Paul D Steinke

The Rev. Steinke was ordained as a minister by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in 1961. He worked for more than 50 years as Certified Educator (Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor) in the nationally accredited organization, ACPE (Association for Clinical Pastoral Education). His creative educational style influenced thousands of students in their pastoral formation and development.

He trained in CPE at Norwich State Hospital in Connecticut with The Rev. Clarence Brunniga, as well as at Philadelphia State Hospital.

Before he retired in 2016, he was the Director of Chaplaincy and Clinical Pastoral Education at both NYC Health and Hospital/BellevueCenter and NYU-Langone Medical Center. He was featured in a 2005 New York Times story about Bellevue’s training program for intern chaplains of all faiths. The story noted that his “bottom line” advice for chaplains in training was: Don’t be "sunshine boys" who only recite platitudes and “positive talk.” “You have to give people an opportunity to talk about their suffering," he said.

He was also a certified Marriage and Family therapist in Virginia, where he taught and counseled and helped create aftercare programs at Mental Health Services of the Roanoke Valley. One of the innovative programs he started in the Roanoke Valley offered training to hair stylists on how to talk with elderly clients about their lives and struggles.

Paul was born in Glen Cove, N.Y. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University in religion and ancient languages and a master’s degree in literature from Wesleyan University.

As a young minister in the 1960s, he was active in the civil rights and peace movements. In the 1970s and beyond, he spoke out against the mistreatment of people with mental illnesses, including the injustice of imprisonment of people with severe mental illness because of the lack of psychiatric facilities. In the 1980s, he was active in support groups in New York City for people with AIDS through the pioneering organization Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

Paul loved to draw and was a published poet. He helped establish a journal, Artemis, that publishes the work of poets and artists in Virginia's Blue Ridge region and beyond. The journal emerged out of writing workshops for survivors of domestic violence.

He wrote articles for the Journal of Pastoral Care and, in his later years, wrote a book about his experiences as a minister and chaplain. The book uses poetry, song lyrics and the Lament Psalms to explore how to minister to people who are sick and dying.

He was an avid bluegrass music fan and began taking fiddle lessons in his late 70s. He also loved the outdoors and kayaked well into his 80s.

Along with his wife Ann Williams, he is survived by his three children and five grandchildren: Darcey, her husband Mike and her daughter Abbie Jones; David, his wife Lauren and their two children Bayla and Jacob; and Jonathan, his wife Nicole and their two children Theo and Zach.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the San Francisco Night Ministry Rev. Paul D. Steinke CPE Fund at sfnightministry.org/steinke_cpe_fund/

in support of the street ministry serving the homeless and disenfranchised in San Francisco.

There will be a private burial with a Memorial Service later this spring. Please check [[URL TK]] for final details of the Memorial Service.