Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Lutheran Chaplain Announces Retirement

Thursday, May 25, 2023, By Dara Harper
Share
Hendricks Chapel
Group of people standing together in Hendricks Chapel entryway.

Lutheran pastor Rev. Gail Riina stands with fellow chaplains in her white pastor’s robe.

After 15 years of service as Lutheran Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel, Rev. Gail Riina has announced her retirement, effective at the end of July.

Pastor Gail (as she is often known by students) served in numerous campus contexts throughout her years of ministry, including George Washington University, Cornell University and The State University of New York at Buffalo before arriving at Syracuse University in 2009. Through her focus on vocational discernment and pastoral counseling, Pastor Gail was committed to sharing a Lutheran expression of Christianity in ways that met the evolving needs of a diverse student body.

“Throughout her years of ministry at Syracuse University, Pastor Gail Riina embodied her Christian faith through a genuine care for students and principled commitment to inclusive community impact,” says Rev. Dr. Brian Konkol, Dean of Hendricks Chapel. “Through a remarkable ability to both proclaim her own beliefs and also learn from the beliefs of others, she empowered countless students to grow and flourish as leaders, and she now leaves a foundation for others to build upon and appreciate. I am personally grateful for her friendship and wish her the fullness of God’s blessings for the next chapter in her journey.”

In addition to her on-campus presence, Pastor Gail also championed many community initiatives, such as “Success Saturdays” that involved tutoring New American students, providing support and building cultural competency. “Pastor Gail has shaped both the Lutheran Chaplaincy and Hendricks Chapel’s Chaplains’ Council in countless ways by infusing the values of loving-kindness, social justice and care for the earth in all that she does, says Associate Dean, Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz. “Gail’s work with area refugees, coupled with numerous community service projects, has made a lasting impact not only on the Central New York community but also on the hundreds of students, staff and faculty with whom she has worked.”

“My greatest joy has been to be a part of building relationships of trust and dialogue, and to witness how community is the catalyst for students’ growth,” says Riina. “My experience has deepened my faith in the power of God to heal and transform and my hope for greater peace throughout the world.”

In partnership with Dean Konkol and Hendricks Chapel, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Upstate New York Synod will launch a search for the next Lutheran Chaplain.

  • Author

Dara Harper

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University Press Participating in Path to Open Program
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • A&S Chemistry Professor Receives Award From the American Chemical Society
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By News Staff
  • ‘Guys and Dolls’ Opens Syracuse University Department of Drama 2023/24 Season
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Libraries Add MindSpa Wellness Rooms
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • iSchool Professors, Students Honored With ALISE Awards
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Anya Woods

More In Campus & Community

Orange Central 2023 in Photos

The University welcomed about 2,000 alumni and friends back to campus to celebrate Orange Central and Law Alumni Weekend. From tailgating to special reunion events and open houses, the campus was alive with excitement, memories and good times. Check out…

Syracuse University Press Participating in Path to Open Program

Syracuse University Press is participating in Path to Open, a groundbreaking collaboration between university presses, libraries and JSTOR, to promote sustainable open-access publishing of high-quality scholarly eBooks and increase meaningful engagement with them. Through the program, Syracuse University Press will…

Libraries Add MindSpa Wellness Rooms

Syracuse University Libraries is adding two ‘MindSpa’ wellness rooms, designed similarly to the Barnes Center at The Arch Crowley Family MindSpa, on Sunday, Oct. 1, in Bird Library. The Bird Library MindSpa consists of two rooms – a Massage Chair…

School of Education Awarded $3.7M Department of Education Grant to Recruit Special Education Leaders

Syracuse University’s School of Education (SOE) has been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to prepare—along with two partner institutions—a new generation of leaders in special education, early…

LGBTQ History Month: A Milestone to Reflect, Celebrate and Grow Community

Each October, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Resource Center unveils a calendar that through the lenses of intersectionality, LGBTQ and global communities reflects on their history and contributions while looking to the future. The University’s official kickoff…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.