Archives for April 2026

Access to the Luther Seminary Archives will be temporarily paused for church partners and external researchers from April 1 through August 31, 2026. During this period, archives staff will focus on inventory, processing, and preparation of the collections for the seminary’s anticipated move to a new location in the Twin Cities following the 2026–27 academic year. Archives staff will respond to individual research questions on a case-by-case basis throughout the spring and summer. Please contact archives@luthersem.edu for support. These collections include the institutional history, since 1869, of Luther Seminary and its precursors, Augsburg Seminary, the Hauge Synod School, Red Wing Seminary, and Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary; the archives of ELCA Region 3, which date from 1843 and include records of many of the precursor church bodies of the synod; and a number of special collections. For more information about the collections and working with the archives, visit luthersem.edu/archives.

The Sixth Global Summit on Spirituality, Religion, and Mental Health will be a centralized opportunity for interdisciplinary engagement to chart the future of the integration of spirituality and religion in mental health support. The summit, to be held in at the Harvard Medical School conference center in Boston, MA, from May 14-15 has already received over 170 proposals from faith leaders, psychologists, psychiatrists, chaplains, and public health officials. We hope you will join us to bridge research and practice and local and global initiatives during this two-day event. Check out the event website, which includes schedule and session details.

In this devotion, David Haven ’86 M.Div., reminds us that faith is not something we create or sustain but a gift from God. Read today’s God Pause.

As congregations and communities navigate the growing complexities of pastoral care, it is not always clear how to respond to the complex mental health challenges that exist in our congregations and in our surrounding communities. Join the Future Communities Lab and the Congregational Collective on April 21 from 12–1 p.m. CT for a virtual conversation with practical theologian and registered mental health nurse John Swinton. Register for the free webinar here.

Join the Community Fellows with Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jonathan Paradise for an educational event about the Seder dinner: a structured, ritual-filled Jewish feast held on the first one or two nights of Passover. It commemorates the Exodus—the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery—through storytelling, songs, prayers, and specific symbolic foods, such as matzah and bitter herbs, following a 15-step tradition. There will be traditional seder dishes, readings from the Haggadah, and a seder plate displayed by our chef Sam Lauerer to show also his family’s traditions! The dinner will be on April 16, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the OCC Dining Room. Please sign up through links on the Community Fellows social media page or using this online form.

Luther staff are invited to an upcoming space to hold conversation with one another about the relocation of the seminary. This is not a program-oriented conversation nor one that has in view any logistical, architectural, or real estate decisions. It is a conversation space to process what we’re holding—personally and as a community—as we approach the move. Likely, many of us are experiencing everything from deep grief to hopeful anticipation, often intermingled and with a lot in between. We invite you to bring all of this into a spacious conversation with one another.
Tuesday, April 7 at 12 p.m. Join us on Zoom (link in email)
Chris Jacobsen (cjacobsen003@luthersem.edu) and Cody Sanders (csanders001@luthersem.edu), both members of the Future Space Working Group, will be holding this space and helping to facilitate conversation. If you have questions, please contact them.