wfn.org | Segerhammar Center Set up at California Lutheran University

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

February 11, 2002

SEGERHAMMAR CENTER SET UP AT CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY
02-026-JB/LF*

     THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (ELCA) -- California Lutheran University,
one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA), inaugurated the Segerhammar Center for Faith and
Culture here Feb. 6.  Named for the Rev. Carl W. Segerhammar, a founder
of the university and well-known Lutheran leader, and his wife Ruth, the
center will serve as a forum for inquiry into questions of faith,
learning and vocation.
     The center will seek ways to establish new connections between the
church, academia and the community and promote reflection on what
vocation means in American culture and the global community, said Dr. R.
Guy Erwin, who is director.  Erwin also holds the Gerhard and Olga J.
Belgum Chair in Lutheran confessional theology at the university.
     The inauguration of the Segerhammar Center was held in conjunction
with the university's 21st Annual WinterBreak Conference.  The theme was
"Religion, the Media and American Culture."
     Carl Segerhammar, who died in 1996, held several church leadership
positions during his career.  He was president of the former Augustana
Evangelical Lutheran Church's California Conference and later was vice
president of the Augustana Lutheran Church.  When the Augustana church
merged with other Lutheran church bodies to form the Lutheran Church in
America (LCA) in 1962, Segerhammar became president of the LCA's Pacific
Southwest Conference and served as its bishop until 1975.  Segerhammar
was once acting president of  California Lutheran University, served on
its board of regents and was an active supporter of the university until
his death.
     The LCA, American Lutheran Church and Association of Evangelical
Lutheran Churches merged in 1987 to form the ELCA.
     "Carl Segerhammar's ministry in southern California profoundly
affected generations of Lutherans," Dr. Pamela Jolicoeur, provost and
faculty dean,  California Lutheran University, said at the center's
inauguration.  She also noted Segerhammar's leadership in ecumenical and
interfaith activities in the region.
     "I see the center becoming a forum in which scholars, religious
leaders from all faiths and lay professionals from different fields and
from throughout the world come together in fruitful dialogue," said
Erwin.  In remarks at the inauguration, Erwin noted Segerhammar's
commitment to ecumenism and his interests in the interrelationships of
faith and life.
     Present for the inauguration were Ruth Segerhammar and the four
Segerhammar children: Kathleen Hurty, Kathryn Swanson, the Rev. Karen
Parker and the Rev. Kemp Segerhammar.
     "We are humbled, honored, excited and thrilled," Kemp Segerhammar
said at the inauguration, adding that the establishment of the center
meant a great deal to the Segerhammar family.
-- -- --
     *Lynda Paige Fulford is director of public information at
California Lutheran University.

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