With the ELCA greatly entwined into Wren Gray-Reneberg's life, PLTS may very well become a third home for her (her second being her alma mater, California Lutheran University). With just four weeks under her belt, Wren is settling in as the Office Manager for Seminary Relations, where she works alongside Brian Stein-Webber.

Growing up, Wren had many diverse faith-based experiences with all the denominations of churches she attended, both as a member, and as a visitor. The earliest church she remembers is the Church of the Brethren, in Lincoln, Neb., prior to being a member of Steve Sabin's ELCA congregation in Ames, Iowa, Lord of Life Lutheran. One last move brought her and her family to Arcata, Calif., where Wren settled in well at St. Alban's Episcopal. There she became involved with the youth group, supervising the nursery, and the local Episcopal children's camp during the summer. She was the senior female counselor at the camp for three out of the four years, and will continue to help out at the camp that she loves so much.

In addition to her home churches, Wren has visited many other denominations, including Methodist, Presbyterian, and Unitarian, with some exposure to Jewish and Quaker customs. This was mainly due to the fact that her mother is an ELCA pastor, and for a time was supply preaching, before finally settling at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Fortuna, Calif. This is Wren's current home church, and she enjoys returning there to provide piano music or vocal music with her mother and sister, or simply to enjoy worship and community.

After graduating from Arcata High school, it soon became clear what Wren's college would be. She came in as a freshman in 2008 to California Lutheran University - her mother's alma mater, and where many members of her family are involved in one way or another. She developed dear friendships, had plenty of stimulating and insightful classes, exciting new experiences, and enjoyed working part time in the office of Church Relations with Linda LeBlanc and Arne Bergland. As a member of the CLU choir, she traveled to Italy her sophomore year to sing in such amazing places as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and to New York City to sing in Carnegie Hall her junior year. Aside from choir, some of her favorite college experiences involved Saturday afternoon football games, eclectic pottery classes, late night trips to In-n-Out and TGIFriday's with friends, and of course the challenging and thought-provoking classes she attended.

Following graduation and a bachelor's degree in Psychology in hand, she returned home to help her family move and to participate in Camp Living Waters, while looking for a job around the San Francisco Bay Area. Although the job search was a bit frustrating, it seems that there was a path already set up, just for her. She is happy to be part of the PLTS community, and looks forward to a long, enjoyable relationship with the seminary.

If you're ever looking for her and she's not spending time with friends, she'll be playing the piano, reading, crocheting, listening to music, or out looking for a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. Although if she gets the chance, she'll travel, go to a concert, or pick up Irish dancing again!

Joel S. Wudel,  recently the Vice President of Seminary Relations at PLTS, is the new Regional Manager for the Mission Investment Fund in the western United States. His territory includes most of Regions I and II of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Last summer married the Rev. Kari Sansgaard, associate pastor at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Boise, Idaho. They live in nearby Meridian, Idaho, with Kari's two daughters. Joel travels extensively throughout the west and is glad to be able to keep in touch with the many friends he had occasion to meet while he worked at PLTS.

The Mission Investment Fund, a financial ministry of the ELCA, offers a variety of investments for congregations, their members and ELCA-related ministries to purchase.  MIF uses these investments to make low-interest loans to established ELCA congregations, new-start congregations and ELCA-related ministries for important capital projects.  Loans by the Mission Investment Fund fuel growth of our church.

Whether you are seeking investment opportunities for yourself or your congregation, or a loan for capital improvements for your congregation or ministry, contact Joel at joel.wudel@elca.org. He will be delighted to hear from you, whether you are an old friend or a friend-to-be.

Arthur W. Sorensen grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, served in the Army Air Corps, was an undergraduate at Dana College and divinity student at Trinity seminary, both in Blair, Nebraska.  Joan P. (Peterson) Sorensen grew up in Falmouth, Maine and also studied at Dana College, where she met Art.  They married in 1961 and had three children together.

Art served five congregations, first in rural Iowa and later in Salt Lake City.  In 1965, the family moved to Novato, California to begin a new mission congregation, which was named All Saints Lutheran Church.  After twenty years there, they moved to Ascension Lutheran in Thousand Oaks and Coastside Lutheran in Half Moon Bay, both in California.  In retirement, Art worked for the ELCA Foundation.

During their church life together, Joan played the organ, sang in choirs, led Bible studies, taught Sunday school, you name it.  She handled client relations for two CPA firms and bookkeeping for other businesses.  They traveled together to many places, near and far.

It is also important to note that Art and Joan were instrumental in introducing to PLTS some people who have been very supportive of our mission.

Both Art and Joan passed away this year, after lifetimes of faith and service.  As part of their legacy, Art and Joan Sorensen established a charitable gift annuity through the ELCA Foundation, the residuum of which has now been passed onto Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.

We are grateful for these servants of God, whose forethought now benefits a whole new generation of faith leaders. 

At the Great Thanksgiving banquet on November 2, two new awards were given to a person and a congregation who have been Champions of this seminary, Dr. Judith K. Larsen of Palo Alto, CA and the congregation of Mountain View Lutheran Church in Edgewood, WA.  The citations that were read at the occasion are printed here:

Dr. Judith K. Larsen defines what it means to be a Champion of PLTS.  She does not have a need to be in the spotlight.  That is part of what makes this so much fun tonight.  She gives very generously to the basic support of the seminary year after year without fail and without fuss.  She makes her big annual gift right at the start of the fiscal year in July, so no one has to worry about it or specially invite her to give.  And she comes through in a big way when there is a special need - when it is a question of whether we will be able to add exquisite new lighting in the dining hall, or whether we will be able to finish the refurnishing of the classroom, whether the faculty will have what they need to launch on-line classes this fall.  She prefers to make those kinds of gifts very quietly.  But we are blowing her cover tonight.  And she has put the seminary in her estate plan and actively encourages other to do so.  Is that a champion or what?

Read the rest at PLTS.edu »

When Pastor John Vaswig, graduate of PLTS in 1985, came to Mountain View to be their pastor, he arrived with a continuing commitment for the support of PLTS.  He had maintained contact up that point with Presidents Stuhr and Schmalenberger, and was friends with board member Dale Soden, professor at Whitworth College in Spokane, the site of Pastor Vaswig's previous congregation.

Read the rest at PLTS.edu »

by Phyllis Anderson, President, PLTS

ELCA Bishops from New York, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Washington, and Pennsylvania were on campus October 16-17 for a full round of worship, festive meals, and conversations with faculty, administrators, students, and GTU partners.  Every year the Conference of Bishops sends five of its members to each of the eight ELCA seminaries.  This provides the occasion for seminary students anticipating their first calls in the next year to meet with bishops from across the country, get a sense of the diversity of contexts and calls out there, and ask their questions as they go through this exciting and anxious time of waiting and hoping.   Thirty students at that stage in their process came to their meeting with the bishops full of questions that reflect their priorities:  What is happening in your synod in terms of new ministry starts?  What is the climate in your synod for ecumenical and interfaith cooperation?  What kind of opportunities are there for chaplains?  There was ample time for personal conversations at the reception and dinner following. 

These regular bishops' visits also contribute to the felt sense of unity in the church and dramatically expand awareness of this seminary across the church.  Three of the visiting bishops had never been here before and probably would not have had another opportunity to come and see what we do.  They were able to participate in Carol Jacobson's class at it reflected theologically on a series of Sunday morning visits to diverse congregations in the Bay Area.  They were able to hear from the faculty about their passions and exciting new initiatives in distance learning, Spanish language instruction, and the new Evangelism and Justice emphasis.  They discussed with chief administrators the agony and the ecstasy of keeping seminaries going and how synods can help.  They saw the GTU for themselves and had an interview with GTU President Jim Donohue, gaining a better sense of how expansive the resources are at this smaller seminary.  They were part of the colloquy where Professor David Balch shared his transformative experience on sabbatical last spring in Latin America [see below].  They shared in worship with the community with Bishop Chris Boerger (from Northwest Washington Synod and also serving on the PLTS board) preaching.  They went away with a sense of discovery about PLTS and hope for the future of the church.  They left us with a sense of connection to the larger church and leaders we are proud to call colleagues and friends.  

On Reformation Day, Wednesday, October 31, 2012, PLTS held our fall Spirituality Day titled "Justification and Justice: A Day of Ecumenical Conversation."

Celebrating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's enrollment in a Catholic university and the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, PLTS offered a day devoted to ecumenical conversation with our Roman Catholic siblings in the hope that this day might open up new and more moments of ecumenical engagement in the GTU.

Read more on PLTS.edu »

Over eighty people were on hand in the PLTS Chapel of the Cross on November 3 to hear a program and concert on the 1889 pipe organ that now resides on our campus, on permanent loan from First United Lutheran Church in San Francisco.

Jeffrey Johnson, PLTS student, showed the audience what he was capable of doing, starting out with the challenging Toccata, Adagio and Fugue by Johan Sebastian Bach.  Hands and fingers and legs were flying!  After some entertaining pieces by Vierne and Hamilton, Johnson finished with the Allegro Maestoso from the Sonata No. III in A Major by Felix Mendelssohn.

Read more on PLTS.edu »

TEEM student Wal Reat is a gracious, smiling person who radiates a perpetual sense of calm. One would never imagine what he has been through en route to becoming an ELCA pastor in Minnesota.

Wal had a stable family life in east Africa, in Sudan, until 1983 when that country exploded in civil unrest. Over the next twenty years, marauding armies massacred some two million souls and 'displaced' an additional four million. Wal tells few people of what he witnessed and himself endured as a young teen. He summarizes his experience of the war thusly: "I lived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia from 1983 to 1989. An injury to my brother in Sudan led me to return to Sudan, where I stayed from 1989-1990. In 1990 I once again had to go to the refugee camp in Ethiopia. When the Ethiopian rebels overthrew that government in 1991, I was returned to the liberated area of Sudan. In 1992 we were bombed from the air by government soldiers and were forced to flee to a refugee camp in Kenya....."

Read more on PLTS.edu »

by Prof. David L. Balch

My sabbatical proposal included an agreement with Prof. Alicia Vargas that we would both study Latino/a interpretations of Galatians. She gave up her sabbatical, when asked to assume the Deanship. My study of post-colonial readings of Galatians took a surprising turn when my son, Justin, who speaks Spanish, invited me to go with him to a Spanish-speaking country. For several reasons, we settled on Argentina, where I studied Spanish and gradually began to be able to study Galatians in Spanish. Spanish was easier and more fun to study than any language I have ever attempted to learn.

Read more on PLTS.edu »

Jeniffer Tillman, '14, came to PLTS after receiving a B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Theater from the University of Georgia in 2010.  A lifelong Lutheran and member of Christ the Lord Lutheran Church, where she was one of 30 in her confirmation class, Jeniffer is enjoying her time on the West Coast exploring new cultures, sights, and ideas about ministry in the world.  After college, Jeniffer planned to pursue a psychology career and those plans changed when she first felt the Holy Spirit blow the gift of pastoral care into her heart when she "walked into a post office" and consoled a postal worker who was in shock and grief from just learning of the death of a very close friend.  During her senior year, she didn't let a broken foot stop her from visiting PLTS.  We're so glad she came!

In her third year of a Master of Divinity program, Jeniffer has continued to explore and discern her call.  She completed her Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at The Training and Counseling Center of St. Luke's in Atlanta where she ministered to the homeless, victims of abuse, those who had lost their jobs, and many others.  One of her most memorable moments from that summer was preaching outside in downtown Atlanta.  "Although a bit nervous, my family came to support me.  As I stood by the waterfall and shared the Gospel and God's love with a group of mostly homeless and social outcast peoples, I felt I was doing the work of God and the church.  It was a revolutionary experience for me and my family.  Where I come from church is a culture.  And yet, here we were with a group of people who don't feel like they belong or are welcome in church.  I realized, church, rather ministry, happens outside four walls with a steeple."

By Kurt Christenson, MDiv '88

Jim Hazelwood's [PLTS M.Div. '88] installation as Bishop of New England was on Sept. 27th a pleasantly cool, overcast Massachusetts fall day. The new Bishoponabike.com began his day with a motorcycle procession from St. Andrew's Lutheran in Charlestown, Rhode Island, where he has served for seventeen years with his wife Lisa Stoen, and proceeded to Trinity Lutheran in Worcester Mass. (The Rev. Susan Nachtigal, MDiv '87, is the Senior Pastor there. Previously she had served there as an associate with Christopher Hoyer, son of former PLTS homiletics professor George Hoyer.)

The procession into the sanctuary of synod pastors, seventeen bishops, and Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson was led by the same friends in motorcycle leathers who had accompanied the new bishop in the morning. The Rt. Reverend Lloyd Allen Episcopal Bishop of Honduras, where St. Andrew's has been traveling for years of service/mission projects, offered the message of Christ's good news and challenge to the new bishop, stating clearly, and knowingly, what Jim will face in blessings and trials in the years to come.

I was walking along the "wall of fame" -- you know, all those confirmation pictures -- and decided to count how many of those 180 kids whom I had confirmed over the years were still involved in the church.  The percentage turned out to be about ten percent, here at Mountain View Lutheran or elsewhere.  Any other organization, business, or non-profit would determine the same return, if you will, to be an abject failure. Read More »

Rev. Pat [Servi] Reed, MDiv '01

St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Phoenix, AZ.

When I joined the Lutheran Church over 25 years ago, I began a journey of self-discovery that led me to God and my calling as an ordained minister.  As a Lutheran I understand that it was God who initiated the journey, but there was a lot of me in it.  Growing up as a Roman Catholic, God had to overcome my unwillingness and then utter amazement that God wanted to use all people -- not just priests -- to share in God's work -- the work of the church.  God also had to overcome my desire to be what the important people in my life thought I should be.  I was good at it -- good at following the rules -- but the real me was buried under too many ideas that didn't fit. It took time, prayer, pastors, mentors, books, seminary education and friends to get through to me the beauty and joy of what is now one of my favorite Bible passages, Galatians 5: 1, "For freedom Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery."  Those who know me know I still struggle to be free, but this isn't about me. Read More »

Rev. Marcia Wakeland, TEEM '04

Anchorage, AK.

This is a little about my ministry now at the outreach we have at the Downtown Transit Center in Anchorage. 

It was birthed at a spiritual directors conference in Vancouver, British Columboia in 2007 when I heard about a place called The Listening Post at the heart of the area they call "Ground Zero" in the City of Vancouver -- its name implying everything.  I was attracted immediately to the simple intention of the ministry. Read More »

Rev. Laurie McHugh, MDiv '92: I have moved to serve as pastor of Windsor Community United Methodist Church (small congregation in a town of 30,000 or so just north of Santa Rosa).  It's my first solo gig since 2001; I spent 8 years in Burlingame and 3 years in Palo Alto as an associate. In both those communities I was able to develop new media-rich worship celebrations and some small group ministries.  I didn't think I was ready for my Bishop to move me this time around, but it's turned out to be a good match and I am enjoying the work and the congregation.  

Dr. Fred Tonsing, MDiv '66, has recently written an article, titled "A Celtic Invocation: Cétnad nAíse", which was published in Volume 8 of the Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies.

He writes: Very little has been written about the baffling text of the Celtic invocation, the Cétnad nAíse, for the reason that it is abstruse, and the allusions in it resist sure explication. Despite the obstacles to interpreting the Cétnad nAíse, however, a close examination of the poem can yield some clues as to its sources, purpose, and, perhaps, authorship. To do this, the lines of the prayer will be treated in three groups: the four "invocations," the "petitions," and the "I am" sayings. It can be concluded that, contrary to some analysts, the content of the poem is derived mostly from pagan, Irish sources and that the Christian elements in it are sparse.

The full article can be found here.

Christine Higuera-Street, MDiv '12, whose ordination was reported last month, is currently serving at College Lutheran Church in San Diego, Calif.

Charles Bang, MDiv '80, just celebrated his first year anniversary as Senior Pastor/Headmaster at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and School in Hampton, Virginia. He and his wife Debby moved there after 29 years serving as Senior Pastor at Holy Trinity Church in Buffalo, New York.

Gwen Hermanson Schaefer, MDiv '07, was ordained in Minnesota on October 28th (correction to the update in previous newsletter) and installed on November 4th at Faith Lutheran in Los Gatos, Calif.

Hans Koschmann, MDiv '10, and Christyn Hegele Koschmann, MDiv '08, are pleased to announce the birth of their first child, Wes Benjamin Koschmann, on September 25, 2012.

Lori (Lepelletier) Kitzing, MDiv '11, will be ordained on November 4th at the Lutheran Student Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She will be installed as the Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Walton, Neb. on November 11th after having served as the congregation's Interim Pastor for one year.

Ivar Hillesland, MDiv '11, was ordained and installed on October 14th, 2012 at Church of the Apostles in Seattle, Wash.

John Maas, MDiv '77 has been retired over a year. He recently served Island of Faith Lutheran Church, Wrangell, Alaska as Resident Pastor for a month. A congregation of 15, this body of faith uses innovative thinking to provide pastoral continuity.

Cheryl Hoops, TEEM '08 has been called by the Central States Synod Council to serve as Interim Pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hutchinson, Kansas.

Heather (Anderson) Ross, MDiv '01, is married to Tim Ross, living in Paso Robles, Calif., annd working as parish administrator at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in San Luis Obispo.

Bill Phillips, MDiv '85, has just authored The Children's Book of Advent, which is available through Amazon.com.  The book is to be read over the 25 days leading up to Christmas, and is narrated by Izzy the  mouse.  More information about the book can be found at www.adventforkids.com.  Phillips now serves Christ Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Announcements and events around the Graduate Theological Union and the Bay Area

Nov. 16th: UC Berkeley Workshops on Race, Sexuality & the Law Series

     A series of lectures will be held at UC Berkeley in the Boalt Hall Law Department, room 145 from 12:00-1:55 pm. These distinguished speakers are hosted by Professor Russell Robinson's Race, Sexuality & the Law course. All are welcome to come and bring your lunch. Please RSVP to Jake Felthamat at jfeltham@law.berkeley.edu if you plan to attend, or if you have any questions.    

Dec. 4th: Income Inequality - Evidence and Implications

    Prof. Emmanuel Saez at UC Berkeley will be speaking at 4:10 pm at the International House Auditorium on the Cal campus. For more information, contact by email at lectures@berkeley.edu, or 510-643-7413    

Oct 1st - Jan. 31st: Imaging Religion - An Exhibition in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Graduate Theological Union 

     The Graduate Theological Union Library invites you to an exhibition of visual and textual expressions that characterize religious beliefs. For additional information, please contact Caryl Wolfe at 510-649-2541. 

Jan 19th-31st: We Are Family - Real Families, Real Faith, In the Real World

     Earl Lectures 2013, featuring Dr. Margaret A. Farley, Dr. Stephanie Coontz, Rev. Miguel A. De La Torre, and Rev. Barbara Essex. More details at http://www.psr.edu/earl-lectures-2013-registration.   

Dec. 9th: A Christmas Celebration 

     Join us on Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 7:00pm in the Chapel of the Cross at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary for a Christmas program in readings and carols celebrating the immediacy of the birth of Jesus Christ among us. All are welcome.  A dessert reception follows the program.