Two more candidates for the position of university pastor (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) will be on campus this month.
The first of three candidates, Rev. Charlene Cox, presently serving as the campus pastor at Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa, preached at Morning Prayer on March 14th.
Pastor Laura Thelander will be visiting campus on March 22. Members of the campus community are invited to attend Morning Prayer, where she will be preaching, and to attend her open forum from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Harre Union, Alumni Room. Pastor Thelander is currently the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Bayonne, New Jersey, where she has served since 2007.
Pastor Katie Hines-Shah will be visiting campus on March 24. Members of the campus community are invited to attend Morning Prayer, where she will be preaching, and to attend her open forum from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Mueller Hall, Refectory. Pastor Hines-Shah recently moved to Chicago. Prior to that, she was the Pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Berkeley, Calif., from September, 2004 to November, 2010.
The search committee hopes to have the new pastor on board at Valpo by summer. Retired pastor Phyllis Kersten currently serves as interim university pastor, along with Rev. James Wetzstein.