Paul Wennes Egertson (February 17, 1935 – January 5, 2011) was an American Lutheran clergyman. He was Bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

from 1995 to 2001 and served as a senior lecturer at the

California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...

Biography

Egertson was born in

Litchville, North Dakota Litchville is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States, known for their canoeing and kayaking opportunities. The population was 169 at the 2020 census. Litchville was founded in 1900. Geography Litchville is located at (46.653683, ...

. He was the son of Rev. H. O. Egertson (1903–1985) and Thilda Amanda Wennes (1904–2008). He grew up in Southern California, where he father was a Lutheran pastor. In 1955 he graduated with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

, continuing to study for a M.Th. degree which he obtained from the

Luther Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

. Egertson then spent the following years serving as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and also studied for a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from the

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is an American graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Claremont, California. CST is fully recognized and approved as one of thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodis ...

, which was awarded in 1976. Egertson was active with an education role since 1972, having served as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the

between 1972 and 1984. He continued his association with the same university after 1984, however timing commitments restricted his ability to remain professor, he remained on the CLU faculty serving as a

Senior Lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this concep ...

in the College of Arts and Sciences, having taught both part-time and full-time. Egertson's specialities were noted as: Dispute Mediation,

Preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for Social influence, influence. Persuasion can influence a person's Belief, beliefs, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, Intention, intentions, Motivation, motivations, or Behavior, behaviours. ...

and religion in America. Egertson is credited with having served as the university's director of the Center for Theological Study, and also for his role in establishing night courses at the university. Egertson died suddenly in his home in Thousand Oaks, California on the afternoon of January 5, 2011.

ELCA Bishop

Egertson was elected Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, with pastoral responsibilities for South California in 1994. He served in episcopal office from 1995 until 2001, when he resigned one month before the end of his term, due primarily to his controversial stance toward

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, having ordained a lesbian pastor

Anita C. Hill Anita Carol Hill (born 1951) is an LGBT American minister in the Lutheran Church. She is one of the first ordained lesbian women in the church and became a pastor before the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) changed its policy on LGBT ...

, and publicly disagreed with other prominent church officials over the matter.Interfaith Working Group
Bishop Egertson Asked to Resign
June, 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egertson, Paul 1935 births 2011 deaths People from Barnes County, North Dakota 21st-century American Lutheran clergy Evangelical Lutheran Church in America bishops American LGBT rights activists Pepperdine University alumni Luther Seminary alumni American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American Lutheran clergy