September 5
Pastor Gary Sproat as he undergoes back surgery today at Memorial Hospital, Springfield. Pastor Gary serves the Lutheran Church of Mahomet. His email is: pastorgary@mchsi.com
Pastor Bill Zanton as he undergoes gall bladder surgery and the removal of his right kidney on Monday, September 8 at Memorial Hospital, Springfield. Pastor Bill serves both Mt. Zion and Trinity Lutheran, Litchfield. Email can be sent to mtzionlfd@consolidated.net
Pastor Wayne Shelksohn and family upon the death of his sister Eileen Dunson of Olympia, Washington.
Pastor Wayne serves Grace and Peace, Peoria. His email address is: revows@ntslink.net
August 21
We extend our sympathy and uplift in our prayers the family of Pastor Connie Kleingartner, LSTC.
Chicago (LSTC) – The Rev. Dr. Connie M. Kleingartner, director of field education and coordinator of candidacy and Logos Associate Professor of Evangelism and Church Ministries at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago died early August 21 in hospice care in Chicago. She was 60.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, August 24, at 4:30 p.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn, Chicago.
“Connie’s gifts as teacher, mentor, advocate, and friend enriched the LSTC community and the church beyond measure,” said Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kadi Billman. “She has helped shape literally thousands of students for ministry. But it is the gift of her witness to God’s faithfulness in all circumstances that we will remember most as we grieve the loss of this dear colleague. To the last, Connie was grateful for the prayers and companionship of the LSTC community, and I am utterly certain that she would want her last words to the community to be ‘Thank you.’”
Connie Kleingartner joined the LSTC faculty in 1995 after spending 20 years in parish ministry in Minnesota and Iowa and as coordinator of congregational life for the Iowa District of the American Lutheran Church. She received the bachelor of science degree from Minot State University, master of divinity and master of sacred theology degrees from Wartburg Theological Seminary, and a doctor of educational leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.
Kleingartner had a passion for helping prepare leaders for the church who love the Lord, love God’s people, and love the church. Students will remember her advice to “trust the process.” She loved doing site visits for seminary interns both to see how the student was doing and to thank the congregation for its role in shaping leaders for the church.
During the 2007-08 academic year, in between cancer treatments, Kleingartner developed a series of successful stewardship workshops and created a plan for revitalizing the work of LSTC’s Tithing and Stewardship Foundation.
During the 18-months of living with and being treated for breast cancer, Dr. Kleingartner provided a witness of faith and courage to all who knew her. In April, she told the LSTC community that the cancer had spread throughout her body. At her request, the community gathered around her for a service of commendation of the dying at the end of the 2007-08 school year. Connie is survived by her parents, Herbert and Marie Kleingartner; three sisters, Trudy Evenstad, Shelly Hanenburg, and Becky Horner; a niece and nephews. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Augustana Lutheran Church (Chicago) Organ Fund; the LSTC Fund for Field Education, Christ Lutheran Church, Minot, N.D.; or UNICEF.