Rev. Dr. Herbert Brokering

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The Rev. Dr. Herbert Brokering, celebrated author, poet, and hymn writer, Lutheran pastor, teacher, pilgrimage leader, inspirational speaker, child of God, died peacefully in his Bloomington, MN, home on November 7, 2009. He was 83. Herb was born to the Rev. Heinrich and Clara (Utz) Brokering in Beatrice, NE, on May 21, 1926. He grew up in rural German-Lutheran parsonages in southeast Nebraska, where his father, a German immigrant, was a pastor. After graduating from Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, and earning his Master of Arts in child psychology from the University of Iowa, he went on to receive his divinity degree in 1950 from the Evangelical Lutheran (now Trinity Lutheran) Theological Seminary, Columbus, OH. Between 1950 and 1960 he was the pastor at three parishes, in Pittsburgh, Long Island, and San Antonio. He moved his family to Bloomington, MN, in 1960, when he became the Director of Confirmation at the national office of the American Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. During that time, he began his prolific writing career, which yielded more than 40 books and numerous popular hymns that can be found today in many Protestant hymnals. Among the best-known are "Earth and All Stars" and "Thine the Amen." He worked with numerous composers over the years, including jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who collaborated with him on the oratorio "Beloved Son," recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2003. Throughout his career Herb crisscrossed the continent, giving talks and workshops in church communities and hosting many religious events, including Renaissance- Reformation festivals with scholar Roland Bainton. From the early 1980s until very recently, he led church groups on pilgrimages to Luther's Germany and other countries in eastern Europe. In the midst of the Cold War, Herb was able to sidestep political hurdles so that his pilgrims could meet, worship with, and stay in the homes of Christians behind the Iron Curtain. Herb taught for many years at Luther Seminary in St. Paul and Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, where he had a profound influence on a generation of pastors. Herb was also a member of the Holden Village faculty in Washington, taught Navy and Air Force chaplains, and served as a staff associate at Wheat Ridge Ministries. Over the past decade, Herb received honorary doctorates from four Lutheran higher-education institutions: Concordia University Texas, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Wartburg College, and St. Olaf College. In 2004 the Luther Institute in Washington, DC, gave him its Wittenberg Award for outstanding contributions to church and society. Herb is survived by his four children and five grandchildren: Mark Brokering (wife Amy), Beth Brokering, Jon Brokering (wife Aya, children Evelyn and Francis), and Chris Brokering (wife Tracy, children Zoe, Lola, and Nathan). He is also survived by siblings Louisa Brokering, Harold Brokering, and Gertrude (Brokering) Kinzer. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 54 years, Lois Redelfs Brokering, his older brother, Paul Brokering, and his stillborn grandson, Henry Frederick Brokering, who was the inspiration for his book "To Henry in Heaven". A memorial service to celebrate Herb's life will be held at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis on November 21 at 2 P.M. Just before he passed away, Herb established a fund to promote the healing arts at Wartburg College. He asked that memorial gifts be given to this fund: The Brokering Healing Arts Endowment Fund, Wartburg College, 100 Wartburg Blvd., Waverly, IA 50677. Please visit caringbridge.org/visit/…

Published on November 15, 2009