New Columnists Join 'The Lutheran,' Other Columnists to Leave

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced this month that Dr. Marva J. Dawn, Vancouver, Wash., will be one of its columnists, replacing the column written by the Rev. Walter J. Wangerin, Valparaiso, Ind., longtime columnist for the magazine.
Dawn, a theologian, author and educator with Christians Equipped for Ministry and adjunct professor of spiritual theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., will author the column, "Faithways." Her initial column in The Lutheran appears in the magazine's October issue.
Wangerin, a faculty member at Valparaiso (Ind.) University, wrote the column "Between Us" for the magazine. He is a well-known author and speaker for "Lutheran Vespers," the radio ministry of the ELCA. Wangerin informed the magazine of his decision to stop writing the column earlier this year, saying he wanted to concentrate on writing books, said the Rev. David L. Miller, editor of The Lutheran.
Dawn teaches about worship and community life, Christian ethics, homiletics, pastoral ministry, spiritual formation and the Bible. She has been a presenter at many church-related conferences and seminars, and has published many articles and books. Her most recent books, both published in 1999, are "The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call" and "A Royal Waste of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World."
Dawn earned a bachelor's degree from Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University), River Forest, Ill.; a master's degree from the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; a master of divinity from Western Evangelical Seminary, Portland, Ore.; a master of theology from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.; and master's and doctoral degrees in Christian Ethics and Scriptures, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.
"Marva is a natural and powerful teacher with rich insights into Scripture and always guided by a Lutheran grasp of the gospel," Miller said in his October column in The Lutheran. Dawn spoke at more than 70 conferences and synod events in 1999, he noted.
The October issue also initiated "Spiritual Practices," a column by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Miller said. The Brussats are directors of the Values & Visions Circles, an international network of small groups who use feature films, videos, books, and spoken-word audio in their ministries. They also serve as media editors for a Web site on spirituality and health (http://www.spiritualrx.com) and have been covering contemporary culture and spirituality for some 30 years. They founded and co-direct Cultural Information Service, a nonprofit organization. They produced a series of viewer's guides to television programs and feature films, and review films and books as "Values and Visions" on the LutherLink/Ecunet computer network.
This year they published a book, "Spiritual Rx: Prescriptions for Living a Meaningful Life."
A column written by the Rev. Norma Cook Everist, professor of church and ministry, Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, and the Rev. Burton L. Everist, Grace Lutheran Church, Dubuque, Ill., and Emmaus Center for continuing education, will continue after the December issue with a new author, Miller said. The Everists' column, "Since You Asked," answered questions from readers about a variety of church- and faith-related issues. The column has appeared in The Lutheran since 1988.
"They have given readers' questions an honest hearing and an informed reply," Miller wrote. "We often receive thank-you notes about their caring, pastoral responses."
The magazine is seeking a new writer for the column, Miller said. -- -- --
The Web site for The Lutheran is http://www.thelutheran.org

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