Paul William Frederick Harms

A Celebration of Life for Rev. Dr. Paul W. F. Harms will take place Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 2:00 pm at Trinity Lutheran Seminary located at 2199 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209 with a reception following.

The Reverend Doctor Paul William Frederick Harms passed away on August 15, 2016, in Santa Rosa, California, where he had lived since August 2013. He was the second child and son born to his missionary parents, John and Eva Harms, on December 24, 1923, in Ambur, India. At the age of 4, he, with his parents and older brother and younger sister, returned to the United States and moved to Nebraska. Paul's growing up years were spent in a number of rural Nebraska towns where his father was a Lutheran pastor, and when it came time for high school, he was sent to St. John's, in Winfield, KS, a Lutheran co-educational boarding school. He attended there from high school through the first two years of college. From there he went to Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis, MO, and graduated with a Master's of Divinity in 1948. Upon graduation he received a call to Grace Lutheran Church in Ashland, OR, as its first in-residence pastor. The person who literally handed him his call was the woman who became his wife for 56-1/2 years, Phyllis R. Mahnke. After spending his first year in Ashland as a bachelor, he and Phyllis married on June 24, 1950, in Milwaukee, WI. After spending a few years in Ashland and welcoming into their lives their first born, Steven, Paul received a call to teach at Concordia Junior College (now Concordia University), in Portland, OR. During his years there, he and Phyllis welcomed Rae and Claudia, their only daughters, into the family. Paul then received a call to Fort Wayne, IN, to help in the establishment of a new teaching concept for developing future pastors. The school was delayed from its original opening date due to construction, so Paul attended Northwestern University and received his MA in Communications.

The call to Fort Wayne was a seminal one, and the "Swiss Village" design by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, called "Concordia Senior College" filled Paul's life from 1956-1976, when the school was closed. During those years, Nathan (the first child born to anyone on staff at CSC), Caleb and Seth were welcomed into the family. Paul was a Counselor for Dorms A-D which were nicknamed "Harms' Zoo" partly due to the number of Harms children and because it was a wonderfully raucous environment. When Paul took a different staff position, in addition to the English and Speech he was teaching, the nickname of these dorms became "The Zoo" and many may never have known why it was called by that moniker. He loved counseling "the students" as his children would call them, and many confidences were shared with him that go with him to the grave. Listening was always considered one of his greatest strengths.

Paul took up directing many drama productions during his years at CSC, along with a Chancel Drama group known as "The Cross and Crown Players". This troupe would travel to churches and present a drama in lieu of the sermon. "Cry Dawn in Dark Babylon", and "Christ in the Concrete City" were two of the most frequently performed pieces which required no church to change their chancel area; the troupe adapted to what was available. This tradition was carried on for a time by a troupe of players at Valparaiso University (Indiana) under the direction of John Paul, a classmate of oldest son, Steve. Since there were no female students for many of the years of CSC, wives and children of the professors would frequently be "drafted" into a production that required a female rather than cast them in the Shakespearean tradition of males dressed as females. The exception was the Faculty Follies, frequently written by Paul, for the delight of the student body that could enjoy an evening of fun and farce at the faculty's expense. A favorite activity at CSC was that on any Friday evening that did not have some other event scheduled, Paul would bring in major movies to the Auditorium, e.g., To Kill a Mockingbird, The Red Shoes, Little Big Man, the Marx Brothers, Bridge Over the River Kwai, and High Noon (which he showed at noon!), along with musical ensembles. Since the student population changed every two years, Paul would occasionally ask his children which movie they might want to see as it would be new to everyone else, and so they got to pick a favorite from time to time.

To further his education, Paul attended Northwestern University again, and received his Ph.D. in Communication in 1973 with a study of C. S. Lewis, one of his favorite authors. To add some icing to his education cake, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Valparaiso University, the alma mater of Phyllis, in September 1995.

After 20 glorious years in Ft Wayne, Paul received a call to a Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH, which started its life as the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary before it merged with Hamma Divinity School in 1978. While there, Paul was the Professor of Homiletics, Dean of Community Life, Director of Drama, and Professor Emeritus of Homiletics, after he retired in 1994. He also was the Visiting Professor for Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, CA, in the fall of 1990. He challenged all his homiletics students to do their best, and even when they had a "not one of their best sermons", he would always find something positive to say about it.

He was a prolific writer, being asked to submit articles to any number of publications too numerous to mention here. He was commissioned to write plays for a number of events, including the opening service of the convening of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In addition, he wrote a number of books or was included in a book of compilations on any number of theological and drama-related topics. The books he wrote were Seek Good and Not Evil (That You May Live), Spirit of Power, Power of the Pulpit, and Presenting the Lessons: A Guide for Lectors. Most of these books and compilations can even be found on Amazon!

He was an invited lecturer and speaker around the world over his entire career from youth gatherings to gatherings of theologians. He went to London, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Germany, along with many locations within the United States. When possible, Phyllis would join him on these trips. A favorite event occurred in 1965 when Paul, Phyllis and 5 children made a 7,000 mile round trip to the West Coast pulling a used travel trailer behind their Ford Country Squire sedan. Of particular note was the Walther League Convention entitled "Let My People Go" being held in Squaw Valley, CA. It used the 1960 Winter Olympics buildings for the gathering, and Pete Seeger was one of the entertainers. Pete requested to give a "children only" concert, and from the youngest to the teenagers in attendance, we were serenaded by one of the premier folk singers of our time.

He was a prolific reader and instilled a love of books to most of his children. One could say that buying books was his own form of addiction! His extensive library has been donated to Concordia University St. Paul, MN.

Paul was in high demand as a preacher, lecturer, and drama educator throughout most of his life. It is hard to know how much his influence was felt throughout the Lutheran church and other organizations.

A few weeks before his death, he was shown a compilation of home movies from the early 1950s through approximately mid-1970s. Though there was little emotion during the viewing, at the end he said, "That was a lot of memories!"

The best descriptors of Paul are that he was a lover of theatre, a wonderful preacher, a never quiet man, the one who stood up to Jack Preus, the father of six children, the husband and partner of Phyllis.

Paul is survived by 6 children: Steven (Bev), Rae (Dave) Neunaber, Claudia (Bill) Theis, Nathan (Kathy), Caleb, and Seth (Thea); 14 Grandchildren: Tom, Laura, AnnaMarie, Elias, Isaac, Jesse, Elspeth, Tristan, Aaron, Allison, Amani, Gabe, Bryce, and Jackson; and 5 Great-Grandchildren: Shaughn, Evan, Madeline, Alex and Max-with a 6th Great-Grandchild on the way!

A graveside service will be held on Monday, August 22, at 2:30 in the Chapel at Forest Lawn Cemetery, 5600 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43213. A viewing will be held at the chapel from 1:30-2:30, and interment will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Bread for the World. It was an especial favorite charity of Paul's, and he would be happy to know more people are being fed, not only with the spiritual bread, but also physical bread.