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Executive Skills for Pastors
Evelyn Price
Melissa Reed
TEEM Week
Week of Renewal
PLTS Alum Bradn Buerkle
Alum Updates
Newsletter Re-Do
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Above the Fog
PLTS Newsletter

November 2014
Greetings!


 

The banquet we call our Great Thanksgiving took place earlier this month.  There were three special guests.

 

The first was a group of five people representing Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Sun City West, Arizona.  Pastor Stephen Beyer and his wife Toni, Karen and Glenn Austad (chair of the Mission Endowment Fund and the future congregational president) and Carolyn Garry (present president) received the thanks of the assembly for so strongly supporting the seminary.  Their endowment fund has been providing full scholarships to two students for several years, and another member of the congregation, Wilma Pastilla, provides two more.

 

Three of the students who receive these generous scholarships were also present and were able to convey their own thanks and appreciation.  They were John Barton, Steve van Etten (and his wife Dana) and Christopher Smith.

 

The other two honorees were Past PLTS President Dr. Jerry Schmalenberger and his wife, Carol Schmalenberger.  Jerry was honored for his countless contributions to the wellbeing of the seminary during his tenure, including his strong fundraising and organization abilities.  We encounter many donors who tell us it was Jerry who got them connected to PLTS many years ago.

 

Carol Schmalenberger was honored for her 25 years' service in being the volunteer head of the Region II archives which are housed in our Giesy building.  We found out that she came ready to do this job because of previous experience at Wittenberg College and elsewhere. We also honored her for "not over-reacting to all of Jerry's ideas"! (-;

 

It is a beautiful thing that so many people are involved in the success of what PLTS does, enabling and forming people to become important leaders in the congregations and institutions of the ELCA and beyond.

 

At this time of year, we become particularly thankful for all of you.

 

Yours,

Rev. Brian Stein-Webber

Director of Seminary Relation

Executive Skills for Pastors Event

Spirit in the Desert, Carefree Arizona January 12-16, 2015

 

For the past two years California Lutheran University has sponsored a continuing education event for rostered leaders of the ELCA entitled, "Executive Skills for Pastors, learning from the world of the MBA."

 

This five-day event features faculty from the Cal Lutheran School of Management focusing on areas of strategic planning, use of social media, budgeting, leadership, and non-profit management.

 

Now in partnership with Spirit in the Desert, California Lutheran University will offer this program in Arizona. The dates for this event are January 12 to 16. We will begin with lunch on Monday the 12th and end with lunch on Friday the 16th. 

 

The cost including room, board, and materials is $875. The cost for commuters is $550. 


Questions may be addressed to Rev. Arne Bergland at Bergland@callutheran.edu or Spirit in the Desert at paul@spiritinthedesert.org.  

 

Register now before it fills up.

In Memoriam: Evelyn Price

Both PLTS and the larger University were remembered in the estate plans of Southern Californian Evelyn Price, who passed away recently.

 

Evelyn G. Price

Evelyn Gustafson Price was born in Los Angeles in 1914, and attended Los Angeles public schools.  After high school, she studied for two years at Los Angeles Community College.  All this time, she was a member of Angelica Lutheran Church there.

 

She worked ten years as an accountant.  They she became a Navy WAVE and went to Midshipman's School in Northampton, Massachusetts, becoming an ensign upon completion.  She was assigned to the Naval Bureau of Accounts at Terminal Island, California.

 

In 1946, Evelyn left the Navy and studied at Pepperdine College on the GI Bill. She also received a MA at USC.  After teaching at Pepperdine for a year, she became a high school business teacher at Banning High in Wilmington, California.  In 1957, she became a high school vice-principal.  She retired from LA schools in 1973 and then taught at Cal State LA for seven years.

 

In 1957, Evelyn was married to Homer Price, a math teacher and counselor.  They traveled extensively together in the US and Europe.  Homer died in 1997.  Evelyn moved to Quaker Gardens in Stanton, California in 2004.  There she volunteered in prison education, and initiated a communion worship service twice a month.

 

Evelyn and Homer were committed to many ministries of the church, including the formation of church leaders at PLTS, the ELCA's seminary of the West.  We are grateful for the generous provisions that the Prices made in their will.

Alumni Update: Melissa Reed
Melissa O'Keefe Reed

 

While in seminary, Melissa O'Keefe Reed did her contextual education assignment at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Oakland, under the supervision of Rev. Lucy Kolin.  

There she came to understand the methodologies and promise of community organizing (the same thing Barack Obama did in Chicago).  The process of community organizing is to cycle through one-to-one conversations, communal strategizing, taking specific actions, and evaluating their effectiveness.  This virtuous circle can be brought to bear on intransigent social problems as well as congregational planning.

For her year-long internship, Melissa went to north Portland, Oregon, where she was then supervised by another veteran PLTS grad, Rev. Terry Moe.  Terry was leading his congregation through a discernment process of their future.  Their numbers were diminishing and they were thinking creatively.  Eventually, that process eventuated in a decision to allow something new to happen.

 

So after Melissa's graduation in 2008, Redeemer Lutheran Church called her as their Outreach Pastor.  Her job, in collaboration with the congregation, was to envision a new way of being in the neighborhood on behalf of the gospel.  By a community organizing process, the congregation, in Melissa's words, decided "to become vulnerable for the sake of the community."


 
The upshot is that a new non-profit was formed, named the Leaven Community, within which would be located the congregation, newly named Salt and Light Lutheran Church.  Leaven (called for short) would have the governing board of all activities, including Salt and Light.

 

Leaven organized activities around re-investing in the local community through financial investments, advocating for local schools that were on the chopping block, and making initial steps toward a micro-credit lending pool.  Leaven is described as "a membership-bed nonprofit focused on spirituality, community and public life.

 

The congregation continues to offer services of Word, sacrament, fellowship and service.  Other Leaven members take part in Buddhist meditation, yoga, running a tool-lending library.  A women's gathering is called Bras, Bible and Brew, and a men's group, MenSummit.  Leaven has just hired a specific community organizer.

 

Pastor Melissa says that Salt and Light has one of the ELCA's simplest constitutions, in order to allow it to be nimble.  One third of Leaven's board must come from the congregation, one third from other folks, and the rest can be a combination of the two.  The hope is that Leaven and Salt and Light will become totally self-sustainable in three to four years.

 

The Lutheran magazine has already done a few stories on the mission re-start.  Pastor Melissa gets calls from others who want to duplicate what Leaven is doing.  She tells them, "the model is not in our outcomes, but in the process of discernment."

 

That is certainly something that requires the constant attendance of the Holy Spirit.

Recap of TEEM Week
2014 TEEM Students, Mentors, and Supervisors

"Confessing and Serving in a Rapidly Transforming World"


TEEM continues to prepare transforming leaders for the church with the support and partnership of congregations/ministry sites, synod and churchwide staff, mentors, internship supervisors, student cohorts and faculty. We have been working with the Churchwide leadership, especially the Rev. Dr. Greg Villalon and TEEM directors from ELCA seminaries in identifying the need to offer accessible theological education for Hispanic and Latino leaders by developing TEEM in Spanish.


 
I take this opportunity to express our thanks and gratitude to all of you for your continued contribution, support, and partnership.


 

Happy Thanksgiving!


 

Moses Penumaka

Director, TEEM

Week of Renewal 

6thAnnual Week of Renewal: June 22-26, 2015

 

SAVE THE DATE! 


 

You are invited to join new and old colleagues in ministry for a Week of Renewal on the PLTS campus in Berkeley.  Nestled in a beautiful setting between the Bay and Tilden Park, it's the perfect place to plan your five day retreat and continuing education getaway.  


 

Enjoy classes, worship, stimulating conversation, theological reflection, and restorative time.  Most evenings are free and make a perfect opportunity to explore the greater San Francisco Bay area.  Stay tuned - information about courses, tuition, housing, and more will be available early in 2015. 

PLTS Alum 
Bradn Buerkle: My Perspective in Russia
 

 

When reading Ben Hogue's article in the [September] issue of "Above the Fog" on the situation in Ukraine, I shared his great sense of sadness; it's a feeling that many Russian Christians feel, too.


When it was suggested that I might offer a few words of how this all looks from the other side of the border, my first thought was that I don't want to be in the awkward (to put it mildly!) position of defending an authoritarian regime with nothing but cynicism towards international law.


But then I realized that it is possible to differentiate between explaining and justifying, and that it is possible to trust readers of "AtF" to see that difference in what I write.


One of the most important factors in understanding the feelings of ordinary Russians, why it is that they are so susceptible to state propaganda, is that they are convinced that Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians are really one people. They know that their countries are different, that Ukrainians are a little poorer, a little freer, a little bit less straight-forward than Russians...and at the same time they think of themselves as close relatives. When they see hate for Russian among some radical Ukrainian nationalists, they feel betrayed by a family member, as if one of their cousins had all of a sudden become a fascist. (And, yes, Russians tend to think of all such conflicts in the light of the conflict that still so much influences their history, WWII, during which tens of millions of Soviet citizens lost their lives).


While this might do something to explain how Russians feel, this does not yet get to why Russia is acting as it is. I would disagree with Ben's suggestion that the problem is "greed of power and the protest of progress." I think that the issues are much deeper; they are psychological, we could even say spiritual. I think that the core issue is distrust and the lack of security that flows from it. Why this distrust? While I think that it would be hard to pinpoint who is at fault for this, from a Russian perspective the history of the last centuries show that Russia's neighbors do not trust it, that they are not interested in just relations with Russia, that they are neither interested in a thriving Russia nor willing to reward Russia when it "plays by the rules." From European powers limiting Russia's influence in the 18th and 19th centuries to the U.S. bombing of Yugoslavia in the late 20th and the expansion of NATO in the early 21st, Russians see evidence scattered everywhere that the West uses the rhetoric of democracy and human rights but in its international relationships holds to no principle other than the will to power.


In a sense, then, Russia sees itself as always a current or potential victim, and in cases like the situation with Ukraine takes the position that the "best defense is a good offense." In addition Russians are used to hardship and even take a sort of pride in the fact that they have suffered despite great suffering (e.g., the memory of the 900 day siege of Leningrad during WWII is an an active part of St. Petersburg's identity today). Sanctions convince average Russians that the West treats Russia as an enemy, and it is this mentality that severely limits the effectiveness of these sanctions. In general such pressure from the outside make Russians either more fatalistic or more determined to resist, neither of which helps accomplish what sanctions intend.


Today (though things could change tomorrow - this country is getting less and less predictable the longer I live here) I'd imagine that things in eastern Ukraine will calm down, that President Putin has proven his point - "we could make things, much, much worse" - and that in exchange for him not making things worse, the West will turn a blind eye to the annexation of Crimea. If in the past the West had been consistent in its approach to a whole host of issues - human rights, the right of peoples to self-determination, the principle of territorial integrity, etc., perhaps there would be the option of taking the moral high ground. But we've lost any moral credit that we might once have had in Russia's eyes, and in the short and intermediate term, at least, even truly constructive suggestions for moving forward that come from the outside will be treated with great suspicion.

While polls show that a very large majority of Russians support their government's position, there is a place where a different opinion is heard - the church. Here are the quiet voices asking for and praying for peace. Here are those who realize that violence and mistrust are a dead-end route. Here there is hope not just for getting through this time, but that by the witness and fellowship of the faithful, God might build trust between old enemies and finally bring us to true reconciliation.

Alum Symposium on Ministry in the West

 

On January 20-22, 2015, the Alum Association of PLTS will hold a Symposium on Ministry in the West.  Participants will engage in a process of presentation, group discussion and reflection, during which resources and expertise inherent in the group will rise to match the interests of the group.  After the primary presentations, this model allows participants to structure the agenda and network solutions.

 

Major themes for the event are: Sharing the Gospel in the 21st century, especially with younger adults; and Living the Gospel outside of the congregation.

 

We are pleased to have two highly-qualified presenters: Shauna Hannan, PLTS Professor of Homiletics; and Alexia Salvatierra, co-author of Faith-Rooted Organizing.

 

The event goes from lunch on Tuesday the 20th until lunch on Thursday the 22nd.

 

Cost of the retreat, not including housing, is $155 for PLTS alums and $175 for others.  The fee covers three lunches and one dinner.

 

If you are interested, please contact Chelsea Pell at 510-559-1735 or cpell@plts.edu for more information or to receive a registration form.  Deadline is January 1, 2015. 

Alum Updates
 

Wes Menke, MDiv '14, has been called as pastor to St. Peter Lutheran Church in Santa Ana, California.  His planned ordination date is November 30, 2014.


Kristin Hemme Gimelli, MTS '97, has been teaching science at the Bush School in Seattle, Washington for sixteen years, and has two children, 10 and 13 years old.  He is also a trained massage therapist and explores the crossover between physics and energy work.


Anna Rieke, MDiv '13, has been called by the Metropolitan New York Synod to be a Mission Developer in the Central Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, developing a new worshiping community called "Two of Three Project."  She started on November 1st and will be ordained on November 22 at Faith Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington.


Jeremy Serrano, CATS '13, has been called to serve as pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Concord, California. 


Mary-Alyce Burleigh, MDiv '14, has been called by Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, Washington to become pastor for education, both within and outside of the congregation. Her ordination will be December 7th at Holy Spirit.


Chelsea Globe, Affil. '14, has been called by Hope Lutheran Church in Enumclaw, Washington. Her ordination date was November 15th, 2014.


Harry Kapeikis, MDiv, '68, announces the publishing of the third book in his Exile from Latvia series, Sensing the Call.  In it, he reviews the events that guided him to PLTS and subsequently his first call and ordination.  He describes PLTS as "the seminary with all the colors of the rainbow."

Journey With Mary: A Christmas Celebration
Come and join us at the PLTS chapel on December 7th at 5:00pm for a Christmas 
service in celebration of music and art. 
There will be cookies, cocoa, and cider served afterwards. All are invited.
Newsletter Re-Do
As one of the many benefits the seminary has received as being part of California Lutheran University, the Advancement Marketing office will be helping us in the production of Above the Fog in the new year.  Our office in Berkeley will be handling contact, and the inestimable Lori Putnam in Thousand Oaks will be handling production.  At present, we send out this newsletter in Constant Contact.  In the future, it will come in the Spark format.

 

To help with the transition, we will be sending out a short edition close to Christmas, with a reminder to send in your donations to arrive before the end of December. We also pray for your joy in the Gospel these shortening and short day, as we wait for the birth of God-with-us.

Attention Thrivent Members!

There is still time!  Your simple vote can 

help our seminary fund - click here to direct your Thrivent Choice dollars to PLTS.  We are grateful for you and appreciate the generosity of Thrivent Financial.  

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