Mark Edwards

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Reformation and Martin Luther will be the focus of two Wittenberg Series events, Oct. 25 and 31.

The seventh annual Kenneth H. Sauer Luther Symposium will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, in Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center, on the Wittenberg University campus.

The symposium will include an address, "Lutherans and Jews: Then and Now," by Mark U. Edwards, historian of Christian and Lutheran history.

Edwards has taught at Wellesley College and Purdue University and served as president of St. Olaf College from 1994-2000. He has written four books and numerous articles on Martin Luther and the German Reformation, as well as articles on Christianity and higher education. In addition to his historical and environmental interests, Edwards has taught introductory courses in computer science and has developed three commercial software programs. He is currently associate dean for academic affairs and special programs at Harvard Divinity School.

The Kenneth H. Sauer Symposium was endowed in his honor when he retired in 1996 as Bishop of the Southern Ohio Synod, ELCA. A 1952 graduate of Wittenberg and a graduate of the Hamma School of Theology, Sauer has served as director of the Institute for Mission in the United States at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus since 1996.

The annual Festival Choral Eucharist for Reformation will be held at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, in Weaver Chapel. Special music by university music ensembles will begin at 7:30 p.m. Preaching will be the Rev. Marcus Lohrmann, bishop of the Northwestern Ohio Synod.

Wittenberg University sponsors the Wittenberg Series, which is made possible by contributions to the college's general fund, income from endowed lecture funds, student fees, co-sponsors and foundations. For more information about the Series, visit www.wittenberg.edu or call Gwendolyn Scheffel, coordinator, (937) 327-7918.