wfn.org | Four Lutherans Receive 1998 Wittenberg Awards

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 21, 1998

FOUR LUTHERANS RECEIVE 1998 WITTENBERG AWARDS
98-41-234-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Luther Institute awarded four Wittenberg Awards
"to honor outstanding Lutheran laity and clergy for their service to church
and society" Nov. 20 in Washington, D.C.  The four honorees were Bishop
April Ulring Larson, Willmar Thorkelson, Shirley D. Peterson Esq. and the
Honorable Eckhard Naumarm.
     Bishop April Ulring Larson is the first Lutheran woman bishop in
North America and has provided outstanding leadership to the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
     Willmar Thorkelson, journalist, has enjoyed a long and illustrious
career as a syndicated columnist.
     Shirley D. Peterson Esq., president of Hood College, Frederick, Md.,
and former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, has served as
Lutheran lay woman in the public sector and in higher education.
     The Honorable Eckhard Naumann, Mayor of Lutherstadt-Wittenberg,
Germany, is the first democratically elected mayor of Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, since World War II and has played a pivotal role in
Wittenberg's transition from communism to democracy.
     The featured speaker for the award ceremony was the Rev. Martin E.
Marty, who received the Wittenberg Award in 1991.  He is director of the
Center for Public Religion at the University of Chicago, where he is also
professor emeritus.  Marty is the author of numerous books about the role
of religion in the public sphere and will discuss the topic "Circuits and
Connections: A Lutheran Perspective on the Information Age."
     The Luther Institute, founded in 1983, is an independent center for
laity and clergy located in Washington, D.C.  It fosters education and
research on social, educational and ethical issues in the public sphere,
and it encourages service to church and society.  The Wittenberg Awards
were established in 1990.

For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director 1-773-380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html