The Rev. Harvard Stephens

Denomination: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Organization: Chapel at Carthage College, Kenosha, WI

The Rev. Dr. Harvard Stephens, Jr., is dean of the chapel at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. 

He became the first Dean of Siebert Chapel at Carthage on July 1, 2003. This title replaces the former designation, College Pastor, but continues to represent the high regard that Carthage has for the pastoral ministry within the academic community. Pastor Stephens is a third generation Lutheran pastor and is on the clergy roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Pastor Stephens came to Carthage after serving as Lutheran Campus Pastor at Howard University in Washington, DC. He has also served parishes in Baltimore, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; and Prince George's County, Maryland. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He preached at Carthage's baccalaureate service in 2001 and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. He also has earned a first degree black belt in tai chi chuan from the Dennis Brown Shaolin WuShu Academy in Silver Spring, Maryland.

He is a contributing author for What Can Happen When We Pray (Fortress Press, 2002), and he helped develop the "Young Men with a Future" program that won the National Service Award in 1993.

Pastor Stephens is active in many national and ecumenical ministries of the ELCA. He is one of the authors of The Lutheran Course on Marriage, a multimedia resource published by Augsburg Fortress. He is also a featured speaker in several editions of "Mosaic", the ELCA's video magazine. As a pastor in Columbus, Ohio, he helped develop pioneering ministries for youth and was honored by the State of Ohio and the National Council of Churches for leadership in the Young Men With A Future program. While serving in St. Thomas, he produced and broadcast public service announcements that addressed the spiritual needs of Virgin Islanders who faced a difficult season of recovery and rebuilding after Hurricane Marilyn in 1995.

Pastor Stephens has preached all over the United States and has been featured several times on the national radio program, The Protestant Hour. He believes in the liberating power of preaching, but he also teaches that the best sermons are proclaimed without words, outside of pulpits, written on the hearts of people who embody and share the grace of God through living with wisdom, justice, and compassion. He wants to encourage all students to believe: "this is no time to live an uninspired life!"

Pastor Stephens and his wife, Linda, live in Kenosha. They are ready to respond to God's call and share the rich traditions of Carthage that make education happen with faith, courage, and imagination.