Rev. S. Anita Stauffer
1948-2007
The Rev. S. Anita Stauffer died at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Illinois, on June 26, 2007; she was 59. A memorial service will take place at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest (7300 Division St., River Forest, IL 60305) on Saturday, July 21 at 11:00 a.m.
Pr. Stauffer was ordained on June 3, 1973. She received a BA in English from Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, in 1969, an MDiv from Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1973, and took part in graduate studies in liturgics and church architecture at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, in 1986 and research in liturgical and architectural history in Europe, England, and North Africa.
In 1969, Pr. Stauffer served as a legislative assistant to Congressman John B. Anderson. She was pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, from 1973 to 1978. From 1978 to 1987, she served as Worship Editor and Consultant for the Lutheran Church in America, and Specialist for Worship and Architecture for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) from 1988 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992, she served as Interim Coordinator for Worship for the ELCA, and in 1992 she became Study Secretary for Worship and Congregational Life, Department for Theology and Studies, Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, Switzerland; she held the position until 1996. In 1996, she returned again to Chicago on disability retirement.
Widely published, Pr. Stauffer was the North American correspondent for Studia Liturgica from 1988 to 1992, and wrote and edited numerous articles and chapters and over ten books, including Worship Wordbook (with Ralph R. Van Loon; Augsburg Fortress), Altar Guild and Sacristy Manual (Augsburg Fortress), Baptismal Fonts, Ancient and Modern (Grove), and the volumes of the Lutheran World Federation Worship and Culture study series. She was the prinicpal author of the widely quoted "Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture."
She was long a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, becoming inactive only when her illness forced her to do so.
She will be remembered as a careful scholar of baptismal history, as an articulate advocate of responsible liturgical inculturation, and as a faithful friend.
Gifts in memory of Pr. Stauffer may be made to the Parish Nurse Program or the Music Program at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, Illinois or to the Colitis Foundation.
By the mercy of God, may she rest in peace.
(Memorial provided by Gordon W. Lathrop.)