The first recipient of the Reverend Janet Karvonen-Montgomery Graduate Preaching Fellowship is Jenna Olson Popp, ’23 MDivX graduate.
Jenna will begin her fellowship in late summer/early fall with a focus on 3 ministry experiences: campus ministry, prison ministry, and street ministry. She will be based in two domestic locations (Minneapolis and San Francisco or Boston) learning from ministry leaders in these locales while also making shorter trips to other parts of the US to explore this central question: How can the institutional church return to Luther’s conviction that the church is where the Word is proclaimed and nourishing the faithful, moving away from buildings or traditional models of church, and reaching new populations in need of God’s grace and love?
The Reverend Janet Karvonen-Montgomery and Dr. Alan Montgomery were blessed by the influence of the pastors in their lives. After graduating from Luther in 2015, Janet was awarded the Graduate Preaching Fellowship. She traveled to fifteen countries, video recording interviews with fifty women pastors and leaders in her project, “Inspired by the Call.” The experience strengthened her call to ordained ministry, affirmed her voice for preaching, and enhanced her worldview. Al and Janet believe their family’s faith in the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ has deepened through her seminary education and fellowship experience. They decided to endow a similar preaching fellowship to benefit others in the future. They are active members at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview, Minnesota.
Applications for December graduates will be announced soon with a potential start of January 2024.