{"id":49613,"date":"2018-08-24T16:33:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T16:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/?p=49613"},"modified":"2021-09-17T19:16:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T19:16:57","slug":"mike-matson-to-serve-as-chaplain-to-marine-special-operations-training-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/2018\/08\/24\/mike-matson-to-serve-as-chaplain-to-marine-special-operations-training-command\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Matson ’06 to serve as Chaplain to Marine Special Operations Training Command"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mike
Having served a commission in the Naval Reserve since 2009, Mike Matson is now called to active duty as a Chaplain to Marine Special Operations Training Command at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyone who\u2019s met Mike Matson \u201906 will notice his qualities of curiosity, calm, and spiritual presence. Mike\u2019s history with Augsburg began as a student and athlete. He then served for over five years as a chaplain to student athletes and as a coach. For the past year and a half, he\u2019s served as Assistant Director of Leadership Gifts in the Advancement office.<\/p>\n

Now he is taking on a new role: having served a commission in the Naval Reserve since 2009, he\u2019s been called to active duty as a Chaplain to Marine Special Operations Training Command at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Mike, his wife Helen, and their five children (June age 8, Francesca and Theodore age 6, Charlie age 4, and Josephine 4 weeks) will move on August 26 and serve there for one year. He\u2019s happy his whole family will move with him as these are high priority orders and the reserves requested his immediate departure to service.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we just had our fifth child, Helen and I are especially glad we can all relocate together. Helen\u2019s been a medical receptionist for two surgeons. This call will allow her to stay home with our kids full time while I serve our Special Forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked where the idea for this combined service came from, Mike commented, \u201cI believe every corner of the world needs an Auggie in it. I was shaped by my Augsburg education to go out and do more in the world. Staying in the reserves was one way to do that. I was able to contribute to the mission of Augsburg and use the values and skills Augsburg shaped in me to serve the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s been serving as chaplain to the 1st Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department which is the downtown area. Sometimes it\u2019s been hard to shift between his roles of staff, father, husband, and chaplain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned through my roles there are all kinds of people in the world. And I\u2019ve faced the polarization we are experiencing head on. I\u2019ve learned to appreciate how gently we have to hold the space and come to each moment with sincere appreciation. I practice seeing the holy in all of it. It is always there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Matson family at the headwaters to the Mississippi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

He goes on, \u201cI approach it all with curiosity. If I can\u2019t believe the holy is there in each person and experience, then what\u2019s the point. Jesus always showed us his curiosity. Without our curiosity I don\u2019t think we can make any progress. My approach is to figure out how to connect with people. I am motivated by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his time serving in Advancement he\u2019s learned some things, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne big thing I\u2019ve learned is, what a gift it is to be a student! It\u2019s not something to take for granted. So many students receive some form of scholarships. Usually those scholarships don\u2019t come from someone with lots of income and assets. It comes because of a belief the donor has in the value of an Augsburg education. It comes from generosity and belief in the importance of investing in students. There\u2019s a community behind every student. I never want to take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he turns his attention to the year of service unfolding before him, he will be carrying some of these lessons with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am called to the gray areas of life. And to do so vulnerably. I go with an openness to enter into those spaces. That is where the transformative can emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s especially energized by the call to the Special Forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much of the military focus now is on specialized teams and special forces. The training of these elite forces is crucial. As we can imagine, it\u2019s a grueling experience to go through this training. It peels back the layers of a person\u2019s character and reveals our make-up. It\u2019s a key time in a service member\u2019s life. The military is doing all it can to offer support to the trainees.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this high priority mission Mike will be participating in some of their training and in the same spaces with the Marines and special forces.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Matson ’06 has served Augsburg University as chaplain to student athletes, as a coach, and in alumni development.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

He smiles, \u201cI\u2019m going to get my jump wings! Yes, that means he will learn to parachute!<\/p>\n

As he travels with Helen and his children, he feels the strength of her support and her willingness to put the family through such a big experience.<\/p>\n

“She has given me courage to be even more curious. And to mess up, too. We don\u2019t always get things right. She\u2019s helped me show eagerness to go out and seize the day. The greatest gift in all this is to say yes to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike and his family will return to Augsburg in a year.\u00a0 \u201cI feel very supported by this Augsburg community!”<\/p>\n

\u2014-By Catherine Reid Day<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who\u2019s met Mike Matson \u201906 will notice his qualities of curiosity, calm, and spiritual presence. Mike\u2019s history with Augsburg …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/314"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49613"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51106,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49613\/revisions\/51106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}