Radical welcome meets sacred hospitality: Jason Chesnut on digital ministry in a new era Jason Chesnut (2010, MDiv) would be the first to admit that his work may sound unfamiliar to those committed to traditional ways of reaching congregations. “I’m not cut out for parish ministry,” Chesnut says, “and that’s OK.” It’s more than OK; […]
A joyous, in-person 2022 commencement The weather cooperated and being together in person to mark the accomplishments that led to this day provided an air of satisfaction and joy. Eleven alumni from the Classes of 2021 and 2020, who had been invited back to walk, were among the honored graduates. Paul C. Pribbenow, president of […]
Four to receive distinguished alumni awards Four LSTC graduates will be honored when alumni return to campus Oct. 11-12 for Homecoming/Alumni Week. They are: Jason Chesnut (2010, MDiv) will receive the 2022 Witness to the World award, given to a clergy or lay person engaged in the work of public church in any setting. Chesnut is […]
An Overflow of Abundance: Barbara Rossing and Lauren Johnson If you talk to Barbara Rossing about her call to theological education, you’ll hear a word often repeated: abundance. Rossing grew up in Northfield, Minn., with a current population of nearly 21,000. It’s the home of Carleton College, where Rossing studied geology as an undergraduate. She […]
Mirrors and windows: Saints are for Lutherans, too She’s now sainted,” Kurt Hendel said with love and a tear in his eye, indicating that the woman in the picture had died. He was presenting a digital memory book of former classmates, spouses of classmates, and friends all united by an experience with the Seminex tradition. […]
Alum reflects on the legacy of professors Klein and Krentz In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Hobbits Merry and Pippin, confused and a bit lost at having been separated from their party, find themselves in Fangorn Forest. There, these diminutive Hobbits (a bit under 5 feet, by Tolkien’s measure) are addressed […]
A public pastor for a public church More than 50 years ago, in 1968 to be precise, Brian Eklund (MDiv 1970) was a spritely 20-something seminarian. Axel Kildegaard, professor of theology and director of contextual education at LSTC, approached him for a conversation that would change his life. Kildegaard had been ready to send Eklund […]
Madagascar pastor returns home as a systematic theologian When the Malagasy Lutheran Church identified Hery Andrianotahina Naivoson as a trailblazer, he accepted the call to further his education in the United States, particularly LSTC. Naivoson is a pastor in Madagascar, a big island in the Indian Ocean separated from Africa by the Mozambique Channel, nearly […]
Strategic plan update: Accomplishments & focus on new priorities We’re nearly halfway through LSTC’s strategic plan for 2021-2023 that the board of directors approved in November 2020. And although prayer has been part of it, it’s also taken a lot of time, work and commitment. We need it all “for such a time as this” […]
Vance Blackfox: Shifting the narrative of mission and service From an early age, Vance Blackfox (2012, MATS) felt a call to help others feel included. Blackfox has fulfilled that call in many different roles across the church: as a youth leader and a director of youth programs, in positions at Women of the ELCA and […]
