Archives for June 2024

Luther Seminary is closed tomorrow, June 19, in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. Community announcements will return on Thursday.

Join Dr. Mary Hess on June 21, 2024, in sharing stories of your connection to and care for the Earth. 

As part of her sabbatical research project, Dr. Hess is helping people learn how to tell their own stories of relationship with Creation, listen to each others’ stories, and then record and share these stories digitally.

This is a project oriented not at “changing people’s minds” but rather at “softening their hearts” in the midst of widespread polarization around caring for Creation.

You don’t need to have any skill with either telling stories, or using digital tech, but you need to bring your own device (smart phone, tablet, or laptop) and a desire to share a story from your own experience and to listen to others. 

We will gather at 8:30 a.m. for informal coffee, and then begin at 9 a.m. and work until lunch in small circles to share stories using specific prompts and dialogue rules. After lunch (which will be provided) we will turn to a “co-laboratory” where we will help you use your own devices to audio record your short story, and then to tweak it with photos, music, and so on. We will conclude by 3 p.m.

This workshop will be held in person, but a future workshop may happen online if there is sufficient interest. Please register for the June 21 workshop online (so we know how much food to have).

For more information, contact Dr. Hess: mhess@luthersem.edu

In this devotion, Dean Lundgren ’94 M.Div. reflects on God’s faithful presence from the very beginning until the very end. Read today’s God Pause.

In this devotion, Joel Anderson ’80 M.Div. reflects on the parable of the mustard seed. Read today’s God Pause.

To enhance student learning and leadership formation outside of coursework, Luther Seminary is introducing graduate fellowships. Fellowships are co-curricular leadership development opportunities for small groups of students to explore focus topics and areas of ministry. Led by key staff and faculty, fellowships include learning from ministry practitioners, in-person retreats with other fellows, formal peer connecting, and experiential learning. Fellowships are resourced outside the Jubilee Scholarship. Next year, we will offer two fellowships: Beloved Community and Cultivating New Christian Communities.

• Beloved Community. As the Spirit transforms the world by empowering the proclamation of the gospel, we engage in this work by equipping future Christian public leaders who will work collaboratively against injustices and cultivate courage and sacrificial love in their communities.
  Contact Samuel Zalanga, szalanga001@luthersem.edu
• Cultivating New Christian Communities. As God invites the church to explore new expressions of Christian community, we are responding by gathering a cohort of students passionate about this work to explore how God might be calling them to participate.
  Contact Jody Nyenhuis, jnyenhuis001@luthersem.edu

Additional information on each fellowship will be available soon. Interested students can get more information in the open advising session during summer RFS on Thursday, June 13 at 11:45 a.m in the OCC dining room.

How do we lead and love with scriptural wisdom in these polarized times? The latest on-demand course led by Joy J. Moore in the Faith+Lead Academy responds to that question with practices and scriptural reflections for listening and connecting across differences. Imagine how A More Excellent Way might inform personal relationships, group dynamics, or congregational life. This course is available for individual purchase or is included with the Faith+Lead membership, to which all students have free access until September.