Archives for July 2022

Mark your calendars! We will have community potlucks 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, and Wednesday, August 17, in the OCC Coffee Shop. Bring a dish to share.

In this meditation, Roger Johnson ‘75 M.Div. writes about how God remembers us with compassion and forgiveness and calls us to remember others in the same way. Read today’s God Pause.

The list of July employee anniversaries should have included Jennifer Pietz – 2 years – assistant professor, New Testament.

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

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).

Continuing her exploration of Luke 10, Brenda Ertl ’99 M.Div. points out that we don’t need to be superheroes to share God’s Good News with others. Read today’s God Pause.

Congratulations to our colleagues celebrating work anniversaries in July!

Michael Binder – 3 years – Assistant Professor, Congregational Mission and Leadership
Dale Dobias – 2 years – Director of Library Services
Lois Farag – 17 years – Professor of Early Church History
David Fredrickson – 35 years – Professor, New Testament
Mark Granquist – 14 years – Professor, Church History
Guillermo Hansen – 14 years – Director, Advanced Theological Education
Mary Hess – 22 years – Professor, Educational Leadership
Cameron Howard – 10 years – Associate Professor, Old Testament
Rolf Jacobson – 19 years – Dean of the Faculty
Craig Koester – 36 years – Professor, New Testament
Karoline Lewis – 15 years – Professor, Biblical Preaching
Lois Malcolm – 28 years – Professor, Systematic Theology
Amy Marga – 16 years – Professor, Systematic Theology
Joy Moore – 3 years – Professor, Biblical Preaching
Alan Padgett – 21 years – Professor, Systematic Theology
Jennifer Pietz – 2 years – Assistant Professor, New Testament
Andy Root – 16 years – Professor, Youth and Family Ministry
Kathryn Schifferdecker – 16 years – Professor, Old Testament
Matt Skinner – 20 years – Professor, New Testament
Mark Tranvik – 2 years – Professor, Reformation History and Theology
Jenny Wocjiechowski – 3 years – Assistant Professor of Church History
Dwight Zscheile – 14 years – VP of Innovation
Gerri Stepanek – 10 years – Controller, Business Office
Peter Susag – 15 years – Library Services
Laurel Forsgren – 9 years – Office of Technology
Heather Hove – 6 years – Seminary Relations
Dan Sassenberg – 5 years – Seminary Relations
Arlene Flancher – 2 years – Center for Stewardship Leaders
Patty Horazdovsky – 5 years – Admissions
Gina Lotzer – 3 years – President’s Office
Mary Ann Teske – 34 years – Library Services
Jeni Grangaard – 2 years – Seminary Pastor