ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 24, 2006
Stewart Herman, Jr., Former Seminary President, LWF Leader, Dies
06-026-JB*/JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stewart W. Herman Jr., president
of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) from 1964
until 1971, died Feb. 16 in Greenport, N.Y., following a long
illness. Herman, 96, a retired pastor of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and author, was well-known in
international circles.
As the first president of LSTC, Herman guided the planning,
fund-raising and building of the new campus, and helped the
faculties and students of its five predecessor seminaries
successfully make transitions to the new location and curriculum.
LSTC is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America.
In the late 1940s Herman served the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) as director of refugee services, coordinating
work in Latin America. The LWF is a global communion of 140
Lutheran churches in 78 countries, representing 66.2 million
Lutherans. Through Herman's international connections, LSTC
formed affiliations with seminaries in Tanzania and Argentina.
"Dr. Herman was a warm and gracious individual," said the
Rev. James K. Echols, LSTC president. "After I became president,
he would periodically send me notes of encouragement and
interest. They were always wonderful to receive. I give thanks to
God for the life and witness of Stewart Herman."
"Stewart carried the legacy of his remarkable career with
deep humility and grace," said the Rev. John H. Thomas, general
minister and president, United Church of Christ, Cleveland, and
Herman's son-in-law. "He would share the fascinating accounts of
personalities and events when asked, but never wore them as a
sign of privilege."
"One of my fondest memories is of taking Stewart with me to
the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Indianapolis (2001)," Thomas told
the ELCA News Service. "It had been many years since he'd been
to a Lutheran assembly, and he was fascinated with the new
technologies and style of the meeting. He soaked up the warm
hospitality afforded to him by ELCA leaders, and was surprised by
the presence of many former colleagues from LWF work and students
from the seminary, who were so delighted to see him."
News of Herman's death reached Thomas while he was attending
the Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto
Alegre, Brazil.
"The following Sunday I preached at a Lutheran church in
nearby Novo Hamburgo. Far from my own family, I nevertheless
felt very close to Stewart in the company of the WCC family he
helped to create and among the Lutherans of Brazil he used to
visit," Thomas added.
Herman was born in Harrisburg, Pa. His father, Stewart Sr.,
was a Lutheran pastor there. In 1930 he earned a bachelor's
degree from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa. In 1934 he
earned a bachelor of divinity degree from the Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG). Gettysburg College is
one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities; LTSG is another ELCA
seminary.
Herman earned a bachelor of theology degree from the
University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, and pursued
additional graduate studies in Germany at the University of
Goettingen and at the University of Berlin.
In 1936 he became pastor of the American Church in Berlin
and served until 1939. When Germany declared war on the United
States, Herman was interred at Bad Nauheim, Germany from December
1941 to May 1942 before returning to the United States. From
1944 to 1945 Herman served with the Office of Strategic Services,
London.
From 1945 to 1948 Herman worked in the refugee and
reconstruction division on the World Council of Churches in
process of formation, Geneva, Switzerland. He joined the staff of
the newly organized LWF in 1948 as director of refugee services.
In 1952 Herman began a joint appointment with the National
Lutheran Council and the LWF, coordinating Latin America work.
After he left LSTC, Herman and his wife Ethelyn retired to
Shelter Island Heights, N.Y. He remained active as a trustee of
the American Bible Society and in the Union Chapel, Shelter
Island, where he preached occasionally.
He is survived by his wife, their children, Nicholas,
Boston; Christopher, Washington, D.C.; Stewart III, Fargo, N.D.;
Lynda Herman Thomas, Cleveland; and six grandchildren.
Funeral plans will be announced later. The family plans to
hold a memorial service in late May.
* Jan Boden, LSTC director of communications, contributed to this
report.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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