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.
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.