ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 19, 2005 Lutheran Theologian, Lecturer, Walter R. Bouman Dies 05-149-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walter R. Bouman, a prominent Lutheran theologian and lecturer, retired professor of systematic theology and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died of colon cancer Aug. 17 at his home in Columbus, Ohio. He was 76. "Walter lived these last days valiantly and shared witness for all of us to the power of the 'Light that never fades,'" said the Rev. Mark R. Ramseth, president, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus. "What he bore in his heart and spirit as a robust and vital teacher of the gospel, he sustained as witness, even into his death. For his service to the Trinity community of faith and formation -- and to the entire church -- we give thanks," Ramseth said. A service of baptismal renewal and resurrection will be Aug. 23 at the Gloria Dei Worship Center on the seminary campus. Bouman was born July 9, 1927, in Springfield, Minn. He earned a bachelor's degree and master of divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and a doctorate in theology from University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. In 1956, Bouman was ordained in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and served as pastor of two LCMS congregations -- St. Paul Lutheran Church, Chatfield, Minn., and St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Albany, N.Y. -- before joining the faculty of Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Ill., in 1963. Concordia is a college of the Missouri Synod. Bouman began teaching systematic theology at the former Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary (ELTS), Columbus, Ohio, in 1971. He became a pastor of the former American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1977. In 1978, ELTS merged with the Hamma Divinity School, Springfield, Ohio, to create Trinity Lutheran Seminary. The ALC was among three church bodies that formed the ELCA in 1988. Trinity is one of eight ELCA seminaries. Bouman was a member of the American Academy of Religion and president of the Lutheran Academy for Scholarship. He was a guest lecturer at the Theologische Hochschule Leipzig, Germany, and The General Theological Seminary, New York. He served on the Lutheran-Episcopal dialogues that led to a full-communion relationship for the ELCA and Episcopal Church. Bouman was a member of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission, and a consultant to the Anglican-Lutheran dialogue in Canada and to the conversations between the Anglican churches of Britain and Ireland and the Scandinavian and Baltic Lutheran Churches. After his retirement in 1999, Bouman continued to teach at Trinity as professor emeritus until April 2005, when he was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. Bouman was author or co-author of 12 books, the most recent a book of reflections and prayers on the Augsburg Confession. He contributed to three encyclopedias and 10 books, including Exploring and Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed, and was the author of more than 200 journal articles, reviews, audiotapes and courses on videotape. Bouman is survived by his wife Janet; sons Andrew, Lukas and Gregory; grandchildren Kenneth, Janelle and Nathaniel; his brother David and sister Trudy Decker. He was preceded in death by his brother Robert. Bouman was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Columbus. -- -- -- The home page for Trinity Lutheran Seminary is at http://www.trinitylutheranseminary.edu on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news