Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries celebrates the life and mourns the loss of the Rev. Paul Brenner, who passed away on February 24, 2013.    We remember Paul as a joyful member of Historic ELM Roster and Proclaim.  We think on his warm hugs and megawatt smile; and we remember all who grieve his death.

The following is re-posted from the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA:

In Memoriam: The Reverend Paul Brenner
November 2, 1939 – February 22, 2013
The Rev. Paul Brenner was born November 2, 1939 and died February 22, 2013. He was 74 years old.

Pastor Brenner received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Church Music from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN. He was ordained on June 12, 1966, in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and later approved for Word and Sacrament ministry by the Extraordinary Candidacy Project.

He was approved for transfer to the ordained ministry roster of the ELCA in May, 2010. He served as Interim Pastor at St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco, CA from 2005 to 2006 and was called by the Sierra Pacific Synod Council to Interim Ministry in June, 2011.

His first parish call in the LCMS was to Grace Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, Florida, where he served as pastor from 1966 to 1976. He went on to serve as Interim Pastor of Guardian Lutheran Church, Mandarin, FL, from 1976-1978.

Feeling called to specialized hospice ministry, Pastor Brenner left the parish, and eventually the roster of the LCMS, to go on to serve as CEO of Hospice Northeast, Jacksonville, FL; CEO, Hospice of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL; CEO, Montgomery Hospice Society, Rockville, MD, CEO of Jacob Perlow Hospice, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City, NY; and Program Consultant, Children’s Hospice International, Alexandria, VA. During those years he continued in Word and Sacrament ministry in the Episcopal Church.

In his hospice work, he developed the first hospice inpatient facility in Florida and a residential facility for persons without caregivers in Maryland, the first program of care for Alzheimer’s patients, the innovative national Program of All Inclusive Care for Children and Families, the first hospice program for the deaf, the first hospice program to be licensed as a CPE training site, and led in the development of the first Department of Palliative Medicine, integrating hospice care and palliative care. He was active nationally and internationally and was published.

Pastor Brenner is survived by two adult sons, Paul Martin Brenner and Matthew Jason Brenner.

He died peacefully at his home under hospice care.

A Memorial Service will be held at:
11:00am
Monday, March 4, 2013
St. Mark Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell Street
San Francisco, California

Lunch reception will follow

Blessed be the memory of this servant of God!