CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert G. Hughes, 62, will return to the classroom after a decade as president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). LTSP is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Hughes announced his decision March 23 to the executive committee of the seminary's board of trustees and in a letter to the seminary community.
"It has been a busy and productive decade," said Hughes. "I now wish to turn my attention and skills to three specific efforts that have interested me for some time. These include a renewed focus on doctrinal preaching, leadership training for both laity and clergy, and revitalizing congregations."
Leaving the president's office on Dec. 31, 1999, Hughes will take a sabbatical during the spring semester of 2000. He will teach again at LTSP in fall 2000.
Hughes "has led the seminary in new and deeper ways of service to the church and community," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA. "He will be remembered for his leadership in LTSP's outreach to and with African American clergy and Episcopal deacons."
During Hughes' tenure as president, LTSP began working with Wagner College, an ELCA college in Staten Island, N.Y., to prepare African American leaders for Lutheran ministry. The Episcopal School of the Diaconate of the Diocese of Pennsylvania moved to the LTSP campus.
Hughes joined the LTSP faculty in 1972 after serving as pastor of several Pennsylvania congregations: St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Springfield; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Ashland; and Christ's United Lutheran Church, a merger of five Ashland-area congregations.
"It is no surprise that supporting congregational life has been a hallmark of his service to the seminary and our whole church," said Anderson.
"Hughes has been a vital part of Philadelphia Seminary since he began teaching here," said Dr. Robert Blanck, chair of the seminary's board of trustees. "His leadership is directly responsible for the monumental accomplishments which have occurred during this decade."
In the 1990s, LTSP's student body doubled in size. The seminary embraced a new vision and developed a new curriculum designed to prepare leaders for the church of the future. It entered into a new relationship with Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pa., and it was certified to train Methodist students.
Hughes chaired the ELCA's conference of seminary presidents for two years during the church's study of theological education. As a result of that study LTSP, with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa., and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C., formed an Eastern Cluster of ELCA seminaries.
A graduate of Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., Hughes earned master's degrees from LTSP and Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J., and a doctorate from Princeton.
At LTSP Hughes taught practical theology, worship and preaching.=20 He established the Academy of Preachers in 1982 and directed the academy until 1996. He succeeded the Rev. John W. Vannorsdall who retired as the seminary's president in July 1990.
Hughes and his wife, Dona-Lee, are the parents of three sons.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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