CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Frank W. Klos Jr., a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died July 15 in Marlton, N.J. He was 77. For more than 30 years, Klos edited shelves of popular Christian education resources and advanced the Lutheran church's television ministry.
Born July 20, 1924, in Wheeling, W.Va., Klos was a graduate of Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa., and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He earned a master's degree and doctorate in education from Temple University, Philadelphia.
Ordained in 1949, Klos served as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Martinsburg, W.Va., before joining the staff of the Board of Parish Education of the former United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) in 1955.
The ULCA formed the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) with three other churches in 1962. Klos continued to work for the merged church as field director, audiovisuals editor, editor of catechetics, senior editor and editorial director of educational resources in the LCA's Division for Parish Services.
Klos helped develop the popular "Davey and Goliath" stop-action animated television series for children. He was also known in the church for his cartoons and artistry.
"Frank Klos was an active part of Davey and Goliath from before it was introduced in 1959, as an education consultant to the Commission on Press, Radio and Television," said R. Marshall Stross, former executive director of Davey and Goliath.
Stross said Klos' single greatest contribution to the program was the 256-page dissertation he prepared in 1977 to get his doctorate. The study deals with "the origin, utilization and impact of the Davey and Goliath television series," said Stross.
Klos' dissertation recorded the program's largest audience -- 1.24 million households in 1971 and 1.73 million children between two and 11 years of age, said Stross. Klos also presented "a need for continuing the effective program."
Klos edited a variety of materials for Vacation Bible Schools and weekday church schools. He oversaw the creation of a host of well-known Christian education resources for the Lutheran church.
In a May 1996 article for The Lutheran, the Rev. David L. Miller (now editor of the magazine) wrote, "The 1968 groundbreaking study, Confirmation and First Communion, by Frank Klos, severed the centuries-old Lutheran linkage of first communion and confirmation. The study suggested young people are ready to commune at age 10, fifth grade, and that separating first communion from confirmation better expresses the Lutheran conviction that communion is God's gift, not something one earns."
Since his retirement in 1987, Klos served as interim pastor for Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Trenton, N.J., and for St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Collingswood, N.J., and as visitation pastor for Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Marlton, N.J.
Klos is survived by his wife Sarah and four adult children.
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
