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Launching a New Riverside Innovation Hub Learning Community!

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Event Recap

On Friday, July 30th and Saturday, July 31st, the Riverside Innovation Hub gathered online with 75 participants from 12 local congregations to mark the launch of new learning community. We spent our time together learning more about who is in the learning community, how our learning will take shape, and what’s next.
Enjoy a few highlights from our event.

Introductions to Congregationsmap of Minneapolis with pins of congregations

One person from each congregation was invited to introduce their congregation and why they’re participating now. Some shared that they hope this learning community can provide  guidance as they reimagine what church might look like after the pandemic has disrupted the ways in which the church had often remained inside the four walls of a building, or for others in time of deep transition. Some congregations hope that this learning community helps hold them accountable to the neighbor-oriented work they have wanted to do, but have not always been able to make a priority. Others hope for a process to learn how to be good neighbors in their neighborhoods. See this blog post for a list of partner congregations.

Continue reading “Launching a New Riverside Innovation Hub Learning Community!” →

Meet our RIH Congregational Facilitators

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The Riverside Innovation Hub is excited to introduce our Congregational Facilitators who will be working directly with our 12 new partner congregations over the next two years. You can read more about each of them below.

Geoffrey Gill

Image of a smiling black man, black hair, white shirt in foreground. Green shrubs and red building in backgroundGeoffrey Gill began his ministry to youth as a youth leader for Faith Tabernacle Church, in Minneapolis. From there, he has worked with youth within the community in a variety of capacities, including working with the Youth Advisory Council for National Youth Leadership, and starting “Helping Young Men” a  nonprofit mentorship group at Central High School in St. Paul.

Geoffrey is a graduate of Augsburg University in Minneapolis, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in youth and Family Ministry. He is a certified Master Life Coach from the Best Life Coaching Society, in Fargo, ND.

Along with private coaching clients, a consulting partnership, healing and restorative justice circles, Geoffrey also works with teenage boys, who are in recovery for substance abuse.

Geoffrey is a man of God, a mentor, coach, educator and father of a wonderful son, whom he considers his number one investment, and the fire of his legacy.

Jennifer Starr Dodd

headshot of Jennifer with a building in the backgroundFor over twenty years, Jennifer Starr Dodd has been committed to building community vitality by connecting with and empowering others to be the change that they would like to see around them. Through relationship, Jennifer has been successful in this goal by turning ideas into attainable goals for the populations she is serving.

Having worked with at-risk children, youth, and young adults for 15 years, Jennifer masterfully intersects education, experience, and environment   to promote awareness, understanding, and opportunity.

Jennifer shared her expertise in curriculum development and implementation when she served as a Teacher’s Assistant at Saint Paul Public Schools, and when she facilitated a wide range of academic and enrichment classes for school districts located in Apple Valley, Rosemount, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville, Hastings, and Washington County for REACH With Me, an educational company that merged education with enrichment to help students develop a passion for learning.

Continue reading “Meet our RIH Congregational Facilitators” →

Meet the Newest Riverside Innovation Hub Congregational Learning Partners!

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The Riverside Innovation Hub, an initiative of the Christensen Center for Vocation, is launching a new learning community! We are excited to partner and learn alongside of these eleven faith communities that are located throughout the Twin Cities metro area. Check out the map and list below to learn more about our new congregational learning partners. We’re looking forward to accompanying these churches over the next two years as we focus on being and becoming Public Church.

Faith Communities:

 

Meet Our Newest Team Members!

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Meet Danielle! headshot of Danielle Tucker

She is the new Program Coordinator for Augsburg Youth Theology Institute (AYTI). She was born in Minneapolis and has spent most of her life here.
In 2014, she graduated from Augsburg University with a degree in Educational Studies. She also holds an Associate of Liberal Arts from Minneapolis Community & Technical College.

“I love Jesus and engaging with youth and young adults for his purposes on this side of heaven. I am an active member of my home church, New Salem Missionary Baptist Church where I serve as a Youth Bible Study teacher and for Lead our Youth/Young Adult Mentorship Initiative. I believe we were created to live relationally and hold sacred the relationships I have been blessed to experience in my youth servant leader role both in the church and in my community as well as where they intersect. When I am not with my family or serving Gods’ people, I enjoy crafting, curating, creating for my business “Created to Create” and listening to audiobooks.”

Meet Lara! headshot of Lara Moll

She was hired in January as the Communications Coordinator for the Hub. Her primary responsibilities include running social media, developing storytelling platforms, and updating the blogs and websites as we begin accompanying the next wave of congregations.

Lara graduated with her B.A from Concordia College in 2019 with a double major in theatre art and communication studies. In June, she will be graduating with her M.A from Luther Seminary in Children, Youth and Family Studies. In her free time, she is an editor for Working Preacher podcasts, a director/choreographer for children’s theatre, and a very involved dog mom to her best boy, Winston.

“Since joining the team, I’ve seen passion, patience and a push toward the public church framework. This Hub is doing incredible work to accompany congregations as they learn to thrive beyond the walls of their buildings. I look forward to sharing their stories in unique ways that showcase their transformations since we started our walk together.”

 

Reflections on White Supremacy Culture Characteristics

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This reflection has been written by Amanda Vetsch who works as the Congregational Coordinator of the Riverside Innovation Hub and has recently completed her Master’s theses which focused on dismantling white supremacy, the church, and Lutheran theology. 

A blank pad of paper with three pens lays on top on a laptop computer. The computer rests on a table top with more pens in a holder to the right side.The staff of the Riverside Innovation Hub have recently spent time reflecting on the list of “White Supremacy Culture Characteristics” written by Tema Okun to better understand how the characteristics of White Supremacy show up in ourselves, our initiatives, communities, and institutions. Some of the staff attended a webinar co-hosted by Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and Tema Okun to mark the 20th anniversary of this list and to begin the launch of new website and updates to the list of characteristics of white supremacy. 

Continue reading “Reflections on White Supremacy Culture Characteristics” →

Transformed by the Public Church Framework: Trinity Lutheran Congregation

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Today’s post comes from Pastor Liesl Spitz. She served as Intern Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Congregation from 2017 to 2019 and is currently one of the pastors at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in St. Paul. 

This blog is one in a of a series of stories of transformation from our congregational learning partners, which illustrate the larger story of our project and learning partnerships as we begin to promote another learning partnership opportunity. 

overhead image of cheese pizzaI stop by Domino’s on my way to church. It’s Friday night at 9pm. When I get there I meet one of our young adults, and we walk to the corner of Cedar and Riverside. A plastic table is already set up with a kettle of tea and a warming bag to hold the pizzas. Just cheese, no meat, Abdi told us when we offered to bring them. It’s what the guys prefer.

Abdi Mukhtar is the founder of Daryeel Youth. Daryeel means “care” in Somali. Each Friday night, even in the coldest winter, Abdi shares chai tea and pizza with young men in our neighborhood who are most vulnerable to drug use and violence. Weekend nights at the corner of Cedar and Riverside is where Abdi had seen the most harm. So weekend nights at that corner is where he sets up.

Continue reading “Transformed by the Public Church Framework: Trinity Lutheran Congregation” →

The Art of Public Ministry

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This video is the second of two introducing you to the work of the Riverside Innovation Hub which is an initiative of Augsburg University’s Christensen Center for Vocation. You can see the first video and blog post here.

At Augsburg University, we are convening learning communities of congregations and ministry leaders to explore new ways of being engaged in their contexts that create opportunities for the mutual sharing of good news with our neighbors.

Continue reading “The Art of Public Ministry” →

The Foundations for a Public Church

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This video introduces you to the work of the Riverside Innovation Hub which is an initiative of Augsburg University’s Christensen Center for Vocation. The video is about 60 minutes long. It is the first video of a two part series. This video covers the foundations upon which our work is built. The second video explains the process we use to do this work. This blog will give you some context for the video.

At Augsburg University, we are very committed to the theological concept of vocation in which Christ frees and empowers each person to be co-creators with God in the work of healing creation. Or, in a nutshell, Christ frees us to participate in our neighbors thriving.

Continue reading “The Foundations for a Public Church” →

Transformed by the Public Church Framework: Church of All Nations

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Today’s blog post comes from Marie Page at Church of All Nations in Columbia Heights. She shares the story of the learnings and transformation their community has experienced by being a learning partner in the Riverside Innovation Hub.

This blog is the second in a series of stories of transformation from our congregational learning partners. We hope these stories illustrate the larger story of our project as we promote another learning partnership opportunity. 

church of all nations logo with white dove over multicolored cross

When we first started conversations with Riverside Innovation Hub, we could hardly have imagined the depth and variety of challenges that would face our congregation and our society in these past few years; but the insights and collaborative support we received through our partnership could not have come at a better time.

In the initial stages of the process, the public church framework offered clarity and a healthy challenge as we discerned where the Spirit was calling us. Their early enthusiasm was additional confirmation that our desire for a regenerative reset of our relationship with the land itself was an idea that could catch imagination and spark passion with many. Church “as we’ve always done it,” we sensed, was increasingly failing to satisfy the hunger of our members and community. With the support of our RIH partners, we began our multi-year permaculture project.

Continue reading “Transformed by the Public Church Framework: Church of All Nations” →

Thriving Congregations: Learning Partnership Application Process

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The Minneapolis Area Synod and Augsburg University’s Christensen Center for Vocation were both awarded a Thriving Congregations grant through the Lilly Endowment to support work with area congregations. These individual projects share a commitment to accompanying  congregations as they discern their call to BE neighbor, rooted in their faith and opened to the neighborhood.

Our two organizations are partnering to support each other in this work. While the particular experiences of congregations who participate in either project will differ in some key ways, our mutual efforts and curiosities are in sync with each other. This opens room to collaborate and learn together over the life of this initiative.

Our collaboration begins in offering a joint application process for congregations interested in either (or both) of these projects. Whether you are interested in MAS’s “Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices” learning community or Augsburg’s “Riverside Innovation Hub” learning community, we are providing a single application process. Our staff members are partnering closely to offer congregations a straightforward and thoughtful experience as you discern the exciting opportunities that our Thriving Congregation’s Grants are making available.

For brief project descriptions, distinctions, and eligibility for each project you can see this PDF document.  

Project Descriptions & Eligibility

Riverside Innovation HubRiverside Hub Logo

The Riverside Innovation Hub, stewarded by the Christensen Center for Vocation at Augsburg University, will learn and experiment with the Public Church Framework as a method for place based vocational discernment in the public square for the common good. This new opportunity is an invitation to congregations interested in pursuing or deepening this same orientation in their particular place, in relationship with the neighbor and neighborhood, leaning into God’s promises and challenges that meet us there. This project is open to all Christian congregations within an hour of the Twin Cities Metro Area. Congregations outside this geographic area may apply but should know their experience in the project may differ slightly. Participation in the learning community will include bringing teams to Augsburg’s campus 3-4 times a year (as COVID-19 allows.)
Learn More about Riverside Innovation Hub

 

Neighboring Practices and Faith PracticesMinneapolis area synod logo

Neighboring Practices and Faith Practices, stewarded by the Minneapolis Area Synod, will focus on faith practices and neighboring practices, because congregations connect best with their neighborhood when they practice their faith and they see with new eyes that God is already at work in their neighborhood. The Minneapolis Area Synod project is open to all Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) congregations within the geographic boundaries of the Minneapolis Area Synod and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregations within Minnesota.

Learn More about Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices

 

Application Process

Step 1: Learn more:

colorful pens atop a blank notebook bag with open laptop in the backgroundCo-hosted informational sessions were offered in February. Each project is hosting one additional opportunity specific to their project.

For Minneapolis Synod congregations, watch for a workshop at the MAS Toolkit event on Saturday, March 13th.

For congregations interested in the Riverside Innovation Hub, RSVP at the link below for an info session on Tuesday, Mar 16th from 10:30-11:30am.

Note: RIH is open to any Christian denomination in the metro area or surrounding cities. MAS is open to ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod churches and Minnesota AME churches.

RSVP to RIH Info Session

 

Step 2: Submit Letter of Intent

Accepted on a rolling basis

Congregations interested in pursuing the application process with either the MAS or RIH projects are asked to have their senior pastor submit a letter of intent to apply, via a google form. Letters of intent will be accepted on a rolling basis, until the end of the application period.

Submission of your letter of intent will:

  • Allow congregations to indicate which project they are considering and why. And if you are considering both projects, why.
  • Help MAS and RIH staff streamline communications as the application process moves forward by adding you to direct mailings about the process and being available to you for further conversation.
  • Help your congregational leaders move through the application process in a timely and thoughtful way.

Form to Submit a Letter of Intent

 

Step 3: Submit Application

Submit on or before April 15, 2021

The Riverside Innovation Hub and Minneapolis Area Synod are collaborating on a joint application. The application Google form will include a “Primary Application” and supplemental questions for each project. Eligible congregations are welcome to apply for both opportunities, however if selected, you’ll only be invited to participate in one.

PDF Copy of the Application

 

Step 4: Invitation Process

clipart of calendar with checkmark at the end of the month over the top of a teal circleRIH and MAS will review applications together and extend invitations to selected congregations (12 RIH) and (15 MAS) on May 15th. Congregations will have until May 28th to accept the invitation.

 Augsburg’s learning community begins July 2021 and runs through July 2023. 

The Minneapolis Area synod learning community begins September 2021 and runs through September 2023.

 

 

Contact us:

Additional questions? You can reach out to Amanda Vetsch with RIH (vetsch@augsburg.edu), Kristina Fruge with RIH (frugek@augsburg.edu), or Nick Tangen with MAS (n.tangen@mpls-synod.org).