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The Rev. Eric C. Shafer is an ordained ELCA minister who serves as Senior Vice President for Philanthropy and Faith Community Relations for Odyssey Networks, a national interfaith religious media organization based in New York, N.Y.

Member of:

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Representative of:

Odyssey Networks

The Rev. Eric C. Shafer joined Odyssey Networks in January 2010 as the Senior Vice President, Philanthropy & Faith Community Relations at Odyssey Networks. Shafer's longtime passion for matters related to the intersection of faith and the media led to his involvement with Odyssey Networks early in its history and eventually to a position on the organization's Board of Trustees, representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 

Most recently, Shafer served as the Senior Pastor for Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. During his four years of leadership, the church experienced growth in both membership and giving, a result of his extensive experience in strategic planning and communications.

Prior to his pastorate at Trinity, Shafer was the Director for Communication for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at its churchwide offices in Chicago. In that position, he oversaw the ELCA communication ministry and was responsible for the return to television of the animated children's program Davey and Goliath, one of his many successful television productions.

Shafer is a member of the Muhlenberg College Board of Observers and serves as chair of the Wilbur Awards (Religion Communicators Council), which recognize excellence in communicating religious issues, values and themes in the public media. He has previously served as an advisor to the Lutheran World Federation Council, on the board of directors and executive committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCCCUSA), as vice chair of the board of the Good Shepherd Home and Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as chair of the NCCCUSA Communication Commission and on the Muhlenberg College Board of Trustees.

He is a graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, and Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Shafer has traveled extensively and taught in Madagascar and South Africa.

Latest Content by The Rev. Eric C. Shafer

How Open Is Our Table?

Luke 14:1,7-14

Proper 17 (22) - Year C

August 29, 2010

The Rev. Eric Shafer (ELCA)

One of my all-time favorite films is called "Places in the Heart."  You may not remember this 1984 film, but you may remember a well-known incident associated with it. 

In 1985, "Places in the Heart" star Sally Field won her second Academy Award for her role in this film.  In her now-famous acceptance speech for her Oscar, Field said, "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"  This line, of course, has been slightly misquoted as it has become well known as "You like me, you really like me!"

Read full transcript...