MADISON AVENUE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
921 Madison Avenue
(at East 73rd Street)
New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212- 288-8920
Fax: 212-249-1466
(at East 73rd Street)
New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212- 288-8920
Fax: 212-249-1466
Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (MAPC) is proud to establish the Global Ministry Fellowship, an opportunity for outstanding seminary graduates to begin their pastoral ministry with an immersion experience in the dynamic context of the church in the “Global South.” Through a $1 million endowment established by The 921 Fund, the church’s capital funds campaign, a Global Ministry Fellow will be chosen each year from a slate of nominees given to us from seminaries and divinity schools across the country. To be eligible, a nominee must be a Candidate for ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and must be on track to be certified ready to receive a call by summer 2008.
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We extend hearty congratulations to Robert Louer (“Bob”),
who has been chosen as MAPC’s second Global Ministry Fellow after a nationwide
selection process. Bob will graduate in May from Princeton Theological Seminary
with an M. Div. degree, and is a Candidate for the Ministry of the Word and
Sacrament under care of the Presbytery of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Starting on
June 1, Bob will join MAPC’s pastoral staff for three months before going off
to work at the Theological Education by Extension Zambia (TEEZ) Program in Kitwe, Zambia, following MAPC’s first Global Ministry Fellow, Carmen Goetschius.
Bob grew up in Clifton, New Jersey, and after graduating from the US Merchant Marine Academy and later earning an MBA, had a successful 20-year career in the pharmaceutical industry. Bob ultimately answered a call to ministry, which had been growing in him for years. His pull to international ministry was perhaps portended at age 19 when, as a midshipman in the merchant marine, he traveled to Brazil and South Africa and saw extreme poverty firsthand. Later, church and seminary mission trips provided opportunities for Bob to observe a ministry to “untouchables” in India and to serve in Louisiana after the hurricanes.
Since 1996 Bob has been an active member of the Presbyterian Church at New Providence, in New Jersey. There he was a member of the mission committee, helped provide hospitality to homeless guests housed at the church, participated in and led Christian education programs, and ushered. Bob gained practical experience in preparation for ordination as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament while serving as a seminary intern at the Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church in New Hope, PA.
While at Thompson Memorial he focused on adult education. Bob also served as a chaplain intern at the St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, PA, where he ministered to hospitalized patients, their family and friends, and the hospital staff.
Bob has written: “The global church has been blessed with the strength of an awesome diversity of peoples from tribes and nations the world over. We are all ministers called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both word and deed. The global church fulfills its mission by reaching out and extending a helping hand in a myriad of creative ways to sisters and brothers, believers and non-believers, friends and enemies who are suffering from injustice, oppression, marginalization, material, emotional, or spiritual need. The church in the Global South can teach the church of the Global North much about loving God and neighbor.”
Bob is an avid reader of non-fiction, and loves music of all kinds (he played sax in high school and college). In his spare time he enjoys running, an occasional game of hoops or round of golf, and watching team sports. During frequent family get-togethers he can’t resist “horsing around” with his nine nieces and nephews.
We look forward to welcoming Bob into the MAPC community!
The Rev. J.C. Austin, Associate Pastor at MAPC, is the contact person for this program. He will be happy to answer any questions about the Global Ministry Fellowship and can be reached by phone at 212-288-8920 x242, or by e-mail at jca@mapc.com.
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