The Lancaster Theological Seminary board of trustees elected two members in April to serve on the graduate school's governing board. They are the Rev. K. Edward Brandt and Jon M. Gruber.

A native of Elizabethtown, Brandt is a former U.S. Army chaplain, who retired at the rank of brigadier general after serving for 31 years. In his career, he directed religious support for over 450,000 Guard soldiers, airmen, and their families and senior officers. He received the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service, the Distinguished Service Cross from the Delaware National Guard, and the Defense Superior Service Medal. Brandt is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church USA who has served churches in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and California. A 1999 Doctor of Ministry graduate of Lancaster Seminary, he earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Findlay. Brandt lives in Naples, Fla., where he is pastor for Lely Presbyterian Church.

Gruber is a senior counsel for the Lancaster law firm of Russell, Krafft and Gruber. He returns to the Lancaster Theological Seminary board of trustees after completing 12 years of board service in 2019. He has served in regional leadership positions with the United Methodist Church. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College. Gruber is a resident of Lebanon.

Also at its April meeting, the Lancaster Theological Seminary board of trustees named Gruber and the Rev. Harry L. Serio of Fleetwood as trustees emeriti. Serio served Lancaster Seminary as a trustee for 12 years until 2019. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, past president of the Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies Inc., and author of several articles in the field, including "The Afterlife in the Hebrew-Greek Scriptures." His autobiography, "The Dwelling Place of Wonder," was published in 2016. Serio earned a Master of Divinity in 1966, a Doctor of Ministry in 1992 from Lancaster Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts from Ursinus College.

For more details, contact Meg Graham at mgraham@lancasterseminary.edu.