CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Ehme R. Osterbur, 72, bishop of the Illinois District of the former American Lutheran Church (ALC) from 1975 to 1988, died July 9 in Urbana, Ill. He was a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Funeral services for Osterbur were July 11 at St. John Lutheran Church, Royal, Ill.
Osterbur was born in 1927 in St. Joseph, Ill., and was a graduate of Ogden High School in Ogden, Ill. He completed a bachelor's degree in 1949 at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, and earned a master of divinity degree in 1952 and a doctorate in divinity in 1975, both from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa.
Ordained at St. John Lutheran Church on June 8, 1952, Osterbur served as pastor for three other Illinois congregations: Redeemer Lutheran Church, Kewanee; St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Wyoming; and Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lincoln.
Osterbur served as an assistant to the bishop of the ALC Illinois District from 1972 to 1975 and later was a representative for the ELCA Foundation. He also served on the board of Wartburg Seminary, one of eight ELCA seminaries. From 1992 to1998, Osterbur served as visitation pastor for St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Urbana, Ill.
The ALC, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America merged in 1988 to form the ELCA.
Osterbur is survived by his wife Ella, a daughter, three sons, a brother, three half-sisters and a half-brother.
[*Michael N. Hoffman is a junior at the University of Kansas,
Lawrence, Kan. This summer he is an intern with ELCA News and
Information.]
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or tiNEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.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.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
