| Pastor Harvey Leuning was called in 1995 to serve as Gloria Dei’s Associate Pastor. He had previously been on staff as an Interim Associate Pastor from September 1989 to April 1990 after Susan Peterson was called as Senior Pastor. Following this interim assignment, Pastor Harvey returned to South Dakota as the Pastor of Colton Lutheran Parish. When the position of Associate Pastor was again open at Gloria Dei, the congregation entered into the call process. Having already experienced his gift of ministry, the congregation voted unanimously in 1995 to extend a call for the Associate Pastor position to Pastor Harvey.
The concept of community has always been central to Pastor Harvey’s definition of ministry. In his own words he has said that we have not been called to be faithful alone but in relationship to each other. He has been passionate about the church’s ministry of graciously inviting others to hear and know the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it is proclaimed and lived in the Christian community. With responsibility for new member programs, Pastor Harvey has welcomed hundreds of adults and children as they joined the Gloria Dei community.
Welcoming, reconciliation and outreach have been the defining words of Pastor Harvey’s ministry in this community. Through his enthusiastic and compassionate ministry, he has challenged Gloria Dei to understand its role as a citizen of not only St Paul, but of the larger church and the world. Believing that the church must be an outspoken advocate for the poor, impoverished and hungry, Pastor Harvey sought to actively engage Gloria Dei in the larger community. Service ministries such as Loaves and Fishes and Project Home became hallmark ministries of Gloria Dei. Today, due in large measure to Pastor Harvey’s leadership, Gloria Dei is known for its commitment to social justice issues.
Born and raised on a farm in South Dakota, Pastor Harvey recalls an experience in the summer of 1969 as a defining moment in his life. As a 19 year old student at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, he spent the summer at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He says that experience began to underscore the joy of relationships and connecting with people that were different than he and the community in which he was raised. It created for him a curiosity about the larger world. Pastor Harvey shared that curiosity with Gloria Dei and was a frequent traveler with mission teams to San Lucas Toliman in Guatemala and most recently Namibia.
While Pastor Harvey is retiring, Cheryl will continue in her role as Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing at Augsburg College. In that role she directs and teaches trans-cultural nursing courses with colleagues at the University of Namibia. In having more time to spend as a global citizen, Pastor Harvey is looking forward to traveling with Cheryl as she continues her work in Namibia.
As Pastor Harvey leaves Gloria Dei his wish for this community is the same as it has been for the sixteen years of his ministry among us: That fed by the Word and at the Table as followers of Christ we have been entrusted with “the message of reconciliation…so we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us…” 2 Corinthians 5: 19-20.
We give thanks for the ministry and leadership of Pastor Harvey Leuning.
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