Archives for May 2025

We gather at 11:00 a.m. CT in the Chapel of the Incarnation and online* for worship. Join us for an ELW Service of Holy Communion with preacher Matthew Skinner, professor of New Testament, and musicians Erin Deboer-Moran, Director of Music, Doran Schoeppach, Organist and M.Div. student, and Suresh Salam, cantor and M.A. student.
*Bulletins for those joining online will be linked in the description of the service on youtube.
Share your prayer requests.

In honor of AAPI Heritage Month in May, the Office of Inclusion and Belonging at Luther Seminary and Professor Kristofer Phan Coffman invite you to follow along with the new substack Luther through Asian Eyes. Professor Coffman will be sharing stories of Asian and Asian (American) faculty, students, and alumni and posts explaining different aspects of Asian (American) Christian history.

The next Faith After Deconstruction Meet Up will be Friday, May 9 at 9:30 a.m. CT on Zoom (link in email). Even though it’s a busy time here at the end of the semester, we hope to see you there! FAD is open to the whole Luther Community, especially those with experience in more evangelical-fundamentalist spaces, as we engage in nuanced and supportive conversation. This month, we’re going to do a little book club, discussing the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson. We apologize for the late notice, but since it is a graphic novel, it’s a quick read. If you don’t have time to read it, you are more than welcome to join anyway. We will also discuss two articles shared recently in our group chat: WWJD: You Sure You Want to Know? and Why I Am Christian Again. Questions? Email Lauren Mildahl (lmildahl001).

Come and celebrate the completion of the 2024-2025 Beloved Community Fellowship, named in honor of the vision of Martin Luther King Jr’s “Beloved Community.” We will gather in OCC 10 on Tuesday, May 13, 3:00–4:30 p.m. for a late lunch, snacks, and drinks and to hear from our fellows. Areas of focus in the fellowship include understanding MLK’s vision of the Beloved Community from the point of view of pastoral care, understanding secular and theological approaches to justice, and applying the above to our sociocultural and historical contexts. Each Beloved Community Fellow will be given 15 minutes to present a summary and discuss key highlights of their capstone paper, as well as answering questions from the audience. Presentations include:

1. “Self-acceptance and creative maladjustment in the ELCA” — Erik Nelson
2. “The Beloved Community and its resonance with Pakistan” — Alyssa Saleem
3. “Leadership for Justice” — Daniel Tsokpor
4. “Martin Luther King’s Beloved Community in relation to people who are marginalized in the special needs population in the United States” — Annette VanZeyl

This year’s Aus Memorial Lecture will be an extended conversation on Jesus Christ as the instigator and sustainer of Christian evangelism. In taking the Good News to those who have not yet heard and responded to the news, we join Jesus in his relentless determination to invite all into his coming realm. Opportunities and impediments to evangelism will be discussed and encouragement offered for today’s pastors to lead in evangelizing. Will Willimon has written extensively on evangelism, has been an evangelist as a campus minister, and as a bishop has led church planting ministries.
Jesus: The Most Interesting Word We Have for the World
An evangelism salon featuring Will Willimon
Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 6–8:30 p.m.
On campus at Luther Seminary, Saint Paul and online
Learn more and register.

As part of the celebration of AAPI Heritage Month at Luther Seminary, librarian Fred Sweet has added new links Asian American Biblical Scholars and books to the Global Theology Guide. We hope that you’ll make use of this resource as you research your final papers and projects! And in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May, the Luther Seminary Library and Kristofer Phan Coffman invite you to visit the new display of books related to Asian and Asian American Christianity. Featured books include theology, biblical hermeneutics, and collections of Christian art from the Asian and Asian American perspective. This guide features resources on AAPI ministry and theology, in recognition of our country’s 22.2 million Asians and 1.6 million Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander communities.