Announcements

We gather at 11 a.m. central in the Chapel of the Incarnation and online for a Service of Holy Communion. Terri Elton, Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Leadership, will preach. Recognition of winter term graduates. Share your prayer requests.

Dear Staff and Faculty,

Today is a bittersweet one for Seminary Relations. Philanthropic Advisor Paul Hanson’s last day with Luther Seminary will be Friday, January 6. An exciting call has been extended to him by the ELCA. Starting January 9, he will serve as Churchwide’s Senior Director for Transformational Gifts and Strategic Initiatives, essentially working alongside the presiding bishop helping to manage her portfolio. Please join me in congratulating Paul on this important moment in his career and vocation. 

Paul has faithfully served Luther for nearly 12 years. Colleagues across the Seminary know Paul’s pastoral heart and quick sense of humor, coupled with his demands for excellence and a passion for our mission. And yeah, he is one of those professional fundraisers who makes our work look easy—he is always having way too much fun to ever let others see him sweat.

I’ll share plans to identify Paul’s successor soon. For now, it feels good to keep our focus on gratitude for Paul. A community-wide send-off for him will be held on Wednesday, January 4 (specifics TBD). More info will be shared before we all break for the Christmas holiday.  

Many thanks,

Heidi Droegemueller

Please join us in the Luther Library for a holiday open house, Wednesday, December 14, from 10 a.m. to noon; there will be snacks and holiday cheer for all and sundry. As a special treat, The Luther Seminary Players will present a light-hearted retelling of the Christmas story; think of it as an homage to those church Christmas pageants of old with shepherds wearing bathrobes and angels with halos askew. This is an audience participation event so we encourage as many as are able to attend—remember, the more the merrier—the program will start around 10:45 a.m.

Speaker: Dee Stokes, Ed.D., Director of Seeds Project

Monday, January 9 | 6:30–8 p.m. | Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, MN

Presented by Dr. Mark Tranvik, Professor at Luther Seminary

Martin Luther was a radical! He saw with great clarity that at the heart of the Bible is a God of freedom and grace. His bold teaching led to trouble: he was denounced as a heretic and nearly burned at the stake. Come and find out why his life and words still matter for all people today. Select “Luther Seminary Student” in the payment field to have the fee waived.

Registration Link

In this Advent devotion, Dawn Alitz ’09 Ph.D. writes about focusing on being welcoming and grateful for the One who is arriving. Read today’s God Pause.