Archives for March 2025

The 2025 National Women’s History Theme is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations,” celebrating the collective strength and influence of women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. To celebrate, Luther Library offers this guide to Women in History, Bible, and Religion.

In this second week of Lent, Kyiv’s theological schools are also observing Lent. While we continue to pray for Ukraine after three years of war, pray also for our sister seminaries, missionaries, and churches in Ukraine struggling to survive. The Saint Sophia Cathedral is the “spiritual heart of Kyiv and one of the most important sites in the Orthodox faith.” The Kyiv cathedral includes mosaics and frescoes as old as 1,000 years, including the magnificent Icon of Saint Basil the Great of Caesarea pictured here in our library’s theologian bibliographies.

In this devotion, James L. Boyce ’71 M.Div., meditates on an integral part of our faith—the journey of the heart from fear to trusting in God’s promises. Read today’s God Pause.

In this devotion, Sean L. Forde ‘12 D.Min., notes how God’s Word helps us combat the temptations we face in life and that this Word remains all we need. Read today’s God Pause.

The Luther Seminary community holds Leon Rodrigues, Vice President for Inclusion and Belonging and Dean of Students, in our prayers as he mourns the loss of his mother, Agnes Caroline Rodrigues. Agnes died peacefully on March 7, and Leon’s sister and brother-in-law were with her. Leon is traveling to South Africa and plans to return in about 2 weeks.

John Coskran, AVP and CFO for both Luther Seminary and Augsburg University, has accepted a new executive position with a privately held company in the Twin Cities area. John will be leaving both institutions following our May 9 board meeting. John joined Luther Seminary in January 2023 in the shared services CFO role. Over the course of his tenure, he has demonstrated exceptional financial leadership, as well as a remarkable ability to communicate complex financial information clearly. His contributions have greatly enhanced our financial planning, management, and forecasting, providing the clarity needed for sound decision-making. John’s calm, steady demeanor has been an invaluable asset as we navigated significant shifts in the delivery of our mission, student body, and workforce over the past two years. President Steinke has already discussed next steps with Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow. Since the AVP and CFO position is an Augsburg University role, Augsburg will lead the search for John’s successor. We will plan a celebration for the Luther community to honor John as we approach his final day with us. Please join the ELT as we all express our gratitude to John for his significant contributions to both institutions. We wish him all the best in his future vocational endeavors.