The Rev. Miriam Gross will speak on living the Lutheran identity Thursday, Nov. 9, for the 2017 Kleinfeld Lecture at Wartburg College.

The free event begins at 4:45 p.m. in McCaskey Lyceum in Saemann Student Center. Gross is pastor of the German Lutheran Church of St. Paul´s in New York City, which is officially affiliated with the Evangelical Churches of Germany (EKD), the top organization of all protestant churches in Germany.

In her lecture, “A Means of Hope and Grace: Living Lutheran Identity in the Public Square,” Gross will help participants understand the enduring legacy of Lutheranism and its importance today as part of our 500th Reformation Celebration.

Throughout her life, Gross has been deeply connected to the Lutheran tradition and has had various opportunities to serve others, beginning as a lay pastor at the age of 18. Prior to her calling to New York City, she served as a senior pastor to a congregation in Munich.

“The 500th anniversary of the Reformation is a momentous event not only in the history of the western world, but above all in world history because it presents us with the opportunity to reflect on the significant changes the Reformation set in motion, changes that still shape the world in which we live today and tomorrow,” said Daniel Walther, Wartburg’s Gerald R. Kleinfeld Endowed Chair in German History. “Pastor Gross’ talk will give us an opportunity to explore and learn more about why it should and does matter to us today.”

The annual Kleinfeld Lecture in German History, Culture and Politics is part of an endowed series made possible by a contribution from the German Studies Association. Kleinfeld is the founder and former executive director of the German Studies Association and a professor emeritus of history at Arizona State University.