Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, the son of Ruth Schiefelbein of Starbuck, started this fall as the Grace Professor of Leadership and Director of Contextual Education at Lutheran Theological Seminary Saskatoon. “I am honored to be appointed the first professor of leadership at LTS. Theological education has been at a crossroads for over a generation. LTS has committed to living into this challenge through creative thinking, devoted leadership, and strong faculty members to enact God’s reign of justice and peace both inside and outside the classroom. I am excited to be part of this community of scholars and practitioners to forming leaders for the 21st-century church.”

Originally from the farmlands of west-central Minnesota, Kyle grew up in a Lutheran family that regularly attended worship and community activities. His early mentor in the faith was his maternal grandmother, who participated in weekly Bible studies, made quilts and soap for the overseas missionaries, and fried donuts for the annual harvest festival. “As I reflect on my own faith journey, Grandma Nora served as one of my early mentors. In simple ways, she integrated her personal faith with her everyday practice, never in an in-your-face way but through her compassion. Of course, that doesn’t mean she wasn’t also feisty on occasion.”

Kyle pursued his work in liturgical studies and systematic theology, while also serving as a teaching assistant at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS), where he would later teach. He also became connected with St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco, where he coordinated faith formation and worship ministries and served as congregational vice president.

The fall of 2019 brought Kyle to United Lutheran Seminary (ULS) to serve as the Steck-Miller Assistant Professor of Worship and Liturgy and later Co-Director of Worship Life. Kyle served as faculty secretary and as faculty representative on the Strategic Planning taskforce, in addition to serving as project director on the first phase of the Lilly Pathways for Tomorrow grant.

During his time at ULS, Kyle expanded his research to include digital theology, which became even more important during the pandemic. He was sought after by congregational leaders who were dealing theologically and practically with online worship. He brought his critical reflections and those of his colleagues together in the book “Church After the Corona Pandemic: Consequences for Worship and Theology,” published recently by Springer.

Kyle also experienced a renewal of his call to ordained ministry, so he resumed the candidacy process in the ELCA and started a detached internship at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Philadelphia. He recently concluded his time as their “bridge pastor.” 

Kyle officially began his work at LTS on July 1. “I am excited to join the LTS community, one that is committed to being an inclusive and hospitable community, learning from and welcoming one another’s diversity, and one that is serious about formation through contextual learning done with integrity.”

By the grace of God and the call of the church Kyle K. Schiefelbein-Guerrero will be ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The ordination will take place on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, 3 p.m. PST at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco, Calif. A livestream of the ordination can be found online at https://smlc.live/kylelivestream. This livestream link will be recorded and can be viewed after the enter. Kyle has been called to serve in his current professorship at Lutheran Theological Seminary Saskatoon.

This information was taken from the LTS Summer 2023 newsletter. More information on Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero can be found in that newsletter online at https://lutherantheological.ca/all-files/5-newsletter/12-2022-2023?download=219:newsletter-summer-2023 (pp. 4-6).