wfn.org | Atlanta Lutheran Theological Center Director Art Lewis To Retire

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 21, 2005

Atlanta Lutheran Theological Center Director Art Lewis To Retire
05-048-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. W. Arthur Lewis, director,
Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta (LTCA), announced plans to
retire at the end of the current academic year or when a
replacement is appointed.  The center is a program of the eight
seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
and focuses on the theological training of African Americans and
others wishing to serve in an urban setting in cooperation with
the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), a consortium of
African American seminaries in Atlanta.
     "As the administrative dean, Art has helped the LTCA program
become more fully integrated into the ITC complex of seminaries.
They appreciate the presence of the Lutherans and their
liturgical traditions.	As a consequence, ITC students from other
participating programs have been inquiring about LTCA," said the
Rev. Lee H. Wesley, chair, LTCA advisory committee, Maplewood,
N.J.
     Lewis' involvement in the Southeastern Lutheran Black
Pastors Conference "helped strengthen the relationship between
the program and the local community so that a few lay people are
now taking classes" at the center, Wesley said.
     Lewis became director of LTCA on July 1, 1999, succeeding
the Rev. Richard M. Wallace Jr.
     More than five years later, Lewis said he was privileged to
see so many students pass through the center and receive degrees,
and "to see so many persons I had a personal involvement with now
serving as pastors in the church."
     "My vision for the center is to see more seminarians from
our eight ELCA seminaries come to Atlanta to study.  We have a
reservoir of learning opportunities to extend to them," Lewis
said.
     "I would like to see our church realize the value of the ITC
experience as it impacts our students.	The Interdenominational
Theological Center stands out in the crowd because of its
multidenominational communities that lend to a rich ecumenical
balance all seminarians should have," he said.
     Born Dec. 13, 1930, in Princeton, N.J., Lewis earned
bachelor's and master's degrees from Rider College,
Lawrenceville, N.J.  He is a graduate of the Lutheran Theological
Seminary at Philadelphia and earned his doctorate from the
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
     Lewis served as director of church and community ministries,
Lutheran Children and Family Services, Philadelphia, 1986-88;
director for community development, ELCA Division for Social
Ministry Organizations, 1988-90; director of the New Jersey
Governor's Office of African American Affairs, 1990-94; and
executive director, Lutheran Council of Tidewater, Norfolk, Va.,
1995-97.  The council provides chaplaincy and social services in
southeast Virginia.
     Lewis has chaired the steering committee of the ELCA
Commission for Multicultural Ministries.  He was pastor of the
Lutheran Church of the Atonement, Atlanta, and a consultant for
the Economic Manpower Corporation, the National Urban Coalition
and the Lilly Foundation.
     Lewis and his wife Rose, a teacher, have two daughters and
three grandchildren.

LTCA Introduces Seminarians, ELCA to Black Church Traditions
     Students from ELCA seminaries may take a year and a half to
two years of classes in Atlanta.  Lutheran seminarians studying
to be ELCA pastors generally take four years of instruction; the
third year is a year of internship in a parish.
     LTCA, through ITC, provides the ELCA with exposure to Black
church traditions and with access to theological education
established by traditionally African American churches, including
cooperation with Candler School of Theology at Emory University
in Atlanta, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Ga., and
Erskine Theological Seminary, Due West, S.C.
     Students at ITC learn from some of the best teachers in
preaching, pastoral care and counseling, Lewis said.  The
Lutheran center assists students who plan to become ELCA pastors
as well as others interested in studying Lutheran church history
and the Lutheran Confessions, he said.
     Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C., and
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, offer courses through
LTCA.  The center's steering committee members are from across
the United States.  Lewis is a member of the Southern Seminary
faculty, which administers the program on behalf of the eight
seminaries.
     "Dr. Arthur Lewis has been an accomplished leader and elder
in the ELCA community of persons from African descent," said the
Rev. H. Frederick Reisz Jr., Southern Seminary president.
     "He has solidified LTCA's presence and importance within the
Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta," Reisz said.
"He has mentored Black students for ordination who are now
serving in dynamic ministries in the ELCA."
     "Dr. Lewis has been an effective advocate for this mission
of the church and an inspiring leader.	He has overcome odds that
might have discouraged others, and provided prophetic leadership
articulating the vision for a more inclusive Church.  He has been
pastor, teacher, leader, mentor, prophet and bearer of hope,"
Reisz said.
-- -- --
     The home page of the Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta
is at http://ltca.ltss.edu/ on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news