I am one of the Student Assistants at the Christensen Center and Augsburg Youth Theology Institute. Having a positive impact on others is very important to me, from my work to my schooling to my personal life. I have worked for organizations like City Hall and Second Harvest that value helping others. It is also why I accepted my current position with the CCV and AYTI. I value gaining experience and opportunities that will benefit me in the future.听
Renee Christensen 鈥�23 (she/her)
Major: Theology and public leadership, Minor: Psychology
Hometown: Shafer, MN.
I am one of the Augsburg Youth Theology Institute Student Assistants, and have worked with AYTI for 3 years! I was lucky enough to attend AYTI as a participant and fell in love with Augsburg and this program! I am so excited to share all of the great ways AYTI has impacted the lives of youth!
Jam Pashyayeva 鈥�25 (she/her)
Major: Graphic Design
Hometown: Capital of Azerbaijan, Baku.
I am an international student at Augsburg. I am good at a range of different skills such as cooking, writing, and all sorts of sports (cycling, tennis, basketball, swimming and etc.). I know English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Azerbaijani languages on an exceptional level and currently learning French and Italian. I worked as a personal translator for Ko莽Sistem Company Director. Art was always my passion since a very young age that’s why I decided that working in the sphere that will require my skills and this position at CCV as part-time work is the best opportunity to start learning and getting on the right track for my future career.
Aaron Puent 鈥�23 (he/him)
Major: Religion w/ Concentration in Global Religions and Interfaith Studies
Hometown: La Crosse, WI.
Working in CCV is important to me because it combines my passion for studying theology with my interest in helping others find the spiritual and intellectual tools that they need. I began working with CCV last year when I was an AYTI mentor. The following fall, I was able to join as a recruiter for the Public Church Scholars program. Because of this work, I can help others find what they need for future success, and I am still learning about Augsburg, its affiliations, and the behind-the-scenes work that goes on in the background.听听
Sarah Runck 鈥�24 (she/her)听
Major: Music Therapy听
Hometown: New Ulm MN
I love to play instruments which include flute, piano, guitar, and ukulele. I also grew up on a farm where I always liked to be outside and go on walks. Along with this, I was involved with my church growing up. Some church things included helping with VBS, teaching Religious education to 2nd graders, helping with music, and helping with festivals. Faith has always been a strong passion of mine and working at CCV has given me the opportunity to grow in my faith and learn about other religions. I am excited to keep learning and to hear more stories!
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 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听 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.
Today鈥檚 blog post comes from Kristina Fruge鈥檚 sermon at 绿茶直播鈥檚 chapel on January 28, 2020. To listen to her message, click the soundcloud link below. To read her message, you can find the transcript below the soundcloud link.
Pay Attention – Lament – Be Bold
The theme in chapel this month as been: 鈥淧ublic Church: Sticking with Love.鈥� Doing so, in part, by leaning into Dr. King鈥檚 words from his speech in August of 1967: 鈥淎nd I say to you, I have also decided to stick to love鈥ate is too great a burden to bear.鈥澨�The question Pr. Babette & Pr. Justin posed to those preaching on this theme was:
Amid chaos and hardship in our society, how might we as church stick to an ethic of love and embody a public witness that works for justice and peace in God鈥檚 world?
This is a big question. One pleading for attention and demanding a response. It is a question directed at the church. And as someone born, raised, educated and employed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the nation鈥檚 whitest Christian denomination鈥 offer a response to this question as someone a part of this community鈥�.
Right upfront, let me name this: The church has failed to respond to this question. It isn鈥檛 that we鈥檝e been holding fast to an ethic of love and simply need to rise to the increasing challenges and chaos in the world. No. The hardship we see, which seems to grow in intensity each day, we in fact share responsibility for. I鈥檓 afraid that we, church, have been doing more to contribute to the hardship and chaos than we have been doing to confront it.听
I know many of you could share examples to the contrary – examples of love lived out and people coming together for peace and justice. Dr. Martin Luther King and many others who took the charge in the civil rights movement would be examples of this. Please, do not hear me dismissing the miracles of how the Holy Spirit has worked in and through this church and each of you in this place. God鈥檚 witness does live here. I鈥檝e seen it. However, I would suggest that more often the sacred ways God鈥檚 love has showed up in the world have been in spite of the church, rather than because of it.听
The call to be neighbor beyond the boundaries of our own comfort and imagination will necessitate that we, church, face some uncomfortable realities.听
Our American church history was built in tandem with breaking bodies and stealing homes through the unholy marriage between Christianity, slavery and the genocide of indiegenous peoples. The church has had a hand in countless casualties.
This history has not been righted and the casualties continue. The church, like many institutions, continues to be complicit in perpetuating unjust systems that benefit the dominant culture and harm those with less power and privilege.听听
We in the church have too often opted for a lukewarm misrepresentation of the gospel, one that quiets the radical, disruptive message and life of Jesus in favor of 鈥渘ice guy鈥� Jesus. We like the idea of loving the whole world, but we prefer to keep the fullness of Jesus and our neighbor at arms length.听
These are uncomfortable and dangerous realities. I am not going to dissect them further here, but they must be named as they drastically shape the landscape we, church, must figure out how to travel upon. What I offer in our short time together, are three invitations to the church that I believe offer more faithful bearings from which to navigate the realities of this world and the call to enter into it.
Our first invitation: Learn to pay attention. Mine the gaps.
.
Author Annie Dillard spends much of her writing pondering the curious gaps in the natural world. (read quote – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, p. 268-269) I revisit these words often because they remind me to slow down and be present and open. This attention to the gaps has helped me learn to pay attention to the world. All of it. The beauty, the heartache, the sacred.听听
This practice of paying attention helps me notice the gaps here too – between us people. You know these gaps. They exist in the spaces where broken systems damage people鈥檚 lives, safety, identity and opportunity at a livelihood. These gaps often exist along racial, class, gender, religious or political lines. They show up at the borders we arbitrarily draw between humanity and all of creation. These gaps can be so overwhelming that they create another gap, the one that exists between me and my neighbor and my fear that I鈥檓 incapable of crossing it sufficiently enough to respond, to repair. The gap between the heartache of the world and our ability to enter into it in reparative ways is staggering.听
I suppose it鈥檚 not so surprising that we often sidestep the gaps, if we have the privilege to do so. And when we don鈥檛 have that privilege to do so, we are left carrying the heavy burden of life, seemingly alone.听 The heartache – my own and my neighbors – is something I would rather bypass most days for fear of what I might really encounter or be asked to respond to if I enter in.
Here is where the psalmist comes in. And our second invitation…
Enter into lament. Hold space for confession.
Let me reread just a few stanzas from our Psalm this morning鈥�
My tears have been my food
听听听听day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
听听听听鈥淲here is your God?鈥�
Deep calls to deep
听听听听in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
听听听听have swept over me.
My bones suffer mortal agony
听听听听as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
听听听听鈥淲here is your God?鈥�
The text is raw. This lament, like many of our psalms, stings. I find myself simultaneously drawn to its words and resisting them. The psalmist鈥檚 pleas for God鈥檚 presence and their prose, naming the rushing waves of deep heartache, stir memories of pain. Have your tears ever been your food, day and night? Have your bones ever ached in agony? Have you ever felt abandoned, not knowing where your help would come from?听
Lament psalms are the most common psalm in scripture, yet ecumenical studies of worship liturgies, hymnals and contemporary Christian worship music have found that our American biblical narrative is heavily lopsided in favor of praise and celebration. The psalms and other songs of lament are the most often omitted.听
Lament is not a posture the church in America often opens itself up to. Soong-Chan Rah, pastor and author of Prophetic Lament, says this: 鈥淭he American church avoids lament. The power of lament is minimized and the underlying narrative of suffering that requires lament is lost. But absence doesn鈥檛 make the heart grow fonder. Absence makes the heart forget…We forget the necessity of lamenting over suffering and pain. We forget the reality of suffering and pain.鈥�
Walter Bruggemann says that the main point of lament is to point to the fact that, 鈥淟ife is not right. It is now noticed and viced that life is not as it was promised to be.鈥� The voices of lament that linger in neighborhoods, homes, and schools… in rivers, farmland and forests across America in 2020, are exactly the kinds of voices we should be straining to hear. How will we ever know what our proclamations of good news must sound like, taste like, feel like, look like, if we do not dwell in the places of lament and let the waters of the world鈥檚 grief swell and speak.听
We must be willing to pay attention to the gaps and enter the places of lament. And when lament speaks truth to unjust realities, we must be open to how our proclamation requires confession.听
And on that note, the last invitation I offer this morning is this: Be brave. Be humble.听
This is why we need more than 鈥渘ice guy鈥� Jesus. Nice guy Jesus thinks of love as a warm feeling we can have for others at a safe distance. Nice guy Jesus works to protect the comforts of privilege and would never dream of challenging our complacency.听
Jesus wasn鈥檛 a nice guy. Loving yes, absolutely yes. Nice, no. The bold intensity of the way Jesus loved brought him out into the gaps of this world, into the places where those who were most forgotten dwelled. The bold intensity of the way Jesus loved brought him face to face with gaps in systems and practices that were way out of line with God鈥檚 intentions for creation. The way he loved was so radical, it earned him many enemies and it ultimately got him executed. This love knew the reality of suffering and pain. This love did not sidestep heartache. It stepped further into it.听
This is the kind of love Dr. King aligned himself with. The kind of love was and is a verb. Like Jesus鈥� love, it lives in bodies and steps into the gaps of heartache, pain, and injustice. This embodied love is a way of being in the world. It is the source of courage to do what is right in the face of fear and uncertainty.听
Sometimes I need to remind my nine year old, you can be afraid and brave at the same time. Whether he is attempting to rock climb for the first time or needs to go into the dark basement alone to get a clean pair of socks, I tell him, you can be afraid and still find courage to do what you need to do. I think we church, can do the same. It will require a posture of trembling and trust. We will need to be brave and humble.听
If embodying a public witness of justice and peace in the world that aligns with Jesus is our aim, then we must enter the places where deep calls to deep. Where the waves slam with a forceful intensity, where we are in over our heads.听 These places are immense, frightening, powerful, and even, beautiful. We can do this trusting God is in it, already working in the mystery, beckoning the waves to tide towards justice.听
As we go about from this place today, I plead with you to carry these invitations:
Learn to pay attention. Mine the gaps.
Enter into lament. Hold space for confession.听
Be brave. Be humble.听
And for heaven and earth鈥檚 sake, stick to love and stick together. Amen.听
Today’s blog post comes from Jeremy Myers’ sermon at 绿茶直播’s chapel on January 21, 2020. To listen to his message, click the soundcloud link below. To read his message, you can find the transcript below the soundcloud link.听
I don鈥檛 want to stand here in the wake of Dr. King鈥檚 day and give you a bunch of my words. So, my intent is to allow Dr. King tell us what it means to live our lives as public people of faith. But, to get there, I must share a couple of my own stories.
Those of you who have been confirmed in a Lutheran church might be familiar with the question, 鈥淲hat does this mean?鈥� It is the question Martin Luther uses through his small catechism to help his readers begin to understand what the various confessions of faith in that catechism might mean for their daily lives. It is a powerful question within the Lutheran tradition. One we should always keep in front of us.
In November of 2014 we put my father into assisted living because his dementia was beginning to the win the fight for his mind. He had been a Lutheran pastor his entire professional career and he loved asking the 鈥淲hat does this mean?鈥� question. One day a local pastor came to the assisted living home to lead a bible study. This pastor turned to my dad and asked him when he had last experienced Jesus鈥� love in his life. My dad looked the pastor square in her eyes and responded, 鈥淲hat does this mean?鈥� I鈥檓 not sure if my father understood the pastor鈥檚 question. He could not remember how to take communion. He couldn鈥檛 remember the words of his favorite bible stories or hymns. He no longer even remembered who I was, but he held on tightly to this question, What does it mean?
Drawing of MLK done by Jeremy Myers’ father
In April of 1968 my father was a 26 year-old seminary student doing an internship at an African-American congregation in St. Louis. He was assigned to preach the Sunday after Dr. King was assassinated. He couldn鈥檛 find the words to write a sermon, so his pen and pencil sketched this picture听as he asked himself, What does this mean? My dad was trying to figure out what it meant to be a pastor in the wake of Dr. King鈥檚 assassination. What does it mean to be a public Christian leader in the midst of pain, and suffering, and tragedy and evil?
Before I go further into Dr. King鈥檚 sermons, I first have to give you some context. This is from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro鈥檚 great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen鈥檚 Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 鈥渙rder鈥� than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: 鈥淚 agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action鈥�; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man鈥檚 freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 鈥渕ore convenient season.鈥� Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
This is me. He is talking to me. And, I believe my father knew Dr. King was talking to him as well. Dr. King is a radical, calling us to be radical
Dr. King has given us many ways of thinking about what it means to be a public Christian leader. In August of 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was asking and addressing this question. He and others were arrested for protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. He had been criticized by Christian and Jewish clergy for breaking the law and being an extremist. He penned the famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail in response. Let me read an excerpt from it.
YOU spoke of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. . . But as I continued to think about the matter, I gradually gained a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist.听
Was not Jesus an extremist in love? — “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.”听
Was not Amos an extremist for justice? — “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”听
Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ? — “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”听
Was not Martin Luther an extremist? — “Here I stand; I can do no other so help me God.
So, the question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?鈥�
When someone asks, What does it mean to be a public Christian, it is safe to say, it means to be an extremist for love.
The 鈥渢ransformed nonconformist鈥� is another phrase Dr. King uses to describe the calling of the Christian in the public square. He says . . .听
“In spite of this prevailing tendency to conform, we as Christians have a mandate to be nonconformists. . .听
The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists, who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood.听听The trailblazers . . . have always been nonconformists.听听In any cause that concerns the progress of [humankind], put your faith in the nonconformist! . . .”
Nonconformity in itself, however, may not necessarily be good and may at times possess neither transforming nor redemptive power. . . Paul [in Romans] offers a formula for constructive nonconformity: 鈥淏e transformed by the renewing of your mind.鈥澨齆onconformity is creative when it is controlled and directed by a transformed life and is constructive when it embraces a new mental outlook.
Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.听听The transformed nonconformist, moreover, never yields to the passive sort of patience that is an excuse to do nothing.听. .听
[They] recognize that social change will not come overnight, yet [they] work as though it is an imminent possibility.
When someone asks, What does it mean to be a public Christian, it is safe to say, it means to be an extremist for love, a transformed nonconformist.
Dr. King uses the title of drum major to name both our desire to be the best and our call to be servants. He says . . .听
“let us see that we all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade.
Do you know that a lot of the race problem grows out of the drum major instinct? A need that some people have to feel superior. A need that some people have to feel that they are first, and to feel that their white skin ordained them to be first. . . And think of what has happened in history as a result of this perverted use of the drum major instinct. It has led to the most tragic prejudice, the most tragic expressions of man’s inhumanity to man.”
[God says], “Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well, you ought to be. If you’re going to be my disciple, you must be.” But [God] reordered priorities. And [God] said, “Yes, don’t give up this instinct. It’s a good instinct if you use it right. It’s a good instinct if you don’t distort it and pervert it. Don’t give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. That is what I want you to do.”
And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness.
When someone asks, What does it mean to be a public Christian?, it is safe to say, it means to be an extremist for love, a transformed nonconformist, a drum major for justice.
Dr. King also calls us to be of tough mind and tender hearts. Or maybe to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. He says, . . .听
[God gives us] a formula for action, 鈥淏e therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.鈥� It is pretty difficult to imagine a single person having, simultaneously, the characteristics of the serpent and the dove, but this is what Jesus expects. We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.
Jesus reminds us that the good life combines the toughness of the serpent and the tenderness of the dove. To have serpentlike qualities devoid of dovelike qualities is to be passionless, mean, and selfish. To have dovelike without serpentlike qualities is to be sentimental, anemic, and aimless.听
When someone asks, What does it mean to be a public Christian?, it is safe to say, it means to be an extremist for love, a transformed nonconformist, a drum major for justice, a tough-minded serpent, and a tender-hearted dove.
And Dr. King new the source of these things. He knew the source of love, the source of transformation, the source of justice, of toughness, and of tenderness. And so did the psalmist in our text today.听
Psalm 146:3-9
3听Do not put your trust in princes, 听听听in mortals, in whom there is no help. 4听When their breath departs, they return to the earth; 听听听on that very day their plans perish.
5听Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, 听听听whose hope is in the听Lord听their God, 6听who made heaven and earth, 听听听the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; 7听听听who executes justice for the oppressed; 听听听who gives food to the hungry.
The听Lord听sets the prisoners free; 8听听听the听Lord听opens the eyes of the听blind. The听Lord听lifts up those who are bowed down; 听听听the听Lord听loves the righteous. 9听The听Lord听watches over the strangers; 听听听he upholds the orphan and the widow, 听听听but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
It is God who brings justice to the oppressed, food to the hungry, freedom to the prisoners, and sight to the blind. And it is God who brings us to the oppressed, to the hungry, to the prisoners, and to the blind. To be a public Christian is to be a tough-minded, tender-hearted, transformed, nonconforming, extremist for love who boldly follows Christ into the fears and heartaches of this world.
Amanda joined the Riverside Innovation Hub team in August of 2018 as an Innovation Coach where she spent a year learning alongside of two local congregations and seven other young adults. From June 2019 – November 2020, she worked as the Communications Coordinator with the Hub while she finished up her M.A. in Theology with a Concentration in Justice and Reconciliation from Luther Seminary. She now works with the Hub as the Congregational Coordinator and Facilitator, which includes communications, facilitating a learning cohort, event planning, and general coordinating.听
Prior to working at Augsburg, she lived, played, and learned in Rwamagana, Rwanda as a volunteer with Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM), studied Biology at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI and grew up in Minneapolis, MN.听
During her time as an Innovation Coach, she learned a lot of things and is most grateful for the opportunity to teach and grow with people as they experimented with the Public Church framework. Her favorite part of the work is Accompaniment and the various ways it takes shape, but her most favorite is meeting with people over coffee, or hanging out at coffee shops, or really anything that has to do with coffee.听During her time as communications coordinator, she learned TONS about effectively communicating, managing systems, and investing in learning relationships. She’s excited to continue learning and growing with this next learning community.
When she isn鈥檛 working, she is likely playing volleyball, hanging out with family, and friends, exploring the great outdoors, watching Netflix or reading.听
Amanda is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside of faith communities as they discern how to live out their values and theological commitments in their geographic neighborhoods. She is hopeful that the work we do together can contribute to healthy, just communities where everyone can thrive.听
This week, we would like to share a blog post written by Cassie Dong, our Communication Coordinator. Cassie was inspired to write this after participating in the “Palm Friday” chapel at 绿茶直播 last Friday. This blog post illustrates the Interpretative work our faith communities are working on.
If you are looking for a straight answer, stop here; there is none. If you would be willing to dwell into your neighbors鈥� story, your story, and God鈥檚 story, then keep reading. It will be long, but it will all make sense at the end. After all, only when you weave these very different stories together can you find how God is calling us to show up in our community. Be patient for this work is slow and challenging.
Our Story: 听Are we feeling guilty with 鈥渂eing Christian鈥�?
As a young leader, I am used to being vocal about my beliefs. I speak up for people who have been marginalized and have no voice. Yet, one of the most difficult things for me is to learn how to publicly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that speaks true to the communities that I serve. It is challenging to find the right balance between living out my faith in the public square and to be compassionate toward people who have experienced trauma and pain at the hand of the church. I am disheartened to see faith communities resistant to use 鈥淕od鈥檚 language.鈥� Many faith communities come forward to acknowledge mistakes the church has committed in its long history. However, instead of closely looking at and changing policies, systems, processes, and cultural norms of white supremacy, colonization, and toxic masculinity, many people respond by no longer talking about their Christian faith in public. Are there ways for us, as Christians, to declare that Christianity is a religion of love? Can we live out our faith and allow God鈥檚 stories and our stories to guide us in accompanying our neighbors?
God鈥檚 Story: 听Palm Sunday
To answer those questions above, let me first share with you one of God鈥檚 stories. I would make an assumption that many of us have read or heard of the story in Mark 11:1鈥�11 in which people 鈥渟pread branches they had cut in the fields.鈥� They carried these palms as they followed Jesus entering Jerusalem while shouting praises to God. From this Biblical narrative, we have Palm Sunday鈥攖he Sunday before Easter when many churches celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem by carrying palm fronds.
Let鈥檚 stop here for a moment and ask a few questions. During church service on Palm Sunday, when being given those palm branches, what do you do with them? Do you wave them while entering the chapel? Do you hold on to them throughout the entire service? Bring them home when the service is done? Do you know what exactly do these palm branches represent?
Our neighbor鈥檚 Story: 听The March for Our Lives
I would need to tell you about my neighbor鈥檚 story in order to answer those questions above. In support of stronger gun violence prevention measures, on Saturday, March 24, 2018, the March for Our Lives took place in Washington D.C. where between 200,000 to 800,000 people participated. In other places in the country, thousands of people鈥攎any were high school students and young adults鈥攎arched onto the street with protest signs sending strong messages against gun violence and demanding for change. Among those protest signs, there were some palm branches: some were held high above the head; others were tied to protest signs. Yes, Saturday, March 24, 2018 was the day before Palm Sunday.
People worshiped during Palm Friday chapel at 绿茶直播. Photo credit: Janice Dames
Weaving together our neighbors鈥� story, our story, and God鈥檚 Story
On April 12, during the 鈥淧alm Friday鈥� chapel, 绿茶直播鈥檚 associate pastor Justin Lind-Ayres told us about his experience participating in the 2018 March for Our Lives. He compared those palm branches with protest signs we have today. He shared, when people held onto the branches and followed Jesus into Jerusalem, they were marching with Jesus to demand for a change and to celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ. Similarly, people who were marching with palm branches at the March for Our Lives were also advocating for social justice while celebrating the incredible leadership of young people who organized and led this national demonstration. Moreover, these people were explicit about their identity. They sent out an important message: the Christian community is standing with the victims of the Parkland shooting and those young leaders who fight against gun violence.
I shared with you about our concerns as Christians, Mark 11:1鈥�11, the sermon about Palm Sunday, and the presence of palm branches during the March for Our Lives because these stories teach us how to live out our faith. 听No, it is not enough to just listen to our neighbors, or to only understand our identity, or to only know God鈥檚 story. Faith communities must be able to weave together these three stories to discover: Who is God calling us to be? What is God calling us to do? How is God calling us to show up in this community? 听Instead of ambiguously saying 鈥渨e are not that kind of church鈥� or 鈥渨e are not that kind of Christian,鈥� we must be explicit about our identity and our values鈥攚ith words and actions. How can we fix our mistakes and/or remove misunderstandings and assumptions that people may have about the church and our faith without actually showing up in the community and being clear about our true Christian values? I strongly believe, as faith communities, we are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to challenge the particular bad news in our neighborhood.Only when we show up in the neighborhood鈥攚ith humility and compassion鈥攃an we understand the bad news and truly discern the good news in our specific context. This is how we live out our faith.
Our research shows that young adults do not like to be 鈥榯argeted.鈥櫶� We are fairly certain innovation, theologically understood, is not the creation of new, shiny programs intended to 鈥榓ttract鈥� young adults back to church.听听We think innovation has more to do with faith communities stepping into vocational discernment in partnership with young adults and their neighborhood.听 This means getting out of comfort zones, moving into the neighborhood to actively listen to/respond to the neighbors鈥� story, engaging young adults in this contextual learning work AND trusting that God has a new thing for us and our neighbor in this work.
Below is a collection of blogs written by Hub staff to help congregations and innovation teams gain better understanding of the Public Church Framework.听More blogs will be added on this page as Phase Two of our project unfold. We try our best to respond to the needs/challenges of our partner faith communities by providing useful, relevant resources.
Kristina Frug茅 has worked in community and congregational contexts for over 20 years. She spent 12 years as a ministry leader in St. Louis Park, MN working as a CYF Ministry Director and Faith Community Partnership Organizer. For the past 6 years, she has worked with learning communities of local congregations as the Program Manager of the Riverside Innovation Hub at 绿茶直播. She also听 supports other ministry related initiatives at Augsburg in her other role as Managing Director of the Christensen Center for Vocation. She has served as a trainer with Church Innovations supporting the missional imagination of congregations.听
In all of these roles Kristina is a relationship-centered leader, utilizing skills of theological imagination, congregational and community facilitation, creative problem solving, and deep listening for the collective wisdom present in community. She has her MA from Luther Seminary in Congregational Mission and Leadership and graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead with a double major in Religion and Social Work. Her early introduction to ministry goes all the way back to being a high school confirmation guide at her home church in East Bethel, MN and four memorable summers working at Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp!
She believes deeply in the transformative power of the Holy Spirit that thrives when we invest in meaningful, mutual relationships. She is certain God gets really excited when these relationships get organized as a community with a shared-heart for the mutual flourishing of the neighborhood because when this happens, anything is possible.听 Her oldest of three kids, coined her vocational calling when he was a 5-year old telling her, 鈥淢om, you work for love.鈥� This orientation has continued to shape all she commits her time, energy and imagination to.听
Working for love continues to be central in Kristina鈥檚 other vocational callings with her family, friends and neighbors. She and her husband Nick have three kids, ages 16, 12, and 8 and a crazy but cuddly Vizsla named Smidge, who they love to go on adventures with – big and small, indoors and out, local and far away (when they can!) They treasure their many relationships in their Longfellow community of South Minneapolis where they have lived for over 20 years.听 They make a good effort to spend time with friends and neighbors walking, eating good food, playing and experiencing the connection they share to their place.听听
An event that strengthens the concept of vocation at Augsburg for faculty and staff by providing role models from within the community to share a presentation on their sense of call and life journey.
SPRING 2016 鈥� DARCEY ENGEN
Darcey Engen, Associate Professor and Chair of Theater Arts, reflected on her vocational journey on April 1, 2016.
Video of the presentation available upon request.
FALL 2015 鈥� MARY LAUREL TRUE
A 鈥淭rue鈥� Calling to this College and this Community
On November 18, 2015, Mary Laurel True, Director of Community Engagement and Service-Learning, shared about her 鈥淭rue鈥� calling, which includes 25+ years serving Augsburg and the surrounding community. Audio of the presentation available upon request.
SPRING 2015 鈥� JEFF SWENSON
On听Wednesday, March 25, 2015Augsburg Athletic Director听Jeff Swenson spoke on the winding听road to his听vocation.
FALL 2014 鈥� DR. PHIL QUANBECK II
On Nov. 19, Dr. Phil Quanbeck II presented,听鈥楾he Truth Will Make You Free鈥�: Voice and Callings at Augsburg.
An听audio recording听of this presentation is available upon request.
WINTER 2014 鈥� CAROL ENKE
Vocation Lunch with Carol Enke
A video of Enke’s presentation is available upon request.
FALL 2013 鈥� DR. KAREN KAIVOLA
If you missed the fall luncheon with Provost Kaivola and would like to either view her powerpoint or a DVD recording of the presentation, please contact our office.
Jam Pashyayeva 鈥�25 (she/her)
Sarah Runck 鈥�24 (she/her)听
