Rev. Herluf Jensen, Lutheran leader

The Rev. Herluf Jensen, 87, of Moorestown, former president and bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and an advocate for urban ministries and female clergy, died of cancer and congestive heart failure Thursday, Oct. 14, at his home.

Pastor Jensen followed an uncommon route to become president and bishop of the New Jersey Synod, but he had great success in his 13-year tenure.

His work "was very important in the life of Lutherans in New Jersey," said Ingrid Wengert, pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Moorestown.

After graduating with a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1964, Pastor Jensen worked as a secretary for the intergroup-relations department of the Board of Social Ministry in the Lutheran Church of America. In that post, he participated in civil-rights marches and organized emergency distributions of food and clothing to the poor in Newark, N.J., and Detroit.

It wasn't until 1968 that he was ordained and named pastor of 750-member St. Matthew in Moorestown. One of his major goals, he said at the time, was to encourage a predominantly white community to help foster a multiracial society.

He led a building campaign that resulted in the dedication of a new sanctuary in 1972, and church membership and programming grew during his 10 years there.

In 1978, he was elected president of the New Jersey Synod. His legacy included ordinations of women and urban ministry, particularly in Camden and Newark, Wengert said.

Pastor Jensen helped shape the Camden Lutheran Parish and diversified the congregation to reflect the makeup of the impoverished city.

"It's been a great delight and a challenge to be involved," Pastor Jensen said at the parish's 15th anniversary in 1988. "If there's anywhere the church ought to be doing work, it's here."

After his retirement in 1991, Pastor Jensen continued to do ministry in Camden, including at the New Visions Homeless Day Shelter.

In the last several years, he filled in as interim pastor at area churches.

He was born in Cordova, Neb., but was raised mostly in Iowa. His father, the Rev. Alfred Jensen, was president of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church for 25 years.

After graduating from high school, Pastor Jensen served in the Army in Europe during World War II and was awarded a Purple Heart.

In 1946, he started studying at Grand View Junior College in Des Moines, Iowa, where he met Dorthea Lund. The couple married in 1948.

Pastor Jensen received a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University in 1949 and a master's degree in English literature from the University of Minnesota in 1951.

For 15 years, he worked for the National Council of Churches, coordinating evangelistic programs for college religious groups.

In addition to his wife, Pastor Jensen is survived by sons Lance and Peter; daughters Tezanne Zeringo, Cynthia, and Roslind Ossi; two sisters, and eight grandchildren.

A viewing will be held from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 318 Chester Ave., where a funeral will follow. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 18, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery, 910 Marne Highway, Hainesport.