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Dixie Shafer: A Passion for Teaching and Learning, Episode 13 of The Augsburg Podcast

The Augsburg Podcast features voices of Augsburg University faculty and staff. We hope this is one way you can get to know the people who educate our students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.  Subscribe on Itunes.

 

Providing the right support can make all the difference in a student’s education. Dixie Shafer, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO), speaks to the many ways in which URGO helps students unlock their fullest potential.

 

Download and Read Rooted and Open, a statement on Common Calling from the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities

 

Augsburg University is a member of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities, comprising 26 institutions across the country linked to our particular brand of Lutheranism. As part of the Network, Augsburg recently adopted “Rooted and Open: The Common Calling of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities,” which provides a great overview of how our missions and identities have been shaped by the Lutheran Christian tradition. You can find a copy at https://www.elca.org/Resources/Colleges-and-Universities.

 

 

 

Amanda Case: Exploring the Fundamentals, Episode 12 of The Augsburg Podcast

The Augsburg Podcast featuring voices of Augsburg University faculty and staff is one way you can get to know the people who educate our students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. Subscribe to the RSS feed or on iTunes.

Episode 12: Amanda Case: Exploring the Fundamentals

Amanda Case, assistant professor of chemistry, teaches her students the fundamentals of both science and learning: how to investigate the world around them and ask the questions that lead to insight.

 

Register now for “Breaking and Re-Making” a discussion on vocational calling in later stages of life with Dr. Marty Stortz

Dr. Marty Stortz
Marty Stortz is the Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation, a position she has held since 2010. Prior to coming to Augsburg University, she had been a professor of historical theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary/The Graduate Union in Berkeley, California for almost thirty years. She holds a BA from Carleton College in English, an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She is the author of several books, including A World According to God(2004) and Blessed to Follow (2008). Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Marty enjoys hiking, swimming, and the light in Minnesota.

All Augsburg alumni, parents, and friends are invited to register for a special lunch discussions as part of the 2018-19  Calling in the Third Age series curated by Senior Fellow for the Christensen Center for Vocation Jack Fortin.

On Wednesday, October 10 Augsburg will launch the 2018 Calling in the Third Age discussion series with a special opportunity to meet with Dr. Marty Stortz who is Augsburg’s Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation.  Dr. Stortz will present and facilitate a discussion on “Breaking and Remaking”.  Vocational calling in the latter stages of the life cycle all too often takes place amidst a litany of losses: loss of loved ones, loss of job or career, loss of income, loss of bodily function. But the vocational questions have not changed; they’re just inflected differently. Drawing on the wisdom of scripture and real-life illustrations, this talk explores those questions: Who am I? Who are my people? What will I do with my “one wild and precious life?”

Calling in the Third Age — a series of (bring your own) lunch discussions

Topic: Breaking and Remaking with Dr. Marty Stortz

Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Location: Luther Seminary at 2481 Como Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108

Room: Olson Campus Center Dining Room C

The cost for this event is $15 and space is limited.  Please register online here by October 10, 2018.

 

Augsburg’s Calling in the Third Age Series for 2018-19 will feature a number of popular speakers and discussion leaders.

 

October, 17, 2018  Rev. Dr. Jack Fortin

Title: Living on the Brink: “The Courage to Be Fully Alive in the Third Chapter of life”

We will be discovering together how to live in the tension between “Gravity and Grace”. Facing the limitations of “Gravity” on the one hand, which is pulling our physical bodies down, while receiving the gift of “Grace”, which is lifting our spirits up, setting us free to live with a renewed sense of calling and purpose.

 

October 24, 2018  Dr. Paul Pribbenow

Title: Vocation 2.0

Come and explore how our Lutheran colleges and universities have made the theological concept of vocation – one of the central gifts of our Lutheran Christian tradition – the center of their academic missions. We will discuss how our Lutheran understanding of vocation offers a powerful counter-message to the cultural expectation that we are always called to upwardly mobile, individual trajectories in our lives. Of relevance to those of us in the “third age,” our discussion will focus both on how Vocation 2.0 is important to our vocational journeys and how we can help support future generations of faithful folks called to service in the world.

 

February 13, 20, 27  Rev. Dr. Mark Hanson

Title: “A Personal Third-Chapter Challenge: “Discovering call amidst memory loss in the context of cultural and religious diversity for the sake of the neighbor “

Session One (Feb. 13, 2019) – “God’s call to serve when memory fades and love endures: personal reflections” It has been 8 years since the diagnosis of memory loss became a reality in our lives. How does this reality shape our discerning God’s call?

Session Two (Feb. 20, 2019)- “Our shared baptismal calling in a polarized culture.” How shall we live as a community in Christ shaped by memory, witnessing to signs of God’s promised future and immersed in this present rapidly changing and often deeply conflicted context?

Session Three (Feb. 27, 2019) – “God’s call to be neighbor: our shared vocation in a world of religious pluralism.” Drawing upon Lutheran theological themes, leadership experiences and the dynamic community of Augsburg University, we will explore how will live as people of Christian faith in contexts of religious diversity including with those who self define in other than religious categories.

 

Date TBD  Rev. Dr. Rollie Martinson

Title:  Elders Rising: The Promise And Peril of Elderhood:  “Vital and Resilient Aging: Living Well and Making a Difference”

An “age wave” of enormous proportions and life-changing-impact is washing over us. Understanding this “age wave” provides older adults and those closest to them more options for greater vitality and resiliency. Participants will come to better understand aging and develop their own “pathway” of quality life during their senior years. Congregational and community leaders will discover how their organizations can become centers of expansive elder wellness and empowerment.

Jack Fortin
Jack Fortin serves as Senior Fellow for Christensen Center for Vocation at Augsburg University and curates the Calling in the Third Age Series as a way of connecting alumni and others interested in vocational calling in later stages of life.

The Calling in the Third Age Series is curated by Jack Fortin who serves as Senior Fellow for Christensen Center for Vocation, a position he has held since 2008. Before coming to Augsburg, Jack was interim senior pastor at Colonial Church of Edina and held senior management positions with Lifelong Learning at Luther Seminary, Young Life, and World Vision. Author of The Centered Life, Jack’s academic interest has been unpacking Luther’s understanding of vocation as the primary means used by God for us to serve the neighbor, exploring how our vocation gets expressed through a lifespan of callings due to ordinary challenges within the scope of our daily lives.  Jack serves on several non-profit boards and has written a book, The Centered Life. Jack has a BA from Rockford College majoring in sociology, an M. Div from Luther Seminary, and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary. He is ordained and rostered in the Minneapolis synod-ELCA.

 

Mike Matson ’06 to serve as Chaplain to Marine Special Operations Training Command

Mike Matson '06
Having served a commission in the Naval Reserve since 2009, Mike Matson is now called to active duty as a Chaplain to Marine Special Operations Training Command at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Anyone who’s met Mike Matson ’06 will notice his qualities of curiosity, calm, and spiritual presence. Mike’s history with Augsburg began as a student and athlete. He then served for over five years as a chaplain to student athletes and as a coach. For the past year and a half, he’s served as Assistant Director of Leadership Gifts in the Advancement office.

Now he is taking on a new role: having served a commission in the Naval Reserve since 2009, he’s been called to active duty as a Chaplain to Marine Special Operations Training Command at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Mike, his wife Helen, and their five children (June age 8, Francesca and Theodore age 6, Charlie age 4, and Josephine 4 weeks) will move on August 26 and serve there for one year. He’s happy his whole family will move with him as these are high priority orders and the reserves requested his immediate departure to service.

“Since we just had our fifth child, Helen and I are especially glad we can all relocate together. Helen’s been a medical receptionist for two surgeons. This call will allow her to stay home with our kids full time while I serve our Special Forces.”

When asked where the idea for this combined service came from, Mike commented, “I believe every corner of the world needs an Auggie in it. I was shaped by my Augsburg education to go out and do more in the world. Staying in the reserves was one way to do that. I was able to contribute to the mission of Augsburg and use the values and skills Augsburg shaped in me to serve the community.”

Mike’s been serving as chaplain to the 1st Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department which is the downtown area. Sometimes it’s been hard to shift between his roles of staff, father, husband, and chaplain.

“I’ve learned through my roles there are all kinds of people in the world. And I’ve faced the polarization we are experiencing head on. I’ve learned to appreciate how gently we have to hold the space and come to each moment with sincere appreciation. I practice seeing the holy in all of it. It is always there.”

The Matson family at the headwaters to the Mississippi.
The Matson family at the headwaters to the Mississippi.

 

He goes on, “I approach it all with curiosity. If I can’t believe the holy is there in each person and experience, then what’s the point. Jesus always showed us his curiosity. Without our curiosity I don’t think we can make any progress. My approach is to figure out how to connect with people. I am motivated by it.”

In his time serving in Advancement he’s learned some things, too.

“One big thing I’ve learned is, what a gift it is to be a student! It’s not something to take for granted. So many students receive some form of scholarships. Usually those scholarships don’t come from someone with lots of income and assets. It comes because of a belief the donor has in the value of an Augsburg education. It comes from generosity and belief in the importance of investing in students. There’s a community behind every student. I never want to take that for granted.”

As he turns his attention to the year of service unfolding before him, he will be carrying some of these lessons with him.

“I am called to the gray areas of life. And to do so vulnerably. I go with an openness to enter into those spaces. That is where the transformative can emerge.”

He’s especially energized by the call to the Special Forces.

“So much of the military focus now is on specialized teams and special forces. The training of these elite forces is crucial. As we can imagine, it’s a grueling experience to go through this training. It peels back the layers of a person’s character and reveals our make-up. It’s a key time in a service member’s life. The military is doing all it can to offer support to the trainees.”

On this high priority mission Mike will be participating in some of their training and in the same spaces with the Marines and special forces.

Mike Matson '06 has served Augsburg University as chaplain to student athletes, as a coach, and in alumni development.
Mike Matson ’06 has served Augsburg University as chaplain to student athletes, as a coach, and in alumni development.

 

He smiles, “I’m going to get my jump wings! Yes, that means he will learn to parachute!

As he travels with Helen and his children, he feels the strength of her support and her willingness to put the family through such a big experience.

“She has given me courage to be even more curious. And to mess up, too. We don’t always get things right. She’s helped me show eagerness to go out and seize the day. The greatest gift in all this is to say yes to life.”

Mike and his family will return to Augsburg in a year.  “I feel very supported by this Augsburg community!”

—-By Catherine Reid Day