’sposition,” Jensen explained. “However, Iquickly was embraced by the patients andfamilies I met — hungry for someone tohelp them deal with spiritual issues youmight expect: Why was God AWOL whenI was injured and my friends killed? Whydid the best of us die and I was kept alive?Is there a purpose for me to be here?

“I spend a great deal of time encour-aging them (Wounded Warriors) to work

on their medical, mind, body, spirit,relationship issues, but also building trust,”Jensen explained. “They come to my homeregularly for a cookout and discussion,finding it a safe place where people don’task probing or uncomfortable questions.There aren’t large crowds, and no loudnoises startle them.

“Since I didn’t have access to any fundsto help with emergent needs, the LutheranChurch of Honolulu (LCH) establisheda discretionary account, and with localsupport I was able to create Friends ofWindward Wounded Warriors,” Jensencontinued. Local church conference laymembers help as mentors, he noted, pro-vide intern positions at their businesses,host monthly barbecue meals at thebarracks, invite individuals and smallgroups to sail, fish, and play golf, sponsorfamily days at places like Wet ’N Wild,and more.

“In turn, the Wounded Warriors enjoygiving back to the community by paintingout graffiti or doing beach clean-ups,bringing their service dogs to encouragechildren to read, or allow homeless kidsin a local program to pet them,” Jensencontinued. “They send notes and Christ-mas gifts to Silver Springs-Martin LutherSchool (located near LTSP in PlymouthMeeting, Pennsylvania), assist with SpecialOlympics or Veteran Paralympic games;and much more. Friends, churches, andstrangers contribute to the fund so Jensencan buy new baby items, provide workclothes for internships, sponsor a datenight for two couples a month, celebratebirthdays with cake and ice cream, and thelike,” Jensen said.

“I take about a dozen with the mostsevere PTSD each quarter for a retreat to aneighbor island,” Jensen explained. “TheUnited Service Organization and ArmedServices YMCA help underwrite the costsof lodging and transportation, while LihueLutheran (Church, Kawai) for example,uses its contacts or funds to providerecreational activities and meals. LCHprovides free tickets to church/symphonyconcerts and St. John (Lutheran Church,Kailua) cooks at barbecues and providessecretarial support for me. Prince of Peace(Lutheran Church, Waikiki) paid for theThanksgiving meal at my home. Otherchurches have gathered materials for carepackages to the units from which theseMarines and Sailors came, still fighting inAfghanistan. And on it goes.

“Because I am also greatly concernedabout what happens to them after they aredischarged, I am now a member of theVeterans Administration’s InstitutionalReview Board, at which we scrutinizeall new programs and services beingdeveloped for veterans and their families,”Jensen said. “I have agreed to be a NavyLeague board member beginning inJanuary so I can further develop contactsand resources for the detachment.

Slowing down in retirement? What’sthat? As Jensen puts it, “It seems I havebeen given a second chance at ministryfor which all other military and civilianexperience and training has equipped me.I don’t want to squander a day of thisopportunity, so I go at it ‘all ahead full.’ Asa friend said, I want to be all used up whenmy time comes, and I can’t think of a betterway to expend myself in service to others.”

LTSP alumnus and retired U.S. Navy ChaplainSteve Jensen enjoys a visit in Hawaii with FirstLady Michelle Obama, who was on hand toencourageWoundedWarriors in Hawaii thatJensen ministers to as a volunteer chaplain.

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ALUMNI UPDATES

The Rev. LenaWarren ‘08Installed June 12, 2011, pastor, ImmanuelLutheran and Salem Lutheran Churches,Naugatuck, CT

The Rev. JoAnna Novak Patterson ‘09Installed June 5, 2011, associate pastor,St. Philip’s Lutheran Church,Wilmington, DE

The Rev. Lorraine Peterson ‘09Ordained September 17, 2011, St. Paul’sLutheran Church,Torrington, CT

The Rev. Carla Rush ‘09Ordained September 18, 2011, First LutheranChurch, Dayton, OH

Called to serve Bethany Lutheran Church,Kaleva, MI

The Rev. Bradley Burke ‘10Ordained May 2, 2011,Timothy LutheranChurch, Ashton, PA

Called to serve as associate pastor at St.Michael Lutheran, Unionville, PA

The Rev.Tim Garman ‘10Ordained October 23, 2011, AlleghenyEvangelical Lutheran Church, Mohnton, PA

Called to serve as chaplain/ campus pastor,Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center,Allentown, PA

The Rev. James Goodyear ‘10Installed, June 31, 2011, pastor,TrinityLutheran Church, FortWashington, PA

The Rev. Kevin O’Hara ‘10Ordained June 3, 2011, St. Peter’s LutheranChurch, NewYork City, NY

Called to serve on the pastoral staff atSt. Peter’s Lutheran Church, NYC

The Rev. James Smith ’10Appointed October 6, 2011 as chaplain atWagner College, located atop Grymes Hill inthe NewYork City borough of Staten Island.

The Rev. GeorgeW. Dietrich ‘11Ordained September 18, 2011,TrinityEpiscopal Cathedral,Trenton, NJ

Called to serve as pastor at AscensionLutheran Church, Haddon Heights, NJ

The Rev. Christopher Halverson ‘11Ordained September 18, 2011,TrinityEpiscopal Cathedral,Trenton, NJ

Installed October 2, 2011 as pastor, SaintStephen Lutheran Church, South Plainfield, NJ

The Rev. Nancy Beckwith ‘09Installed October 17, 2011, Pastor of ZionLutheran Church, Oxford, MA

NEWADDITIONS

The Revs.Taryn Montgomery ‘11 andChristoph Schmidt ‘11 announce the birth ofMagdalene Esther Montgomery Schmidt ‘36on October 15, 2011.The name Magdalene isinspired by Christoph’s maternal grand-mother and byTaryn’s favorite biblical lady,and Esther forTaryn’s maternal grandmother.Maggie’s parents serve in the Minot, ND area.

The Rev. Ray Ranker ‘11Ordained August 21, 2011, Memorial Chapel atthe University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Called to serve as Lutheran campus pastorat University of Maryland.

The Rev. Deborah Stein ‘11Ordained September 17, 2011, St. Paul’sLutheran Church,Torrington, CT

Installed October 9, 2011, pastor, St. StephenLutheran Church, Syracuse NY

The Rev. KeithWalbolt ‘11Ordained August 6, 2011, University LutheranChurch, Gainesville, FL

Called to serve as pastor at Lutheran Ministryin Christ of Coral Springs, FL

CHANGE OF CALL

The Rev. June E. Bair ‘06Installed, June 12, 2011, Pastor, Zion LutheranChurch,Womelsdorf PA

ALUMNI UPDATES: Please keep us up todate on ministry calls, ordinations, andother alumni news to be included inupcoming issues of PS by emailing EllenAnderson, at [email protected].

Visit Ltsp.edu/alumni-news for more alumni news!

classNOTES

To vote for Alumni Association Boardmembers:

1. Go to Ltsp.edu/ convocation12awardto vote online

2. Call the Rev. Ellen Anderson at 215.248.7301

Spring Convocation 2012The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia

Tuesday andWednesday,May 1 and 2, 2012Ltsp.edu/convocation2012

Class reunions (Classes ending in “2” or “7”) will be held from3:00-5:00 pm in The Brossman Center on Tuesday, May 1.Alumni reception, Easter Vespers, and the annualAlumni Banquet will follow.

To register:Ltsp.edu/convocation2012 ORcall 215.248.7301.



NEWS�NOTESFACULTY/STAFFACTIVITIES

DR. KATIE DAYThe Charles A. ScheirenProfessor, Church and Society;Director, Metropolitan/UrbanConcentrationJune 2011 presented lecture at aconference on Global PublicTheology in Bamberg, Germanyentitled: “Gun Violence in theU.S.: the Challenge to PublicTheology”; July 2011 led seminarsfor clergy and lay leaders for twodays on “Gun Violence, GospelValues” at the national gatheringof the Presbyterian Church(USA), an event called “The BigTent” in Indianapolis; October2011 presented paper at meetingof Society for the Scientific Studyof Religion in Milwaukee entitled:“After Tucson: the Mobilizationof Communities of Faith inResponding to Gun Violence”;November 2011 presented papersat AAR in San Francisco, “Thenew Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works,English Edition, as a TeachingTool” and “Public Theology andthe ‘Post-Secular’ Condition:Politics, Pluralism, and PublicDiscourse”; continue workon Faith on the Avenue, to bepublished by Oxford UniversityPress next year.

DR.WIL GAFNEYAssociate Professor of BiblicalHebrew and Jewish andChristian ScriptureOn sabbatical as Scholar/Priest-in-Residence at All Saints EpiscopalChurch in the Episcopal Dioceseof Hawaii. Completed two-monthScholar’s Program at the TanturEcumenical Institute in Jerusalem.Published blog on time in Israel:http://jerusalem40daysnights.blogspot.com. Spent time with LTSP-Reconstructionist RabbinicalCollege (RRC) students there.

DR. DAVID D. GRAFTONAssociate Professor, IslamicStudies and Christian-MuslimRelations and Director ofGraduate StudiesPARTICIPATION June 2011“Muslims in America,” TempleLutheran Church, Pennsauken,New Jersey; September 2011“Radical, Reformed, andProgressive Islam,” Upper DublinLutheran Church; “9/11Interfaith Dialogue,” WissahickonInterfaith Clergy AssociationPAPER July 2011 “For God andWhich Country?: LutheranPietists and their role in thenineteenth-century AnglicanMission Societies in the midstof the ‘Eastern Question,’ 1825-1898”, Aram Conference: WesternMissions in the Levant, OrientalInstitute, University of OxfordPUBLICATIONS May/June2011 “German Lutherans andAssimilation: Lessons in theCurrent Atmosphere of Islamo-phobia,” The Journal of LutheranEthics (elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Journal-of-Lutheran-Ethics/Issues/May-June-2011/German-Lutherans-and-Assimilation.aspx#_ednref11);July 2011 “Defining the termJihād in the Arabic New Testa-ment: Contested Arab ChristianIdentity Within the Contemporary

shop at Immanuel LutheranChurch, Philadelphia; March2011 “Hospitality and the Bible,”four-week Adult Forum, UpperDublin Lutheran Church,Ambler, PA LECTURERApril 2011 “The AntikytheraMechanism, the Bible and theCross,” Inaugural Lecture asfirst recipient of the John H.P.Reumann Chair in BiblicalStudies,” LTSP.

DR. JON PAHLProfessor, History of Christianityin North America; Director,MA ProgramsMarch/April 2011 Invited by TheFountain Magazine to go on worldtour of sorts, with lecture stopsin Tirana, Albania; Singapore;Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia; and Melbourne andSydney, Australia. While inSydney, was interviewed on ABCRadio (the Australian Broad-casting Corporation) on the topicof his recent book, Empire ofSacrifice: The Religious Origins ofAmerican Violence; May 2011lecture at Cambridge University,England “In Guns We Trust:American Civil Religion andViolence”; June 2011 appeared atthe Rumi Forum in Washington,DC, where he was interviewed fortelevision show dedicated to hisbook Empire; keynote speaker atNortheastern Pennsylvania Synodof the ELCA’s Assembly, “Malls,Muhlenberg, and Mission”; July2011 studied Turkish and livedin Istanbul, Turkey, conductingresearch for two book projects;published a chapter entitled“Homicide and American Reli-gion,” in Religion, Death, andDying, ed. Lucy Bregman;continues active as co-chair ofthe American Academy ofReligions Group on “Religions,Social Conflict, and Peace,” andas saxophonist for “The GrooveDaemons.”

Islamic Environment of theMiddle East,” Islam and ChristianMuslim Relations 22:3; “TheWord Made Book — Translatingthe Van Dyck Arabic Translationof the Bible and Arab ChristianViews of Wahy” in Jesus andthe Incarnation: Reflection ofChristians from Islamic Contextsby David Singh, ed. (Oxford:Regnum Books, 2011).

DR. ERIK M. HEENJohn H.P. Reumann Chairin Biblical StudiesPARTICIPANT October 2011“Word Alive: Planning the Futureof the Book of Faith Initiative,”ELCA National Church Head-quarters, Chicago, IL; August2011 “2011 Convocation ofTeaching Theologians: Sourcesof Authority in the Church:Lutheran Traditions in NorthAmerican Contexts,” GustavusAdolphus College, St. Peter, MN.PRESENTER September 2011“The Movie Babe: Romans 12and the Transformative Role ofChristian Civility,” Dinner anda Movie, Emanuel LutheranChurch, Hartford; June 2011“The Gospel of Matthew,” two-week Adult Forum, Upper DublinLutheran Church, Ambler, PA;May 2011 “The Interpretation ofthe Bible in the ELCA,” Work-

Dr.Wil Gafney in frontof All Saints EpiscopalChurch in Kapaa, Hawaii.



28, No. 1 (2011), pp. 26 – 53;ENGAGEMENTS April 2011“Christian Hospitality andPastoral Practices in a MultifaithSociety,” organized by The Associa-tion of Theological Schools, HyattRegency Pittsburgh AirportHotel; participant and panelist,World Catholicism Week, “TheDiscourse of Catholicity,” DePaulUniversity, Chicago, IL; panelpresentation on “Catholicityin the Fathers of the Church,”entitled “Interrogating Relevance— Reaching Back in order toMove Forward”; panel presenta-tion entitled “Public Theology ina Multicultural Context,” at bookpresentation — A World For All?Global Civil Society in PoliticalTheory and Trinitarian Theology;May/June 2011 faculty mentor,Asian Theological SummerInstitute 2011, LTSP.

DR. NELSON RIVERAAssociate Professor, SystematicTheology and Hispanic Ministry;Director, Latino ConcentrationJuly/August 2011 taught courseon “The Christian Faith and thePhilosophical Life” for the Sum-mer Academy of TheologicalEducation with Youth (TEY)at the Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Gettysburg.

DR. QUINTIN L. ROBERTSONDirector, UrbanTheologicalInstitute (UTI)Implemented annual UTI Lectureand Worship Celebration eachfall and will be celebrating the30th anniversary of Preachingwith Power this spring due to thesuccess of UTI’s 30th anniversarycelebration.

DR. J. JAYAKIRAN SEBASTIANH. George Anderson Professorof Mission and Cultures;Director, Multicultural MissionResource Center; SeminaryChaplainPUBLICATIONS “The GuideWho Stands Aside: ConfessingChrist in India Today,” in Asianand Oceanic Christianities inConversation: Exploring Theolo-gical Identities at Home and inDiaspora, eds., Heup Young Kim,Fumitaka Matsuoka, and AnriMorimoto, Studies in WorldChristianity and InterreligiousRelations Vol. 47 (Amsterdam andNew York: Rodopi, 2011), pp.135 – 148; “IntertwinedInteraction: Reading Gregory ofNazianzus Amidst InterreligiousRealities in India,” in William F.Storrar, Peter J. Casarella, andPaul Louis Metzger, eds., A Worldfor All? Global Civil Society inPolitical Theory and TrinitarianTheology (Grand Rapids, MI andCambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans,2011), pp. 162 – 177; “TheBaptism of Death: Rereading theLife and Death of LakshmiKaundinya,” Mission Studies, Vol.

DR. STORM SWAINAssociate Professor, Pastoral Care andTheology; Directorof Anglican Studies

Published Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero: APastoral Theology (Augsburg Fortress, August 2011). Frompersonal interviews with chaplains at the temporarymortuary at Ground Zero and her own experiences as anEpiscopal priest, psychotherapist, and chaplain, Dr. StormSwain offers a new model of pastoral care grounded intheology and practice.

Reflecting on experiences of suffering faced in ministry,Swain considers what it means to love in these instances andwhat is involved in ministering in these contexts. Withinthis model, caregivers can move from a place of trauma to aplace of transformation, which enables wholeness andhealing for both caregivers and those for whom they care.

DR.TIMOTHY J.WENGERTMinisterium of PennsylvaniaProfessor, Reformation HistoryApril 2011 presented paper,“Philip Melanchthon and JohnCalvin’s Reaction to AndreasOsiander” for the North Ameri-can Luther Conference; preachedat Trinity Episcopal Church,Moorestown, NJ, on one of theseven last words; May 2011presented overview of HenryMelchior Muhlenberg’s life atSt. Daniel’s, Robesonia; June 2011Led study of what it means to beLutheran for the ELCA EastCentral Synod of Wisconsin inAppleton, WI; July 2011 key-note speech on Henry MelchiorMuhlenberg for German-AmericanMuseum in Washington, DC;September 2011 workshop onHenry Melchior Muhlenberg atLTSP’s celebration of the 300thanniversary of his birth;September/October 2011 visitedStrasbourg, France at theEcumenical Institute for meetingof an international team ofLutheran and Roman Catholicscholars who will produce anecumenical commentary on the95 Theses.

DR. KARYN L.WISEMANAssistant Professor ofHomiletics; Director of UnitedMethodist StudiesApril 2011 preached at ELCARegion 7 Regional Assignments;May 2011 preached for AlumniGathering at LTSP; June 2011speaker on Church Planting atThe Wild Goose Festival in NorthCarolina; July 2011 Fellowshipparticipant in Wabash Institute’sPre-Tenure Seminary FacultyColloquia, Crawfordsville, IN;July/August 2011 preached atChrist Lutheran Church in UpperDarby, PA; August 2011 preachedat The Village Church in Oledo,OH; September 2011 Workshopon Preaching and Hunger atLTSP; Commentary, WestminsterJohn-Knox Lectionary Commen-tary Series, Feasting on the Word,Vol. XII. (Homiletical Commen-tary on: “Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25;”“Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18;” and“Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24.”); Arti-cle, “Bridging the Gap: CreatingIntimate Preaching Encountersin Spaces That Separate Us,”Encounter, Fall 2011.



NEWS�NOTESPASSAGES

Death of Ellen Harper McGarr saddensmanyat LTSP; but her memory recalls much joy

EllenHarperMcGarr died at home inBoise, Idaho last April 15 after a strugglewith cancer. She was 50. McGarr was theseminary’s original coordinator of studentservices, a position she held beginning in1999 for a brief period, but those whoexperienced her capable skills first-hand willlikely best remember her for her wit andengaging personality tinged with a hint ofsouthern drawl and charm.

Much of McGarr’s humor could be expressed at her ownexpense. In an obituary she wrote for the Idaho Statesmen lastApril 21 she tells of moving to Philadelphia to attend seminary toprepare for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America. “She managed a few semesters before realizing what aterrible mistake she had made. Miss McGarr quit full-time study,but stayed at the seminary to work as a staff member and attendclasses part time. This enabled her to remain a part of the seminarycommunity she enjoyed so much while still quitting something.Quitting was an activity she had come to love and would enjoy forthe rest of her life.”

Ellen, better known as Harper in recent years, actually began herseminary career with studies at LTSP’s old New York Center duringthe 1994-95 academic year. She took one course there. In the fallof 1995 she enrolled on the Philadelphia campus of LTSP andcompleted one full semester, but continued to take classes fromtime to time before she withdrew in 2001.

In the meantime, she began working for the seminary. “Shewas so darned engaging and helpful that we liked having heraround,” explained René Diemer, LTSP’s Registrar, a McGarradministrative colleague. McGarr wore many hats at LTSP.When Mark Staples arrived in July, 1997 to become director ofcommunications, he found McGarr filling in most capably as theinterim director. McGarr next became an assistant to the directorof admissions and provided backup administrative support to thePresident’s Office. In what Diemer called “the mass retirement of1999,” President Robert Hughes, Registrar William Shafer,Admissions Director George Keck, and Business Manager EdSchofield, all stepped down.

“Ellen became the first and original coordinator of studentservices, and I became registrar,” Diemer said. McGarr was partof an administrative planning group consisting also of the dean,director of admissions, and registrar. During those years McGarralso headed up an influential hospitality task force appointed byPresident Hughes to improve seminary practices.

While in Philadelphia, McGarr met her partner, Judy Troyer.She writes in her obituary that the two “would share many lovelyvacations and several questionable real estate transactions.” Theymoved to Idaho in 2002.

The Rev.VirginiaThomas, MAR ’78The Rev. Virginia Thomas, (MAR, ’78) died April30, 2011. One of the first women to be ordained adeacon in the Episcopal Church and the founder ofthe Dolphins Program of the Merion Deanery in theDiocese of Pennsylvania was born in Utica, NewYork, on November 22, 1917. She graduated fromCornell University, majoring in French, in 1938,received an MAR from The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia in 1978, and was ordainedby the Rt. Rev. Lyman Ogilby that same year. From1979 to 1988, she led the Dolphins Program, avisitation ministry of volunteers who call on lonely

people in nursing homes and become their one-on-one companions.Upon her retirement in 1988, she and her husband moved to rural

Vermont, where she continued to serve as a deacon at St. Matthew’s,Enosburg Falls. Until a month before her death, she regularly preachedsermons that were known for their good humor, sound theology, andthoughtful insights into family life and the world around her.

She is survived by three children from her marriage of sixty-eight years,and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

IN MEMORIAMLTSP alumnus The Rev. Karl Schneider (MDiv) died February 7, 2012. Inaddition to being a pastor, he was a teacher and coach, and served thecommunity, synod, and greater church in his work on addictions. His teachingincluded German language and English as a second language, and he was aGerman visitation pastor.

John H. Schneidmiller, 82, of Cabot, PA, formerly of Butler, passed away onAug. 9, 2011, in the Good Samaritan Hospice in Cabot, PA. He was an alumnusof Capital University class of 1950, and LTSP class of 1953.

The Rev. Stephen Paul Gerhard, 65, died Friday, May 20, 2011, inWinston-Salem, his home for the past 16 years. He graduated fromThiel College inGreenville, PA, where he met his wife of 42 years, Barbara Jeanne ForemanGerhard. Pastor Gerhard received his MDiv from LTSP and a Master of Theologyfrom PittsburghTheological Seminary. He served his internship (during whichtime he became the church’s full-time pastor) at Lord God of Sabaoth LutheranChurch in Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI. After being ordained in theWesternPennsylvania/West Virginia Synod in 1971, he served at Messiah LutheranChurch in Moundsville,WV, then moved to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church inRaleigh, where he was designated a pastor emeritus on May 31, 2009.Pr. Gerhard retired from Lutheran Church of the Epiphany in 2008, and becamecapital campaign director of the Lutheran Services for the Aging for the NorthCarolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America until March of2011. Dedicated to his calling to serve, Pr. Gerhard also held various otherchurch-related positions.

The Rev. Ralph R. Hellerich died on October 24, 2011. Following hisordination in 1944, Pr. Hellerich served as pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church,Philadelphia (1944-1948), and St. John Lutheran Church,Woodbury, NJ (1948-1958). For the rest of his career he served as an editor for various churchorganizations and offices: the ULCA Board of Parish Education (1958-1960),Luther League (1960-1962), the LCA Board of Parish Education, and later theDivision for Parish Services (1963-1982).


All who are included in this list are strengthened through yourphilanthropy, and to those of us in the Office For Philanthropy,there is nothing more satisfying than helping deliver the blessingsof your gifts.

So to you, our philanthropist friend, we send our thanks. Feelfree to call or stop by your office at LTSP!

Sincerely,

The Rev. John V. PuotinenVice President for [email protected]


�PHILANTHROPY

2011ANNUAL REPORT OF DONORSIS NOW ONLINE AT

Ltsp.edu/annual report

YES, IT’S A NEW NAME. Samepeople, same phone numbers, but anew name. Why the change?

Over the years our work hasbeen described as “fundraising,”then “development,” and morerecently, “advancement.” Bycontrast, the word “philanthropy”may seem a bit abstract, but themeaning is rock solid: “the desireto promote the welfare of others.”

“Philanthropy” is more aboutwhat is at the heart of what you aredoing than it is about our work, ourplans, or even our institution. It isgratifying to hear about what ourdonors care about, and we areblessed as we listen to those dreams.

The “others” that we hear aboutin those conversations include:

The Church, that it remainsstrong in its saving mission;

The Congregation, that itcontinues to nurture and serve;

The Leaders of the Church, that they preach, teach, andminister boldly;

The Seminary, that it has resources to carry out its mission;

The Students, that their gifts for ministry will grow in thislearning community;

The Faculty, that they find joy in helping shape lives ofmeaning and service;

Greetings fromthe LTSP Officefor Philanthropy!



�PHILANTHROPY

YVONNE JONES LEMBO, A THIRD-YEARSCHOLAR at The Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), has beennamed the first recipient of the Dr. GroverC. and Irma S. Wright Scholarship forAfrican American Lutheran Students.

The Wright Scholarship Fund wasestablished with a $75,000 gift from IrmaWright, the widow of African AmericanLutheran pioneer Grover Wright, whopersuaded dozens of Black scholars to serveas Lutheran professional leaders. The giftwas made possible through proceeds fromthe dissolution of the Black LutheranCommunity Development Corporation(BLCDC), a non-profit enterprise foundedin 1987 by Grover Wright to provideaffordable housing and support services tosingle parent families in order to help thembecome self-sufficient. This is the singlelargest African American Lutheran gift toLTSP in its nearly 150-year history.

Lembo is a candidate for rosteredministry in the Evangelical LutheranChurch in America (ELCA). She joinedLittle Zion Lutheran Church of Telford,Pennsylvania, in 2006, and in 2008 beganMaster of Divinity studies at the seminary.As a field education student, Lembo servedas Vicar at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church,where the Rev. Dr. Charles Leonard, LTSPassociate professor of Practical Theology,is pastor. Leonard also is director ofContextual Education at LTSP. Recently,Lembo assisted Bishop Claire Burkat, ofthe ELCA’s Southeastern PennsylvaniaSynod (SEPA), as pianist and worshipleader for the Synod’s “God is DoingSomething New” series of three FallGatherings. She has served as part ofLTSP’s Office for Philanthropy since2009, first as a work-study student, then asan administrative assistant, and sinceOctober 1, 2011, as a Philanthropic

Advisor. In this capacity, sheis devoted to cultivatingstrategic relationships insupport of LTSP’s UrbanTheological Institute (UTI),which provides resources forequipping African Americanscholars and Black Churchleaders for twenty-firstcentury ministry, and fundslike the Grover and IrmaWright Scholarship.

Lembo has excelled as astudent. Two years ago shewas honored with the KarlElster Wurster Award, recognizing heracademic merit and “promise of ministry.”

Sharing her thoughts on receiving thefirst Grover and Irma Wright Scholarshipaward, Lembo said, “I’m inspired anddeeply, deeply moved by Grover and Irma’slife of faith, courage, hope, perseveranceand humility, and incredible investmentin raising up African American Lutheranleaders for the church. Mrs. Wright couldhave chosen to do many things with thefunds she received from the BLCDC. Butshe chose to invest in the future of AfricanAmerican Lutheran leaders. I feel as ifGod has lavished these gracious gifts —of receiving the scholarship and this oppor-tunity to raise funds for the seminary —as part of a wonderful plan to extend andenlarge Grover and Irma’s incredible legacy.So it’s not only the financial gift, but alsothe Spirit behind the gift that is a blessingto bequeath to each succeeding generation.It’s a vision of hope and promise for thefuture of African Americans in theLutheran Church. It’s an investment inthe future of our communities — to raiseup caring qualified leaders who are sensitiveand responsive to giving a hand up to thosein need. In Grover’s words, it’s ‘a challenge,

an opportunity, and a dare’ to minister withintegrity in new ways and new settings toexpand the frontiers of the Gospel. WhenI’m moving in that direction, I feel theirwind beneath my wings.”

Since the Wright Scholarship wasestablished in 2010, there has been a well-spring of support from African AmericanLutherans. A Celebration of ThanksgivingService this past May generated nearly$3,500 in additional gifts for the Groverand Irma Wright Scholarship Fund.This past August, New Hope LutheranChurch in Jamaica, New York, an AfricanAmerican Lutheran congregation, desig-nated a gift of nearly $6,000 to the WrightScholarship Fund.

In her capacity as Philanthropic Advisor,Lembo has organized a Grover and IrmaWright Scholarship Fund Task Force tofollow through with the goal of increasingthe Fund from the original $75,000 gift to$100,000 or more in 2012. The Task Forceincludes the Rev. Jessie Brown, Dr. AddieButler, the Rev. Daniel Shook, and SisterCecilia Wilson, all of whom have beenlongtime friends of Grover and IrmaWright and who served on the originalScholarship Task Force.

LTSP NAMES YVONNE LEMBO FIRST RECIPIENT OFTHEDR. GROVER C. AND IRMA S.WRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP

Pictured from left:Yvonne Lembo, with IrmaWright andThe Rev. Dr.Rudolph Featherstone at the May 1, 2011 celebration.

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LTSP RECEIVES “STEWARDS OF ABUNDANCE” GRANTFROMTHE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA

THE LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT PHILADELPHIA (LTSP)received a grant from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)entitled “Stewards of Abundance” that has been implemented in the NortheasternPennsylvania Synod (NEPA) this past fall. This venture is a joint effort of the LTSP

Office for Philanthropy (formerly Advancement)and Office of Admissions to raise awareness incongregations of the church’s need for ministryleaders, and to increase financial support for studentswho answer that call to leadership in the church.

The need now is greater than ever. With halfthe ELCA clergy at retirement age, the rising costof theological education, and increasing levels ofstudent indebtedness, the seminary needs yourhelp in partnering with us on this initiative.

The Stewards of Abundance grant will fund acadre of 25 volunteer visitors who will be recruitedand trained to visit 100 congregations in theNEPA synod over the next two years. These visitswill educate congregation members on the situationfacing the church and inspire them to be a part ofthe solution, supporting theological education.

It will encourage congregations to lift up prospective students and commit tosupporting them financially as they answer God’s call into ministry.

Congregational events can be tailored to each congregation’s preferences fora visit. Temple talks, a presentation to the congregational council, or meetingwith small groups of influence are examples of ways a congregational visit canbe structured.

In addition, two synod-wide events will be held to thank, inform, and inspirepotential donors and prospective students. This will enable potential donors to“put a face” on to whom their contributions might go, as well as enable prospectivestudents to recognize there are committed individuals willing to help themfinancially in their journey to public ministry.

A steering committee comprised of seminary staff from the Office for Philan-thropy and Office of Admissions, current LTSP students, as well as rostered leadersfrom the NEPA synod is currently working to implement this endeavor.

If you are in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod and are interested in servingas a volunteer visitor, having your congregation visited, or simply want to learnmore, please contact Tom Henderson in the Office for Philanthropy [email protected] or 215.248.6315. For more information or to be a “Stewardof Abundance” with your generous gift to student aid, go to Ltsp.edu/stewardsofabundance.

The Stewards of

Abundance grant

will fund a cadre of

volunteer visitors

who will visit

congregations over

the next two years.

These visits will

educate congregation

members and inspire

them to support

theological education.

Lembo is excited about continuing tobuild momentum and support for theWright Scholarship Fund. “The Task Forceis working with Dr. Charles Leonard, LarryHouse and, of course, Mrs. Irma Wright, toproduce a short DVD that will tell theGrover and Irma Wright story throughfootage and photos from Grover’s life andinterviews with Irma and several ofGrover’s key colleagues and protégés.”

The DVD will be used to invite othersto join in the Wrights’ spirit of philan-thropy and investment in AfricanAmerican Lutheran leaders. It is scheduledto be ready this spring and to beintroduced at an African AmericanLutheran History Day at LTSP — “Let ItShine” — that Lembo is working on withLTSP faculty member the Rev. Dr. RichardStewart. The History Day is Saturday, May26, 2012, and more information andregistration is at Ltsp.edu/letitshine.Pastor Larry Smoose and his congregation,Reformation Lutheran Church of Media,Pennsylvania, have taken the lead insupporting the Grover Wright DVD and2012 fund-raising initiative by pledging$2,500 for DVD production costs and anadditional $2,500 matching gift that willdouble the impact of those who contributeto the Grover and Irma Wright Scholarshipover the next year.

For more information about the Grover andIrma Wright Scholarship Fund, contactYvonne Lembo at the LTSP Office forPhilanthropy at 215.248.6318, [email protected]. The LTSP website alsofeatures information about the Groverand Irma Wright Scholarship and photosfrom the May Celebration of Thanksgivingat Ltsp.edu/GroverIrmaWrightScholarship.

For information and to register for AfricanAmerican Lutheran History Day, go toLtsp.edu/letitshine.




�ADMISSIONSaround

Changing Church:Project ConnectTHE REV. LOUISE N. JOHNSON,DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS, LTSP

FOR THE PAST DECADEAND THEN SOME, I havehad the opportunity towork with young adults asthey are discerning God’scall. As a seminary admis-sions director, I have theparticular privilege towork with those who arediscerning calls to publicministry. The Holy Spiritat work in them is what

reminds me of the hope we have in Christ. In addition tobeing deeply faithful, so many of the young adults withwhom I have worked are bright, creative, bold, and born tolead. They are beginning new ministries and reviving oldones. They are writing about God and human existencefrom brand new perspectives. And they are calling the restof us to a deeper engagement with God and new ways ofthinking about church.

Project Connect, an initiative of the Eastern Clusterof Lutheran Seminaries (Lutheran Theological SouthernSeminary, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg,The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia)called a number of these young leaders together in February,2012, to hear what they had to say about the challengesfacing our church and world. The retreat was called,“Changing Church,” which we hope called to mind both thechanges that are happening in the landscape ofthe church, and the ways in which they might change thingsfor the sake of the mission of the gospel. They had thechance to serve together, to reflect, imagine, write, anddream. We hope the time was a gift to them. We knowit was a gift to the church. We will also commission severalyoung adult writers to capture both the ideas and thetheology that emerged from our time together. Look forthem soon.


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Also this spring, we are offering a series of seminars on“Educational Formation in Congregations” open for credit ornon-credit for our students and pastors (see details on our websiteLtsp.edu/non-credit).Since 2007, LTSP has pioneered the “Asian Theological

Summer Institute” (ATSI), a national program supported by theHenry Luce Foundation, for Asian/Asian American doctoralstudents from all across North America.Over the years, LTSP has sought to offer a global, ecumenical,

interfaith, and multicultural education in preparing leaders forthe church and society. These emphases, we hope, will continuein the revised curriculum that the faculty is seeking to develop.Our curriculum of the future will certainly add more emphasisin renewing/developing congregations in the current environmentof declining church membership.As our name indicates, LTSP is a “Lutheran” seminary, but our

outlook is ecumenical, global, urban/metropolitan, multicultural,and inclusive. This outlook is represented by a distinguishedfaculty who are not merely acclaimed academic scholars, estab-lished authors, and excellent teachers, but who are also deeplycommitted to the future of the church and its renewal in achallenging environment.Martin Luther once remarked, “Change is easy but improve-

ment is difficult.” It seems the more we change our curriculum,the more it remains the same! The books LTSP students readthese days and the issues they wrestle with are different. And yet,the mission of theological education remains by and large thesame, though our emphases may change from time to time. Asdean of the seminary, I am confident that LTSP’s commitmentto the pursuit of quality in theological education and ourmission to “educate and form public leaders who are committedto developing and nurturing individual believers and communitiesof faith for engagement in the world” will not be diminishedor undermined.

J. Paul RajashekarDean

The PhiladelphiaWeekendVisitFriday, April 13, 2012 – Sunday, April 15, 2012, LTSP CampusLtsp.edu/visit

Convocation — Social MinistryTuesday, April 17, 2012, 11:30 am – 12:30 pmThe Brossman Learning Center, LTSP Campus

2012 Interfaith Prayer Breakfast: Hungry for JusticeFriday, April 20, 2012, 8:00 am – 10:00 am, The Brossman CenterLtsp.edu/prayerbreakfast

Prospective Student EventSaturday, April 21, 2012, 10:00 am – Noon, LTSP CampusLtsp.edu/visit

Earth Day CelebrationTuesday, April 24, 2012, 10:00 am – 2:00 pmWilliam Allen Plaza, LTSP Campus

Muhlenberg 300Spring Convocation 2012“A New Frontier: Mission Then, Mission Now”Tuesday andWednesday, May 1-2, 2012, LTSP CampusLtsp.edu/convocation2012

CommencementFriday, May 18, 2012, 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm, Trinity Lutheran Church,1000West Main Street, Lansdale, PA, 19446 (at the intersection ofRoutes 63 and 363)

African American Lutheran History DaySaturday, May 26, 2012, 11:30 am – 3:30 pm, LTSP CampusLtsp.edu/letitshine

AsianTheological Summer Institute at LTSP (ATSI)Tuesday, May 29 through Saturday, June 2, 2012, LTSP CampusLtsp.edu/atsi

Prospective Student EventThursday, June 14, 2012 and Thursday, July 12, 20126:00 pm – 8:00 pm, LTSP CampusLtsp.edu/visit

MESSAGE FROMTHE DEANcontinued from inside front cover

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S

SEMINARS ON EDUCATIONAL MINISTRY IN CONGREGATIONSSpring Semester 2012 • Open to Pastors and Congregational Leaders

LTSP is pleased to present a series of five one-day seminars/workshops exploring various facets ofeducational ministries in congregations. Each daylong seminar is taught by a qualified practitionerand aims to provide a concentrated focus on a theme.The seminars are open to students (for credit)and to interested pastors and congregational leaders (for non-credit or Continuing education credit).

Please visit Ltsp.edu/non-credit for seminar descriptions, dates, and registration information, orcontact: Kathie Afflerbach, Coordinator for Non-Credit Education, LTSP, [email protected].

7301 Germantown AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19119-1794

Ltsp.edu

HOWYOU CAN HELPMake a gift to endow theMuhlenberg Legacy Scholarshipand continue in the tradition ofHenry Melchior Muhlenberg.Ensure that the Lutheran churchwill have leaders who have receivedthe classroom and practicaltraining needed to serve.

Henry Melchior MuhlenbergLegacy Scholarship

Go to Ltsp.edu/muhlenberglegacy to donate onlineor call the Office for Philanthropy at 215.248.6316.

HENRYMELCHIORMUHLENBERGLEGACYSCHOLARSHIP

THE NEEDTo recognize the contribution Muhlenberg made to theologicaleducation, and on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of hisbirth, LTSP has established the endowed Muhlenberg LegacyScholarship, and we invite you to help build that endowment.This scholarship will be awarded annually to an LTSP studentwho embodies the characteristics that defined Muhlenberg: acommitment to academic excellence, strong leadership skills,and a distinct pioneering approach to ministry. These qualitiesare intrinsic to the mission of LTSP as well as definingcharacteristics of Muhlenberg, whose dedication to languageand study made him the innovative leader we celebrate today.

Documents

PS Spring 2012 - The Magazine of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia