Faces


hen the first Regius Profes- sorship of Divinity was cre- ated by English King Henry


VIII at the University of Cambridge, the U.S. wasn’t even an idea. The year was 1540, and the first professor to hold the position was Edward Wigan (a second professorship was also founded at the University of Oxford). In nearly 500 years there have been


about 40 men to hold the title, presti- gious theologians primarily from the United Kingdom. That trend is about to change. Ian McFarland, a professor at


Emory University in Atlanta, will become the next Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. “This is the greatest honor in my


field,” said McFarland, a member of Atlanta’s St. John Lutheran Church. “I’m still getting used to it. I hope I don’t do anything embarrassing.” McFarland said he was raised in an


For Ian McFarland, the Regius Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge University in England will allow him to speak to a larger audience.


“unchurched house” and wasn’t baptized until college. He became interested in the antinuclear movement and civil disobedience. He also started reading about one Lutheran who moved him toward a Christ-centered life—Dietrich Bonhoeffer. McFarland hadn’t planned on teaching when he entered


seminary, but after a yearlong internship he found he missed the classroom and his studies. He had his call process put on hold while he attended graduate school. After that he was hired in the late 1990s at the School of Divinity at the Uni- versity of Aberdeen (Scotland).


100 + birthdays


By Jeff Favre


An American about to land in Cambridge W


From there, he returned to the U.S. and


took his current position at Emory. “I’ve never worked at a Lutheran institu-


tion,” he said. That may be true in an official capacity,


but McFarland is active at St. John. He is on his congregation’s council, he’s the chair of the stewardship committee and he teaches Sunday school. McFarland’s study has concentrated on


Christology (the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ). He has authored sev- eral books, his latest was last year’s From Nothing: A Theology of Creation (Westmin- ster John Knox). The move to Cambridge will be a dra-


matic change for his family, particularly for his two teenage daughters. He’s looking for a school for them. There’s a Lutheran con- gregation at Cambridge, and McFarland said he and his family plan to attend. McFarland’s goal as a professor and


theologian has been to train capable pastors.


“I try to get them to think responsibly about what they’re


saying,” he said. “What’s coming out of the pulpit should be faithful to the gospel.” McFarland called the Regius Professorship of Divinity a


bully pulpit, which will allow him the chance to speak to a larger audience. “This position comes


along once in a career,” McFarland said. “I want to fill the post with integrity.” 


107: Mildred Eckblad, Stordahl, Zumbrota, Minn. 105: Prudence Orton, Hope, Summit, S.D. 103: Ruth McVay, Christ (Rupp), Kittanning, Pa. 102: Ruth Larson, First, St. Peter, Minn. 101: Marie Henriksen, Trin- ity, Topeka, Kan. 100: Emma Colnes, First, Dows, Iowa; Ruth Engel- stad, Good Shepherd, Moorhead, Minn.; Rama Danielson, Grace,


Author bio: Favre is an assistant professor at Pierce College in Los Angeles and a freelance theater critic.


Knoxville, Ill.; Alice Gadde, Gloria Dei, Olympia, Wash.; Helen Heineman, St. Mark, Pender, Neb.; Gladys Lundby, Our Savior, Spring Valley, Minn.; Margaret Osteyee, St. Paul, Telford, Pa.; Dorothy Parshall, St. Mark, Wheeling, W.Va.; Ruth Riley, Good Shepherd, Windber, Pa.; Marian Ryder, St. Peter, Norwalk, Ohio; Florence Swanson, Ebenezer, Chicago; Marie Swenson, Trinity, Lilburn, Ga.; Cele West, St. John, Charleston, S.C.; Josephine Woods, Trinity, Niles, Ohio.


Send stories Share your stories of ELCA Lutherans and your 100+ members in “Faces.” Send to lutheran@thelutheran.org or “Faces,” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Hig gins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631.


May 2015 43


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