PHILADELPHIA (October 2000) - Pledging a continuing openness to diversity and ecumenism, the Rev. Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar of Wyndmoor, PA, was installed Sunday, October 1, as Dean of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). The ceremonies and a reception were attended by several hundred persons at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill in Northwest Philadelphia.

In acknowledging gratitude for his appointment to a post "I once never considered possible," Rajashekar said he considered the opportunity both a personal endorsement and "an affirmation of the ministry and the teaching mission of the Seminary. I am humbled by my calling." Rajashekar noted that a "chance encounter" about a decade ago with then Dean James K. Echols in Geneva, Switzerland, led to his being called to the faculty of LTSP to teach in the area of Systematic Theology. Rajashekar was then serving the Lutheran World Federation as its executive secretary for Dialogue with People of Other Faiths and Ideologies. He now holds the Luther D. Reed Chair at the Seminary. The Chair was awarded him last April on the same day the Seminary's Board of Trustees appointed him Dean.

At ceremonies newly installed Dean Rajashekar, center, is flanked by Dr. George Forell, left, Rajashekar's mentor during doctoral studies at the University of Iowa, and Dr. David Schattschnieder, Dean of Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA, a partner school of LTSP.

In his remarks, Rajashekar paid high tribute to his Seminary colleagues and movingly acknowledged the dedication of his father, James Jayaraj, and his late mother, Helen Hebsiba, in teaching the Christian faith to him. He also paid high tribute to his spouse, Esther, also an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor, and children, Christopher and Patricia, for their sacrificial support in making his accomplishments possible. Rajashekar also affectionately recognized the presence of the Rev. Dr. George W. Forell, "my Doctor Father." Forell was a mentor to Rajashekar during the Dean's studies at the University of Iowa for a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and the History of Religions. He was awarded the degree in 1981.

"Be our Dean," counseled the Seminary's Charles A. Schieren Professor, Dr. Gordon Lathrop, keynoter for the installation. "You came among us in 1991 as a Systematic theologian, and we came to love your intelligence, integrity, breadth of interest, deep discretion and your subtle sense of humor." Lathrop, the Seminary's Chaplain, praised the broad perspective Rajashekar had brought to the campus with a knowledge of Asia and the "wider Lutheran world" and his sense of "responsible ecumenism," which recognizes that "the spirit is falling on others in other places....others who do not always follow us." Lathrop noted that the Dean's complex role involves him as a "leader, captain, judge and servant."

The Chaplain quoted Danish Theologian Nikolai Grundtvig, who made remarks when asked in 1863, Should the Reformation continue?

Grundtvig said then, "When it happens that the priests stand at baptism as Zion's watchers in the power of the Spirit, and the bishop stands at the altar truly representing the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, while the congregation gladly lets the light shine in good works, and the learned keep watch over the book with their lamps lit from the flame on the altar and keep watch that the church has open doors for going out as well as coming for coming in, then is everything in Christian order and the Lutheran Reformation complete."

Lathrop challenged the new Dean to keep the Seminary centered on the flame of Jesus and to keep the Seminary's door open in holy love to all who would seek to participate fully in the body of Christ. "Make the promises, trust the Spirit, and we will too," Lathrop said. "Help us to read the book in the light of the altar. Help us to guard our open door."

The Dean's office is peculiarly both "priestly and prophetic," said Seminary Professor Katie Day, who with faculty colleague Professor Richard Stewart introduced the Dean for installation. In serving as a go-between for faculty and others in the Seminary community, Day noted the demands on a Dean to "interpret, advocate and nurture" require the holder of the office to have a "cooler head with a larger vision, bigger than anyone's individual perspective." She praised Rajashekar's credentials as "the right stuff" and acknowledged his "passion for intercultural and interreligious dialog....You have pushed the Church to think harder and respond more generously to other communities of faith. Because of you, students have crossed boundaries they might never have expected to encounter, let alone cross." Stewart's humorous and personal recollections of the Dean as a colleague traced Rajashekar's educational and career development in such diversely global points as India, Geneva, Switzerland, and Iowa, as well as Philadelphia, calling Rajashekar "a man of all continents and some islands...." He said Rajashekar's keen competitive spirit in croquet "is only exceeded by his understanding of (the sport of) cricket."

Rajashekar, right, goes over ceremony details before the service with New Jersey Synod Bishop E. Roy Riley, who officiated at the installation.

Installing the Dean were Seminary President, the Rev. Dr. Philip D. W. Krey; the Rev E. Roy Riley, Bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Robert Blanck, Esq. Of Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill section. Blanck chairs the LTSP Board of Trustees.

Music for the service was provided by the Seminary Choir under the direction of Mark Mummert, Seminary Musician; the Choir of Grace Lutheran Church, Wyndmoor, PA, under the direction of Kevin Engleman, and the Choir of Grace-Trinity United Church of Christ, led by Dr. Sheila Chellappa.

Rajashekar, right, chats with faculty colleagues Dr. Robert B. Robinson, left, Anna Burkhalter Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, and Dr. Randolph Jones, Director of Program for the Urban Theological Institute.

In addition to Forell, seven other individuals representing partner organizations or institutions brought greetings during the reception. They were the Rev. Roy Almquist, bishop of the ELCA's Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod; Dr. Gregory Villalon, Director for Ethnic Leadership Development in the ELCA's Division for Ministry; Dean Norma Wood of Gettysburg Theological Seminary; the Rev. Dr. Randolph Jones, Director of Program for the Seminary's Urban Theological Institute.

Also Dean David Schattschnieder of Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, PA; Dean Eric Ohlmann of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, PA, and the Rev. Laurence Sibley, Jr., a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, PA. Blanck also brought greetings on behalf of the Seminary's Board of Trustees, and a gift of a stole was presented by Lathrop on behalf of the Trustees and the Seminary community.

Rajashekar acknowledged the gift with deep gratitude and said it would always serve to remind him of his call to the ordained ministry and to his office as Dean.