Craig Douglas Erickson

CRAIG DOUGLAS ERICKSON is a Lutheran pastor on the roster of the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He is a graduate of North Park University (AB, History, 1970); Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv, New Testament, 1973; ThM, Liturgical Studies, 1974); and the University of Notre Dame (PhD, Theology/Liturgical Studies, 1982). His doctoral dissertation, directed by Edward J. Kilmartin, S.J., is entitled: Sacramental Theology among American Presbyterians: 1945–79.

Ordained in 1975, Pastor Erickson served Presbyterian congregations in Indiana, Oregon, and Washington. From 1988 to 1992 he served a four-year call as Senior Pastor of Tokyo Union Church, an international, ecumenical, English-speaking congregation in the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Upon repatriation, he served churches in Michigan, Illinois, and Texas. He has served interim pastorates at ELCA congregations: St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Hurst, TX; Bethany Lutheran Church in Dallas; Rejoice Lutheran Church in Frisco, TX; St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Fort Worth, Texas; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Irving, TX; and First Lutheran Church in Longview, TX. He is currently serving at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, an African-American congregation in south Dallas.

Dr. Erickson is the author of several books and articles on preaching and worship, including "Participating in Worship: History, Theory, and Practice" (Louisville, KY: Westminster / John Knox, 1989) and "Exultations of the Heart: Biblical Meditations on the Spirituality of Worship" (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, forthcoming 2012). Two additional books await publication: "Faces at the Manger: Portraits from the Nativity of Jesus"; and "Faces at the Cross: Portraits from the Passion of Jesus." An engaging preacher, Pastor Erickson has also lectured and taught widely. In 1981 and 1989, he was the liturgist for the Montreat Conference on Music and Worship in North Carolina. For six years (8/79–6/85) he served on the Presbyterian General Assembly's Committee on Worship, the work of which included the supervision of the development of the Directory for Worship and the Book of Common Worship (1993). Craig is an avid bicyclist, hiker, woodworker, traveler, and golfer. He has climbed many of the snow-capped peaks of the Pacific Northwest, including Mt. Rainier.

Craig is married to Cynthia Nott, the Artistic Director of the highly acclaimed Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas. A gifted choral conductor, Cynthia Nott holds a Master of Music in choral conducting from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelor of Music Education from Florida State University. She has served as clinician and consultant for music teachers, conductors, and singers throughout the US. Craig and Cynthia reside in Dallas, TX, near White Rock Lake.

11/2011