ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 3, 2007

The Rev. S. Anita Stauffer, Lutheran Author, Researcher, Dies
07-120-LL*

       CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. S. Anita Stauffer, author of
books and articles on worship, liturgy and church architecture,
and a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), died June 26 at a Chicago-area hospital from
complications due to a stroke. At the time of her death,
Stauffer, 59, was living in Melrose Park, Ill.
     A memorial service for Stauffer will be held July 21 at
Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, Ill.
     "She will be remembered as a careful scholar of baptismal
history, as an articulate advocate of responsible liturgical
inculturation, and as a faithful friend," said the Rev. Gordon W.
Lathrop, Charles A. Schieren professor of liturgy, emeritus,
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). LTSP is
one of the eight ELCA seminaries.
     Stauffer was study secretary for worship in the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and Studies from
1992 to 1998. Stauffer's LWF research work focused on
coordinating long-term ecumenical, international and
interdisciplinary study on the relationships between Christian
worship and cultures of the world dating back to the New
Testament; three volumes of research and reflections were
published from her work.
     Born here, Stauffer received a bachelor's degree from
Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., in 1969, and a
master of divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School,
New Haven, Conn., in 1973. She did graduate studies in liturgy
and church architecture at the University of Notre Dame, South
Bend, Ind., and in Europe and North Africa.
     In 1969 she was legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. John B.
Anderson of Illinois. Ordained in 1973 in the former Lutheran
Church in America (LCA), Stauffer was pastor of Lutheran Church
of the Good Shepherd, Coatesville, Pa., from 1973 to 1978. She
was LCA worship editor and consultant from 1978 to 1988. She
became associate director for worship and architecture in the
ELCA churchwide organization in 1988 and served until 1991.
     Her research work focused on early Christian baptismal
fonts, carried out primarily in Tunisia, Italy and France.
Stauffer's book, "On Baptismal Fonts: Ancient and Modern," was
published in 1994 in the Joint Liturgical Studies Series, Grove
Books, Cambridge, England. Her videotape, "Re-examining
Baptismal Fonts" was released in 1991. In 2000 Stauffer's book,
"Altar Guild and Sacristy Manual," was published by Augsburg
Fortress, the ELCA's publishing ministry.
     She served as editor of the Lutheran Occasional Services
book in North America. In 1978 Stauffer was the author of
materials used to introduce the Lutheran Book of Worship, and in
1990, she was the worship facilitator for the LWF Assembly in
Curitiba, Brazil. Stauffer was the worship director for the ELCA
1991 Churchwide Assembly, Orlando, Fla. She also served as a
visiting lecturer in liturgics at the Lutheran School of Theology
at Chicago (LSTC), an ELCA seminary, and LTSP.
     Stauffer authored numerous articles and 13 books. She was a
member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, Societas Liturgica
and the editorial board of Studia Liturgica.
     Stauffer is survived by her brother, Jerry.
---
* Lauren A. Lamb is a senior public relations and speech
communication major at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
This summer she is an intern with the ELCA News Service.

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