Announcements

Join us at 11 a.m. Central Wednesday, July 8, for an online chapel worship service with Seminary Pastor Jeni Grangaard preaching, M.Div. student Sawyer Vanden Heuvel assisting, and Tom Witt leading music. Use this Zoom link: https://luthersem.zoom.us/my/sempastor. A link to the password will be provided in the community announcements email.

On March 16, 2020, the Contextual Learning Office emailed a letter to students regarding the unfolding pandemic and its impact upon contextual learning coursework at Luther. Today, we offer an update to that letter, as over three months have gone by, and many of you are preparing for (or already participating in) theological fieldwork across the United States and the globe.

Whether you are engaged in contextual work in Christian public leader courses, clinical pastoral education, or an internship, we are advising that you continue to abide by the precautionary measures developed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and other official federal and state health authorities where you live. As you do so, we would like to take a moment to both affirm and update our guidelines for these extraordinary times. Please read them and reach out to an appropriate member of the Contextual Learning Team if you need assistance.

Grab a beverage and Zoom in for community, conversation, and care. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Central Tuesday, July 7. Follow this Zoom link: https://luthersem.zoom.us/my/sempastor. A link to the password will be in the community announcements email.

The majority of our international students at Luther Seminary are F-1 visa holders. Due to COVID-19, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security instituted a temporary exemption regarding the online study policy for the spring and summer semesters. This policy permitted F and M students to take more online courses than normally allowed for purposes of maintaining a full course of study to maintain their F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrant status during the COVID-19 emergency.

For the fall 2020 semester, SEVP is modifying these temporary exemptions, which includes the following modification: Students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status.

Luther Seminary unequivocally continues its support of and advocacy for our international students. The Student Affairs team is already planning meetings with our international community and members of the ELT to discuss our next steps.

The Office of International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) remains in close contact with our SEVP field representative as well as our professional organizations and will continue to communicate directly with our international students. We invite your prayers for all affected international students and institutions in the United States.

The official press release, “SEVP modifies temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online courses during fall 2020 semester,” is located on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website.

Join liturgists Mary Preus and Tom Witt for the newest episode of the Liturgy of the Hours podcast. The fourth episode of the “Liturgy of the Hours” podcast is live, offering you prayer that goes with you wherever you may be. The Liturgy of the Hours is an ancient practice of prayer that takes place throughout various times of the day. Each week we offer one episode with three chapters: for morning prayer, evening prayer, and night prayer.

Visit the seminary pastor’s “Liturgy of the Hours: Episode Four” page for a link to the podcast.

Open advising is available today at 12:30 p.m. Central. The Zoom link will be provided in the community announcements email.