Augsburg University is a university of the. Our commitment to helping our students and our world thrive is rooted in the university’s Lutheran theological heritage, particularly its understanding of vocation. This theological understanding of vocation can best be summarized with these words from Martin Luther’s The Freedom of a Christian (1520).

“. . . we should be guided in all our works by this one thought alone—that we may strive and benefit others in everything that is done, having nothing else before our eyes except the need and advantage of the neighbor.”

What is vocation?

The origin of the word “vocation” is the Latin word vocatio, which means “calling.” One way to think about vocation is as your calling or those things in life you just can’t not do because they are so important to you and integral to your life and values. In order to understand this word more fully, it is important to briefly look at the context in which it arose and the person who gave the word importance.

Martin Luther was a 16th-century German monk who became the leader of what is known as the Protestant Reformation, or the movement that broke off from the Roman Catholic Church during the early 1500s. Luther’s theology of vocation was one of the key ideas that caused this split.

During Luther’s time, the church taught that people could earn their salvation and God’s favor by doing good works. These good works were often in the form of donations to the church or buying indulgences—slips of paper intended to lessen the punishment you or your loved ones would receive for your sins. In this context, the church often used “vocation” to refer only to those who were fully committed to the religious life, such as monks, nuns, and priests. In this viewpoint, the purpose of vocation was to serve the church or to serve God by serving the church. Martin Luther flipped this teaching on its head.

According to Luther and the other reformers, everyone has a vocation. Luther’s argument was that we do not need to earn God’s favor; it is a free gift given to us, not something we need to purchase through the church. Therefore, vocation should be directed toward serving the neighbor, not serving the church or God. One of Martin Luther’s interpreters, Gustaf Wingren, said, “God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does.”

From this perspective, our vocations are the ways we do God’s work by serving our neighbors in all the ordinary roles we play in life. Luther identified three main areas of life where we live out our vocation: within the family, through our work, and in civic life as engaged citizens. It is in these ordinary, daily, mundane roles that we live out our vocations as students, roommates, employees, partners, parents, siblings, offspring, friends, and neighbors. If the work we do in these roles brings about healing and wholeness for others, then it is considered to be our vocation. According to Luther, this ordinary, mundane, daily work was just as sacred as the work done by monks, nuns, and priests. Luther’s thoughts on vocation brought God’s work and spiritual meaning into the daily tasks of our lives—how we study, how we work, how we shop, how we drive, how we parent, how we befriend, etc.

Vocation serves as a corrective against a culture that values wealth, possessions, and status above all else. It frames our lives as an act of service rather than a rat race toward status. College is not only about earning a degree to get a job; it is also an opportunity to learn what you have to offer in service to the world. Our careers are not only sources of income, but opportunities for us to use our unique gifts to make our world more just and sustainable for all living things. Our vocations are the way we will all work in collaboration with one another to heal our planet and our collective lives.

Why does vocation matter today at Augsburg University?

The centrality of our collective well-being or thriving (particularly among those who are most vulnerable) is a central focal point of higher education within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and at Augsburg University. Therefore, you could say the purpose of a college education is to (1) develop the mindset and skills necessary to discover what our neighbors need in order to thrive, and (2) develop the mindset and skills necessary to pragmatically meet those needs. Every single discipline at Augsburg University—including literature, business, history, sociology, philosophy, economics, theater, political science, etc.—can and will increase our ability to “benefit others in everything we do.”

How do we explore vocation at Augsburg University?

One does not need to understand or even subscribe to the Lutheran theological origins of vocation in order for it to be useful in their life. Our goal is for every student, faculty member, and staff member at Augsburg University to have a deeper sense of how they are called – uniquely inspired, equipped, and empowered to help our world thrive. Therefore, you will hear the word “thrive” more often than you will hear “vocation” these days at Augsburg.

Augsburg University’s vision statement proclaims “we educate students to thrive in their lives.” Every student graduating from Augsburg University will understand what it takes for them to thrive, for their communities to thrive, and for our world to thrive. Our students thrive when they are actively expressing the unique ways they are inspired, equipped, and empowered to create a more just and sustainable world.

Vocation is our commitment to thriving—our own personal thriving, our neighbors’ thriving, our community’s thriving, and our planet’s thriving. Thriving is never something that happens in isolation from others. We thrive in community, we thrive as community, we thrive with community. I am only thriving if you are also thriving. We are only thriving if they are also thriving. Thriving is always something we do together.

THRIVE is an acronym that breaks vocation down into various components that help us understand our vocations more clearly. Traits – Health – Responsibility – Inspiration – Voice – Empathy

Our vocations are the ways in which we incorporate these components into our philosophy of life, our daily work, and all the various roles we play. The Christensen Center for Vocation is committed to helping every member of our community learn to thrive by exploring these six components through high-impact learning, storytelling, mentorship, and community. Through these efforts, we cultivate the imagination and practices that lead to more just, sustainable, and thriving lives and communities.

You can learn more and support this work at our website: The Christensen Center for Vocation.

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Thank you, Gretchen!

Gretchen has led the Confluence for the last two summers and has stewarded this program incredibly well. She is most grateful for the relationships and connections she has made with folks in and outside of Augsburg.��

But Gretchen won’t be going far! Starting in September she’ll be joining the Riverside Innovation Hub here at Augsburg University as their Certificate Programs Development Specialist. In this new role she’ll be responsible for researching, developing, and implementing educational programs for congregational members, community leaders and the Augsburg young adult community under the Riverside Innovation Hub.

Celebrating The 2025 Confluence

The Confluence 2025 is in the books! It was a fabulous week filled with learning in and outside the classroom, new friendships, and personal insights about ourselves and the communities we come from and live in.��

The week was a celebration of difference and the way our differences bring us together. Our participants and Augsburg student mentors spoke four different languages and hailed from six different countries and nations. They came from seven different congregations in Minnesota, Iowa and Texas and six Christian denominations. They identified as queer and gender fluid, differently abled and neurodivergent. In all of these differences they made space for each other’s voices, experiences, gifts and growing edges. They connected through laughter and games, prayer and singing, deep listening and conversation.

We took more steps towards being a fully bilingual program thatwelcomes both Spanish and English speakers. This work was possible through the ministry of Pastor Yesenia Morales Bahena who served as our onsite language and cultural interpreter in the classroom and in worship. Pastor Yesenia also translated many classroom and worship materials before the program began. Thank you Pastor Yesenia for helping us expand the reach of the Confluence and explore its depth.��

At the Confluence we think of vocation as the confluence or intersection of God’s story, the world’s story and our personal stories. Every day we explored these three different stories with hugely gifted team of teachers, professors, pastors, storytellers and community leaders. As we studied each story we asked participants to consider the themes and spaces of resistance and resilience. We asked them: As you learn about God’s story, the world’s story and your own stories, what are the people, places, biblical stories, poetry, music and art that gives you life? – that strengthens your resilience and supports you in following God’s call? At the same time, what breaks your heart? What are you called to resist and work against?

At the Confluence, we learned about the God of life who defeats death. We learned that God stands with people and communities struggling to live on the margins. We learned that God calls us to resist the death-dealing practices of the world and to fill up our cups with joyful and serious resilience. We learned that we are never alone and we are always in community. God calls us to build communities where all people are seen and heard, valued and respected – and each of us has a role to play in building up that beloved community.��

Many thanks to all the people in and outside of Augsburg who helped make this week happen: Professor Jeremy Myers (Executive Director of the Christensen Center for Vocation), Pastor John Schwehn (Augsburg Campus Ministry), Lucus Carlson (Augsburg Campus Ministry Pastoral Intern), Professor Chris Stedman (Augsburg Department of Religion and Philosophy), Dr. Jimmy Hoke (Biblical scholar, teacher and writer), Pastor Yesenia Morales Bahena (Nokomis Heights Lutheran Church), Jim Bear Jacobs (Healing Minnesota Stories), Jenean Gilmer (Sabo Center at Augsburg University), Alyssa Schwitzer, Kent Goodroad and company (our fabulous musicians), Nate Crary (Christ the King Lutheran Church), Grace Porter (Immanuel Lutheran Church), Sarah Runck (Mt. Olivet Careview Home) and our Augsburg student mentors who brought the magic: Stephen Nushann, Klaus Solko, Danielle Roberson, Michelle Kulah and Tegest Asmare.

A special thanks to Shannon Obey and Brittney Brown in Augsburg Events, Augsburg Catering, and the Department of Public Safety, who made all the behind the scenes details happen.

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Hungry for Hope: Letters to the Church from Young Adults��invites readers to the table for an honest, hopeful, and transformative exploration of the pressing challenges and opportunities facing the church today. With voices rooted in the lived experiences of young adults across the United States, this book addresses topics such as climate catastrophe, mental health, marginalization, and more, offering actionable insights for the church’s journey toward renewal and relevance.

Above images from our Panel Discussion at the ELCA’s Extravaganza 2025 featuring our illustrator Lindsay Fertig-Johnson, authors Amber Kalina and Catalina Morales Bahena hosted by Kristina Frugé.

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THE CONFLUENCE empowers high school youth to discover how they are uniquely gifted to create a more just and sustainable world by exploring the intersections of their story, God’s story, and the world’s story. Join us for a weeklong residential experience during which we will:

• Build intentional community
• Develop meaningful relationships
• Practice vocational discernment
• Engage in theological inquiry
• Explore spiritual practices
• Learn through experiences and relationships in the Twin Cities

Open to all youth who have completed 9th–12th grades.

COST: The cost is $400/participant. Participants are responsible for transportation to and from Augsburg University.

�鶹ԭ�� SCHOLARSHIP: Students who decide to attend Augsburg University as a full-time student will receive a minimum $22,000 Augsburg scholarship for up to four years.

Here’s what 2024 participants had to say about The Confluence:��

God has called me to hear and amplify the voices of people around me so they can be heard. God has allowed me to have an open mind and respect those around me, which will help me help God mend the universe. The Confluence has taught me about my faith and about who I am. It has shown me the lives of other people and has impacted me in massive ways. In listening to and lifting up the stories of others, I will ensure that every voice contributes to God’s mending of the universe.

– Vera Bezemer

While I was at The Confluence the things I learned about my story were that God’s wonderful plan is through self-learning and understanding beauty. First of all, I had a strong feeling of direction and purpose, I’ve also discovered tenacity and inner strength. My faith has helped me go through life’s obstacles and come out stronger by providing consolation and support. Finally, I’ve grown more capable of interacting and communicating with others. This new journey with God gave me the possibility to be empathetic and compassionate toward both myself and others.

– Gabriel Niola

The Confluence me inspiró y me abrió los ojos a un mundo de posibilidades en la cual tuve la oportunidad de conocer a nuevas personas y nuevas culturas se que tal vez Dios me está llamando a reparar este universo por que hay personas que lo necesitan. Necesitan mi ayuda porque hay personas malas que discriminan o hacen el mal lo cual yo debería de intervenir y hacerles entender que podemos vivir en un mundo donde las personas no sean maltratadas por su color su religión … Y pienso que puedo ayudar a este universo a ayudar a incluir a todas las personas y hacer entender que las personas ”con más poder” no pueden abusar de los demás.

The Confluence inspired me and opened my eyes to a world of possibilities in which I had the opportunity to meet new people and new cultures. I know that maybe God is calling me to repair this universe because there are people who need it. They need my help because there are bad people who discriminate or do evil, which I should intervene and make them understand that we can live in a world where people are not mistreated because of their color, their religion … I think I can help this universe to help include all people and make it understood that people ”with more power” cannot abuse others.

– Daykell Navarro��

QUESTIONS?

Gretchen Roeck, Program Director

roeck@augsburg.edu

612-330-1412

FIND OUT MORE:��

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Two years ago we hosted 50 young adults from around the US at Augsburg for a weekend of storytelling and listening. The reason for this gathering was to unearth the common hopes, concerns and desires young adults hold for the church and the world we share. In sifting through the stories shared, we hoped to distill themes that might give shape to a book we wanted to create – one written by young adults to the church. This book was one of the ways Riverside Innovation Hub was committed to stewarding what we learned in our first five years of the Lilly Endowment’s Young Adult Initiative. After working with congregations and young adults in our inaugural round of the Riverside Innovation Hub, supported through the Lilly Endowment, we were granted additional funding and time to share the wisdom and learnings that emerged. Who better to speak those truths than the young adults themselves?��

Just two years shy of that special gathering this very book has come to be. Well, nearly.

The manuscript was submitted to our publisher early in September and now we will work with them to take the final steps of transforming our authors’ ideas, stories and whole-hearted requests into a book that can be shared broadly. So much has transpired within those two years – an author application process, two writing retreats to launch and further along the writing community, collaboration with an illustrator bringing to life themes of the book, multiple rounds of editing drafts, countless cups of coffee and hours at laptops, and final revisions to compile the completed manuscript over the summer.��

Each chapter provides an invitation to a table. Chapter one describes what courageous curiosity looks like and proposes this posture as a necessary mindset for the church and young adults as we approach the present day challenges lifted up in this book. Chapter two orients us to the young adult experience, too often shaped by tokenization. It offers an alternative approach rooted in relationship; one where young adults are valued co-creators for our shared future.��

Chapter three (our climate catastrophe), chapter four (grief and lament) and chapter five (mental health) work together to paint the bigger picture of our times. Together these three chapters name the very hard realities that shape our human experience, while also offering guidance for finding our way in the ruins.��

Chapters six (abuse of power), seven (marginalization, inclusion and liberation), and eight (sex, shame and intimacy) reveal some of the particular ways young adults have been grieving as our churches have contributed to harm and avoided confronting the ways change is needed. The themes of these chapters are inherently intertwined.��

Chapter nine brings us back to the importance of community, and how the church can more fully embody a community defined by the centrality of Jesus. Chapter ten (beyond the walls) further fleshes out the faithful next steps for our church communities. Being centered on Jesus, in fact, means our churches are called to be decentered towards our neighbors, becoming trustworthy partners in God’s mending work in the world. Finally, chapter eleven (scarcity and abundance) lifts up a more adequate and faithful narrative from which we can enter into the challenges before us. A narrative rooted in reclaiming “enough” that roots us in God’s abundance, mending our relationships – with God, with each other, and with the earth.��

Editing and stewarding this process has been perhaps one of the largest professional projects of my career, certainly the one with the most moving pieces! I am so proud of what this team created together and deeply grateful for all of those who helped bring this project to fruition. The list is too long to name in this blog post, but as we get closer to releasing the book to the public, you will hear more about it and the many hands and hearts behind it.��

As we shared the draft manuscript with a handful of readers, we asked them, who do you think should read this book once it’s completed. Take a read at their feedback of who they hope reads this book. And if you hear yourself in their reflections, and we’ll keep you posted as the book gets closer to release!

“I imagine using it [this book] for student leadership development. Peer group book study and for young adults who are in discernment about their faith journey. And as a preacher, I confess there are definitely some quotables and “that’ll preach!” material here.”

“For me this will be a reference point any time someone brings up the fact that young people are leaving the church! I think it could be helpful in a congregational council setting, maybe for a retreat. And I think it needs to be required reading for every faculty/staff member at our schools of theological education and hopefully met with empathy. Better yet, you could have trainings with these faculty/staff based on this book so that they can meet with empathy and not scorn.”��

“I would recommend it to people who have young adults in their lives, church people who are worried about the future, young adults seeking meaning, theologians. AND! Older people who feel disconnected from the younger generation. I thought of my dad—a retired Presbyterian minister—who grew up and practiced ministry in a different world than the one his grandchildren live in. There’s a lot in here that could inform conversations we’ve had about why society looks the way it does and why young people make some of the choices they do (including to leave church in droves).”

“Every call committee and church council who are going through the process of calling a new pastor and/or figuring out a vision for their specific congregation should read this book. As one going through this process at the moment, I deeply resonated with Amanda, Jia, and Kristina’s writing in the introduction, specifically, the invitation to sit together around the table especially on the Holy Saturday moments we continue to find ourselves in. I think it’s also important for the young adult demographic to read this book, so that we can add to the conversation from our own perspectives and so that this book can become a living document of sorts, rather than another resource for older generations to try to understand “young people.”

Anticipated release is fall of 2025, but follow us for more updates on this project. We have several ways we hope to engage interested folks in the learnings from this book before and after its public release

The post The Manuscript is in! Let’s celebrate! appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

We asked the team at Immanuel to reflect on their experience of the weekend. One of their team members, Ruth Rinard wrote the following piece about her experience.

“There’s the Surface and then there’s the Depth”

Written by Ruth Rinard, Immanuel Lutheran Church Team member

We didn’t know you, but you came.
Curiosity lead to questions.
We began to feel a connection.
Then there was a “squirrel” moment.
And we plunged deeper.
You held space for vulnerability.
We felt a tingling of the Spirit.
Unlikely conversations happened.
We were all the richer for them.
We learned we could go as deep with others
As we go deep in ourselves.

Thank you for coming!

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The Christensen Scholars Program is a small group of academically accomplished students who share an interest in the theological and practical exploration of Christian community and vocation. I am thrilled to accompany eleven scholars in their vocational discernment during this academic year. Our cohort is diverse in life experiences, religious backgrounds, and identities which span the globe and the generations. This little community of Christian scholars reflects the beautiful diversity present at Augsburg and within the Body of Christ.��

While this seminar includes studying Christian theology, its scope is much broader; imparting simple information about the Christian faith is not what ultimately forms us into a faithful people.�� For millennia, information has gone alongside formation: habits and practices that define a way of life. Accordingly, this cohort will engage with theological texts and with the Biblical narrative alongside spiritual practices that cultivate belonging, connection, and relationship with one another, with the earth, and with God. Vocational discernment happens within this network of relationships and wisdom sources. In her essay Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies With a View to the Love of God, Simone Weil contends that the skills required of higher education actually form habits of humility, attention, and thoughtfulness akin to prayer. These Christensen scholars – who are already daily living into their vocation as students – will learn through this cohort (and through all of their studies) how to engage God and neighbor with greater curiosity, wonder, and prayer.��

A cornerstone of this year’s Christensen Scholars Program will be a January trip to , an ecumenical Christian retreat center located in the north central Cascades wilderness of Washington. Holden’s daily rhythms are patterned on practices of hospitality, creation care, worship, and study. Our students will live in this community, work alongside Holden’s staff, and explore with Professor Mary Lowe the question of What connects us to one another? Hopefully, students will also experience it as a time of retreat in the middle of a busy year, and an opportunity for a time of deep listening and vocational discernment.��

In the spring semester, we will begin applying what we have learned to the current challenges, crises, and issues of justice that our students see in the world. ��How does study, community, and prayer transform us into people who join, as Pastor Daniel Erlander writes, “God’s unfolding promise to mend the entire universe”? We believe that our students, guided by the lens of faith, have considerable gifts to offer our increasingly pluralistic, complicated, and interconnected world.��

Please join us this year by praying for these students, for their formation, and for the world that God so loves. We are grateful for your ongoing support and care of these Augsburg students.��

I’m still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God.

��– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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The Confluence 2024 is in the books!

Here are the stats:��

• 15 participants
• 12 churches
• 5 Christian faith traditions
• 5 Augsburg rockstar student mentors (shout out to Sarah Runck, Liana Whitlock, Marcia Francois, Luke Owens and Stephen Nushann)
• 1 Auggie Alum (the *amazing* )
• 6 musicians leading worship from
• 9 speakers from around the Twin Cities including , , and , Pastor of Christian Education, Middle School Specialist, Academic Navigator and Lead Teacher at 21st Century Academy, and Young Survivors Lead at Northside Healing Space, all ministries of – learn about our other facilitators below
• 7 locally owned restaurants – you should visit them too!
• 6 Augsburg Staff (Big thanks to our partners in Campus Ministry, CCV Staff Brenna Zeimet, Augsburg Events and Professor Jeremy Myers)
• 1 wildly talented translator, Yesenia Morales Bahena, for our 4 incredibly smart and brave English Language Learners

The Week

The week was guided by our understanding of vocation as the place where our Biblical story intersects with our world’s story and personal stories.��

To develop their understanding of the Biblical story, participants spent time each morning with Professor Jeremy Myers where they explored by Daniel Erlander. With Jeremy, participants explored the ongoing arc of our sacred story: God’s invitation into relationship, how that relationship creates and inspires relationships and communities of hope, the breakdown of those relationships and communities, and God’s offer of redemption. Participants applied this arc to their personal story and communal realities. Our goal for participants was for them to ask how they might partner with God and participate in God’s business of mending the universe.��

To understand the world’s story, participants learned about different ways to see and understand the world. On Monday, they spent the afternoon with , a Native cultural facilitator who works to create understanding and healing between Native American and non-Native people through storytelling. With Jim Bear participants learned about the history of indigenous people in Minnesota and how they can play a key role in promoting and experiencing healing by opening themselves to our own history and listening to the stories of Native people. On Tuesday, participants took a neighborhood tour through the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, where Augsburg is located, with Jenean Gilmer, Augsburg’s Community Engaged Learning Program Manager through the Sabo Center. With Jenean they learned about the rich history of Cedar-Riverside and how world events, cultural dynamics and power structures shape neighborhoods and the people who live in them. On Wednesday participants met with Brenna Zeimet, a Christensen Center for Vocation Congregational Facilitator at the Riverside Innovation Hub to map out the assets and challenges of the communities they come from.��

Finally they explored their personal stories by mapping their life histories, charting their gifts, strengths, passions and growing edges, and articulating what they care about by naming what they find beautiful at the ��

It was a week of personal reflection and growth, critical learning and inspiring conversations. In the midst of it all, meaningful relationships were built between participants from wildly different backgrounds. Our participants included six recent immigrants and three children of immigrants, folks from Minneapolis and St. Paul, small towns in greater Minnesota, the shores of Lake Superior and even California!

Right now participants are working on their final papers, integrating what they learned and articulating how they will partner with God in mending the universe. We’ll be publishing their papers on the Confluence website in September.��

Looking further into fall, I will be developing a sustainability plan for The Confluence. Currently the Confluence is grant funded by the Forum for Theological Exploration through the Lilly Endowment. The grant period is ending soon so I will be exploring different funding options and developing programmatic stability. If you, your congregation or organization would like to be a partner in this work, please contact me at: roeck@augsburg.edu

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Kristina Fruge

Managing Director, CCV, 7 years this month!

I am celebrating the creation of our����written by young adults to the church. Over the past year plus, 22 authors have been gathered and supported through the writing of 11 distinct chapters – each chapter speaking to a topic young adults would like to see the church give more energy to. Currently, I am compiling and revising these chapters into a manuscript we will submit to the��publisher by the end of summer. This was an incredible creative task with lots of moving parts (and authors!) As the primary editor, I am excited about what this writing community has crafted. Their collection of voices on several meaningful themes is something��I am honored to steward and eager to get printed and bound and into the hands of many readers!

One of my strengths is being a connector. While I get to utilize this gift in many ways in my work, we are approaching a season of our work where I’m noticing a growing need to apply this gift more strategically. As a leader, the call I am sensing is one that utilizes my gifts as a connector towards stewarding the trustworthy relationships we have cultivated over the years of our Riverside Innovation Hub work while also investing in relationships that build sustainability for the work and to continue.

Jeremy Myers

Christensen Professor of Religion & Vocation, Executive Director of the Christensen Center for Vocation | I have been at Augsburg since 2006

I am really proud of the Uncovering Vocation series we have developed over the last two years. On the 2^nd��and 4^th��Tuesdays of most months, we invite a different member of the Augsburg University community to share a short story about their vocation during our campus wide chapel time. It has become a beautiful way for our community to become reacquainted with one another, it has deepened our appreciation for one another, and it has provided tangible examples of vocation for our students.

Over the past year I have realized that it is critical for us to find ways to weave vocation throughout the��culture��at Augsburg rather than leaving it only in the��curriculum. That is what I will be working on doing during my sabbatical from July 1, 2024 – January 21, 2025. I will be discovering how my gifts can help Augsburg develop a rich culture of vocational discernment that benefits our students, faculty, and staff.

Gretchen Roeck

Program Director for The Confluence. I’ve been at Augsburg for 5 months and 7 days!��

I am celebrating the relationships I have developed with colleagues, staff, students and congregational leaders.

I’ve learned I’m called to and find it life-giving and energizing to nurture community development and forge reciprocal relationships.����recently received a $50,000 grant from the Forum for Theological Education to build financial and programmatic sustainability. I’ll be working on an Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising and taking a course on the Principles and Foundations of Philanthropy this fall. I’m excited to explore what community development looks like through a financial and philanthropic lens.

Geoffrey Gill

Your friendly neighborhood mystic and Congregational Facilitator, three years and counting!

I want to honor and celebrate endurance! It’s been a tough stretch, but I’ve stayed in the game, showing up day after day. That’s something I’m really proud of.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to jump back into the world of cinematography. ��To start creating and sharing some fresh videos with my friends and family brings me energy.

Brenna Zeimet

Congregational Facilitator, 1 year with CCV

I am celebrating that the teams I facilitate have begun to build trust and deep relationships with me, their neighbors, and each other. They have begun to realize that relationship is the project.

This job uses all the skills and gifts that I have developed over my years of work and ministry as a pastor, coach, mentor and consultant. Walking alongside these churches and helping them reorient their vision, mission and identity to align with the neighbor feels like the work that God has been preparing me for vocationally for many years. It is deeply fulfilling and meaningful, I love my job

Ellen Weber

Operations Program Associate, 2 years

I am celebrating all the events we have hosted on campus and off in this last year! From writing retreats, happy hours, webinars, launch events and learning events. It has been an honor to help turn ideas into realities and to watch how our communities experience our gatherings that help foster relationships and grow the groundswell of people who deeply care about their neighbors.

I am continuing to explore what it means to be a community builder and gatherer. This past year I took a course from Priya Parker on the��. It has continued to inform how we plan our gatherings and I look forward to building on what I learned in that course as we plan our upcoming gatherings in person with the Riverside Innovation Hub and online on the��.

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Written by Brenna Zeimet

As I reflect on this event, I am awash with a sense of expectant hope. As I wandered the tables and listened to conversations and sat one to one talking with folks, I was struck by how much has changed in such a short time.��

The conversations have changed from questioning what we’re doing here and what this is all about, to finding deep connection with the neighbor’s story and searching for a place in the narrative of the community. Where do we fit? What should we be paying attention to? Who do we need to be to meet our neighbor where they are today? It was no longer a skeptical questioning of this process or a planning session for new programs, this community has begun to fall in love with the people around them and that love is driving change in our worldview and our identity as the Church. We are changing as we adapt to the heartbeat of God for people.

I am excited about what this season of Interpretation will bring as we dig deep into the beliefs and assumptions that drive our actions. We will examine how our worldview brings hope and where it causes harm or puts up barriers to authentic and vulnerable relationship. These teams are ready to engage this intense and transformative work, and the health that will flow from this time will bring change to our churches and our neighborhoods.

At our last learning event Kristina Fruge shared a letter with our RIH community to open our space both online and in person. It was written with inspiration from her friend Lauren out in Spokane, WA. It was a beautiful way to open and close our event and there are invitations she names that are good reminders on how we can create places of belonging for all our neighbors. We share it with you in hopes that it will continue to nourish your soul as you embark on this work of being neighbor in the world in the midst of all the feelings of being human.��

Dear neighbor,

This letter is your invitation. You may have already RSVPed to show up today, but this letter and these words are your invitation to be present and to participate in this gathering – to give what you have to offer and likewise to receive the gifts of others in this community.��

You are invited today, neighbor, to show up with all of you. No need to leave anything at the door today.�� Our time together will include exploring the artform of interpretation. This means we will take time to wonder about the realities that shape our understanding of the world around us. This means your experiences, your stories, the places you are from, the people who have shaped you, and the realities and relationships that are currently demanding your attention, truly matter.��

Are you bringing sadness with you today? You are invited.��

Are you bringing joy with you today? You are invited.

Are you bringing worry about the uncertainties of the future – of your own, your congregation’s, your community’s, this planet’s? You are invited.��

Are you bringing exhaustion or fatigue with you today? You are invited.��

Are you bringing compassion and hope with you today? You are invited. And if that’s you, don’t be shy to share a little with those of us who are running on low…

Are you bringing grief with you today? If so, you are invited. And may you be reminded that God’s presence is ever more close to you right now. So keep an eye out.

Each and everyone of you is invited to keep your eyes and ears and hearts open, expectantly on the look out for God’s activity among us. You are invited, just as you are invited to pay attention to all the parts of you that shape the lens you use to engage and understand the world.��

Thank you for saying yes to this invitation when it likely meant saying “no” to others. Welcome! Welcome to this time of sharing, of learning, of connecting. Welcome to this time of community. Your presence and participation today is what makes this community possible. And community makes all things possible. Yours truly, Kristina

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