ELCA NEWS SERVICE
October 7, 2008
Reuben Swanson, Lutheran Church in America Secretary, Synod President, Dies
08-169-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Reuben T. Swanson, 86, who served
as secretary of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and LCA
Nebraska Synod president, died Oct. 3 at his home in Fort
Collins, Colo.
Memorial services are planned for Oct. 10 at Shepherd of the
Hills Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, and Oct. 16 at Kountze
Memorial Lutheran Church, Omaha, Neb.
"If there was ever a mentor for all of us for what it means
to be a person of deep and abiding faith, with an incredible
breadth of vision of absolute, resilient hopefulness for the
church, a hope borne out of faith, it was Reuben Swanson," the
Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) said in
Oct. 3 remarks to the ELCA Conference of Bishops meeting here.
"Many, many of you, perhaps without even knowing it, are
beneficiaries of the generosity of the Swanson family," he told
the bishops.
Swanson was a member of the Commission for a New Lutheran
Church (CNLC). His work with the CNLC helped facilitate the
merger of the LCA, the American Lutheran Church and the
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, forming the ELCA in
1988, Hanson said in a written tribute. When Swanson received
the Servus Dei Medal as a retiring church officer in 1987, it
said that he practiced "the kind of life that helps us all
recognize the presence of the living Christ among us," Hanson
wrote.
"We remember now with thanksgiving a genuine churchman -- a
pastor and leader who demonstrated throughout his long service
untiring dedication to the well-being of Christ's Church," Hanson
wrote.
Swanson was born in 1922 in Bertrand, Neb. He attended
Luther Junior College, Wahoo, Neb., and Doane College, Crete,
Neb. His education was interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy
from 1943 to 1946 in the Pacific theater. After military
service, Swanson earned a bachelor's degree in 1947 from
Augustana College, and a bachelor of divinity degree in 1951 from
Augustana Theological Seminary, both in Rock Island, Ill. He was
ordained in 1951.
Swanson was pastor of Lutheran congregations West Hempstead,
N.Y., and Omaha before he was elected president of the LCA
Nebraska Synod in 1964. He continued as synod president until
1978, when he was elected LCA secretary. Swanson was president
of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A., secretary of Religion in
American Life, commissioner of Lutheran World Ministries and a
board member of the Lutheran Summer Music Program.
Swanson retired when the ELCA came into existence. He
continued as a consultant for Aid Association for Lutherans,
Appleton, Wis., and Bethphage Mission Resource Division, Omaha.
He served as treasurer on the board of trustees for the
Minneapolis-based ELCA Board of Pensions. From 1993 to 2000, he
was a regional representative for the Board of Pensions.
Swanson was active in several community organizations,
served on boards and committees, and was involved in development
campaigns for charitable organizations. He and his wife of nearly
60 years, Darlene, who died earlier this year, were generous
philanthropists.
Swanson is survived two adult children, Conrad and Joyce,
and four grandchildren.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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