This article was originally published in the 2023 commencement page of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.
Chosen by the faculty—after consideration of personal knowledge and/or recommendations by others—the recipient of the Christus Vivit Award has demonstrated exemplary service to the church.
Kaye Dumas Wolff, a retired information and technology professional, has dedicated much of her tremendous volunteer service to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) ministries and initiatives that serve minority groups. She has worked closely with LCMS Black Ministry and other ethnic ministries. She is a founding member of Concordia Seminary’s Multiethnic Symposium committee, which began in 2008, and she remains a part of the planning committee and is also a past presenter. She also served on the advisory committee for the Seminary’s Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) during its inception in 2002. She has served as chairman of the LCMS Black Ministry Church Planting Task Force (1996–2003) and also served on an LCMS convention resolution task force (2016–19). Additionally, she has presented several LCMS Rural and Small-Town Mission webinars.
Wolff has authored articles for the Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly and Bible studies for Lutheran Women in Mission (LWML) groups. She also has contributed articles to Lutheran Mission Matters (formerly Missio Apostolica) and has written Lenten devotions for Lutheran Hour Ministries, where she was a MissionU witnessing facilitator for 14 years. She was instrumental in making the LCMS docu-movie, The First Rosa, about the pioneer Lutheran educator and missionary Rosa Young (LCMS, 2014), where she served as the unit production manager.
In 2020, Wolff presented at the Theological Convocation on Race Relations at the Seminary. She also has been a guest on KFUO’s radio show “The Coffee Hour” periodically over the last six years. From 2020–22, she also served on a church worker recruitment committee.
Active in the LWML most of her life, Wolff has served in local, district and national roles within the organization. During her term as LWML vice president of special focus ministries (2015–19), Wolff started the Deaf Ministry Outreach Program to encourage hearing women to learn basic American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf culture, and to encourage and welcome deaf women into active participation in LWML groups. She currently serves as chairman of the 2021–23 Nominating Committee.
A frequent visitor to the Seminary campus, Wolff is known by many former and current students as “Auntie Kaye’” for her frequent mentoring, support, and commitment to them. Wolff and her husband, Rev. Paul
A. Wolff, live in Southfield, Mich. They worship at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Dearborn, Mich., where Rev. Wolff serves as the assistant pastor. Kaye Wolff is learning ASL and enjoys cooking and eating, dressing in cultural attire, traveling, and music. She and her husband have three grown children, five granddaughters and one great-granddaughter. They enjoy frequent visits with those family members who live
close by.
Photos courtesy of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.
