News
By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service
Church executive Marple dies D
orothy Marple, pioneering church executive and coordinator of the
transition team for the ELCA (1986- 87), died Aug. 8 in Ambler, Pa. A member of St. Michael Lutheran Church, Philadelphia (Germantown), Marple, 84, “was crucial in complet- ing the commitment made by the ELCA’s predecessor churches in 1982,” Lowell Almen, retired ELCA pastor and former ELCA secre- tary, told ELCA News. “In that year [the three churches] voted to form a new church in a step toward greater Lutheran unity for the sake of effec- tiveness in mission. Dr. Marple shared that vision and worked tire- lessly toward its implementation.” Marple broke ground in 1975 as the first woman and first layperson to be named a bishop’s assistant in the Lutheran Church in America, an ELCA predecessor. She came to that role after serving as the first executive director of the LCA women’s organi- zation from 1962 to 1975.
For the record
“She had an accurate and detailed knowledge of the entire Lutheran Church in America—its history, work and function,” said James Crumley, a retired ELCA pastor and former LCA bishop. Marple held a variety of U.S.,
international and ecumenical lead- ership roles, including her service as assistant general secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (1988-89); chair of the Lutheran World Federa- tion Commission on Church Coop- eration (1984-1989); and chair of a task force studying theological edu- cation in the ELCA (1989-1994). The church owes Marple “a debt of gratitude,” said Phyllis Ander- son, president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif., and one of Marple’s col- leagues on the theological task force. “That study continues to inform the directions and decisions of our seminaries today.”
According to the ELCA Office of the Secretary, 503 congregations have withdrawn from the official roster of congregations from Aug. 14, 2009, through Aug. 31, 2011. Congregations withdraw from the roster when they complete the constitutional process for disaffiliation and the Office of the Sec- retary receives notification from the applicable synod. Most of the actions came in reaction to the 2009 Church- wide Assembly’s votes on sexuality.
After Hurricane Irene Immediately after Hurricane Irene struck Puerto Rico and the eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada, the ELCA distributed $71,000 in emer- gency grants. The storm killed more than 20 people and caused around $3 billion in damage. At presstime, one congregation, Bethany Lutheran in Central Bridge, N.Y., reported flood- ing. To help victims of the storm, the ELCA gave $25,000 each to Lutheran Care of New York and Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey, and $21,000 to Church World Service. To help, send checks (write “U.S. Hurricane Relief” on the memo line) to ELCA Disaster Response, 39330 Treasury Center, Chicago, IL 60694- 9300; give online at
www.elca.org/ hurricane; or call 800-638-3522.
Uke-fest Rachel Manke found her talent for the ukulele was just what she needed while on
internship at First Lutheran Church, Waltham, Mass. The congregation wanted more involvement in the community so “Hey! Uke!” was born. The Friday night concert featured ukulele talent from the Boston metro area, including John Hicks (right), and raised money for Waltham Family School, which experienced a fund- ing cut. Waltham is an Even Start program for families with 3- to 5-year-olds that emphasizes language and literacy development.
8 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
MLK nephew leads The nephew of Martin Luther King Jr., Isaac Newton Farris Jr., 48, is the new leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The Atlanta- based organization that has mobilized churches to fight discrimination was founded in 1957 by King, who was its first president. Bernice King, daughter of the founder, decided last January not to assume the presidency, citing a leadership clash. Farris replaces How- ard Creecy Jr., who served as president from January until his death in July.
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