Marlene Kropf

Associate Professor in Spiritual Formation and Worship

• B.A., Oregon College of Education, 1965
• M.A., Oregon College of Education, 1968
• M.Div., Goshen Biblical Seminary, 1988
• D.Min., Graduate Theological Foundation, 1997

E-mail: mkropf@ambs.edu
Phone: 574 523-3042 or 574 523-3042

To download a print-quality photo, click on the small photo at right.

Earlier in her life, Marlene enjoyed teaching literature to high schoolers so much she believed she would never want to work in the church. But since 1984, she has taught seminary students. Marlene currently serves as denominational minister of worship for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership. She continues part-time in that role while also serving as a member of the AMBS faculty, teaching in the areas of worship and spiritual formation. Marlene’s doctoral project was entitled, “Singing as a Sacrament: An Exploration of the Role of Hymn Singing in Mennonite Spiritual Formation.” She was a member of the worship committee for the group that produced Hymnal: A Worship Book and also chaired the Hymnal Supplement Committee, which produced Sing the Journey and Sing the Story. Marlene co-chairs the binational Mennonite Church Worship Council. She also regularly leads the popular Advent and Lent Planners at AMBS, in which pastors and worship and music leaders are introduced to churchwide worship resources.

"Personal spiritual formation and corporate worship are two sides of the same coin: in both arenas, Christians seek to love God with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Such a passionate commitment and relationship can be difficult to sustain in a highly secularized North American context. In my teaching and spiritual direction, I hope to inspire courage for the long haul—fruitful prayer practices that keep love for God alive and faithful worship that creates communities of joy and healing, which are potent signs of God’s gracious reign in the world."

Scholarship

• Preparing Sunday Dinner: A Collaborative Approach to Worship and Preaching (Herald, 2006) co-authored with June Alliman Yoder and Rebecca Slough
• Singing: A Mennonite Voice (Herald, 2001), co-author
  Praying with the Anabaptists: The Secret of Bearing Fruit (Faith & Life, 1994), co-author
• Intergenerational Learning in the Church (Faith & Life, 1982),
  co-author
• Upon These Doorposts: How Children Grow in Faith (Mennonite Publishing House, 1980), co-author

Speakers Bureau Presentations

• Spiritual friendship
• Spiritual direction
• Renewing our life of prayer
• Planning rituals for worship
• Celebrating communion
• Exploring the Christian year
• Rituals for healing, grief, and death
• Introducing Celtic spirituality
• Planning worship
• Women's spirituality
• Rediscovering Sabbath
• Creating worship resources
• Prayer