GETTYSBURG, Pa. (ELCA) -- Arthur L. Larson, a man who routinely gave away 70 percent of his income and more, died Dec. 21 at age 93 in Orlando, Fla., and left a legacy of support for seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He was an employee of the Hercules Corporation of Wilmington, Del., for 43 years.
Larson was a former member of the board of directors for the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa., and attended the seminary's summer Lay School of Theology for 19 years.
In the 1980s Larson founded the Arthur L. Larson Stewardship Council in Gettysburg and similar councils at six other ELCA seminaries: Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.; Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia; Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C.; Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.; and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.
Larson joined the Lutheran Laity Movement for Stewardship (LLM) in June 1956 and became a life member in 1992. "For more than 40 years he was generous in his support of LLM's stewardship ministry," said Joyce B. Cain, LLM executive director.
LLM is a fellowship of lay people who are interested in the stewardship of all life and seek to impart that spirit to others. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1907 and is based in Chicago.
Larson submitted several articles for Faith In Action, the LLM stewardship publication. "His participation in our stewardship ministry will be sincerely missed," said Cain.
Through a series of special gifts, Larson meant to foster greater stewardship skills among pastors and church leaders in seminary training and other settings where church leaders are formed. In 1988 he established and endowed the Arthur Larson Professorship in Stewardship and Parish Ministry at the Gettysburg seminary.
The Rev. William O. Avery, who has held the Larson chair since 1988, said, "Art was a dear friend, a child of God who lived fully in God's grace, and the most extraordinary steward I have ever met among people with ample resources."
Avery said Larson "was an extraordinary lay theologian in the subject of stewardship" and lived his commitment, giving away 70 percent of his income while "living very simply."
With Larson's death, another bequest will come to the Stewardship of Life Institute, an independent, non-profit agency whose mission is "to promote stewardship in the ELCA through its constituent seminaries." The institute is headquartered at the Gettysburg seminary and chaired by the occupant of the professorial chair.
A funeral service was held Dec. 28 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Orlando, with Avery preaching and the Rev. Roger H. Prehn, Larson's pastor, presiding.
* The Rev. John R. Spangler is director of communications for the
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa.
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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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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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