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 [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news