Luther Seminary celebrates the life of C. Dean Freudenberger, professor emeritus of rural ministry, who passed away on July 2 at age 93. Dean taught at Luther Seminary from 1990–97, following a long and distinguished career as an agricultural and environmental ethicist.
Prior to his arrival in Minnesota, Freudenberger was a member of the faculty at the Claremont School of Theology from 1973–90. During this period he was perhaps the only professor to teach courses in church and society, environmental ethics, and ecumenics by day and tropical agricultural ecology by night (at Cal Poly—Pomona). This mix of expertise and interests reflected Freudenberger’s rich lived experience. He worked globally on issues of hunger and care for the earth, including as an agriculturalist in then-Belgian Congo, a trainer and consultant for Peace Corps programs in French-speaking West Africa, agricultural programs secretary for the Methodist Board of Missions, and a consultant with the World Council of Churches and the Vatican.
Freudenberger was the author of three books, “Global Dust Bowl: Is It Too Late?”, “Food for Tomorrow,” and “Christian Responsibility in a Hungry World.” A member of the Board of Directors of Bread for the World and the Catholic Rural Life Conference, he received Boston University’s School of Theology Distinguished Alumni Award in 1981 and Cal Poly—Pomona’s Dean’s Award from the College of Environmental Design in 1992.
A celebration of life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 19, at Pilgrim Place’s Decker Hall, 665 Avery Road, Claremont, California. More details are available in his obituary.