The Intersections Institute is a partnership of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries, social ministry organizations, and schools of business that will provide graduate and continuing education opportunities that integrate the study of theology and management to form leaders who can successfully navigate the changing environment in which the church and its social ministry agencies serve. It is designed to enhance management skills, deepen theological understandings, and strengthen ability of faith-inspired leaders to navigate in today’s ecclesiastical environment.
This program is geared toward social ministry staff, pastors of large congregations, and individuals pursuing a career that couples a faith commitment with social action.
Lohr comes to the position from Hartford Seminary where she spent the past four years working in that institution’s development and recruitment offices while also completing work toward a Ph.D. Her doctoral research focused on Christian theology and interfaith relations with a specific emphasis on articulating an appropriate Lutheran approach to people of other faith traditions.
While doing young adult programming in the US Office of the World Council of Churches in the late 1990s, she also worked with the ELCA’s youth and young adult ministries offices to help plan young adult gatherings at the 1999 churchwide assembly and the 2002 Women of the ELCA national gathering. She has also worked in New York City-based interfaith and youth development organizations.
Lohr met with the Eastern Cluster Board of Directors in Gettysburg on September 21st and shared her vision for the program’s first year. “It will be a busy year filled with new curriculum design, student recruitment and fundraising,” she said. “I am excited to be a part of this important new initiative.”
As part of the institute, LTSP recruited its first group of students into a new Masters of Public Leadership program this fall, and plans are underway to offer a graduate certificate in faith based nonprofit management at Gettysburg next year.
Michael Cooper-White, president of LTSG, commented “This program grew out of conversations with local social ministry partners about their need for leadership training. We are delighted that Thrivent and Diakon have provided initial funding for this and that Christy has agreed to help us make this new enterprise a reality.”
Learn more about Intersections on the web at www.intersectionsinstitute.org .