{"id":1488,"date":"2021-01-29T16:09:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T16:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/?page_id=1488"},"modified":"2026-06-15T18:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T18:08:20","slug":"new-community-of-practice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/new-community-of-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"New Community of Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Riverside Innovation Hub is launching our newest <strong>Community of Practice<\/strong> this October! <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope your congregation will consider participating.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2005 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/122\/2026\/06\/Oct-Retreat-Save-the-Date-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/122\/2026\/06\/Oct-Retreat-Save-the-Date-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/122\/2026\/06\/Oct-Retreat-Save-the-Date-1-300x240.png 300w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/122\/2026\/06\/Oct-Retreat-Save-the-Date-1-768x614.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Our next programming season will begin with <\/span><b>a retreat at Camp Friendship on Oct. 9-11<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that will work with congregations to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Map their neighborhood ecosystem.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discern their next right work as trustworthy neighbors.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chart the way forward, including discernment into one of several RIH cohort programs to love our neighbors better. These cohorts will begin in January 2027.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>If you are interested in learning more please:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fill out this brief <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSdSWDdpWUrW2ma419dg-YzGMVFPlRyAOzJfzYCgm0YRpvJXyA\/viewform?usp=header\">interest form<\/a>. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have limited spots at the retreat and in the cohorts that follow and getting your input will help us adjust our plans to best meet the interests of potential congregational partners.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join us at an online info session on Thursday, June 25 or\u00a0 Monday, June 29. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sign up through the interest form and bring a decision maker from your church to get your questions answered and learn more about these exciting opportunities.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Thursday, June 25th from 2:30 &#8211; 3:30pm, Link to Register for Zoom: <a href=\"https:\/\/augsburg.zoom.us\/meeting\/register\/xr1mY-X0SW6u2h6Z_lyCaA\">[Link]<\/a><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Monday, June 29th from 7:00 &#8211; 8:00 pm, Link to Register for Zoom: <a href=\"https:\/\/augsburg.zoom.us\/meeting\/register\/5jwvoMSJR3SKS8kHhJqbGg\">[Link]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<a class=\"sidebar-color-box maroon-sidebar-box left-color-box\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSdSWDdpWUrW2ma419dg-YzGMVFPlRyAOzJfzYCgm0YRpvJXyA\/viewform?usp=header\" style=\"text-align:left;\" >INTEREST FORM<\/a>\n<h2><b>Frequently Asked Questions:<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What dates should interested congregations be aware of?<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">June 25 at 2:30-3:30pm (on zoom) &#8211; Congregational Info Session<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">June 29 at 7:00-8:00pm (on zoom) &#8211; Congregational Info Session<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">July 1 &#8211; Fall Retreat Registration Opens (online)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">August 18 &#8211; Fall Retreat Sign-up Deadline<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oct 9 &#8211; 11 &#8211; RIH Fall Retreat at Camp Friendship in Annandale, MN<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nov 15 &#8211; Cohort Registration deadline<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">January 2027 &#8211; Nov. 2027 &#8211; Relationship Cohort begins<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">January 2027 &#8211; August 2027 &#8211; Community Partnership Cohort begins<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is happening at the fall retreat?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At our fall retreat we will map the ecosystem of our neighborhoods, locate ourselves, our churches, and our next right work by understanding how our congregations fit into our neighborhood ecosystem and where God is calling us. At the end of the retreat, congregations will discern next steps, including joining a cohort that best fits their context.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congregations interested in the retreat should recruit 3 people to attend. Room for additional team members may be available depending on interest and availability of spots at the camp. Some congregational teams may also consider inviting a community partner to be a part of their team at the retreat (more below on cohort options.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the cohort opportunities our church can consider for 2027?<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><b>The Relationship Cohort<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A year-long journey of intentional relationship skill building. We were created to live in relationship both within our church and the wider community &#8211; to be each other\u2019s people and show up for each other in the good and the bad times. This cohort will help you push outside of your comfort zone and engage your neighbors in new ways while also going deeper in relationship with your team and your church community. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This cohort is ideal for congregations new to RIH, just beginning to build relationships in the neighborhood, and\/or eager to equip new leaders for the work of neighboring.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>The Community Partner Cohort<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connecting Twin Cities congregations, community partners and Â̲èÖ±²¥ students together in the work of mending neighborhoods. You and your partner organization will spend 9 months building trust, learning together, discerning direction and designing collaborative ways to support thriving in your neighborhood through relational and financial investments. After the cohort concludes, RIH will work to partner you and your community partner with an Augsburg student intern 10 to 12 hours a week. The community partner will be the internship site while the congregation will fund and supervise the position. This cohort is designed for churches that already have established community relationships and are ready to begin mending work in partnership with their neighbors.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Emerging Opportunities with RIH<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If neither of these cohorts are the right path for your team, we have a few shorter opportunities in the works and will have more details available at the retreat. Emerging opportunities may include community organizing and mutual aid skill building and exploring how to use your building and church property to love your neighbors.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Community Partner Cohort mentioned hosting a student intern from Augsburg. What is involved with that opportunity?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The nine month cohort experience launching in January 2027 aims at strengthening the collaboration between a congregation and community partner and provides training and support towards the development of a student internship opportunity.\u00a0 After completing the cohort, congregations and their community partners would be prepared to host a 10-12 hours\/week Augsburg student intern beginning in the fall of 2027 and through the following two academic years. The community partner will be the internship site while the congregation will fund and supervise the position. RIH would continue to provide support to your team through this process. Congregations would be asked to make a financial commitment of $12,000-15,000 distributed over two years to support student compensation. The internship will be a new way for congregations to meaningfully support their community partner through investing funds and time. It will also be a way for congregations to support and invest in young adult leaders and become a critical part of the Augsburg teaching and learning community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does it cost to participate in the upcoming RIH offerings?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expect both financial costs and time commitments. We realize there may be limitations on capacity for both of these valuable resources. We would encourage congregations to first consider your <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">capacity (time, energy, people power)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sense of calling<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> related to these opportunities. Then consider the financial commitment. If financial cost is the primary barrier to considering a partnership with RIH, please reach out to us. Fees are not intended to be prohibitive, but to help support the sustainability of this work by supplementing the costs of offering these programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oct 9-11 Retreat &#8211; $500 for a team of 3 from your congregation (additional team members as capacity allows). Covers camp lodging for 2 nights and meals for 3 days.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relationship Cohort &#8211; $5000 for a congregational team through calendar year 2027.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Community Partner Cohort &#8211; $5000 for congregational and community partner relationship and program development, includes ongoing internship support for two years (due January 2027). Additionally, $12,000-15,000 for internship funding (distributed Sept 2027 \u2013 Spring 2029).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why does programming look different this year?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RIH is rooted in a belief that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">relationships are everything<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We are also shaped by a belief that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">context always matters.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Our relationships and our context continue to be our greatest teachers in directing how RIH best stewards its gifts and resources for the mending of the universe &#8211; or our little corner of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 9 years, our relationships and context have taught us a lot. RIH has worked to respond faithfully. The big ideas that launched this work have nurtured a growing community of practice of congregations and community leaders. These like-hearted folks are also working to root themselves in relationships within their context in ways that love neighbors and help neighborhoods flourish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For many years we told partner churches &#8211; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trust the process. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eventually it became clearer that what we really need to do is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trust the relationship. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relationship is the location for love in action. And when we can grasp the gift of a highly interconnected web of relationships that embody God\u2019s creation, we can get closer to cultivating a way of being community that more closely fosters God\u2019s desire for us all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Twin Cities community has a fresh imagination and lived experiences that back up this truth. Neighbors loving neighbors matters. Metro Surge reminded us that love is a verb and through our networks of relationships this love can stand up to the most powerful and exploitative threats to our mutual thriving. While the surge has ended, the impact and ongoing need remains for embodied \u201clove in action\u201d kind of neighbors, faith communities, schools, businesses, local leaders, institutions and more to stay rooted in relationship and explore ways we can keep showing up to contribute our part to a vision of flourishing and an experience of belonging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of this is reshaping how we&#8217;ll learn together in this next round. For years, &#8220;trust the process&#8221; looked like a single anchor program that ran for two years \u2014 formative for those who could commit, but it left little room for new people to join partway through, asked a great deal of our staff, and simply wasn&#8217;t feasible for many. Trusting the relationship asks something different of us: to meet congregations and leaders where they actually are. So we&#8217;ve built a more nimble infrastructure \u2014 small, medium, and large pathways, with more on-ramps into the deep neighbor work that shapes RIH and more focused learning along the way informed by important learnings from our Twin Cities context. The invitation hasn&#8217;t changed. The doors into it are now many.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the Riverside Innovation Hub and why is it part of Â̲èÖ±²¥?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mission of Â̲èÖ±²¥ is centered on educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. It is guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran Church while also being deeply shaped by its urban and global contexts. An Augsburg education aims to engage its students in exploring the gifts that come from their own identity and passions, alongside an imagination for mutual thriving &#8211; their own thriving and the thriving of the communities they are part of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Informed by Augsburg&#8217;s mission and shaped by the same vision of mutual thriving, the Riverside Innovation Hub has spent the past nine years educating and accompanying non-traditional Augsburg students &#8211; clergy, lay leaders, and community leaders across the Twin Cities and nationally. The Riverside Innovation Hub exists to accompany, equip, and activate people in loving their neighbors better &#8211; relationally, interdependently, and collaboratively &#8211; toward the mending of the world. This work is rooted in a belief that relationships are everything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As part of Augsburg\u2019s Christensen Center for Vocation, RIH builds bridges for relationship and learning between churches, neighborhoods, Augsburg students, faculty and staff and other like-hearted collaborators who care about loving neighbors and mending our world. Congregations and leaders who partner with the Riverside Innovation Hub become a valuable part of the broader teaching and learning community of Â̲èÖ±²¥.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Riverside Innovation Hub is launching our newest Community of Practice this October! We hope your congregation will consider participating. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":406,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1488","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/406"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1488"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2010,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1488\/revisions\/2010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/riversidehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}