Archives for May 2022

In this devotion, Tom Junkert ’78 M.Div. reflects on the Holy Spirit. Read today’s God Pause.

Come visit the Rare Book Room on the 3rd floor of Gullixson Hall before baccalaureate Saturday, June 4, 1-2 p.m. Enjoy the coolest room on campus with an aesthetic that transports you to another time and place. Gaze upon texts hundreds of years older than the formation of the United States.

*Masks are required for entrance into the Rare Book Room.

On Wednesday, June 1, we welcome to campus Steve Thomason, one of our two candidates for a new faculty position in spiritual formation and discipleship.

The whole Luther community is invited to attend his public lecture from 11:30 am. until 12:30 p.m. Central in OCC 10 or via Zoom. The Zoom link will be included in the community announcements email.

There is also a special student session, 7-8 p.m. Central. This session will be held only on Zoom. The link will be included in the community announcements email.

For those who attend either or both sessions, please provide the search committee feedback via this form by Thursday, June 2.

Thank you,
Mark Granquist
Terri Elton
Search Committee Co-Chairs

Clergy taxes can seem overwhelming. The Stewardship Leaders Program can help! Here are the links to recordings of all four one-hour clergy tax sessions we hosted with Clergy Financial Resources this spring.

Topics are: First Call Basics, Housing 101, Income and Deductions, and Special Tax Filing Info.

Additionally, Clergy Financial Resources does a free consult for all Luther Seminary grads entering their first call. You can sign up on this compensation review page.

And finally, if you want to chat with someone about all things financial, Grace Pomroy, director of the Stewardship Leaders program, is a great resource. She can talk through student loans, negotiating a salary and benefits, debt challenges, etc., and will point you in the right direction. She is kind, gracious, and always shame-free. I encourage you to reach out to her for a financial wellness conversation – you can sign up on her calendar.

Please, please let me know if you have questions about any of this. You can access these videos and PPT’s after graduation with your Luther Seminary email address. I wish you all the very best. Know that we will still be here to support you as you begin pastoring.

Arlene and Grace – Stewardship Leaders Program (aflancher001@luthersem.edu and gpomroy001@luthersem.edu)

Reported employee cases: 3
Reported student cases: 3
Students in quarantine or isolation: 1

Reported cases only include students and employees who have been on campus within a period of time during which they may have been contagious. According to the CDC this includes two days prior to the onset of symptoms or a positive test.

If you have recently tested positive for COVID-19, or if you are an unvaccinated individual who has been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of that person for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period), please report that to the appropriate person. For employees, that person is Michael Morrow (mmorrow001@luthersem.edu). Students should contact Leon Rodrigues (deanofstudents@luthersem.edu).

Contact Tracing Protocol

When an on-campus case of COVID-19 is reported, that person is first asked to stay off-campus and quarantine in accordance with CDC guidelines. In addition, the seminary takes two steps for contact tracing:

1. The Minnesota Department of Health is notified, per guidelines for institutions of higher education

2. The person reporting the case is asked to identify “close contacts”; the close contacts identified are notified of the exposure and asked to follow CDC guidelines for testing and quarantining (quarantine applies only to close contacts who are unvaccinated).

There will be no community announcements on Monday, May 30. Luther Seminary is closed for Memorial Day.