wfn.org | Pastor Carl Linder, Veteran Editor Of Lutheran Publications, Dies

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 24, 2005

Pastor Carl Linder, Veteran Editor Of Lutheran Publications, Dies
05-095-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Carl E. Linder, a pastor of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who served more
than 40 years as an editor for church publications, died May 19
at a nursing care facility here.  He was 84.
     A memorial service will be held May 26 at Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church, Oak Park, Ill.
     Linder was editor of Lutheran Partners magazine for the
former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and then the ELCA from
February 1987 until his retirement in October 2002.  In his
retirement he continued to write and edit book reviews for the
magazine.
     "Carl was a servant of his church's published words," said
William A. Decker, associate in ministry and Lutheran Partners
editor, who worked on the magazine for almost 15 years while
Linder was editor.
     "The demeanor of his life never strayed far from the
parishes which he served from 1945 to 1959.  In print and in
person his perspectives and comments were carefully chosen,
reflecting his respect and kindness for others and his love for
Christ, the church and the words of Scripture," Decker said.
     The ELCA Division for Ministry and Augsburg Fortress, the
publishing ministry of the ELCA, Minneapolis, issue Lutheran
Partners every two months.  The magazine provides a forum for the
church's ordained and professional lay ministers to discuss
issues related to their work and the mission of the church.
     When Linder retired as editor of Lutheran Partners, the Rev.
A. Craig Settlage, associate executive director, ELCA Division
for Ministry, wrote an article in the magazine.
     "Most of you readers know Carl Linder through his work as
editor of Lutheran Partners.  A few of us know him as a colleague
and friend in ministry here in the Division for Ministry,"
Settlage wrote.  "All know Carl as a gifted man and a 'master of
words.'"
      "In the Division for Ministry, Carl's presence followed a
familiar pattern. 'l've got something here you might want to take
a look at,' Carl would say as he approached. And indeed, it was
always something that warranted 'a look' because it always gave
evidence to Carl's incredible curiosity and interest in a wide
range of topics.  That played out in Carl's editorials in
Partners, and his ability to identify issues and concerns that
affected the pastors, associates in ministry, deaconesses, and
diaconal ministers who serve in the ministries of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America," Settlage wrote.
     Born Jan. 14, 1921, in Santa Ana, Calif., Linder was a
graduate of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, and the
Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbus.  He was
ordained in 1945 and served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran
Church, Sulphur Springs, Ohio; Good Hope Lutheran Church,
Arlington, Ohio; St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Farmersville, Ohio;
and St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ottumwa, Iowa.
     Linder returned to Columbus in 1959 to serve as an associate
editor for Wartburg Press, and the following year he became an
associate editor for Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis.  In
1969 he joined the staff of California Lutheran College (now
California Lutheran University), Thousand Oaks, Calif., as
director for public information, and he married Mary Lou Lupient
in 1970.
     Linder edited "Learning With," a parish education magazine
of both the former American Lutheran Church (ALC) and the LCA,
from 1971 to 1987 in Philadelphia.  The ALC and LCA merged with
the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches to form the ELCA
in 1988.
     Linder is survived by his wife Mary Lou, two sisters and six
adult children from a previous marriage.
     Capital and California Lutheran are two of 28 colleges and
universities of the ELCA.  The Evangelical Lutheran Theological
Seminary and Hamma Divinity School, Springfield, Ohio,
consolidated in 1978 as Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, one
of the ELCA's eight seminaries.
-- -- --
     Information about Lutheran Partner is available at
http://www.ELCA.org/lp/ on the ELCA Web site.

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