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Bryant Kumlin, Ph.D. Candidate – Friday, April 10, 2026 | 1–3 p.m. Gullixson Hall 103
The oral examination is a public event open to faculty, students, and staff. Other than the candidate, only faculty members have speaking privileges. What is a Ph.D. oral defense? The oral defense is the final step for Ph.D. degree candidates before graduation. The student has finished all research and is presenting a thesis that is an original contribution to the field of scholarship. A copy of the completed thesis is available prior to the defense for those in the Luther Seminary community. Read “The Spirit of Love Speaks: The Personal and Communal Mysticism in the Inspired Testimonies of Barbara Heinemann and Christian Metz, 1817-1883” in this shared Google doc.

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.

Learn about the many locations and buildings of Luther Seminary and its predecessors in a photo slideshow playing in the OCC lobby and available online. The history of our institution and its buildings is rich and varied. You’ll see that reflected in images of old mansions, a hotel that housed classes for a year, and even a tiny house for a cat that used to be on the lower campus. If you have questions or want to learn more, reach out to Caleb Rollins in the archives at crollins002@luthersem.edu.

Construction and closures to highway 280 will begin April 13. Starting at 5 a.m. on Monday, April 13 and continuing through late August, crews will fully close northbound Hwy 280 from I-94 in Sain Paul to Hwy 36/I-35W to begin construction improvements. Access to Broadway Street will also be closed during this time. The ramps from I-94 to University Avenue will also be closed. Southbound Hwy 280 from I-94 in Saint Paul to Hwy 36/I-35W will close later in April. Hwy 280 is anticipated to reopen in both directions prior to the start of the Minnesota State Fair in late August. Read more on the MN-DoT website.

Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality is seeking presentations on ecology, environmental justice, and interdependence for their Stronger Together: Community and Resilience in a Changing Climate conference this June 27-28. Submissions are due April 15. Topics include climate grief and resilience, food sovereignty, disability and ecojustice, Indigenous religion and the earth, and more. Panels, workshops, and immersive teaching formats are welcome. Students are encouraged to submit. To submit a proposal or ask questions, contact Danielle Clausnitzer at dclausnitzer@accolamn.org or 651-758-1370.

In this devotion, Karoline Lewis ’94 M.Div., Professor and Marbury E. Anderson Chair of Biblical Preaching, thanks Jesus for loving us no matter what and prays for the help we need to lean into God’s love as we face the hardest times of faith. Read today’s God Pause.