Professor Emerita
Dr. Rhoda Schuler has been teaching full-time at Concordia University since fall 2008. In her previous life she served as executive director for a church-related non-profit that addressed problems of poverty and racism in north St. Louis County, Missouri. Her decade of work on the behalf of those on the margins of society along with her advanced theological training make her uniquely qualified to teach in the University Honors Program in litteris fideque (in faith and learning); from 2009 through 2018, she was the assistant director of the program and lead teacher for the spring Honors courses, which focused on service to the world and on “hearing the voices of the marginalized.” Dr. Schuler began to serve as a university supervisor for DCE and DCO interns in Concordia University’s church work programs during the 2013-2014 school academic school year, and in fall 2018, she was appointed as the Director of LCMS placement for CSP graduates in the DCE, DCO, and Lutheran classroom teachers.
Schuler’s research passions are liturgical theology and ritual studies, which she views as more than academic disciplines. Convinced that what people believe is more profoundly shaped by worship and ritual than by didactic exercises, her research interests have implications for the church. She has been a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy for over 20 years.
ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS
- Th.D., Historical Theology, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN (2002)
- M.A., Liturgical Studies, St. John’s University School of Theology, Collegeville, MN (1993)
- B.A., Theology major, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN (1977)
ACADEMIC FOCUS
Church history, liturgy and worship, interdisciplinary teaching (Lutheran theology and art) with Prof. Keith Williams, and the department’s introductory course, Biblical Heritage of Christianity.