Herbert M. Zorn

1. 7/22/1922, Cleveland, OH USA

 

Spouse/Family

Wife: Dorothy (nee Lichtsinn), 1/7/1926 Hammond, IN USA m. 8/3/1947

Children: Rebecca Manthey (Stilwell) (1949); Paul Manthey (1951); Stephen

Manthey (1952)

 

Dates of Service Field Call Assignment

1947-72 India Station Missionary, Seminary Professor

1972-75 United Kingdom Research Coordinator

 

Biographical Summary

Herbert (Herb) Zorn grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.  His wife, Dorothy (nee Lichtsinn) Zorn, was born and raised in Hammond, Indiana.  Both trained at Concordia educational institutions.  Dorothy graduated from Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois, with a B.S. degree in Education in 1947.  Herb studied for two years at Concordia Junior College in Milwaukee before enrolling at Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis.   He graduated in 1947, with a B.D. degree (equivalent to the later M.Div.) from Concordia and an M.A. in Greek and Latin from Washington University.  Herb and Dorothy were married on August 3, 1947.  Herb had already received the call to foreign mission work in India, and it was only a few months until they boarded an unconverted troop ship in San Francisco, heading across the Pacific Ocean.

 

After this “honeymoon journey” spent apart (men and women traveled on different decks, and Dorothy traveled with 32 women while Herb was in “luxury quarters” with only 16 other men), the Zorns arrived in Madras (now Chennai), India, in December 1947.  Another 24-hour ride by train, and they were met in Trivandrum, Kerala State, by senior missionaries who were stationed in that area.  The Zorns spent a year studying the Malayalam language in Trivandrum and then were assigned to the village of Balaramapuram.  There Herb served as a station missionary, supervising and working with anywhere from seventeen to forty congregations which were led by catechists (lay leaders who had some training but not a full theological education).  The Zorns’ three children were born during this first term in India, and besides caring for them and the home, Dorothy had a “back-verandah dispensary” (a variation on the back-door dispensary) like so many missionaries at the time.  She bandaged wounds and distributed medicines for complaints such as scabies and pinkeye, and mothers would often bring sick children and ask for help.  Dorothy did what she could and also sought advice from the Zorns’ own doctor in order both to assist those who came and to get referrals for those who needed more care than she could give.  Once she had learned enough Malayalam, Dorothy also helped women who were teaching Sunday school with their lessons and materials and did some teaching of her own.

 

Upon return from furlough in 1956, Herb was assigned to Nilamel, another village in Kerala, as a station missionary.  In 1957 he was called to Nagercoil Seminary, the seminary of the mission (Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission – MELIM) and later of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC).  There he was assigned to teach students and to develop curricula for theological education.  Herb’s main subject was church history, but he taught whatever classes were necessary depending on who was on furlough at the time.  He also taught Christian doctrine in a program for teachers and laypeople administered by the seminary.

 

Soon after their move to Nagercoil, all three of the Zorns’ children were in boarding school at Kodaikanal in Tamilnadu.  Dorothy states that “sending the kids off to boarding beginning in first grade was the hardest part of mission work.”  Dorothy did live in Kodai with their children for several months when their youngest son Stephen first began school; at the time he was still a few months too young to live in boarding.  With her teaching training, she was also recruited to take on responsibilities at Kodai School.  She taught grades 1-3 for one year when Gertrude Heckel, the teacher, was on furlough.  Later she taught fourth grade while the school waited for a permanent teacher to come.  While in Nagercoil, Dorothy joined the women’s group at their church and taught music lessons to students at the seminary.

 

Herb taught at Nagercoil Seminary for sixteen years.  In 1972, the World Council of Churches recruited him as a research coordinator.  For this project he was “seconded” (in a sense, on loan) to the Theological Education Fund of the WCC, while the LCMS continued paying his salary and supporting him and Dorothy as missionaries.  The Zorns moved to London, and the project Herb directed was a study of the financial viability of theological schools throughout the third world.  Churches that sent missionaries from developed countries into developing countries found that once the numbers of missionaries were reduced and national churches had to begin supporting their own seminaries, a few churches were able to maintain these seminaries but many were not.  The study found that programs such as distance learning and Theological Education by Extension (TEE) were necessary and could be used for churches that could not feasibly educate all future pastors at seminaries.  This was a means of “bringing the seminary to the students rather than the students to the seminary,” although these programs also provided for students to study at seminaries for short periods of time in order to check their progress and to be with colleagues.

 

Once this project was finished in 1975, the Zorns returned to the United States.  From 1975-77, Herb was professor at Christ Seminary (Seminex), teaching curriculum courses from a mission perspective and with a focus on different cultural viewpoints and traditions.  After this, he became pastor at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, OR and remained there until he retired in 1987.  Dorothy taught English as a Second Language classes in St. Louis from 1975-77, and in Oregon she took a paid position teaching ESL classes to refugees from Southeast Asia. She also volunteered at a neighboring grade school as a teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages.  The Zorns moved to New Glarus, WI in 1997.  From 1998-2002 Herb taught church history in the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin’s Lay School of Theology.  In retirement, the Zorns continue to live in New Glarus; they remain active in the church and still serve the Lord whose Good News they shared for so many years overseas.

 

 

Nota Bene

Herb is author of several works:

• Book, Viability in Context, published by the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches in 1975.
• Booklet, Much Cause for Joy, published by MELIM in 1970 and sent to all LCMS pastors and teachers at the time.
• Several articles published in the theological journal of Nagercoil Seminary.
• Book, Christian Doctrine Based on the Small Catechism of Martin Luther, self-published; still used at Nagercoil Seminary and other venues in India and has been translated into Tamil and Malayalam.

 

Herb earned a Master of Theology degree from Concordia Seminary in1970; his thesis covered the first 25 years of the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission (MELIM).

Herb received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in 1971.

 

Phase 2 Information

 

Biggest missiological issue faced?

In all places the Zorns have been, they have found that a major question was the ecumenical challenge.  Since “in India you were so happy if you just found another Christian” to talk to, working together with other denominations was vitally important.  This felt need for ecumenism on the part of the missionaries often caused conflict with the mission board.  Missionaries essentially “did what they needed to do” for their work.  For example, much more could be accomplished in theological education if students had the option of attending other seminaries, especially for advanced studies.

 

Like many missionaries, the Zorns found that cultural differences were very significant and required their respect and attention.  There are many things an outsider simply cannot understand, although the missionaries learned to respect these differences, even if they did not understand them fully.

 

An issue that still exists for the IELC is how it can truly be a self-sustaining church.  It is hard to maintain a balance between receiving help from overseas mission boards on the one hand, and raising all the funds from local sources on the other.  That takes time and patience.

 

Most significant contribution during missionary service?

One of Herb’s most significant professional contributions was his part in the development of the curriculum for the Nagercoil Seminary and the IELC.  He was also blessed to contribute through his teaching, leading students to know what the Gospel was about and what it meant   When the Zorns left India in 1972, many people from the seminary community thanked Herb for his willingness to really listen to students and hear their concerns rather than believing he already had all the answers.  Herb himself recalls that willingness to listen was crucially important in some cases, such as that of a student who had come from a Muslim background.  He was shocked at the levity of some of his classmates regarding Christian doctrines.  To him, matters of doctrine were deadly serious because his becoming Christian was such a serious – and dangerous – thing for him to do, given his background.  He came to Herb with this problem, essentially needing someone to listen to him and understand his point of view so that he could continue successfully in his classes and with his colleagues.  Herb says that in all these experiences he “learned a great deal”: communication, and especially listening, were important to him personally.

 

Whether or not they were officially called as missionaries, Dorothy and the other wives on the mission field had and have a sense of ministry of their own.  They all provided care and education for their communities and witnessed to the Gospel in their lives and interaction with their neighbors.

 

Connection to today’s mission?

The Zorns themselves have contact with only a few people from their days in India.  Even though serious problems still exist, the IELC is a well-established church functioning mainly in South India.  The last full-time LCMS missionary in India retired in 2003. The IELC continues to operate Nagercoil Seminary and has a baptized membership of 50,000 people.

 

Lessons Learned

• Herb’s research with the World Council of Churches led him to an understanding of the great need for theological education, and the need for that education to be appropriate to the circumstances in which a church is ministering.  He came to believe that theological education should be ecumenical, in order to serve the most people and not to cut anyone off from learning.  In the United States, training for the ministry needs to focus not only on ordaining ministers but also on lay training and lay ministry.  Lay people’s contributions should be widely recognized.

 

• Herb found that listening was one of the best ways of ministering to God’s people and sharing the Gospel.  Simply listening to what another person had to say, especially in a culture different from his own, was a crucial part of his ministry.

 

• Dorothy notes that cultural awareness and openness to others and to new experiences are essential for mission work.  There are people in all places who need to hear the Gospel, and Christians are called to evangelism in every place and not only on a foreign mission field.

 

• There is a fine line between saying the Gospel is the same wherever it is preached and recognizing that missionaries must respect the culture from which the Gospel is preached, even if that culture is unfamiliar.

 

• Missionaries must be curious and not be afraid to ask for help when learning a new culture and language.

 

Best Practices

Learning a new culture is an ongoing process for all missionaries.  Missionaries can be effective when they have a cultural awareness and are willing to listen to and understand the people with whom they serve.  When a person has something to talk about, the most important thing is that he or she can walk away feeling that his or her thoughts and feelings have been heard and respected.  Open communication and sensitivity in communication always helped the Zorns in their ministry.

 

Phase 3 Information

 

Inspiration for entering foreign missions?

Dorothy’s father was a pastor, and she recalls the mission festivals her church hosted.  In grade school she wrote an essay about mission work that won her a prize to attend a Lutheran summer camp.  It was in college that she fully realized she was called to foreign mission work, and when she met Herb it became clear that she would end up in India.  Herb has “a lot of India” in his family background: his grandfather, Carl Manthey Zorn, was a missionary in India from about 1870-76 with the Leipzig Mission; two cousins were missionaries in India, Kurt Zorn from 1926-50 and Robert Zorn from 1929-1971 with MELIM.  He recalls growing up with a certain amount of hero-worship for his cousins and grandfather and keeping the idea of mission work in India in the back of his mind.  At the end of his first year of seminary he indicated that he was interested in mission work, and since “at that time everyone who was interested was grabbed up for a call to foreign missions,” the mission board called him to India as soon as he completed seminary studies.

 

Quotation by/about or brief story:

 

• The Zorns say that it’s difficult for missionaries to explain exactly what it’s like to live apart from family for so long a time.  In some sense they become closer to other missionary families than to their own parents and siblings.  Dorothy says that she can’t imagine what their life would be like and what they would be like if they had never gone to India.  It was an amazing broadening of life and perspective, and as difficult as it was to send their children away to boarding school and then back to the U.S. for college, the children also have been deeply influenced by their years in India.  It has been a positive influence in their children’s lives, and no family member has ever said that they wished they had not been in India those many years.

 

• Herb and Dorothy had an intense experience of faith in 1974, when a plane they were on from Beirut to London was hijacked in mid-flight.  The hijackers set up explosives all around the interior of the plane and demanded that it alter its course.  When Herb and Dorothy realized what was happening, they assumed they probably were not going to survive and could only be thankful that they were together and that this was happening at a time when their children were grown up and would settle into life without them.   The plane was running out of fuel and had to land in Amsterdam, probably not the hijackers’ choice.  Herb and Dorothy had thought they would end up in the Middle East and that their release would have to be negotiated.  Although that scenario did not take place, they still did not know whether the plane would explode as they landed.  They found that their initial absolute fear was replaced by faith, and as the event went on, they realized and remembered that whatever happened, they were in God’s hands.  Amazingly, the Zorns and the other passengers got off the plane safely.  God blessed them in keeping them safe, but also in granting the faith that allowed them to trust in God’s care no matter what happened.

 

• Herb: “You can preach the Gospel for years, but it’s often life experience that changes things.”  One incident during their time in India occurred while Herb was on his way home after conducting Sunday services.  Two men flagged him down and asked him to take someone to the hospital.  The man had fallen off a roof he had been working on and was unconscious.  Herb agreed to drive them to the hospital.  Along the way, the men requested that he pick up a man of some prestige, whose influence would help them get care for the injured man more quickly and without the need for bribery.  The injured man was examined but was already dead.  As the group left, the prestigious man asked for his address, and about a week later he received a letter addressed, “To the missionary who not only preaches the Gospel but does the Gospel.”  This was a surprising and gratifying salutation coming from a Hindu.  The Zorns found that such experiences were important gifts as they continued in the routine of missionary life.