Religious ecumenism from A to Z

By Kristin Donnan Standard | Friday, September 28, 2007

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When religious leaders support one another in their endeavors, they set an example for the rest of us. This is what happened when Synagogue of the Hills chairman Stanford Adelstein was asked to participate in the installation of David Zellmer as the new bishop of the South Dakota synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

It’s not every day that an ancient Jewish instrument is sounded in a Christian church, but that is what Adelstein brought to the Sioux Falls ceremony. The shofar, made from a ram’s horn, is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments as an instrument to be sounded on special occasions. The shofar is played like a brass instrument, except it has no keys or finger holes. Adelstein, a former professional French horn player, produces a variety of sounds through slight changes in lip position and air pressure.

In honor of his long-time friend’s new job, Adelstein sounded a traditional call, and then “let the sound go where it would; I let the message go,” he said.

In talking with Adelstein, it is clear that he feels strongly about his relationship with the instrument and its message. Adelstein says in Jerusalem, one used to hear the shofar played at sundown, to announce the advent of the Sabbath. “The whole city would become quiet,” he said. “But that was in times of peace.”

Adelstein also feels strongly about his relationship with Zellmer. The two became friends when Zellmer joined Adelstein at the annual lighting of the Jewish menorah candles at the Capitol in Pierre, to celebrate Hanukkah. When the two men met, Zellmer was the senior pastor at the nearby Lutheran Memorial Church.

Since then, they have served together on the board of Lutheran Social Services (LSS), at Zellmer’s suggestion. “LSS comes out of the Scandinavian Lutheran tradition of taking care of people,” Adelstein explains. Its significant budget of $19 million is spent independently and in collaboration with the state for a variety of family and individual programs.

Adelstein, a former South Dakota legislator and successful businessman, has been a subject of discussion and debate for years. His record of social, arts-related and entrepreneurial support is well established; his record of strong and sometimes controversial political stands is a matter of record.

But those who know Adelstein best talk about his endless supply of heart in the projects he undertakes. His enthusiastic participation in LSS illustrates this commitment. When Adelstein was appointed to the LSS board, he was not only the first non-Lutheran, but also the first non-Christian to join.

Adelstein’s description of LSS’s governing body brings to mind the polite Scandinavians of Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” Consider tossing in a Jewish politician, a Catholic lawyer (Brian Hagg) and some “other Protestants,” and the conversation has become…well, livelier. Even confrontational at times.

The LSS board and Zellmer’s installation are examples of our area’s participation in vital, meaningful, open conversation. And whether the conversation is political, social, or spiritual, Adelstein will be there.

Kristin Donnan Standard lives and works in Hill City. Write to rcj@kdstandard.com.