Church

June 9 2025

Prof. Francis Rossow going strong at 100…

When I was recently at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis for the Multi-ethnic Symposium, I ran into Emeritus Prof. Francis Rossow. He is now 100 and doing very well. “Rev Rossow” had been a teacher of mine at the Concordia Senior College during my college years and then was my homiletics professor at the seminary. His challenge to look for “handles to the Gospel” shaped my preaching. When I became a young pastor at Messiah Lutheran in St. Louis, “Rev. Rossow” was a member at that church and sat notably just four rows back from the pulpit with his family every Sunday! He is an inspiration.

In the photo is Rev. Marc Barz, the new campus chaplain at the seminary and a former classmate.

June 29 2024

Vacancy ends with the Installation of Pr. Chad Elfe

Dr. Mark Schuler Church, LCMS

With the installation of Pr. Chad Elfe on Saturday 29 June 2024 my service to Luther Memorial Church as vacancy pastor has come to an end. We have been praying that God would soon provide a new lead pastor, and God has done so.

I am most thankful to the people at LMC for the opportunity to serve in their midst. They are a mission-minded, deeply committed and loving congregation. Typical metrics of congregational life show no decline during the vacancy. They are ready to move forward in their mission to the community, the UWRF campus, and beyond.

I pray that God will bless them and their new pastor.

They hold a special place in my heart!

December 12 2023

A new direction…

Dr. Mark Schuler Church, LCMS

The Hamas Israel war that broke out in early October is not only a terrible tragedy for both peoples, it also disrupted my plans to return to the Albright in Jerusalem for two more months of research.

In early November, my retirement took on a new direction as I was approached about serving a pastoral vacancy at Luther Memorial in River Falls, Wisconsin.

I did supply preaching there beginning 19 November and on 27 November began a 6 month contract as vacancy pastor while the church seek to call a new lead pastor. My prime duties are preaching, teaching and encouragement.

LMC is a very active congregation with a strong outreach to their community and the campus of the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. They are also involved in supporting a mission in Costa Rica.

They are a warm community blessed with very competent leadership and staff. It is an honor for me to serve there and to be involved again in regular preaching.

My archaeological research has slowed down, but I am hopeful to get back to the Albright in 2024.

Luther Memorial in River Falls

November 7 2022

Journal Project

Dr. Mark Schuler Church, CSP

Sam Deressa and I are pleased to announce the publication of Vol. 1, No. 1 of the new Global South Theological Journal at https://gstjournal.org.

Five articles make up the first issue:

Ibrahim Bitrus, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A “Living Dead” In Africa
Gerd Decke, Gudina Tumsa and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Ezekiel Gebissa, The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) Between Indigeneity and Globalism: Re-Measuring Growth,
Re-Visioning Mission, Recasting Leadership
Darrell Jodock, Gudina Tumsa’s Contributions to Theology
Gemechu Olana, An Empowering and Reconciling Presence: Public Ministry in The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus: A Brief Historical Perspective Review with Some Prospective Remarks

All articles are in English, but we have built in capability to use Google Translate for reading the articles in other languages.

Editorial and Publication

Samuel Deressa, PhD, Concordia University, Saint Paul, MN, USA, editor
Mark Schuler, ThD (emeritus), Concordia University, Saint Paul, MN USA, managing editor

Reviewers

Bruk Ayele, PhD, Mekane Yesus Seminary, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ibrahim Bitrus, PhD, Federal College of Education, Yola, Nigeria
Suzanne Hequet, PhD (emerita), Concordia University, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Julius Kiambi Kithinji, PhD, St. Paul University, Limuru, Kenya
Pum Za Mang, PhD, Myanmar Institute of Theology, Yangon, Myanmar
Misgana Mathewos, PhD, Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Detlev Schulz, PhD , Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN, USA

This open-source digital journal is published by the Department of Theology and Ministry at Concordia University, Saint Paul, with assistance of a grant from the Hoffmann Initiatives. It is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licensing (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).