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During spring semester, all exterior doors on campus will remain locked at all times, and a Luther Seminary ID will be required for building access. Your ID card can be used to access doors on each campus building: Gullixson Hall. West entrance (Door 2); Bockman Hall. North (Door 7), South (Door 4), East (Door 3), and West (Door 5) entrances; Olson Campus Center. Upper East (Door 10), Lower East (Door 11), Upper West (Door 9), and Lower West (Door 8) entrances. In addition, each building has one door with a video intercom system that connects to the Operations Desk in Olson Campus Center—or the Library circulation desk in the case of Gullixson Hall. The intercom system will be staffed during regular Operations Desk hours. The library will be open to the public Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on weekends. The decision to keep doors locked at all times is primarily for enhancing security measures on campus. The number of people on campus has declined significantly in recent years as more students move to distributed learning programs and staff has moved to hybrid work. By maintaining locked doors, the seminary can better control access to its facilities, ensuring the safety and security of students, staff, faculty, and visitors. Please refer to the Luther Seminary Campus Security FAQ document for more info. If you have any questions, contact Rob Verke, rverke001@luthersem.edu.

Pastor Steve Thomason, Dean of the Chapel, will be on throughout Spring RFS to provide pastoral support for your intensive experience on campus. If you would like to connect with him for spiritual care, please call 651-641-3331. Press 1 to call him directly, or press 2 to leave a message and/or a prayer request. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 first. You can also find general information for chapel, spiritual practices, and how to access spiritual direction and counseling on the seminary’s Chapel and Spiritual Life webpage.

In this devotion, Mark S. B. Docken ’82 M.Div., says that Jesus’ “Woe to you” is likely directed at each of us. Read today’s God Pause.

In this devotion, Mark S. B. Docken ’82 M.Div., ponders how we and all creation are joined to each other in Jesus’ death. Read today’s God Pause.

Did you know that Luther Seminary student dissertations and faculty papers were downloaded over 8000 times in December alone? From India and SE Asia (980 downloads) to South America (Brazil alone 1100) and Europe (1200). Many of the student dissertations make their way into our Luther Seminary Library bibliographies resource. For example, our Søren Kierkegaard bibliography includes the 2024 dissertation by Andrés Albertson on “Love and Politics“ (Hegel and Kierkegaard). Our Digital Commons area is a vast resource to explore.

How can your church or faith community become a safe space for honest conversations about mental health? On February 20, Faith+Lead is hosting a member-exclusive workshop to help faith communities move from individual awareness to a whole-church approach to care. Using scripture as our foundation, we’ll explore ways to:

• Break down stigmas and start talking openly about mental health
• Build confidence in offering practical support and compassion
• Create a caring, inclusive community where everyone feels seen and embraced

This workshop is free for Faith+Lead members and those enrolled in the God and Mental Health Challenges on-demand course. Learn more and register today.