ELCA NEWS SERVICE May 24, 2005 Pastor Carl Linder, Veteran Editor Of Lutheran Publications, Dies 05-095-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Carl E. Linder, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who served more than 40 years as an editor for church publications, died May 19 at a nursing care facility here. He was 84. A memorial service will be held May 26 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Oak Park, Ill. Linder was editor of Lutheran Partners magazine for the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and then the ELCA from February 1987 until his retirement in October 2002. In his retirement he continued to write and edit book reviews for the magazine. "Carl was a servant of his church's published words," said William A. Decker, associate in ministry and Lutheran Partners editor, who worked on the magazine for almost 15 years while Linder was editor. "The demeanor of his life never strayed far from the parishes which he served from 1945 to 1959. In print and in person his perspectives and comments were carefully chosen, reflecting his respect and kindness for others and his love for Christ, the church and the words of Scripture," Decker said. The ELCA Division for Ministry and Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the ELCA, Minneapolis, issue Lutheran Partners every two months. The magazine provides a forum for the church's ordained and professional lay ministers to discuss issues related to their work and the mission of the church. When Linder retired as editor of Lutheran Partners, the Rev. A. Craig Settlage, associate executive director, ELCA Division for Ministry, wrote an article in the magazine. "Most of you readers know Carl Linder through his work as editor of Lutheran Partners. A few of us know him as a colleague and friend in ministry here in the Division for Ministry," Settlage wrote. "All know Carl as a gifted man and a 'master of words.'" "In the Division for Ministry, Carl's presence followed a familiar pattern. 'l've got something here you might want to take a look at,' Carl would say as he approached. And indeed, it was always something that warranted 'a look' because it always gave evidence to Carl's incredible curiosity and interest in a wide range of topics. That played out in Carl's editorials in Partners, and his ability to identify issues and concerns that affected the pastors, associates in ministry, deaconesses, and diaconal ministers who serve in the ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," Settlage wrote. Born Jan. 14, 1921, in Santa Ana, Calif., Linder was a graduate of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, and the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbus. He was ordained in 1945 and served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Sulphur Springs, Ohio; Good Hope Lutheran Church, Arlington, Ohio; St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Farmersville, Ohio; and St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ottumwa, Iowa. Linder returned to Columbus in 1959 to serve as an associate editor for Wartburg Press, and the following year he became an associate editor for Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis. In 1969 he joined the staff of California Lutheran College (now California Lutheran University), Thousand Oaks, Calif., as director for public information, and he married Mary Lou Lupient in 1970. Linder edited "Learning With," a parish education magazine of both the former American Lutheran Church (ALC) and the LCA, from 1971 to 1987 in Philadelphia. The ALC and LCA merged with the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches to form the ELCA in 1988. Linder is survived by his wife Mary Lou, two sisters and six adult children from a previous marriage. Capital and California Lutheran are two of 28 colleges and universities of the ELCA. The Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary and Hamma Divinity School, Springfield, Ohio, consolidated in 1978 as Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, one of the ELCA's eight seminaries. -- -- -- Information about Lutheran Partner is available at http://www.ELCA.org/lp/ on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news