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Founder's Day
Out of the Fog
In Memoriam
Alumni Award
Jewish-Christian Forum
New Staff Spotlight: Chelsea Pell
Washington DC Alums
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Above the Fog
PLTS Newsletter

October 2014
Greetings!


 

We have just finished the week of the TEEM students being on campus.  This program, headed by Dr. Moses Penumaka, brings together what is currently forty-two students, several times a year, to attend classes and experience fellowship and mutual support.  Once a year, for a week, they all come to PLTS.

 

Dr. Moses Penumaka with TEEM students

The TEEM program started at the same time as the ELCA, in1988, when it was perceived that certain ministries and congregations would go without adequate pastoral leadership unless there were another method of training pastors.  The program has grown and prospered over the years, as bishops have identified persons who have the gifts to be trained and ordained into congregations of which they are already a part.

 

Such congregations may be language- or culturally-specific, or they may be rural or urban outposts.  And the TEEM students are generally ministering at the same time they are learning to minister.  Each student is paired with an experienced pastor mentor.  Their classes are intensive, and they do most of their reading and writing when they are back home.

 

Everybody was on the Berkeley campus last week, joined by professors and regional and churchwide representatives.  The preacher for Wednesday worship was the Rev. Albert Starr, Jr., who is Director of the ELCA office of Ethnic Specific and Multicultural Ministries.

 

The spirit on campus was expansive and exciting.  It was a snapshot of the spectrum of our church.

 

The TEEM program is supported by the national church.  And it is also supported by every one of you who send financial gifts or include the seminary in your estate plans.  After all, it takes a nation to raise a church leader.

 

Yours,

Rev. Brian Stein-Webber

Director of Seminary Relation

Founder's Day 2014
 
Rev. Dr. Monica Melanchthon's Reflections on the Bible and Tradition From Those on the Underside

On September 10, our campus had the privilege to host the Rev. Dr. Monica Melanchthon as our speaker for this year's Founder's Day. Every year, PLTS celebrates Founder's Day to honor the men and women whose faith and imagination helped create and transform this school into what it is today. 

Rev. Dr. Melanchthon's spoke about the issues of immigration and how important biblical perspectives can possibly enrich the discussion of the public. Some of her main speaking points were on how the Old Testament is full of migration stories and how, in a way, the church itself is a migrant. She also touched on how migration exposes oppression and how the massive movements of people today cause critical challenges for theology.

 

Please visit our blog, Out of the Fog, to listen to Rev. Dr. Melanchthon's full speech.


 

Visit: Out of the Fog

Out of the Fog

How can theological perspectives engage the pressing, urgent public issues of our day?


Out of the Fog, into God's World
is a web-based series that seeks to do just that. As part of its core commitment to the church becoming more public, this series is being initiated by PLTS. 

 

Rather than the faith staying "above the fog" (as the PLTS location and the name of this newsletter, implies), how might faith penetrate "out of the fog" and become trans-formative of what is actually occurring in God's world today?  These are not comprehensive theological or ethical analyses of all that is involved, but intended to be accessible to those unfamiliar with theological jargon. You are encouraged to share them widely, as well as responding with what may be contrasting perspectives.

 

We invite you to contribute to the blog.  You can sign up to be a blog author, or you can engage the conversation by replying to blog posts.  If you would like to be an author, please contact the PLTS blog coordinator.

 

 

In Memoriam: Margaret Wold

Margaret Wold passed away in August of this year. She was a great supporter of both PLTS and CLU.
 

Margaret Wold at a 2010 PLTS reception

Many people were affected by Marge and Erling Wold over the course of their very fruitful and impactful lives.  Erling died in 1999, and Marge followed him into life eternal this past summer. Much has been said and written about each of them.  Here are some things that have been important to the people of PLTS:

  • Marge was instrumental in the late 60s in the American Lutheran Church agreeing that women should be able to be trained, ordained, and serve as pastors in the church.
  • She was an inspirational author, particularly of the best-selling The Shalom Woman.
  • She was inspired at Luther College in Iowa to teach Bible at a Lutheran college, which she was prevented from doing directly, but which she accomplished for many people through other means.
  • She served on the board of PLTS, and was the first woman chair of the board from 1980 to 1986, during the presidency of Walter Stuhr.
  • She served as President of the American Lutheran Church Women.
  • She started several Lutheran pre-schools.
  • She was freed by the gospel to be bold, dramatic and inspiring through her teaching and actions.
  • She was an unfailing support to her husband, Erling, through life and ministry, serious injury, recovery, and life again.
  • She was a little Christ to us.
Alum Awards - Founders Day, September 10, 2014
 

Rev. Susan Nachtigal - Recipient of 2014 Alum Award for Distinguished Ministry as a Parish Pastor

 

  

Rev. Susan and her husband Jim

Rev. Susan Nachtigal was born and raised in Brookings, South Dakota, in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.  It was her desire to become a Christian day school teacher, of which there were many opportunities in the LCMS.  They practically invented the profession.  Susan attended Valparaiso University in Indiana and soon found she loved the theology courses more than anything else.  She notes faculty such as Frederick Niedner, who opened her to wider theological thinking, enjoying the questions as much as the answers.  She latched onto the gospel emphasis in one of Dr. Niedner's by-lines, "Jesus is the friend of sinners."  So she changed her major from education to theology, and joined a great cohort of deaconess students.


 

Read the rest of Susan's citation here�  

 

Rod Seeger - Recipient of 2014 Alum Award for Distinguished Ministry in Special Service


 

Rod Seeger accepting his award

Rod Seeger was born and raised in Albert Lea, in the southeastern part of Minnesota, son of a milkman.  The congregation he belonged to, First Lutheran Church, had 5500 members in this town of 13,000. Rod was the third baby that his pastor, Melford Knutson, baptized.  Rev. Knutson was also the one who confirmed, and then ordained Pastor Rod, and coincidentally perhaps, was the father of Rev. Mark Knutson, former campus pastor at Cal Lutheran.


Rod went into ordained ministry because of Pastor Knutson, gentle giant, easy speaker, respected leader, who in his personal confirmation interview with Rod (same as with all of that year's 92 confirmands) said, "Rod, you're going to St. Olaf College, you're going to Luther Seminary, and you're going to be pastor at a church," in answer to each, 14-year-old Rod said, meekly, "yes."


 

Read the rest of Rod's citation here�  

Jewish-Christian Forum

PLTS is partnering with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay area to sponsor an event entitled "Faith, Peace, and the Two-State Solution" on Sunday, November 16, 2:00 to 7:30 p.m. on the PLTS campus.

 

Presenters will be the Rev. Peter A. Pettit from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Dr. Marcie Lenk of the Shalom Hartman Institute.  The intention of the event is to have civil and honest conversation about Palestine and Israel among Jewish and Christian religious leaders, amid all of the polarization over the issue.

 

Interested persons may sign up for one of the limited spaces by going to http://tinyurl.com/faithpeace2state and following the directions.  Cost is $25 per person and includes kosher dinner.  PLTS and GTU students are welcome to attend for free.

 

For more information on the event, please contact Karen Stiller at [email protected] or 415-977-7413.

New Staff Spotlight: Chelsea Pell, Advancement Services Assistant

We are pleased to welcome our new Advancement Services Assistant in the Office of Seminary Relations! Chelsea Pell joined us in the beginning of September and she is thrilled to be a part of the PLTS and CLU communities.

 

Born in Alaska, Chelsea moved with her family to Texas. After eight years, (of oppressive heat and humidity), the family decided Washington State was to be their new home. After another few years, Chelsea decided she had had enough

Chelsea and her husband Daniel at a very special event

of the rain and chose sunny California as the perfect state in which to pursue her college education.

 

Chelsea is a 2012 graduate of CLU, receiving her Bachelors of Arts in Communication, with an emphasis in Media Production. After graduating, she went on to work one year at El Camino Pines as an outdoor school instructor. In the summer of 2013, Chelsea married her college sweetheart, Daniel Pell. Daniel is now in his second year of pursuing his Master of Divinity here at PLTS.

 

Once the newlywed couple moved to Berkeley, Chelsea was right into finding a job. She was employed by Target within a short amount of time. And, as much as Chelsea loves to shop there, she continued looking for other more fulfilling work. She was ecstatic when she saw the job opening for PLTS. She was already accustomed to the campus since she had participated in many events over the past year, joining her husband and friends in worship and many afternoon BBQ sessions.


 

Now here she is, just more than a month into work. "I couldn't be happier here. I have great co-workers and I actually feel like I am contributing, which was something lacking in my previous job." We are very grateful to have her here and are looking forward to see how she develops in her position and life at PLTS. 

 

Washington DC Area Alums

One of my joys as Director of Seminary Relations is to visit friends and alums of PLTS around the country.  Recently my travels took me to the Washington DC area (beware of traffic congestion!).  Several of our alums are currently serving congregations and organizations around the area, representing our seminary well. - Rev. Brian Stein-Webber

 

Margrethe Kleiber, MDiv '93, is serving as interim pastor in Fairfax, Virginia.  Her husband Tony, serves with the US Department of State and has had postings in Mexico, Afghanistan, Burundi, Belfast, London and other places.  He is currently serving in DC organizing conferences for the foreign service.  Margrethe has sometimes followed Tony and other times commuted globally.  She served as South Asia area secretary for the Division for Global Mission of the ELCA for many years.  Her first call was in San Diego, California.

 

Michael Wilker, MDiv '94, has served for several years at Reformation Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill (one long block from the Capitol Building).  He reminds his congregation that things have happened for good when they have proclaimed the gospel, not simply resting on the laurels of their history.  Half of the families in his congregation works for the government in some capacity.  Michael participates in community organizing, particularly in calling to task the management of a large local family shelter.  Previously Michael was director of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.

 

Rose Beeson, Affil. '13, did her internship at Reformation Lutheran Church in DC, and worked there afterward in property administration as she awaited a call.  After she marries in a few weeks, she will be ordained and installed as pastor at Saint Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church in Hoboken, New Jersey.

 

Yvette Schock, MDiv '04, is associate pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia, just down the street from the Pentagon.  (She moved most recently from ministry in Long Island, New York.)  Yvette's congregation works extensively and successfully with the many young adults who live close by.  She went with such a group recently to Israel and Palestine.  She and her husband Bob Francis have an eight-month-old son to keep them busy.

 

Michael Gutzler, MDiv '05, is pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Woodbridge, Virginia.  He is organizing his staff around the model in the book "Effective Staffing for Vital Congregations," which emphasizes the senior pastor getting out into the community as much as possible.  He is also an entrepreneur, buying up distressed property, giving it some sweat equity, and managing the units.  He and his wife Emma have an 18-month-old daughter.

 

Susanne Blume, MDiv '08, is now director of Lifeline Partnership, a nonprofit serving disabled adults as a part of the ministry of First Trinity Lutheran Church in DC.  She went to PLTS from Luther Place Memorial Church in DC, after having been a contract lawyer for twenty years.  She is combining all of her life experience in her present position.

 

Breonna Roberts, MDiv '10, is associate pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland.  This is the congregation where her husband, Ryan (MDiv '09) came from to seminary.  It is an historical congregation that has property that houses social service and synod offices, close to sports arenas and the harbor, and Bre partners with the congregation's first woman senior pastor, Susan Tjornehoj.  Ryan has served in a couple of congregations nearby and is now contemplating next moves and taking care of their two children.

 

John Wetzel, MDiv '60, now retired, lives with his wife Margaret in Potomac Falls, Virginia, nearby to some of their children's families.  Until recently, John has been an outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology.  He and Margaret attend all of the Navy football games.

 

And to round out the group,

James Phillips, MDiv '86, is pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in DC. 

Ron Kreiensieck, MDiv '72, is a retired military chaplain and is currently serving as interim pastor at a northern Virginia Lutheran congregation. 

Maria "Gigie" Sijera-Grant, TEEM '02, serves as senior pastor of First Lutheran Church in Ellicott City, Maryland.  And

 

Timothy Keay, MA '87 (also MD), is now Adjunct Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Medical Director of Palliative Care at the University of Maryland.

 

A microcosm of our alums.

Alum Updates
 

John Maas, M. Div '77 is currently doing a 3 month, 1/2 time Sabbatical ministry in Silverton.  He writes in response to the news of the mostly male incoming class:

 

As far as I know my class -- '77 was the last all male class at PLTS.  We started out with two women in the class.  One dropped out, one did a year for her deaconess training and completed that curriculum wherever deaconesses did such. There were 12 of us who graduated together.  It may be that some who were finishing pick up requirements for graduation were included in that year, but they were not part of the class.

 

Side note:  In those days AAL gave graduating sem classes $1,000 to do with as they saw fit.  Our class decided to have our graduation party at the Chinese Lutheran Church in San Francisco where we paid the women of that congregation for a (wonderful!) 5 course Chinese dinner.  With the remaining money -- the bulk of the $1,000 -- we flew Martin Marty to San Francisco as our guest and dinner speaker. Following the dinner some of us ended up at the Top of the Mark.  My memory grows hazy about how long we stayed there and whatever else may have transpired that night.

 

Congratulations to Steven Ray, MDiv '87, who has been called to serve as pastor of First Lutheran Church in Tacoma, Washington.

Congratulations to Wm. Bernard Ward-Crixell, MDiv '03, who has been called to serve as chaplain at Jefferson Healthcare Hospice in Port Townsend, Washington.

Congratulations to Maria Anderson, MDiv '14, who has been called by St. Ansgar Lutheran Church in Portland, Maine, in partnership with the ELCA, the New England Synod and the Maine Episcopal Diocese to become Associate Pastor for Mission and Evangelism.  She will spend half of her time in pastoral ministry at St. Ansgar and half time developing a new missional/intentional community for young seekers in the Portland area.

Congratulations to Sarah Birdsall Isakson, MDiv '02, who has accepted a call from the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona to serve as Vicar of St. Raphael in the Valley Episcopal Church (which partners with Lutherans) in Benson, Arizona.

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