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SALEM SHARED--THE SAGA TOLD: THE MISSION HISTORY of SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH, WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA A Professional Project Presented to the Faculty of the School of Theology at Claremont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Lee Bradford Rozen May 1994 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©1994 Lee Bradford Rozen ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This professional project, completed by ____________Lee Bradford Rozen_____________f has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Theology at Claremont in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MINISTRY Faculty Committee Z2-, Dale Dean Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Salem Shared™The Saga Told: The Mission History of Salem Lutheran Church, Whittier, California by Lee Bradford Rozen The nearly fifty years of mission history of Salem Lutheran Church, Whittier, California, has not been told and needs to be adequately written. The parish has a story that is interesting and is a paradigm of a post-World War II, Southern California, mainline Protestant parish. But like so many mainline Protestant parishes founded during that bustling time, the story is rapidly becoming forgotten. This project reveals selected topics, issues, historical moments and aspects that tell the story of this part of Christ’s Church. When one understands and knows the history of a parish, it gives the parish members--lay and clergy--a sense of direction and mission for continuity. The Church is a part of history, and history is a part of the Church. Salem Lutheran Church needs to create and celebrate its active mission history so that the members of the parish will have a better sense of who they are, what they are doing, where they are going, and why. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Selected aspects of Salem’s history are explained. The project is documented and developed by means of available parish archival documents, memorabilia, oral interviews of parish members, library resources, and personal reflections and notes of the present pastor who is the writer of this story. The writer uses these resources and critically evaluates the parish’s ministry and history with all its triumphs, struggles, and inevitable changes. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This Doctor of Ministry project is dedicated to the faithful members of Salem Lutheran Church, Whittier, California, past, present, and future. Sincere thanks to my congregation, especially to all those not specifically mentioned, for you are part of the story as well. Many thanks are given to my family; to my School of Theology at Claremont faculty advisors, Lori Anne Ferrell and Roger Rogahn, and to thesis secretary Elaine Walker; to Ross Hidy and Ray Kibler III, Lutheran historians and brother clergy; and to ELCA archivist Carol Schmalenberger of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary at Berkeley. Special thanks are given to those who shared in interviews with the author: David Robison, Doris Robison, Ruth Robison Ali Hassan, Jim Dwyer, George Spindel, Sharon Green and Clyde Sedgwick. “Mange takk” as well to Jerald Slattum, Judy Rambeau and Clyde Sedgwick, for their constructive criticism; to my dedicated secretary, Karen West, and to my understanding computer instructor, Philip Barnhart. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Page Chapter 1. Introduction.....................................................................................1 2. Building for Mission.........................................................................9 The Harvest Ripe........................................................................9 A Pastor Arrives.......................................................................15 On to Pomona...........................................................................17 Robison Takes Charge...............................................................17 Salem Congregation Has a Home............................................23 Still Not Enough Room..............................................................24 Gerberding Hall........................................................................26 Second Sanctuary Dedicated..............................................32 Analysis.......................................................................................35 3. Leadership Styles of the Pastors.................................................41 Paul J. Gerberding—Missionary and Founder..................42 David E. Robison—Builder and Chaplain............................45 Lee B. Rozen—Celebrant and Connector..............................53 Analysis.......................................................................................61 4. The Ministry of the Laity...............................................................65 The Priesthood of All Believers ...........................................65 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Salem’s Council Committees.....................................................69 Analysis........................................................................................79 5. Salem’s Worship Life...................................................................90 Humble Beginnings.....................................................................90 Worship in the First Sanctuary..............................................92 Confirmation as a Worship Experience..................................96 Tenth Anniversary Observance...........................................97 Evangelism and Worship ......................................................98 The Service Book and Hymnal Introduced..........................99 Second Sanctuary Happenings and Changes...................99 Special Observances.............................................................102 Twenty-Fifth Anniversary..........................................................104 Memorial Gifts as Aids to Worship.......................................105 Bicentennial Observed.............................................................105 The Staff of the Shepherd Is Passed....................................107 The Greening of Worship.........................................................109 A Worship Smorgasbord..........................................................112 Attitudes Towards Worship....................................................117 Iglesia Luterana?.......................................................................117 Analysis.....................................................................................118 6. Ecumenical Awareness................................................................131 Never A Loner.........................................................................131 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Synodical Ties...........................................................................132 Local Lutheran Ties..................................................................137 Local Non-Lutheran Ties..........................................................139 International Awareness...........................................................142 Interchurch Counseling Center...............................................145 Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry.........................................145 The Lutheran Cursillo Movement...........................................149 Sharing With Another Congregation...................................149 Analysis......................................................................................150 7. Conclusion..................................................................................161 Bibliography......................................................................................167 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction I recently celebrated my fiftieth birthday. And for me it is a time of personal and professional accounting. In two years, Salem Lutheran Church, Whittier, California, will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary of organization. The parish is planning a special observance. A fiftieth birthday is a milestone. For humans to attain the age of fifty years means that a person is absolutely middle aged. A person is no longer young, but a person is not old either. At the age of fifty years a person is “not wet behind the ears,” and neither is a person “ready for the rocking chair.” Fifty years of age is a time of respectability. When a person attains the half-century mark, a celebration, a party, commemorates this achievement. Festivity is in order. So, too, is reflection. Many times at a fiftieth birthday event, a “This Is Your Life” story is told by someone who knows, cares, and loves the honored person. It means more to have someone “in the know" do the sharing. This may involve much research. It is a labor of love. It is not the job of a stranger. During this time of sharing, specific moments, events, places, and characters are highlighted. The past is brought into the present. It may be a time of reflection and questioning. What have I done? What still do I wish to do? Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.