Eric C. Shafer

The Rev. Eric C. Shafer, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is Global Refuge’s “Pastor-in-Residence.”  (Global Refuge is the new name for Lutheran Immigration and Refuge Service).  He recently retired after more thaneight years asSenior Pastor at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, CA. There he helped open the Students4Students Shelter at Mt. Olive, the first shelter for homeless college students in the USA.  For this work he has received awards from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Santa Monica Rotary Club, and the Westside Coalition for Housing, Hunger, and Health.” His previous positions include Senior Vice President for Odyssey Networks in New York City and Director of Communication for the ELCA in Chicago. Shafer has taught in South Africa and Madagascar and made multiple trips to Jerusalem and the West Bank.  He is the host of the YouTube program Hope Matters and a regular contributor to the Church Anew website.