James D. and Lynne D. Moratzka Endowed Scholarship Fund

The James D. and Lynne D. Moratzka Endowed Scholarship Fund was established by Jim and Lynne Moratzka in October 2010. They are lifelong Lutherans with a deep love of the church and of Luther Seminary. They live in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and have been members of Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia since 1969. Jim and Lynne met at Mankato State University where they were active in campus ministry. They have two children, Kjersten Lester Moratzka and Erik Moratzka. Lynne joined the staff at Luther Seminary in 1993 and is Donor Relations Coordinator, serving as the planner and hostess of dozens of special events over the years. She also serves as executive director of Gammelgarden, a Swedish American immigrant museum in Scandia. Lynne began her career as a kindergarten teacher and later started a preschool at Elim Lutheran. She is on the candidacy committee for the Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA, and earlier served on the synod council. Now retired, Jim was a high school English teacher and later a vocational counselor in the technical college system. He served on the Forest Lake School Board for 15 years, and also volunteers many hours at Gammelgarden. Jim and Lynne strive to be good stewards in the fullest sense, and this has included planting 10,000 trees on their tree farm. The purpose of the James D. and Lynne D. Moratzka Endowed Scholarship Fund is to provide annual scholarships for one or two deserving students who are preparing to be in public ministry.