Robert J. Marshall
Encyclopedia
Robert James Marshall was an American
clergyman and religious leader who was president of the Lutheran Church in America
in the 1970s, at the time the largest Lutheran church in the United States. During his leadership, he played a pivotal role in the merger of his Lutheran Church in America with the American Lutheran Church
and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
.
Marshall was born and raised in Burlington, Iowa
. He grew up in a poor family, which helped him become more attuned to the concerns of those who were disadvantaged. Marshall graduated from Wittenberg University
in 1941 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree and from the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1944. Kauffman was awarded Doctor of Divinity
degrees from both Carthage College
and Wittenberg University, in addition to other graduate study at the University of Chicago
He spent three years as the pastor of a California church. He became a professor of Old Testament Interpretation at the Chicago Lutheran School of Theology (now the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
. Marshall was hired by Muhlenberg College
, where he was later appointed as head of the school's religion department. He served as president of the Lutheran Illinois Synod until 1968.
In balloting at the Lutheran Church in America's biannual convention held in June 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri
, Marshall received 70 of the 615 votes cast for president, behind Rev. Franklin Clark Fry
, who was re-elected to another four-year term with 489 votes.
Marshall was elected in June 1968 to serve as president of the Lutheran Church in America, succeeding Franklin Clark Fry, who had died earlier that month. Marshall was installed in ceremonies held at Riverside Church
in October 1968, with clergymen from around the world in attendance. Marshall was elected to a full four-year term at the biannual convention held in Minneapolis in June 1970, receiving 545 votes out of the 593 cast.
On March 31, 1978, Marshall announced that he would not seek re-election to another term as president, and would instead take a position with the Lutheran World Ministries. In an interview with The New York Times
, Marshall pointed to successful fundraising, adoption of a new book of worship and ecumenical outreach to the Episcopal
, Roman Catholic
and evangelical movements as among his achievements. He stated that the reasons for his decision were not based on health but reflected his desire for "some new vision to come in". During his ten years in the office, Marshall led the 3 million-member group and restructured the church's ministries in the United States and around the world.
In 1976 in Philadelphia, at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress
, an interfaith ecumenical
gathering of scholars and church leaders, Marshall received a lengthy standing ovation after opening his remarks with the two words "Fellow Christians". He continued his remarks by noting that "we should not exalt our differences, we should work on them".
In 1988, building on the outreach and dialogue that Marshall had worked on, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
was formed by the merger of the relatively liberal Lutheran Church in America
with the more conservative American Lutheran Church
and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
. The combined body had 10,500 congregations and 4.8 million members in the United States and the Caribbean by the time of Marshall's death.
Marshall died at age 90 on December 22, 2008 of heart failure in Allentown, Pennsylvania
. He was buried in Burlington, Iowa
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
clergyman and religious leader who was president of the Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran Church in America
The Lutheran Church in America was a U.S. and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press....
in the 1970s, at the time the largest Lutheran church in the United States. During his leadership, he played a pivotal role in the merger of his Lutheran Church in America with the American Lutheran Church
American Lutheran Church
The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. The AELC formed when approximately 250 dissident congregations withdrew from the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in 1976, and ended as an independent body when it became part...
to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
.
Marshall was born and raised in Burlington, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...
. He grew up in a poor family, which helped him become more attuned to the concerns of those who were disadvantaged. Marshall graduated from Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...
in 1941 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree and from the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1944. Kauffman was awarded Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degrees from both Carthage College
Carthage College
Carthage College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Situated in Kenosha, Wisconsin midway between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the campus is on the shore of Lake Michigan and is home to 2,500 full-time and 900 part-time...
and Wittenberg University, in addition to other graduate study at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
He spent three years as the pastor of a California church. He became a professor of Old Testament Interpretation at the Chicago Lutheran School of Theology (now the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Its degree programs include Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Philosophy. It offers concentrations in urban ministry, Bible, environment,...
. Marshall was hired by Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
, where he was later appointed as head of the school's religion department. He served as president of the Lutheran Illinois Synod until 1968.
In balloting at the Lutheran Church in America's biannual convention held in June 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Marshall received 70 of the 615 votes cast for president, behind Rev. Franklin Clark Fry
Franklin Clark Fry
Franklin Clark Fry was a leading American Lutheran clergyman, known for his work on behalf of interdenominational unity.-Early years:...
, who was re-elected to another four-year term with 489 votes.
Marshall was elected in June 1968 to serve as president of the Lutheran Church in America, succeeding Franklin Clark Fry, who had died earlier that month. Marshall was installed in ceremonies held at Riverside Church
Riverside Church
The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell...
in October 1968, with clergymen from around the world in attendance. Marshall was elected to a full four-year term at the biannual convention held in Minneapolis in June 1970, receiving 545 votes out of the 593 cast.
On March 31, 1978, Marshall announced that he would not seek re-election to another term as president, and would instead take a position with the Lutheran World Ministries. In an interview with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Marshall pointed to successful fundraising, adoption of a new book of worship and ecumenical outreach to the Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and evangelical movements as among his achievements. He stated that the reasons for his decision were not based on health but reflected his desire for "some new vision to come in". During his ten years in the office, Marshall led the 3 million-member group and restructured the church's ministries in the United States and around the world.
In 1976 in Philadelphia, at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress
International Eucharistic Congress
In the Roman Catholic church, a Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of clergy, religious, and laity to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is an important Roman Catholic doctrine...
, an interfaith ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
gathering of scholars and church leaders, Marshall received a lengthy standing ovation after opening his remarks with the two words "Fellow Christians". He continued his remarks by noting that "we should not exalt our differences, we should work on them".
In 1988, building on the outreach and dialogue that Marshall had worked on, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
was formed by the merger of the relatively liberal Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran Church in America
The Lutheran Church in America was a U.S. and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press....
with the more conservative American Lutheran Church
American Lutheran Church
The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. The AELC formed when approximately 250 dissident congregations withdrew from the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in 1976, and ended as an independent body when it became part...
. The combined body had 10,500 congregations and 4.8 million members in the United States and the Caribbean by the time of Marshall's death.
Marshall died at age 90 on December 22, 2008 of heart failure in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
. He was buried in Burlington, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...
.