August 14, 2008
by Frank Imhoff

Valparaiso (Ind.) University appointed the Rev. Darlene E. Grega, Trinity Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio, to serve as an associate pastor of its Chapel of the Resurrection beginning Aug. 23. She joins the Rev. Joseph R. Cunningham, university pastor and dean of the Chapel, and the Rev. James A. Wetzstein, university associate pastor and associate dean of the Chapel. Cunningham and Wetzstein are pastors of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Grega, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is the first non-LCMS pastor on the Chapel staff. Valparaiso University is an independent Lutheran institution.

Grega, 53, was born in Cleveland and graduated from Valparaiso University and the Lutheran Deaconess Program housed on campus. She earned a master of arts degree in theology from Duke University, Durham, N.C.; a master of arts degree in counseling from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks; and a master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Grega brings 25 years of experience in higher education to Valparaiso. She was director of international students at St. Cloud (Minn.) State University and director of the international center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. She also has nine years of experience in campus ministry at colleges and universities in North Carolina, Minnesota and Texas.

"We are delighted that Rev. Grega has accepted the call to join the ministry team at the Chapel of the Resurrection," Cunningham said in a Valparaiso news release. "The ministry of the chapel benefits from the presence of a pastor from the ELCA. There are many areas of campus ministry where Pastor Wetzstein and I are looking forward to cooperating with Pastor Grega within the guidelines of our respective church bodies." Cunningham said Grega will play a significant role in residential ministry and will be encouraged to develop new initiatives for international students at the university while collaborating with chapel staff associated with the LCMS in meeting the spiritual needs of the university community.

ELCA News Service