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Reverend Doctor Walter H. Wagner November 21, 1935 - January 17, 2025

Reverend Doctor Walter H. Wagner, 89, formerly of Bethlehem, passed away Friday, January 17th, 2025, in Olathe, CO. He was the husband of the late Rev. Deborah M. (Kus) Wagner. Walter was born in Frankfurt-on-the-River Main, West Germany, a son of the late Ludwig A. and Karolina W. (Hain) Wagner and was raised in Queens, NY. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Gettysburg College where he graduated cum laude, his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Master of Arts from Princeton Theological Seminary where he graduated summa cum laude and his Doctor of Philosophy from Drew University.

Reverend Wagner was ordained in 1960 by the United Lutheran Church of America. Walter served as full time pastorate to Calvary Lutheran Church, Cranford, NJ, Newark Lutheran Mission, Newark, NJ, Epiphany Lutheran Church, Warren, NJ and retired from Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown in 2001. He served as interim pastor to Morgenland Lutheran Church, Orefield, Saint Joseph Lutheran Church, Allentown, New Life Lutheran Church, New Tripoli and various congregations in New Jersey. Rev. Wagner served as an assisting pastorate to the First Korean United Methodist Church, Cherry Hill, NJ and as director of Theological Education for the Lutheran Church in America.

He served on the faculty at California Lutheran College, Thousand Oaks, CA, Upsala College, East Orange, NJ, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, University of Saint Francis Health Arts Extension, Joliet, IL, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, PA and, most recently, the Respect Graduate School in Bethlehem, PA. Walter was a member of the Christian Ecumenical Relations with Jewish Communities on the national, regional and local level. He was involved in establishing the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College. Walter served as the president of the American Association of University Professors, NJ. He served as president and as a board member for the Lutheran Historical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania and Haven House Mental Health Facility, Allentown, PA. Walter served as vice president and as a board member for the Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA. He was a board member for the Ecumenical Committee for Continuing Education at Moravian Theological Seminary, the Ethics Institute, Allentown, PA, Lehigh County Conference of Churches, Allentown, PA, New Jersey Council of Churches and the Moravian Music Foundation. Walter was the co-founder of the Ecumenical Studies Institute of Seton Hall University and Upsala College. He was the co-founder and coordinator of the New York Area Patristics Seminar. Walter served as the Ecumenical Relations Chair and on the Professional Leadership Committee for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA Ecumenical Relations Committee. He was an instructor for the Institute for Learning in Retirement and the Lay Academy of Moravian Theological Seminary.

Walter was the recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Paul Empie Fellow for Promoting Ethical Values on Campus, the Minority Student Award to Faculty for Services to Students, and the Muhlenberg College Wallenberg Tribute Award in 2012. He also published articles in academic periodicals, reports on theological education and authored the books “Apostles: Christianity in the Second Century”, “The Zinzendorf-Muhlenberg Encounter: A Controversy in Search of Understanding”, “Opening the Qur’an: Introducing Islam’s Holy Book”, and “Beginnings and Endings: Fethullah Gulen’s Vision for Today’s World”.

Survivors: son, Nathan S. Wagner and daughter in law, Maria Ruby Wagner, of Montrose, CO.

Contributions:  The Respect Graduate School, 2200 Industrial Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18017, or Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18102

Services: A virtual memorial service will be held on Thursday 02/13 at 7 pm ET. Please use this link to register to attend: https://virtualmemorialgatherings.com/walter-wagner/

Arrangements by Stephens Funeral Home, Inc., Allentown.

 

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