wfn.org | Memorial Service Planned Jan. 14 for ELCA Member Ronald Schulz

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 11, 2006  

Memorial Service Planned Jan. 14 for ELCA Member Ronald Schulz
05-003-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A memorial service will be held this weekend for
Ronald Schulz, a member of St. John Lutheran Church, Jamestown, N.D., a
congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  Schulz,
40, who was taken hostage by an Iraqi insurgent group in late November, may
have been killed by his captors in December.
     The memorial service will be held Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. at St. John Lutheran
Church, said the Rev. Douglas F. Opp, one of the congregation's pastors.  A
prayer service for family and friends is to be held at St. John Jan. 13 at 7
p.m.
     A video tape, posted last month on a Web site supposedly by the Islamic
Army of Iraq, showed a person being shot and killed.  The person's face was
not shown, and there was no way to verify the person's identity.  Schulz's
identity card was posted on the site, suggesting it was Schulz who was
killed. The U.S. State Department has not officially confirmed Schulz's
death, but the family believes Schulz was the person in the tape who was shot
and decided to proceed with the memorial service, Opp said.
     The congregation has been praying for Schulz and his family for several
weeks, Opp said.  St. John members, as well as the greater Jamestown
community, have expressed concern to the family, and the family has been
pleased with the outpouring of support, Opp said.
     Schulz was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church.  After
high school, he attended North Dakota State University, Fargo, for one year
before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1985.  He served until 1991, and
attained the rank of sergeant.	
     After his military career Schulz moved to Eagle River, Alaska, and
became a master electrician and worked on industrial projects in China,
Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and the United States.  He spent 13 months
in Iraq as a civilian contractor assisting in the rebuilding effort before he
was taken hostage.  During the time he served in Iraq, he met his fiancée,
Susan Bushra, an interpreter for the U.S. military.  Schulz, who remained a
member of St. John Lutheran Church, also remained as part owner of the family
farm near Jamestown.
     Schulz is survived by his mother, two sisters and a brother.  He was
preceded in death by his father.

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