Year: 2011

ELM remembers Bp. Paul Egertson during the weekend of his memorial service

Sharei Green January 18, 2011
Candles for Paul
Candles for Paul

The ELM Board of Directors met over the weekend in Chicago for their semi-annual retreat. This meeting occurred the same weekend as Paul Egertson’s memorial service in Thousand Oaks, CA. Paul was serving on the ELM board at the time of his death.

The meeting began with a time of remembrance and celebration of Paul’s life. ELM board member, Vance Blackfox, a member of the Cherokee nation, led a simple service of story-sharing. Members placed a bit of tobacco in a small bowl and lit a candle as they shared a story or memory about Paul. Members also lifted up prayers for Paul’s wife, Shirley, and their children, especially Greg, who has been closely involved with ELM since its formation. Vance later wrapped the tobacco in a small prayer cloth and tied it to a cedar tree near our meeting place.

On Sunday, the board worshiped at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Chicago. Rev. Erik Christensen, ELM’s co-chair gave a sermon about Paul’s life and work. The sermon is part of the way the ELM Board of Directors honored Paul’s life over the weekend.  Paul’s life continues through ELM and all those whose lives he touched.

ELM Mourns the Death and Celebrates the Life of Bp. Paul Egertson

Amalia Vagts January 6, 2011
Photo of Bp. Paul Egertson
Paul at 2009 ELM Retreat. Photo by Jay Wilson

Paul W. Egertson, former ELCA bishop, and beloved advocate for the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people passed away at his home yesterday following a heart attack.

For the past two years, Paul has been serving as a member of ELM’s board of directors, the Covenant Circle.  He will be deeply missed.

We will share a longer tribute to Paul in the coming days.  In the meantime, we ask for your prayers for Paul’s beloved spouse, Shirley Egertson, their sons, and extended family.

In the forward to a collection of essays by Joel R. Workin, Paul wrote,

“When Joel died, all of us cried, and I was blessed.  It was one of those experiences you recall when reading lines like those in Robert Browning Hamilton’s poem, Along the Road:

I walked a mile with Pleasure;

She chattered all the way,

But left me none the wiser

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow

And ne’er a word said she;

but oh, the things I learned from her

When sorrow walked with me!”

Paul, thank you for your amazing life and for your endless love and tireless advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. You have blessed us.

A memorial for Paul Egertson was held Saturday, January 15 at 1:00 p.m. at Samuelson Chapel at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA.

The Rev. Kelli Shepard

Sharei Green January 5, 2011
The Rev. Kelli Shepard

The Rev. Kelli Shepard, ACPE Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor, is the Director of Service Excellence/Patient Relations at BGSMC. She is from the Cincinnati, Ohio area, though she has also lived in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Illinois before coming to Arizona in 1997.

Kelli received her Bachelor of Social Work from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and went on to receive her Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, also in Columbus.  In 1995 she was ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Kelli came to Banner Good Samaritan in 1997 and successfully completed a year-long CPE residency.  She continued her CPE journey as a Supervisory student , was certified as an ACPE Associate Supervisor in April of 2003, became the Director of Spiritual Care in July of 2004, and was certified as an ACPE Supervisor in March of 2006.

At the end of 2009, Rev. Shepard became the  Director of Service Excellence and Patient Relations. She still continues to supervise CPE units with the Spiritual Care Department.

The Rev. Jen Rude

Sharei Green January 5, 2011
The Rev. Jen Rude

Pastor Jen Rude, a 2005 graduate of the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA was extraordinarily ordained in November 2007.  She currently serves as Youth Outreach Minister at The Night Ministry in Chicago. The Night Ministry is an interfaith organization, started almost 35 years ago by churches and synagogues seeking to be a presence of faith on the nighttime streets.  Jen specifically works with homeless and runaway youth, many of whom are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.

Jen currently serves on the ELM Board of Directors. In 2011 Jen Rude was approved for reception by the ELCA Metro Chicago Synod.

Lutheran LGBTQ Rostered Leaders Retreat April 1-3, 2011

Amalia Vagts January 5, 2011
Photo of Bright Blue Sky
Photo by A. Vagts

Join other Lutheran publicly-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rostered leaders for a time of renewal, community building, and professional development. We are planning a fabulous weekend and want you to be there! This event is hosted by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

The retreat will be held at the George Williams College Retreat Center on beautiful Geneva Lake in Wisconsin.

The retreat is for all Lutheran publicly-identified LGBTQ rostered leaders, those seeking to be rostered, and seminarians. Partners are also invited to attend.

Early-bird Registration: $225.  After Feb 1: $260.

ELM practices travel equalization (a lovely but complicated process). We will share travel costs, so please budget approximately $260 for travel.  Please note: there is a free shuttle to the retreat center from the Milwaukee airport.

Scholarships are available. The application is due by Jan. 31. Announcements will be made as soon as possible upon receipt of application. Scholarship recipients will be excluded from the travel equalization pool, but scholarship funds will not be applied toward travel. The application is available here.

Please note, this retreat will be public and your name and photo may be used in connection with the retreat. If you have questions or concerns about privacy, please contact ELM Executive Director, Amalia Vagts at director@elm.org.

Please visit www.elm.org for more information about the retreat, travel equalization, and to register online.

The Rev. Jay Wiesner

Sharei Green January 4, 2011
The Rev. Jay Wiesner

Jay is originally from New Ulm, a small town of German descent in southwestern Minnesota. He graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota with a BA in religion. After college, he attended Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. During his senior year, he publicly came out to the faculty and students at Wartburg and left to take some time off. He finished his Master of Divinity degree in 2002 and immediately began work at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as Pastoral Minister of Outreach. He was called and ordained by Bethany on July 25, 2004. He served the congregation from 2002-2008.

Jay is pastoral director of The Naming Project. The Naming Project is a faith-based youth group serving youth of all sexual and gender identities. The primary focus is to provide a place for youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning to learn, grow, and share their experiences. In this way The Naming Project is a space in which youth can comfortably discuss faith and who they understand themselves to be–whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender…or straight.

Rev. Jay Weisener was received onto the ELCA clergy roster in 2010.

The Rev. Ross Merkel

Sharei Green January 4, 2011

Ross D. Merkel, the current pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Oakland, CA, is the tenth pastor to serve the congregation since its founding in 1887. Ordained in 1978, he is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. Prior to being called to St. Paul in 1982, Pastor Merkel served as a Refugee Resettlement Coordinator with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Phoenix, AZ and prior to that as Associate Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Phoenix.

A native Californian, he graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts and then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, UT where he earned a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Library Science.

Rev. Ross Merkel was reinstated to the ELCA clergy roster in 2010.

The Rev. Sharon Stalkfleet

Sharei Green January 4, 2011
The Rev. Sharon Stalkfleet

The Rev. Sharon Stalkfleet was first called as a pastor to the Lutheran Ministry to Nursing Homes in Oakland and Alameda, CA. She started ministry and served in that capacity for six and 1/2 years ending her call in December 2008. She currently lives with her partner Larell in Alameda, CA with their dog Greta.

Rev. Sharon Stalkfleet was received onto the ELCA clergy roster in 2010.

The Rev. Donna Simon

Sharei Green January 4, 2011
The Rev. Donna Simon

Rev. Donna Simon is a Midwesterner by birth (and temperament), though she has spent much of her life on the West Coast. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California.

Pastor Donna was called into ministry from a volunteer position as church youth director at Messiah Lutheran Church, Redwood City, California. After she began spending more and more time at church, working with youth and volunteering for pretty much everything else, her pastor encouraged her to attend seminary.  She began studies at PLTS in 1995.  She had the privilege of returning to Ann Arbor, Michigan–her first home–in 1998-99 for an internship at Lord of Light Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Michigan.

When Donna appeared before her ELCA candidacy committee in 1999 for the final step before ordination, she told them that she would not pledge compliance with the church’s Vision and Expectations Statement, which requires lifelong celibacy for gay and lesbian candidates. Though the candidacy panel recommended approval, the full committee postponed her approval pending change in denominational policy.

Donna was approved by the candidacy committee of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project (a root organization of ELM) later that year, and called to serve Abiding Peace Lutheran Church in August of 2000. She has been blessed to be in ministry there ever since.

Abiding Peace’s mission in the world is continuing to advocate for the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the life of the church, and working with other marginalized communities in and around the Kansas City Metro area. Abiding Peace is a proud member of Communities Creating Opportunity, a faith-based community organizing federation in the Metro.  Through their work with CCO, Abiding Peace has developed a strong outreach to our homeless neighbors in the Northland area. The congregation continues to look for new ways to serve and opportunities to be in mission for Jesus Christ.

Read here blog here.

Rev. Donna Simon was received onto the ELCA clergy roster in 2010.

The Rev. Steve Robertson

Sharei Green January 4, 2011
The Rev. Steve Robertson

Rev. Steve Robertson is a graduate of Luther Seminary and was ordained on June 10, 1979. Steve served as Associate Pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in East Bethel, Minnesota before becoming the Senior Pastor of Cambridge Lutheran Church in Cambridge, MN.  Following an 11 year ministry in Cambridge, Steve was called to become the senior pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church in Overland Park, KS. His last call in the ELCA was as the senior pastor of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN.

In 2006 Steve was removed from ELCA roster after a three year leave of absence and discernment process.  Following this period in his life Steve fully came out as a gay man in a same sex committed relationship.  Steve is currently serving as a Spiritual Coordinator/Bereavement Counselor for AseraCare Hospice, Bloomington. Steve is  currently a member of St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church.