LTSP Begins 147th Academic Year Tuesday, September 7

Theological Education in the Changed Context of the Church and Society is the theme for the 147th academic year at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), which begins with opening day worship and convocation on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 on the seminary campus, 7301 Germantown Avenue in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. Opening worship is at 9:30 am in the seminary chapel, followed by the convocation at 11:15 am in Benbow Hall, The Brossman Center. Both are open to the public.

Opening convocation highlights Theological Education in the Changed Context of the Church and Society from the perspective of LTSP graduates the Rev. Maritza Dolich, the Rev. Matt Cimorelli, and the Rev. Carlton Rodgers. All are pastors in congregations in the Philadelphia region. They will address the theme through their experiences in their contexts as pastors in a world that continues to change.

About the theme:

During the past few decades, theological education has been undergoing change. The change is more perceptible with regard to the gender, age, and racial/ethnic composition of faculty, staff, and students. Patterns of seminary attendance, academic schedule, and the structure of the curricula are undergoing change. With the advent of computers, Internet, and modern technology, new and creative modes of delivery of education have been developed. Students have exhibited diverse motivations and vocational aspirations. Degrees have multiplied, theological disciplines have become specialized, and sources of financial support have shifted. The cost of theological education, dwindling support from denominations, debt load of students, pressure to reduce duration requirements, all raise serious questions about the quality and sustainability of seminary education over the long haul.

These changes to some extent reflect societal changes that have impacted the church. The social location of the church and the long-standing privileges the culture had extended to Christian churches have now diminished. The religious landscape of our society has undergone change. The face of Christianity too has changed due to immigration and migration of people. Mainline denominations have experienced significant decline in membership. Denominations and denominational identity have weakened. In short, the ecology of theological education has changed and will experience further changes. Much has changed and more changes are on the way!

The theme for 20010-2011 academic year is focused on curricular implications of the changes underway in theological education.

In addition to Opening Convocation, LTSP will address the theme at a number of convocations and special events. Events through early November include:

Sept. 21: William H. Lazarus Lecture on Theology and Ethics: Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania

Oct. 5: Special Convocation sponsored by the Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia: “Theological Education in a Globalized World” Dr. Detrich Werner, World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland

Oct. 12: Teaching Bible in the Seminary Curriculum: Biblical Area faculty

Oct. 13-15 30th Anniversary Celebrations of the Urban Theological Institute of LTSP: see www.Ltsp.edu/UTI30 for details

Oct. 26: Quodlibit ("any question whatsoever"): question session

Nov. 2: Quodlibit: Presentation by Distinguished Professor Jayakiran Sebastian

All convocation events are free and open to the public; see www.Ltsp.edu/UTI30 for details on UTI 30th Anniversary event times and locations.

James Scott to lead Intersections Institute

The Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries announced that Mr. James H. Scott of Chester Springs, PA, has accepted the position as Director of Intersections Institute, a joint educational program of two Lutheran seminaries in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Launched two years ago, the Institute offers degree and professional certificate courses for professional staff of faith-based social ministry organizations, and for students who aspire to serve in a wide range of arenas at the intersection of church and world. This enterprising new program provides a combination of practical nonprofit managerial and leadership skills with graduate theological training and orientation to the unique mission and culture of faith-based organizations. The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) offers a Master’s in Public Leadership degree, and a professional Certificate in Leadership of Faith-Based Organizations course of studies is conducted by the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG).

James Scott brings a rich professional background and extensive experience in service, educational and entrepreneurial enterprises to the Institute’s directorship. Holding degrees from Villanova University (Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and Master of Arts) and Washington University (MBA), Scott was the Executive Director of portfolio Strategies with Morgan Stanley Investment prior to his retirement from that post in 2007. Previously, he served with the U.S. Peace Corps, was Treasurer of Amherst College, Vice President, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer for Texas Utilities Company in Dallas, and was a corporate banking officer. In the late 1970’s, Scott was granted a leave of absence from his financial executive position to serve as a White House Fellow and a member of the staff of President Jimmy Carter. He currently serves as a trustee for Gettysburg College and the University of Texas at Austin, and is a member of the board of directors and chair of the investment committee for Thrivent Financial Services for Lutherans, a Fortune-500 financial service organization. In recent years, he has engaged in graduate school teaching at Villanova and the University of Delaware in the areas of corporate strategy and political and economic analysis. He has written in those areas, and is currently writing creative non-fiction as well. Scott and his wife are the parents of four children, and are involved in many community groups and activities.

In accepting the position with Intersections Institute, Mr. Scott quoted Psalm 146, Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, expressing “the joy of my selection as Director of Intersections. While at the time in the company of the distinguished social ministry organization leaders and noted theologians who made this selection possible, I was speechless as well as thankful. I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ may nourish me and my supportive wife as I work to help our blessed and dedicated partners achieve the ambitious goals of the Institute."

Scott succeeds Dr. Christy Lohr, who directed the Institute through its first year until accepting a position at Duke University in June.

Presidents Philip Krey of Philadelphia and Michael Cooper-White of Gettysburg shared their enthusiasm for the new director in a joint statement: “In James Scott we found that rare combination of a superb leader — in business, education, the Church and the public arena as well — and a genuine servant whose faith permeates every aspect of his life. We are confident that under his capable leadership, the Institute will flourish as it provides quality educational programs to current and future leaders in a wide variety of faith-based organizations.” The Rev. Dr. Katie Day, The Charles A. Scheiren Professor, Church and Society at LTSP, added her perspective as a senior faculty member: "As someone who teaches in the program (Ethics of Public Leadership, LTSP) I am very much looking forward to working with James Scott. He brings a vision of faith-based leadership which has been forged through his own experience and corresponds precisely with the goals and concerns of the students the Intersections Institute is attracting. Jim is uniquely gifted to take the program to the next level, which will deepen the partnership between Gettysburg and Philadelphia seminaries as well as grow an already strong program into an excellent one."

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More information is available at the Intersections Institute website: www.intersectionsinstitute.org.

LTSP Appoints Vice President for Advancement/Foundation Executive Director

The Rev. John V. Puotinen has been appointed as Vice President for Advancement of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) and Executive Director of the LTSP Foundation, according to the Rev. Dr. Philip D.W. Krey, seminary and foundation president. Pastor Puotinen was selected following a nationwide search.

Pr. Puotinen comes to LTSP from the University of Dubuque/Dubuque Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, where he has served as Senior Vice President of Development since 2005. He led the university through the concluding stages of a ten year capital campaign that concluded in 2008 with a record $128 million in gifts from over 4,700 donors.

Before joining the University of Dubuque, Pr. Puotinen served as Vice President of the Foundation of Lutheran Life Communities, Arlington Heights, Illinois, a provider of services in Greater Chicago, along with development positions at Luther Manor, Milwaukee,Wisconsin, and Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, and was an investment executive with Piper, Jaffray, Inc. He was developer and founder of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Libertyville, Illinois. He is a pastor on the roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Pr. Puotinen received a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a bachelor's degree from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. He will begin his service at LTSP on August 1, 2010.

Faith on the Avenue: Prof. Katie Day

Faith on the Avenue, an ongoing research study by LTSP's the Rev. Dr. Katie Day, Charles A. Scheiren Professor of Church and Society, is the multimedia feature of the online journal Faith & Leadership from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. The offering is an audio presentation with slide show by Prof. Day talking about the project, which looks at the multitude of congregations along the 8.5 mile road, Germantown Avenue, which passes the seminary in Mt. Airy.

The project, led by Prof. Day with photography by Edd Conboy and research by a number of contributors, is funded primarily by a grant from the Louisville Institute.

Learn more, listen and watch here: www.faithandleadership.com/multimedia/faith-the-avenue

The Rev. Dr. Wayne E. Croft, Sr., joining Lutheran Seminary faculty

The Rev. Wayne E. Croft, Sr., DMin, PhD, will be joining the faculty of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) beginning with the Spring 2011 semester, according to LTSP President the Rev. Dr. Philip D.W. Krey. Dr. Croft is pastor of The Church of the Redeemer Baptist in South Philadelphia, and is well known as a preacher and teacher. He served as one of the preachers for the 2010 Preaching with Power series, sponsored by LTSP's Urban Theological Institute. Dr. Croft will join the seminary faculty as the Jeremiah A. Wright, Sr. Associate Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics in African American Studies, as well as remaining pastor at The Church of the Redeemer. He has served as Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University.

Dr. Croft earned a Doctor of Ministry, with distinction, Master of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. His doctoral dissertation was entitled “You Jes’ Wait A Little: A Comparison of the Motif of Hope in African American Preaching During the Slave and Post-Civil War Periods.” He holds a Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary), a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Trinity College, and an Associates degree from Pinebrook Junior College.

Pastor of The Church of the Redeemer Baptist since June 1993, Dr. Croft believes that the academy, the pulpit, and the community need to be connected, and he plans to remain in the pulpit at Redeemer as he teaches at LTSP to maintain that connection. During his tenure at Redeemer the membership has grown from 177 to over 1,900. Dr. Croft serves as founder of the Redeemer Renaissance Community Development Corporation, Dean of the Pennsylvania Eastern Keystone Baptist Association, is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and has been inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr., Board of Preachers of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Croft's sermons, along with the article What Does it Mean to Preach Biblically Today (Winter 2003), have been published in The African American Pulpit, and he has also contributed to the book “From One Brother to Another: Voices of African-American Men, Volume II" (Judson Press).

Homiletics Professor Joins LTSP Faculty

The Rev. Dr. Karyn Wiseman has joined the faculty of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) as Assistant Professor of Homiletics. Her appointment began July 1.

Prof. Wiseman comes to LTSP from Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, NC, where she held the position of Associate Professor of Ministerial Studies, and also directed Hood's Supervised MInistry program and was coordinator of United Methodist Studies. She is a member of the American Academy of Religion, Academy of Homiletics, Society of Biblical Literature and Association of Theological Field Educators.

Prof. Wiseman was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Liturgical Studies with concentration in Preaching and Worship, with additional specializations/extensive work in Postmodern/Emergent Worship, Liturgy, and Worship Space and Design, from Drew University in 2006, receiving the Dean's Honor Award as the outstanding student of the class. Her dissertation topic was "Grace Space: The Creation of Worship Space for the Postmodern/Emerging Church."

She also holds a Master of Philosophy from Drew (2005), Master of Divinity (with honors) from St. Paul School of Theology, Kansas CIty, MO (1996) and Bachelor of Arts in History from Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX (1985).

Elder/Full Member of the Kansas East Conference of the United Methodist Church, 1996, Prof. Wiseman served local churches in Kansas and New Jersey as senior pastor for 15 years.

LTSP Professor receives Honorary Degree

The Rev. Dr. Timothy J. Wengert, Ministerium of Pennsylvania Professor, Reformation History at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, delivered the baccalaureate sermon at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., and received an honorary doctorate of divinity.

Pastor Wengert teaches and does research in Reformation History and the Lutheran Confessions. In 1981 he discovered and published notes on two of Martin Luther's sermons from 1520. He is associate editor of the Lutheran Quarterly and has edited two volumes of essays on Martin Luther by scholars whose contributions first appeared in the journal: “Harvesting Martin Luther's Reflections on Theology, Church and Ethics” and “The Pastoral Luther: Essays in Luther's Practical Theology.” He served on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)-United Methodist dialogue, on the ELCA Task Force for Studies in Sexuality, and as co-chair of the Commission of the World Mennonite Conference and the Lutheran World Federation.

In February 2000, the city of Bretten, Germany, awarded him the Melanchthon Prize for contributions to the field of Reformation scholarship, especially for his book on Philip Melanchthon and Erasmus. This is the first time that the prize, awarded every three years, was given to an American.

Pastor Wengert earned a BA in sociology and a MA from the University of Michigan, a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary of St. Paul, Minn., and a PhD in religion from Duke University. He is married to the Rev. Ingrid Fath, and has two grown children by his late wife Barbara. He lives in Riverton, N.J.

Carthage is a four-year, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Kenosha, Wis.

(from a Carthage College release 6/8/2010)

Sara Calderon of LTSP to receive community service award

(6/8/10, updated with new photo; updated below to include remarks prepared by LTSP Prof. Jon Pahl for the event 6/4/10)

Sara Calderon, a volunteer leader in the Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network who serves on the Board of the Lutheran Settlement House in Philadelphia, has been elected to receive the Congregational Beacon Award from the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement of Philadelphia. The award will be conferred at the NIM annual assembly at 7 p.m. Thursday June 3 at the Germantown Jewish Centre in Philadelphia’s West Mt. Airy section. (at right: Sara Calderon receiving the Congregational Beacon Award from Rabbi George Stern, NIM Executive Director. Photo courtesy NIM/George Stern)

Professionally, Calderon is administrative assistant for the Graduate School at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), one of eight professional schools certified by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to train a variety of professional leaders for church service, including pastors. She also coordinates student housing for the seminary. In the past she has fulfilled many administrative functions for the seminary, including service to its Advancement Office, now known as the LTSP Foundation, and coordinating hospitality. Calderon has been on seminary staff for about 15 years.

Sara Calderon provides key leadership at Christ Ascension Lutheran Church in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill where she has been involved in recruiting volunteers to be hosts for the Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network. The network provides host sites, including congregations, synagogues and mosques to house disadvantaged families who desperately need housing. LTSP is among many host sites for the initiative, hosting four or five families at a time during the summer. During the Christmas shopping season, Calderon works closely with the Chestnut Hill 10,000 Villages store to conduct a shopping fundraiser. The fundraiser annually provides 15 percent of the proceeds to the Hospitality Network.

As a member of the Board for Lutheran Settlement House in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, Calderon is a key volunteer in support of a shelter for homeless persons and a domestic violence hotline, among many forms of ministry offered by Settlement House, a certified social ministry organization of the ELCA.

Calderon was nominated for the award by the seminary and her congregation. “I am really honored to receive this award,” Calderon says. “But I must tell you I am just a small part of an overall tapestry of volunteers who make a difference with this kind of service.”

Sara Calderon and her spouse, the Rev. Dr. Nelson Rivera, are parents of four children and live in Mt. Airy. Rivera is the Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Hispanic Ministry at the seminary, where he has been a faculty member since 1993. The couple’s four children are Noelia, a junior at Boston University majoring in Education; Paula, an artist studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; Celeste, an 8th grader at Masterman High School in Philadelphia, and Laura, a 7th grader at Our Mother of Consolation Parish School in Chestnut Hill.


An Ode to Sara Calderón by Prof. Jon Pahl prepared for the Congregational Beacon Award:

Puerto Rico's first published female poet, Maria Bibiana Benitez Constanza, offered the following words around about 1800 or so in regard to the honors that come to us with age, in a poem entitled A La Vejez:

!Adios los pasados dias, de mi dulce juventud;
idos con la multitud de glorias que fueron mias!

To translate: The poem is called "To Old Age." And a rough translation is:

Farewell, the past few days of my sweet youth!
Gone with the crowd of glory that was mine!

Tonight, we have occasion to celebrate a person whose life belies this bleak verse, whose glory is vibrant, alive, and very much before her - because it is the glory found in compassionate caring for a living community.

Sara Eneida Calderón was born in the small town of Cataño, a beautiful place next to the San Juan Bay, across from Old San Juan, the historic city. Her father is Emilio Calderón, an M.D. in general practice, a poet (he published some 3 poetry books), and an athlete. Sara's mother is Crucita Rosado, who was an administrative assistant in the local Puerto Rican Legislature. Sara is their only child.

Sara was educated from 1st to 12th grade in Catholic Schools; her high school was in Old San Juan - she would take the ferry boat across San Juan Bay every school day to get to San Agustín High School. Sara did 3 years of study at the University of Puerto Rico in Philosophy, and then transferred to Temple University here in Philly where she finished her B.A. While at Temple she studied with the well-known Jewish philosopher Joseph Margolis, among others. Sara had transferred to Temple when her husband Nelson Rivera came to Philly to pursue his MDiv studies at LTSP.

From 1988-1989, Sara completed course work for a Masters in Comparative Literature, but chose to forego completing her thesis when Noelia was born. Since the birth of Noelia Patricia, Nelson and Sara have welcomed three other beautiful girls - now young women - into the world: Paula Sofia, Celeste Lucia, and Laura Mercedes. Nelson and Sara have been married for 27 years.

In her spare time (!) Sara loves to read good literature - she's currently reading the late Chilean writer Roberto Bolaños' massive novel "2666." She also continues to enjoy reading philosophy - Derrida is one of her favorites; and (as many of us have learned to our culinary delight) Sara also loves gourmet cooking.

Sara has always been very active in the church; she is currently a member of Christ Ascension Lutheran Church in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and serves on the congregational council. She is on the Board of Directors and plays a very active role in Lutheran Settlement House. For years, Sara has collaborated with the Interfaith Hospitality Network. She's a volunteer at Ten Thousand Villages, both in Northwest Philadelphia.

And here's what our colleague, David Grafton, had to say about Sara: "I can honestly say that without Sara's dedication and hard work done with gracefulness and love the Graduate School and all of Seminary Student Housing would be mired in complete chaos! She has the wonderful gift of responding to the needs and requests of students, staff and faculty with poise - even when such a response is not always deserved. She is truly a disciple of Christ, serving as "God's hands" in our community."

And here's an anecdote from Nelson: When Sara was a student at Temple, he reports, the theologian Hans Küng came for a lecture there. It so happened that Sara had read his book "On Being a Christian" and liked it very much, so she went to the lecture and treated Hans Kung like a star, taking his picture, and asking for his autograph - which she received, and would be happy to show to anyone since she now has it in her seminary office!

And finally, to wrap things up, here is what Sara's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Martin Lohrmann, had to say about Sara:

As a graduate student at the Lutheran Seminary, I came to know Sara as a reliable and helpful person in the office who helped me navigate my way through a new program.
 As someone who has worshiped at Christ Ascension Lutheran Church for some years now, I have long been moved by her commitment to the faith-life of the congregation and by her service to the wider community, which grows out of that faith.
 Now, as her pastor at Christ Ascension, I can say that it is an absolute joy to lead with her in church. She is on the church council, assists in worship, teaches children's Sunday School, and contributes in many other ways. We often pray that our communities are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. In Sara, that prayer has been fulfilled! Congratulations, Sara, and God's richest blessings to you!

Indeed, congratulations, Sara - and thank you from all of us for all you do!

(photos of the event to follow)

John D. Newpher: Parish pastor, one-time LTSP president has died

PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 25, 2010) – The Rev. Dr. John D. Newpher, 90, pastor of five Pennsylvania congregations over a 40-year ministry career and one-time president of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), died Saturday morning at Springhouse Estates in Lower Gwynedd, PA, after a brief illness. He was a resident of Ambler, PA.

Newpher was LTSP president from 1971 to 1975, and “brought both scholarship and strong parish experience” to the task of being president, recalls the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Hughes, who was himself president at LTSP during the 1990s and taught homiletics (preaching) at the school for many years. “As a preacher he always had strong content and was well prepared.”

“Dr. Newpher was president of the seminary during a time of renewed commitment to the present campus location in Philadelphia’s East Mt. Airy section,” recalls Dr. Robert Blanck, who was vice chair of the LTSP Board of Trustees during Newpher’s tenure. “Before he became president, the seminary had contemplated establishing a campus in West Philadelphia with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and it had also later considered consolidating with Philadelphia Divinity School, a seminary of the Episcopal Church. After considerable discussions, neither step was taken,” Blanck recalls. “So the focus shifted to the 14-acre Mt. Airy campus. While he was president, the Hagan Administration Building was expanded, and improvements to faculty housing, which had been deferred, were made.” It was a strong financial period for the school, he noted.

In 1975, according to the Seminary Bulletin, Newpher announced his desire to return to parish ministry, and subsequently became pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Slatington, PA, where he served 10 years, retiring in 1985.

John Newpher was born March 28, 1920, and was a native of Reading, PA. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College in 1942, a Bachelor of Divinity from LTSP in 1945, a Master of Sacred Theology from LTSP in 1946, and a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree in 1958 from Temple University.

Ordained in 1945 into the United Lutheran Church in America, a predecessor body to the current Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Newpher first served a two-point parish, Salem in Audenried and St. Paul in Beaver Meadows, both in Pennsylvania, from 1946 to 1948.

Other calls were to Christ Lutheran Church, Camden, NJ (1948-1953); Ascension Lutheran Church, Philadelphia (1953-1961), and Christ Lutheran Church, Oreland, PA (1961-1971), prior to becoming seminary president. While serving at Ascension Church, located on the seminary campus, “Dr. Newpher was the pastor to many of the faculty members who taught me at the seminary,” Hughes remembers. Hughes was a PhD student at Princeton Seminary during Newpher’s seminary presidency.

Along with his widow, the former Suzanne Van Arsdale of DuBois, PA, Newpher was a member of Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler, PA. He had a strong interest in social ministry. For 10 years Newpher served on two boards for Ken Crest, a Lutheran social ministry organization based in Plymouth Meeting, PA, serving children and adults in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut with intellectual disabilities and autism. He served on the KenCrest Services Board from October, 1997 to March, 2003. He served on the KenCrest Centers Board from November, 1991 to November, 1997.

Newpher is the author of What is the Gospel? (Lutheran Church Press, 1964), and On a Ship with Paul, a children’s teacher resources guide (Parish Life Press, 1976).

Surviving are four children from a first marriage with former wife, Gladys: John of Sheffield, VT; Peter of Westport, WA; Valerie Newpher of Upper Darby, PA; and Pamela Macon of Whitehall, MD; also three stepchildren, Karen Vickter of Huntingdon Valley, PA; Sandra O’Brien of East Stroudsburg, PA, and Louis Eble of Robeling, NJ.

Funeral services will be at 11 am Thursday, May 27 at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church, 411 Susquehanna Road in Ambler. A visitation hour will be conducted from 10 to 11 am, with a reception at the church following the service. Memorial gifts may be made to Ken Crest, 502 West Germantown Pike, Suite 200, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462, or to the Social Ministry Committee of Upper Dublin Lutheran Church. No flowers please.

(updated 5/25/10 10 pm with name corrections, 5/26/10 with updated KenCrest information)