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The CCV Blog

Meet O’Quba – AYTI Mentor

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O'Quba DuressaGreetings! My name is O’Quba Duressa, and I am from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I just finished my first year at Augsburg University, studying International Business with a minor in International Relations.

Personally, my favorite thing about Augsburg is the community and engagement it has. A few of my future career goals include running a small business of my own or perhaps working with youth from different backgrounds. As a mentor at the Augsburg Youth Theology Institute I am excited to see the oneness and fellowship we will be having!

 

MEET IAN-2018 AYTI MENTOR

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Ian HeseltineHello! My name is Ian Heseltine. I’m a first year at Augsburg University and am majoring in Music Business with a minor in Religion.  I’m from Alexandria, Minnesota which is two hours west of Minneapolis. My favorite thing about Augsburg is our incredible Religion Department and our amazing Campus Ministry Staff. They are so welcoming and have helped me dive further into my faith this year. When I graduate, I would like to get a job working as an agent/manager for Popular Music Artists. I know one side of the AYTI story but I haven’t actually experienced it, so I’m super excited to go along this incredible journey with our students this summer!

 

Meet Fidelina – 2018 AYTI Mentor

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Fidelina Xinico MoralesHi, My name is Fidelina Xinico. I am an international student from Guatemala. After this summer I will be a senior double majoring in international business and economics with a minor in management information system.

My favorite thing about Augsburg is that there are so many opportunities for you to get involved in what you are interested and passionate about. As an Augsburg student, I have participated in different student organizations and also have this amazing opportunity to be a mentor for the Augsburg Youth Theology Institute in 2017 and 2018. I have also been one of the AYTI Ambassadors for the academic year. These experiences have taught me that it is important to have a balance in your life. And AYTI has been helping me to do so by strengthening me mentally and spiritually.

I am excited about AYTI 2018; I will see you soon!

Meet Destyn- 2018 AYTI Mentor

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Destyn LandHi! I’m Destyn Land, and I’m from Saint Paul (Rondo/Frogtown Neighborhood). I’m currently a Junior here at Augsburg and I’m majoring in Communication Arts and Literature (Secondary Education Teaching Licensure). Augsburg is a place where everyone feels connected. It’s the kind of school where you will see your Dean of Students casually walking around campus, and sometimes even the President of the institution. Due to being at a smaller school, you get to build so many meaningful relationships with a diverse group of people. After graduating from Augsburg (2019), I hope to be a junior high or high school English teacher. After teaching for awhile I would like to go back to school and work with programs that are dear to my heart like Genesys Works, TRiO, Act Six, and College Possible.  I’m so excited to learn, to be challenged, and to grow with you all as we explore our faith this summer!

Best,

Destyn

Meet Lidiya – 2018 AYTI Mentor

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Hi! My name is Lidiya Ahmed, and I’m from Ethiopia. I am currently a sophomore double majoring in Space physics and Mathematics. Augsburg has given me the opportunity to learn more about vocation through multiple experiences. I couldn’t think of a place better than Augsburg to do my undergraduate degrees as I aspire to interact with people, work on community-based projects and learn about what’s outside of my research lab in order to impact people’s’ lives. I believe that scientists should serve their communities through science and service and I am glad that I get to do what I believe in as an Auggie. I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in space physics after graduation from Augsburg, and I see myself as a research scientist actively involved in community work while conducting research at national laboratories.

I’m excited to be a mentor for AYTI this year and to share with high school youth what I have learned about being a light in the world. I am hopeful that it will be a time for all of us at AYTI to be equipped in every dimension so that we can continue being change agents and light in the world!

Learn more about AYTI and this summer’s theme at http://www.augsburg.edu/ayti/

Authenticity and Christian Community

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In our learning with faith communities and young adults, the word “authenticity” found its way into many conversations and interviews. There are big important words that sometimes can risk losing their impact as they become more commonplace in our vocabulary. Authenticity is one of these words and it is worth pausing and digging deeper into how this word lands and shapes Christian faith and community.

A big thank you to Rev. Mark S. Hanson, with Augsburg’s Christensen Center for Vocation and former bishop of the ELCA, for putting thought to paper and sharing his reflections on the notion of “authenticity” with our learning community.

 

Reflections on Authenticity

by Rev. Mark S. Hanson

What words would you use to describe your congregation? When I ask that question I hear a variety of responses but rarely the word “authentic”. Yet when I listen to young adults describe the communities they value, authentic is the word I often hear.

It is more than a choice of words. I hear in the longing for authentic community a criticism of churches that seem more preoccupied with institutional survival, denominational identities, theological categories and structures of authority than with being communities of faith in which one can be vulnerable in one’s humanity and transparent about one’s identity without fear of judgment or exclusion.

It is understandable that a generation that has grown up with intense debates and divisions over who is fully welcome to participate in and lead Christian communities would long for communities that begin not with establishing criteria for acceptance but with a commitment to a radical hospitality that welcomes all.

Furthermore, I hear in the calling for authenticity a rejection of the pervasiveness of a culture of self-deception and manipulation. A culture that is often labelled “post-truth” is rejected as being antithetical to authentic community in which “my truth” and “your truth” are heard and respected. The violation of trust through sexual misconduct by those in positions of authority contributes to this distrust and disconnect from the church.

What might the longing for authenticity mean for a congregation? I believe it calls for a clear commitment that our first priority is to attentive listening rather than “we need more young people in order to help our church survive.” The yearning for authenticity begins with empathy for the challenging circumstances of another person’s life. It calls for appreciative curiosity and compassion rather than judgment. For many, authentic community will occur only after trust is established, expectations are named and wounds from painful relationships begin to heal.

Is there validity in the perception that in worship our words of confession and absolution, our pleas for Christ’s mercy and our prayers of intercession can be heard as more formulaic than heartfelt, more prescribed than authentic? The desire for authentic worship calls for more conversation than simply offering the option of contemporary or traditional worship.

I do not find it helpful to label people “Nones”. Think about what we are doing. We are describing a person as “no-one” in relationship to how we define ourselves as people of faith, religious, church members etc. An authentic community begins by letting others describe themselves in terms of their own convictions and self-understanding.

In the longing for authentic community, I hear a rejection of a culture that ascribes power and privilege on the basis of economic prosperity, gender and racial identity, sexual orientation and citizenship. I think Millennials are seeking communities –Christian and others- that are fully human which is to say communities growing more and more into the image of God whose vulnerability led God to experience the fullness of our humanity in Jesus. It is understandable why many young adults seem far more interested in Jesus than in the church. For Jesus embodies authenticity. In Jesus birth, in his tensions with family, followers and those in authority, in his weeping and pleading for mercy and in his death we see our own humanity. Jesus faithfully, graciously and tenaciously extended the embrace of God’s reign of forgiveness, love and reconciliation to those deemed unworthy, unacceptable and unlovable. It is Jesus who calls us and the Holy Spirit who empowers us to be the Beloved Community for which so many yearn.

As I listen and learn from those calling for greater authenticity I want to explore questions such as these:

  • When authenticity becomes the highest ideal for which one strives and the basis upon which others are judged, what becomes of a sense of wonder, mystery and humility in response to humanity’s complexity and capacity for both good and evil?
  • How do we create safe space for people to speak the truth of their lives without making authenticity, vulnerability and transparency rather than the grace of God freely given on account of Christ the basis for our being community?
  • How is social media serving the longing for authentic community and changing faith communities?
  • Is it possible that a priority given to striving for authenticity can lead to a life more turned in on myself than turned outward to my neighbor and God’s creation? How can the focus on authenticity keep us connected to those for whom daily bread, the cessation of violence and the search for a safe haven is their daily task?
  • How do we explore the tension created by a culture described as “post-truth”, a generation yearning for authentic community calling us to respect “my truth” and “your truth” and the gospel proclamation that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life?
  • How does baptism, the sacrament of beginning and belonging, shape the yearning for authenticity in personal lives and community?

I am grateful that the Riverside Innovation Hub provides a marvellous context for continued conversation on how a longing for greater authenticity might transform lives of faith, communities and ministries.

Rev. Mark S. Hanson

Christensen Center for Vocation

Augsburg University

Spring Vocation Lunch with robert tom

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Augsburg Faculty and Staff, you are invited to attend the spring vocation lunch with robert tom, Art Chair and Associate Professor – Ceramics and Sculpture:robert tom and family

Thursday, March 29, 2018
12:00 pm – 1:15 pm
East Commons, Christensen Center

More about our speaker:

robert k. tom has been teaching three-dimensional studio art and design at Augsburg University since 2002. His interdisciplinary creative process and teaching methodology have been influenced by his Hawaiian/Chinese heritage combined with a fusion of Eastern, Western, and Pacific Island thought and aesthetics. He creates interactive works that asks the viewer to contemplate disparate perspectives and acceptance of divergent possibilities. robert pursues a multi-media approach in seeking solutions to his questions.

A Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Collaborative grant and a Forecast Public Arts grant pairs the Augsburg University community with students from Cedar-Riverside Elementary School. This project promotes a deeper level of understanding and commitment to sustaining a more cohesive community.  One of the CR/AU collaborations is a bas-relief ceramic mural set to be installed in the new HCSBR.

Prior to working at Augsburg University, Robert taught at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and from 1995-98 was visiting faculty at Minnesota State University campus in Akita, Japan. He then followed his heart to Brisbane, Australia, to pursue studio work, and back to Minnesota in 2000 where he has since taken root.

Discernment Questions for Faith Communities

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Consider these questions an opportunity to engage your leadership, young adults and other key people in your community as you discern your faith community’s possible call into deeper ministry with young adults. Have some cups of coffee. Make time for a happy hour. Imagine and wonder where God is present in these questions and what that might mean for your faith community.

 

Describe your faith community’s capacity for risk-taking. What do you think your faith community is willing to risk or sacrifice in order to pursue a clear call from God?

 

How would you describe your congregation’s current relationship with young adults and attitudes about young adults?

 

Who in your faith community (staff and members) could be potential champions and leaders for a new effort to innovate ministry with young adults? Who would you want on your team to steward this partnership?

 

How are you equipped to support an additional person on-site during the coaching phase? Consider space availability, access to printing and communication systems within your congregation, culture of your staff and congregation.

 

What relationships do you have outside your faith community that could be an asset to innovating ministry with young adults?

 

Innovation by nature will involve success and failures and a willingness to take risks that may or may not produce the hoped-for outcomes. What do you imagine faithfulness to look like whether experiencing success or failure in this work with your faith community?

 

What do you sense God is already up to…

  • In your faith community?
  • In your community?
  • With young adults you know?

 

If you have the opportunity to talk (but mostly listen) with young adults consider asking them…

  • What gives you hope? What gives you anxiety?
  • What matters most to you?
  • What has or would draw you to be a part of a faith community? What has or would make you want to stay connected to a faith community?
  • What has or would make you not want to engage with a faith community? What do you think keeps your peers away?
  • How is God or faith influencing your life in the public places you live, work and play?

Innovative Ministry Partnership for Faith Communities

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In order for this work to have the greatest impact, we have crafted several different pathways for interested faith communities to participate in the Innovative Ministry Partnership.

On Jan. 15, 2018 our Innovative Ministry Partnership Application was made available for faith communities with a willingness and capacity to explore their call into deeper ministry with young adults. Applications for Track 1 opportunities closed Apr. 15, 2018. Still interested? We accepts Track 3 applications on a rolling basis.

 

Innovation Ministry Partner Faith Communities – Track 1 (Closed)

  • Work with the Riverside Innovation Hub for four years from the summer of 2018 through the summer of 2022.
  • Year One (summer 2018 – summer 2019): Commit to working 15-20 hours a week with a Riverside Innovation Hub young adult Innovation Coach who will walk with your faith community through a year-long process of reimagining its ministry with young adults.
  • Submit a sub-grant proposal at the end of Year One to the Riverside Innovation Hub to receive $25,000-$30,000 for innovative approaches to ministry with young adults in your context over the following two years.
  • Years Two – Three (summer 2019 – summer 2021): Manage the funds granted to your faith community and implement your plan for engaging young adults in your context in new and innovative ways.
  • Year Four (summer 2021 – summer 2022): Work with the Riverside Innovation Hub to evaluate the three previous years of learning and creating in order to learn what worked and what did not. Faith communities will also work with the Riverside Innovation Hub to share collective findings through written projects and seminars.
  • Attend regular learning cohort meetings and trainings offered by the Riverside Innovation Hub throughout the four years of partnership with the Hub.
  • Track 1 faith communities need to be located within a 30 minute drive of Minneapolis in order to be accessible to our Innovation Coaches.

Innovative Ministry Partner Faith Communities – Track 2 (Closed)

  • Identical to Track 1 with two main differences…
  • First: In Year One, faith communities will identify their own young adult Innovation Coach from their community to guide the faith community through the work of reimagining its ministry with young adults. The faith community’s Innovation Coach will participate in training at Augsburg during the weeks of August 6-24, 2018 with other Riverside Innovation Hub coaches, be a part of an Innovation Coach cohort, and invited to attend all workshops and training aimed at equipping Innovation Coaches in Year One.
  • Second: No funding will be available to Track 2 faith communities. However, they will participate in all other aspects of the partnership with Track 1 partners. They will be included in all training & learning cohorts throughout the partnership, create their own ministry proposal in Year One, implement and adapt their ministry in Years Two and Three, and participate in evaluating the learnings in Year Four.
  • Faith communities may choose to be considered for Track 2 on their own because they believe they have the resources internally to support the work or they may be located more than 30 minutes from the Twin Cities. The Riverside Innovation Hub may choose to invite faith communities who apply to be Track 1 Partners to consider Track 2 based on the fact that there are a limited number of spots available for Track 1.

Innovative Ministry Associate Faith Communities – Track 3 (Closed)

  • Some faith communities may share a deep passion and curiosity for this work but not currently be in the position to dedicate the needed resources of time, leadership, and potentially funding to commit to a four-year partnership with the Riverside Innovation Hub. An Associate Faith Community is committed to following the project, eager to be a part of the learning the flows from it, and willing to commit to being a regular participant in the learning opportunities offered through the Riverside Innovation Hub.
  • Associate Faith Communities would commit to attending Hub Seminars and workshops as the project unfolds and have opportunities to learn alongside the efforts taking shape at Partner Congregations.

 

2017-18 Christensen Scholars

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Sandra Eguida ’18Sandra Eguida

Hometown: Lome, Togo
Major: Accounting

Augsburg gave me the tools to become a leader of my community. I was inspired by a lot of Augsburg professors and advisors. They inspired me to do more and to be more. I am so grateful for all the advice and feedback I heard. Outside of class, I am the president of the International Student Organization of Augsburg. In addition, I am the Treasurer of the Accounting Club of Augsburg. This year I work as a lead staff for Augsburg residence life. Last summer, I interned for the Twin Cities Public Television. I was their accounting intern for three months. I really enjoyed their company and the work I did for them. After graduation, I want to go to grad school and get a Masters in Accounting. I really want to be an expert in my field.

Benjamin erickson ’18Benjamin Erickson

Hometown: Andover, Minnesota
Major: Finance, Economics, Marketing

My favorite thing about Augsburg is the one-of-a-kind community that is here on campus. I also love how connected the alumni are to the school. I think that shows the lasting mark Augsburg leaves on the students that come here. Outside of class, I’m a captain on the Augsburg Cross Country team, a member of the Track and Field team, and the Treasurer and a member of various student groups. Last year, I went to Peru with the Augsburg Cross Country Team and volunteered by restoring ancient Inca ruins for a non-profit organization. My proudest academic achievement was being awarded the Academic All-American Award by the NCAA for Track and Field. After graduation, I plan to have a job with a bank or financial institution as a financial analyst where I can learn and gain experience.

Demey everett ’19Demey Everett

Hometown: Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Major: Biology and Secondary Education
Minor: Religion

Augsburg has shaped me in many ways. The most influential part though, would be having an open mind in all things, meeting new people, and having new experiences. Without attending Augsburg, I would not be the person I am today. Outside of the classroom you can find me playing lacrosse for Augsburg, running, biking, kayaking, and exploring all over the wonderful state of Minnesota. I love to be outdoors and take it all in. In addition, for the past six years I have actively volunteered at the church I attend, serving on the production team on Sunday mornings. After graduation, I plan to go into the education field and teach life sciences for middle school or high school, as well as coach lacrosse and be actively involved in a youth ministry either connected to the school or the community around it.

Zachery Juaire ’18Zachery Juaire

Hometown: Belle Plaine, Minnesota
Major: Exercise Science

Augsburg has made me a global citizen by experiencing multi-cultural opportunities within the campus community. My favorite thing about Augsburg is the community connection. The campus provides a setting in which students can cultivate many deep friendships. Outside of class, I have volunteered at TRIA Orthopedics Center in Bloomington over the past summer and now I have secured a position volunteering at Methodist Hospital in their physical therapy department. After graduation, I plan to apply to graduate schools for physical therapy.

bethany keyl ’19Bethany Keyl

Hometown: New Haven, Connecticut
Major: Cross-Cultural Studies and Religion
Minor: Spanish

I love Augsburg’s emphasis on “vocation.” I feel very passionately that the work I end up doing in the world should be something I feel called do. I am still very much figuring out what that will be, but with every passing year I feel I have somewhat more of a direction than I did the last year. And I feel so supported by Augsburg’s faculty and staff members who continue to encourage me to figure out what is best for me, but also, along the theme of vocation, to explore where my gifts best meet the needs of the world. I feel so privileged to have been able to study abroad twice during my time at Augsburg (so far!). I went to Amman, Jordan for a semester last year to study Arabic and Middle Eastern Culture. I met so many incredible people there, and had experiences I will never forget, such as walking around Petra, riding a camel through the desert, harvesting olives, and rappelling down a waterfall. Then, this summer I went to Norway to study peace-building and interfaith work. I was impressed by Norway and Norwegians’ commitments to peace, but I also was inspired to realize that if even they still have work to do, the rest of the world really needs to roll up its sleeves. In my first year I interned at Trinity Lutheran Church. While there, I was the Program Assistant for their tutoring program and had the opportunity to be a member of the planning committee for the bi-monthly interfaith conversations hosted in Cedar Commons.

Bashiru “BK” Korman ’18

Hometown: Maple Grove, Minnesota
Major: International Relations/International Business
Minor: Political Science, Spanish, Leadership

My proudest academic achievement was becoming the student body president. I have had multiple internships. Through UpTunships and the Strommen Center, I interned at Breakthrough Twin Cities as Student Services Specialist. This past summer I interned with the Metropolitan Council as an Office of Equal Opportunity Urban Scholar. Outside of class, I participate in Augsburg Men’s Soccer, Student for Racial Justice, Student Government, and LEAD Fellows. After graduation, I plan to work for U.S. Foreign Service and go to graduate school.

Katie Jane Kvilvang ’18Katie Kvilvang

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MN
Major: Youth and Family Ministry
Minor: Psychology

My proudest academic achievement was taking all-team athletic academic achievements, while working, playing lacrosse, and attending school full time. Outside of class, I play women’s lacrosse, and volunteer each Wednesday as a youth leader at an Assembly of God youth group. I work in most of my other free time, with a work-study job, as well as an EMT back up north on the weekends. After graduation, I plan to continue with my part time job as an EMT, as well as work as a pastor, for starters. Eventually, I would like to become a hospital chaplain and work to help people through grief and loss, as best as I can, all while showing God’s love. This might entail continuing education and getting my masters degree, but that is something I plan on just having God guide me through.

Kassandra Quintero Diaz ’19Kassandra Quintero Diaz

Hometown: Bloomington, Minnesota
Major: Accounting

Augsburg has taught me to look with in myself. It has taught me to use more empathy towards my neighbor and just to be a good person in our community. At Augsburg, I have had several study abroad experiences, including going to Belgium and to Germany with my Lacrosse team and getting to learn about World War II and see some of the museums they have. Outside of class, I am a two sport athlete here at Augsburg. I run Cross Country and play Woman’s Lacrosse. I also volunteer with the Campus Kitchen along with just creating fun games for the kids from Riverside. After graduation, I plan to find my vocation while traveling the world.

tiffany widseth ’19

Tiffany WidsethHometown: Aurora, Minnesota
Major: Exercise Science (Pre PT route)
Minor: Religion and Biology

My favorite thing about Augsburg is that the community here is so welcoming and full of amazing people. I meet new people all the time and am constantly learning from them. My proudest academic achievement was presenting research as a McNair Scholar at the University of California Berkeley in 2017. I have worked with faculty on validating a modified version of a tool called the Functional Movement Screen. It is used to assess imbalances and compensatory movements in athletes that may lead to injury. Outside of class, I had a summer internship in 2016 at Northern Pines Hospital in Aurora, Minn. I have also shadowed many Physical Therapy offices around the Iron Range. I have also studied abroad in Nicaragua for a class on Liberation Theology. After graduation, I plan to go on to graduate school and earn my Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

 

Kasibu “Jondi” Zanzu ’18

Kasibu Jondi ZanzuHometown: San Diego, California
Major: Exercise Science
Minor: Religion and Biology

My proudest academic achievement is being able to attend a University, and also being a first generation college student in my family. Augsburg has made me more knowledgeable and more aware of the different culture, diversity, and religion this institution has. I currently volunteer with Bridging in Roseville, Minnesota. After graduation, I plan to go Madagascar and teach during the summer of 2018, then attend grad school at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for Physical Therapy.