CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Samuel J. Roth, former president of Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM) and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Feb. 20 following complications resulting from heart bypass surgery.
Roth, 74, was serving as interim pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Town and Country, Mo., at the time of his death. He resided in Ferguson, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.
Roth was best known for his leadership in the early years of ELIM, an organization of moderates within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). He became ELIM's president in 1973. Many of ELIM's members later formed the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), which merged with the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church in America to form the ELCA in 1987.
During Roth's tenure as president, ELIM provided significant financial support for Christ Seminary-Seminex. The seminary was formed when students, faculty and staff from the LCMS Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, left to form Christ Seminary-Seminex in 1974. In 1987, Seminex merged into the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Roth was born in 1928 in Elkhart, Ind. He earned bachelor's, master of divinity and master of sacred theology degrees from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. In 1995, he was awarded a doctor of ministry degree by LSTC.
Roth was ordained as an LCMS pastor in 1952, and became a pastor of the AELC in 1976.
From 1952 to 1955, he was assistant pastor, Messiah Lutheran Church, St. Louis. In 1955, he became pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Ferguson, and served 38 years before he retired from the active ministry in 1993.
He is survived by his wife, Mary, and sons, the Rev. S. John and David Roth, and daughters, Laura ZuHone and Lydell. He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Mary Angela Roth.
Funeral services are to be held at 11 a.m., Feb. 23 at Zion Lutheran Church, Ferguson.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@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
