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Published Sunday, April 26, 2009 in Local

Lenoir-Rhyne honors Troutman

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

Dr. Gerald S. Troutman, local pastor and civic leader, has been recognized by his alma mater, Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C.

Troutman, 75, was presented with the Clarence L. Pugh Distinguished Alumnus Award in ceremonies on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus on April 4. Margaret Allen, assistant director of marketing and communications at Lenoir-Rhye, said the award is presented annually to the alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated great prominence in his or her career field while adhering to the principles of education and Christian character upon which Lenoir-Rhyne was founded.

The award is the highest given by the LRU Alumni Association. "I was deeply honored," Troutman said.

Lenoir-Rhyne dates to 1891 and is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and.

Troutman is a 1956 graduate of the North Carolina School. He received his master of divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C. and a doctor of ministry degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

Troutman earned the clinical pastoral education certification from Georgia Baptist Medical Center of Atlanta.

Troutman grew up "in the mountains" in Boone, N.C., he said. "My Dad was a Lutheran pastor." Appalachian State University is located in Boone, and Troutman attended a laboratory school there.

He considered Appalachian State when he was looking at colleges, but chose Lenoir-Rhyne, in part because of its denominational affiliation.

Another factor was the football scholarship Lenoir-Rhyne offered him. Lenoir-Rhyne and Appalachian State were big football rivals. "We beat Appalachian two out of the four years," Troutman recalled with a smile.

Troutman had worked at a local funeral home and considered becoming a funeral director. He also thought about becoming a football coach but was told by friends he was "not mean enough" to spend his life coaching football.

The largest class ever from Lenoir-Rhyne was at that time moving on to Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. Troutman took an internship at a church Knoxville, Tenn. During that time, he became convinced that a career as a pastor was the right direction for him.

"It changed my life," Troutman said of his internship year.

While in Knoxville, he also met Coweta County native Marihope Shirey. "She was there at the University of Tennessee, working on her master's," Troutman said. They married and have three children and six grandchildren.

Troutman has received a variety of honors including the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary's Dr. J. Luther Mauney Leadership Award. He was listed in Who's Who in Atlanta and Who's Who in America. He was the baccalaureate speaker at Lenoir-Rhyne 2008.

Troutman has served as pastor of congregations in Greeneville, Tenn., and in Atlanta. In addition, he has served as secretary, president and bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the Lutheran Church in America.

Troutman was the first bishop of the Southeastern Synod. The current bishop, Julian Gordy, grew up in Coweta County.

Troutman has served on the staff of the Division for Ministry and Synodical Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, as director of development for Lutheran Ministries of Georgia and as the interim/transition pastor of seven congregations including Resurrection Lutheran Church in Coweta County and Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta. Currently, he is serving as interim pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Forest Park.

For several years, Troutman has been the resource associate for the ELCA's Fund for Leaders in Mission, a scholarship program for seminary students. "I've been raising money for seminary students," he said.

"Too many of our students come out of seminary with more debt than they can handle," Troutman said, adding that there also is a need for more Lutheran pastors.

Gerald and Marihope Troutman moved to Newnan in 1996, after having lived in Atlanta for more than 35 years. Both have been active in many aspects of community life.