Curious about the experience of Auggies who have been involved in theological exploration of vocation? The summer 2014 Augsburg Now magazine features an article about previous Christensen and Interfaith Scholars, Faithful and Relevant.
Resources on Vocation: Blogs, Chapel Talks, and More! 2010-2014
Bernhard M. Christensen
“Devoutly Would He Teach: The Legacy of Bernhard M. Christensen,” Gracia Grindal, ’65, professor of rhetoric at Luther Seminary, Bernhard M. Christensen Symposium keynote address on Oct. 2, 2010
Reflections on the 5 Lessons of Bernhard M. Christensen from the spring 2010 issue of Till & Keep journal.
Blog – The Progress of Pilgrimage
Martha E. Stortz, the Bernhard M. Christensen Professor in Religion and Vocation, has a blog with her colleagues about pilgrimage.
Continue reading “Resources on Vocation: Blogs, Chapel Talks, and More! 2010-2014”
What’s in a Name? A Christian Reflection on Current Events
On January 28, 2015, Martha E. Stortz’s chapel talk at Augsburg College connected current events of Charlie Hebdo and Ferguson with the naming that Jesus does in the Sermon on the Mount: Light. Salt.
Her timely reflection is available electronically – What’s In a Name?
Lives Explored Videos
Martha E. Stortz (Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation) and Jack Fortin (CCV Senior Fellow) work with the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research on special vocation-related programs.
The Collegeville Institute has created a helpful video resource for personal and/or small group reflections. “Vocation is the story of our lives: how God calls and how we respond. Lives Explored is a video narrative project started in 2012 to capture stories of vocation from participants in the Called to Life and Called to Work programs.”
View the Lives Explored videos and enjoy these everyday examples of vocation in people’s life and work.
2014 ACYTI Journal
The 2014 Augsburg College Youth Theology Institute (ACYTI) Journal has been published!
This year’s ACYTI was an intense week of friendship, classroom learning, worship, solitude, contemplation, discernment, and action on Augsburg’s urban campus for high school students from around the country interested in theology.
Students participated in hands on learning with classroom discussion both at Augsburg and sites throughout the Twin Cities. At the end of their week-long journey they reflected on what they took away from the week and wrote an essay.
This year’s theme was OMC! Christian Community in the Internet Age and focused on the impact of technology on the Christian Community. Take some time and read what current high school students are learning from Augsburg’s intellectual and diverse community experience!
Vocation as Path: Following the Questions
Augsburg College hosted Seminary and Divinity School Day on October 28. This event allows regional college students to connect, reflect, and explore theological graduate study options with representatives from 18 top-notch seminaries and divinity schools.
Martha E. Stortz, Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation, gave the keynote address at the event.
Her message includes several Big Questions for reflection, and is available electronically – Vocation as Path: Following the Questions
Welcome to Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Distinguished Fellow
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Distinguished Fellow in the Christensen Center for Vocation at Augsburg College
Appointed as a Distinguished Fellow in Augsburg’s Christensen Center for Vocation, The Rev. Mark S. Hanson leads national and international initiatives to advance interfaith dialogue, inspire peacemaking, and support the College’s commitment to vocational discernment. In addition, he serves as a major gifts advisor for “Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.”
Prior to his current appointments, Hanson served as presiding bishop of the ELCA. He was elected to this position by the Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA in August 2001 and was reelected in 2007. In 2003, he was elected to serve, concurrently, as president of the Lutheran World Federation, a position he held until 2010.
Before being elected as ELCA presiding bishop, he served as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod (3H). He had been elected to serve a second term in Saint Paul earlier that same year. Prior to being elected synod bishop, he served as pastor of three Minnesota congregations: Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; Edina (Minnesota) Community Lutheran Church; and University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. Continue reading “Welcome to Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Distinguished Fellow”
Upcoming Christensen Symposium with Nadia Bolz-Weber
We have less than two weeks to go until the annual Bernhard M. Christensen Symposium with Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber: The spirituality of being a total screw-up.
The day will involve Nadia’s presentation from 10:00am-11:00am in Hoversten Chapel. It is free and open to the public!
Learn more about it through StepUP’s blog post about the Symposium.
Augsburg Students – is a career in ministry in your future?
Join us for a special Q&A session for Augsburg students with Nadia Bolz-Weber.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
3:30-4:30pm
Oren Gateway 113
Ask questions of Nadia such as, “What is your advice for those of us considering careers in ministry?” Bring your own questions and be ready for good conversation!
Recently Ordained Auggies!
This summer, three 2010 Augsburg College alumni have been ordained to ministry and began their first calls as pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. These Auggies (who also graduated from Luther Seminary in St. Paul in May of 2014) are: Michael Buller, Emily Wiles, and Peter Weston Miller.
We asked them to tell us about the congregation(s) where they serve, and what they are most energized about with their call. We are proud to celebrate their accomplishments, and we wish them well in their new vocations as pastors!
Michael Buller, Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Abercrombie, ND and Galchutt (pronounce Gal-Shoot) Lutheran Church in Galchutt, ND
My role is solo pastor of a two point parish. I am very excited about this parish because they are in desperate need of new life. They are “mission re-development sites” which essentially means that they are on the verge of closing. I received mission re-development certification in the ELCA, so we could very well be a good fit for each other.
Since arriving I have discovered that there is a great deal of life in both Abercrombie and Galchutt proper and a great deal of life in the surrounding areas. For instance we have an educational farmstead near by called Crooked Lane Farms which is only 4 miles outside of Abercrombie. They have concerts during the summer, gardening classes, crafting classes, any many other activities; super cool stuff, and wonderful people.
In November of 2015 Emmanuel Lutheran will be celebrating 125 years of faithful ministry and we will be making it into a very big event. Finally the two churches tend the grounds of a third church building. St. John’s Lutheran church is located between Emmanuel and Galchutt and is the oldest Lutheran Church building in the Eastern North Dakota synod. We have a joint worship service there each year.
I have a website folks can look at to keep tabs on what I’m up to: it is www.facebook.com/pastormbuller. There are many other pictures and stories on this site. Continue reading “Recently Ordained Auggies!”
This I Believe, February 2014: Jeanne Boeh
Respect and Vocation
Jeanne Boeh is a professor of Economics at Augsburg University
As some of you may know and some of you may even care; Adam Smith, the father of economics, is buried in Edinburgh. One of PBS’s well known and admired hosts is the travel author Rick Steve’s. I was aghast to read his explication of how to find Adam Smith’s grave in Edinburgh.
People’s Story-This interesting exhibition traces the conditions of the working class through the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Curiously, while this museum is dedicated to the proletariat, immediately around the back (embedded in the wall of the museum is the tomb of Adam Smith-the author of Wealth of Nations and the father of modern free market capitalism(1723-1790). [i]
Continue reading “This I Believe, February 2014: Jeanne Boeh”