rfarris001@luthersem.edu

It’s time for the Gingerbread House Contest! Upload your photo to the Community Life Facebook page or send an email to communitylife@luthersem.edu. You can post from December 3–15. Final results will be announced on December 17. The winners will receive a surprising prize.

Missed our online workshop? Still having trouble with rooms? Join the in-house experts on Tuesday, December 10 at 12:30 p.m. in OCC 148 for this additional session of reviewing and booking a room at Luther. We will go over how to book a room, how to see rooms available and answer any of those lingering questions (about rooms).

Please welcome Erin DeBoer-Moran as our new director of music in the Chapel. Erin is contracted to coordinate and lead the music for our weekly Wednesday Chapel service of Holy Communion. This is a part-time position as she also leads music in two other local congregational settings. Erin offers the right blend of honoring traditional worship with an experimental openness to how God might be leading us in our worship practice in the future. She will be working closely with Dr. Thomason and the Chapel staff to bring meaningful music and art into the spiritual life of our community.

Luther Seminary students, share your creative photos and win prizes! The student photo contest is open and runs through Monday, September 30 at 4 p.m. Learn more about the contest and submit photos today.

A great cultural shift seems to be happening to Protestant congregational life and pastoral identity. But recognizing what is actually changing can be difficult to name, and misdiagnosing the challenges we face can happen easily. On September 23 and 24, join us in a unique conversation between internationally-recognized practical and constructive theologians and renowned sociologist Hartmut Rosa. Rosa is considered one of most important big-idea sociologists in the world. During the conference, participants are invited into a conversation with Rosa about the future of congregational life and pastoral identity through critical theological engagement with his ideas and their implications for ministry in the present. We believe this event will inspire all those who care about the future of the church by clarifying the challenge before us and directing our attention toward the ways God is leading in the here and now. Speakers are: Hartmut Rosa, Gerardo Martí, Miroslav Volf, Andrew Root, Rahel Siebald, John Swinton, Claudia Welz, and Philip Ziegler. Visit the website to register now and use code ROSA20 to get 20% off the registration fee.

Professor Thomason invites you to join him for a 4-week course that explores what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and practical ways to follow the way of Jesus in our complex world. The course meets on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. central beginning Tuesday, September 17 and goes through October 8. This course is the adult forum/non-academic version of Professor Thomason’s seminary course “Discipleship in the Missional Church.” It is open to the public. Luther Seminary students can join for free. Get more information about the course. Students can contact Professor Thomason directly to receive a code to join the course for free.