CHICAGO (ELCA) The Rev. Ralph R. Van Loon, coordinator for worship and church architecture, Division for Parish Services of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA), and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Aug. 24 at his home in Reno, Nev. Van Loon, 75, received hospice care prior to his death.
Van Loon served as the LCA's coordinator for worship and church architecture from 1973 to 1987, when the LCA merged with the American Lutheran Church (ALC) and Association for Evangelical Lutheran Churches to form the ELCA. From 1991 to 1995, he served as executive director of The Liturgical Conference, Washington, D.C.
He was known in the church for his contributions to the Lutheran Book of Worship, (LBW), a standard in many Lutheran churches today.
The LBW was first published in 1978 and was prepared by representatives of Lutheran churches participating in the Inter- Lutheran Commission on Worship. They were the LCA, ALC, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Van Loon assisted in the preparation and introduction of the LBW.
Van Loon was born in Lindsborg, Kan. He earned a bachelor's degree from Bethany College, Lindsborg, one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities. He earned a master of divinity at Augustana Theological Seminary (now Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, one of eight ELCA seminaries), Rock Island, Ill. He was ordained in 1954.
From 1954 to 1957 Van Loon was pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, Soderville, Minn. From 1957 to 1967 he was pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn. He then joined the LCA staff in New York as assistant director for liturgy with the Commission on Worship.
In 1966 the Lutheran World Federation awarded Van Loon a grant to study liturgical renewal in Denmark, Germany and Sweden. In 1970 the LCA awarded him a scholarship to attend the Ecumenical Institute in Strasbourg, France.
He served on the board of directors for The Liturgical Conference; Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture; North American Academy for Liturgy; Association of Worship Executives; and Societas Liturgica.
Van Loon was a member of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Reno, and was a clergy associate at Trinity Episcopal Church, Reno, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Survivors include his wife, Corinne; daughters Catherine Thompson, Tahoe City, Calif., and Marcia Hope, Carson City, Nev.; and a son, Gregory Van Loon, Truckee, Calif.
A funeral service is scheduled Aug. 31 at Trinity Episcopal Church. A memorial service is planned for Sept. 28 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Evanston, Ill.
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
