Jim Lokken, former Assistant Pastor of St. Francis and a founding member of Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA), counselor and mentor, inveterate story teller, music lover, and patient advocate for full-inclusion, died on Friday, Sept 22, 2006 of a heart attack at age 73.
His pastoral roots go back to the old Evangelical Lutheran Church. Jim graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, and then Luther Seminary in St. Paul and was ordained in 1959.
After serving parishes in Minnesota and South Dakota, Jim went to New York City to serve as Assistant Editor of Lutheran Forum magazine. He continued his editing and writing ministry as part of the editorial staff of The Liturgical Conference, Wash-ington, D.C., 1968-1972; in the Information Department, American Bible Society, New York, 1973-1975; as Editor of The Lutheran New Yorker, 1975-1976; and as Production Director for The Liturgical Conference, Washington, D.C. in 1976-1978. In 1974, he responded to an invitation from the Rev. Jim Siefkes to gather in Minneapolis with a handful of other gay and lesbian Lutherans. At that meeting Jim became one of the founding members of Lutherans Concerned. He wrote and edited "Now The Silence Breaks," a study book and materials published by the National Lutheran Campus Ministry in 1980; the book was the first appearance of a gay positive message in a publication sponsored by national Lutheran church bodies.
Late in the 1970s, Jim moved to California, joining St. Francis when John Rollefson was pastor. In 1982, when James DeLange was pastor, Jim Lokken was called as an assistant pastor, a position he held until his retirement in 1996. After his retirement, Jim continued to be active especially in music-related ministries, with special attention to the church organ. He was a member of the choir for many years, and was one of the driving forces in this year's campaign to establish a plan for and raise money to refurbish the 50-year-old instrument.