Working with the Riverside Innovation Hub on this writing project was a task that I stumbled upon. I applied full-heartedly and with a certainty that I’d be adding a rejection to my slushpile. When I received news of the opposite, I was proud of myself, but then I was overwhelmed. Our writing project had “vulnerability” written all over it, something I knew from the very beginning. My topic, “Marginalization, Inclusion, and Liberation” is one I feel both passionate about and often ill-qualified to speak on. Thankfully, I’ll just be writing.

My co-author, Dr. Jimmy Hoke, has guided our discussions and the process with the utmost care, and it’s made a huge difference. But the writing process still has its challenges. We are dealing with problems that aren’t just our own, but also of the generations and the lives that came before us. Novels could and have been written on our topic and there’s no way my writing will be able to speak on everything I wish it could. All I can do is add my own perspective to the mix and hope it reaches the right people, resonates with someone, and contributes to an on-going discussion of what our beautiful church could be.��

The hardest part? Deciding what is allowed on the page and what is still only written in my heart. While I’ve always loved writing personal narratives, I’ve remained selective about who views them. A chapter. Out in the world. Scary. Writing my thoughts, even only in draft form, can feel like an admission I’m not quite ready to make. Even though I know that there is always a backspace and more importantly, a kind conversation available on any differing viewpoints Jimmy and I have. I’m still working on it though, and my current draft is an obvious reflection of my thoughts working themselves out.��

Other aspects of our project are joyous and easy. My favorite part has been connecting with other writers, knowing that even though some of us are states away, we are all dealing with the same vulnerabilities, the same roadblocks. When I’m struggling, I picture my colleagues on their laptops too, typing away and doing their best and working it out, just as I am. We will all get there together.��

I absolutely love seeing the places where Jimmy’s voice and mine come together. One exercise we are partaking in is dreaming of a better church; imagining a world of liberation and what that would feel like. I hope when others read, they’ll imagine their own vision of the church, igniting a fire of hope and determination. Whenever I get stuck writing, I go back to that mental vision.����

I’ve been writing for a long time. From the days when I had my dad type up my hand-written stories to sharing personal pieces with college classmates, bated breath. It’s never easy. Still, I’m always looking forward to the moment when it comes together and I feel proud of what I’ve written despite the imperfections. I’m still waiting for that moment. Until then, I’ll be chugging along and chatting with Jimmy. We’ll get the right words down, written for the right people, focusing on the right things, at the right time. It’s all part of the process.����

Stay tuned for more stories about the writing process from the young adult book project!

The post Abby’s Writing Process So Far: A Joyous and Challenging Journey appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Recently, my friend Sheila and I had an exhilarating experience at Buckhill, a skiing resort where our friend Kaylie works. Kaylie invited us to join her for a day on the slopes and even got us free passes! Despite having never gone downhill skiing before, I decided to give it a try.

I have to admit, I was very nervous as I strapped on my skis and looked down the hill. But Kaylie was there to give us some tips and encouragement. And before I knew it, she pushed us down the hill. Sheila and I fell a few times, but Kaylie was always there to pick us back up. It was a great experience of trust, friendship, and fun.

But more than that, it was an opportunity to lean into the discomfort of trying something new. As Sheila put it, “I feel like a child!” And in that moment, I realized that’s exactly why it’s so important to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Because that’s where our inner child is waiting for us, eager to show us the beauty and joy of being alive.

It’s easy to get stuck in our routines and comfort zones, but when we take a chance and try something new, we give ourselves the opportunity to grow and experience life in new and exciting ways. So next time you’re feeling nervous about trying something new, remember that your inner child is waiting for you on the other side of that discomfort. Embrace the unknown, and you just might be surprised at what you find.

The post Embracing Discomfort: A Skiing Adventure with Friends appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Saturday, June 3rd, 2023��9:00am – 3:00pm at Augsburg University��

Co-hosted by Riverside Innovation Hub and MAS Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices

Over the past two years Minneapolis Area Synod’s and Augsburg University’s Riverside Innovation Hub have shared a commitment to accompanying congregations as they discern their call to BE neighbor, rooted in their faith and open to the neighborhood. As the first learning cycle comes to an end and a new one begins, we are coming together to celebrate and learn from this groundswell of people engaged in what it means to be neighbor in the world. We’ll be joined by both congregations and individuals who are doing the work in neighborhoods all over Minnesota.��

On June 3rd, we will gather for a day to hear stories from near and far in a variety of mediums, participate in skill-centered interactive workshops for all types of leaders, and practice deep community building. We will be gathering folks that have a growing heart for their neighbor, are curious about who God is and what God is doing in the world and find themselves around people who are shedding some of their fears about taking risks and not afraid to fail.��

We invite you to join us as we continue to support and learn from each other on how we are called to be the public church in our neighborhoods!��

will open on March 24th and will close on May 5th.

Childcare and Interpretation will be available upon request if indicated on registration form.��

Community Stories

In preparation for our learning summit, we have been gathering stories about this experience from our learning congregations. Below you will hear from two of our learning partners.��

RIH Reflections from Yvette Hewitt at Church of the Epiphany:��

What is something you want to be sure to carry forward when the learning community wraps up?�� I want to continue being in dialogue with our neighbors and excited for engaging in future relationships utilizing the four public church art forms. The phase “Trust the process” will be very valuable as we begin to implement our learning experience with the greater congregation.��

Discernment was a new concept for me. I plan to implement it more in my decision-making. I cherish the new friendships developed within our team, cohort group, RIH leadership, and other congregations during this learning opportunity.

Why does it matter that you are a part of this learning and experimentation?

Personally, professionally, and as a follower of Christ, this learning experience has changed the way I view and understand who is my neighbor. I want to be more awake and present in my daily interactions.

Where have you seen God at work over the learning community’s time together?

Our team has faced tremendous obstacles but God had another plan for us. The text from Ezekiel 47:1-12 imagines a river full of vitality and fruitfulness. God is replenishing our team with resilience, energy and vision to complete this work.�� I have seen areas of desolation beginning to emerge into places of new birth and opportunities to develop authentic relationships within our community.

RIH Reflections by Felecia Schmidt at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church��

In our fast-paced, goal-oriented culture it’s difficult, sometimes nearing impossible, to slow down. To see past our own bubble. To not get caught up in our daily grid and bogged down by the big picture.�� The experience with Riverside Innovation Hub (RIH) and this learning community has offered an opportunity to step off that path, pick our heads up and look around at the neighbors around us in a way we hadn’t fully realized. To feel the warmth of empathy and the refreshment of listening without an agenda.��

In the beginning, the artforms felt abstract. At times it was a challenge to understand them and how they fit into our lives, our church and the connection with our neighbors. Throughout the learning experience with RIH the artforms were not only understood, but they also became essential tools for deeper understanding of ourselves, our church and its role in our neighborhood. One of the greatest and most surprising outcomes for me was the weaving of the artforms into my personal life. Imagine the ripple effects when it is nurtured and blossoms within our own hearts.��

From this experience I want to carry forth the artforms.�� It’s the place I’ve felt God at work the most. Concepts that have always been present but this learning experience has brought clarity and intentionality to them.�� Understanding them has meant operating with grace and patience. It has meant taking the time to discern, even when there is a sense of urgency. It’s meant honoring every person’s story. It has meant being humbled and facing hard truths and faithful responses.��

With stirred spirits, renewed curiosity and a deeply-realized need to be connected to our neighbors, we step out into our neighborhood with fresh eyes and God’s grace.��

We can’t wait to share more stories with you all at the Groundswell! We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please reach out to Ellen Weber at weber3@augsburg.edu or Kristina Frugé at frugek@augsburg.edu.

FPNP Reflections by Rachel Carmichael of Salem Evangelical:��

What is something you want to be sure to carry forward when the learning community wraps up?

I want to continue to check in with what we’re doing as a congregation and faith community. I want to be intentional about the work that we’re doing and at the same time I also want to remember the flexibility and openness that the learning community embodied, especially through the leaders of the learning community. I want to continue to check in with other faith communities because I think that support, connection and environment is key.

Why does it matter that you are a part of this learning and experimentation?

This is really important work. Part of my time with this learning community has been spent remembering this. Our work is changing, always, but it is still relevant and vital. Sometimes its hard to name that, amidst the busy-ness, but it’s important to remember the value in work that we’re all doing at whatever level you’re involved. It matters to me to be apart of a big movements of growth. What an incredible program! I’m truly sad it’s coming to an end but hope that this can provide a momentum towards other incredible learning communities. Thank you for allowing me to be apart of this wholesome goodness!

Where have you seen God at work over the learning community’s time together?

This is going to sound really general- but God has been apart of this process the entire time which is how I feel life works. Even in the hardest, most challenging spaces – God is there! God is pushing me to my limits and continually encouraging me to leap towards growth- mostly uncomfortable but absolutely necessary. And that has been happening during my time with this learning community, almost continually. The learning community gave me a space to be intentional about my involvement with my faith community. Selfishly, I really enjoyed finally developing a faith practice routine and I think that was an important way to begin our time together because it provided a strong foundation for the other elements we covered. It helped to remind me that God is present in my personal life- and I started there, so it opened my eyes to see other places God is working.��

FPNP Reflections by Pastor Ali Tranvik of Cross of Glory:��

When we began the Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices journey nearly two years ago, I remember the leaders sharing a lesser-known translation of John 1:14–the verse often cited as “the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.” This translation put it in slightly different terms: “the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (MSG). It was shared as a reminder of a truth we’ve had the gift of witnessing more and more deeply over the course of these two years together: Jesus is already alive and at work in our neighborhoods (in Brooklyn Center, in south Minneapolis, in East Bethel, in Crystal, etc.), and is present in the physical, flesh-and-blood bodies of those who live within them. And with that confession came a question: what would it look like for the churches located in these neighborhoods to take part in the work that Jesus is already up to there?��

That question has compelled the FPNP faith communities into a variety of practices (both faith and neighboring–which turns out, are one in the same) these past two years. For us at Cross of Glory, our practices included a new rhythm of shared meals with neighbors old and new, where God has shown up in bread broken and in conversation shared. We look forward to continuing to gather with neighbors at tables–and to encounter the Jesus who lives in our neighborhood at them.��

The post You are invited to Groundswell: A Learning Summit appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

A few years ago we were gathered with a handful of local pastors at a coffee shop discussing this idea of being a public church. My co-worker Amanda and I were describing the posture of this work as one that shifts our attention from an internal one out towards the neighborhood, the larger context our congregations are located in. The rich imagination of the vision Ezekiel describes in ch. 47: 1-12 inspires this orientation. Ezekiel’s guide in the text points out how the water flows from the sanctuary out into the wilderness, bringing life and flourishing where-ever it goes; as it flows it gets deeper and wider until it is a river that cannot be crossed.��

Water in the bible often connotes a never ending resource of life – God’s mercy flowing in abundance beyond our wildest imaginations. The invitation to become a public church is rooted in this vision as it begs us to take notice of what happens where God’s mercy flows and to get caught up in what God is up to in those places. God’s abundance can be contrasted with what often feels like a scarcity mindset when we are closed off from the outside world, mainly absorbed with our own worries and anxieties. However, God’s call urges us into the larger environment and relationship there. I hear this as good news to those of us in congregations where the temptation of a scarcity mindset is a daunting reality.��

Sitting in that coffee shop years ago, as we dwelled in the vision Ezekiel stoked up in our imaginations for being public churches, one pastor offered a helpful distinction. She pointed out that being a public church is about becoming a vital neighbor within the larger ecosystem of the neighborhood we are a part of. (Shout out to Pr. Brenda at Bethel Lutheran in South Minneapolis for that little gem!) There is lots of talk about vitality and thriving in the church world, but what God’s promises often point to is an understanding of vitality and thriving that is mutual. That flows beyond the sanctuary. That is for all.��

This is the arena of our wonderings and work in the Riverside Innovation Hub. Helping churches be vital neighbors is what we are about. It is also the way those of us on staff at RIH have been imagining our role with our neighbors. If you are reading this blog post, you are probably one of our neighbors! Our work and the resources we are able to leverage help us come alongside congregations and ministry leaders chasing after this work of being vital neighbors in our places. And so, as new seasons and new opportunities unfold for our work at RIH, we want to continue to explore how we can be vital neighbors to you – the larger ecosystem of church and ministry leaders doing this work on the ground in your many and varied places.��

This February, we have had a couple key opportunities to listen to our neighbors, paying attention to your joys, your heartaches, your longings, and your curiosities.��

From Feb. 3-6 our team attended the ELCA’s annual Youth Ministry Network gathering, The Extravaganza, in Anaheim, CA. Here we spent time with children and youth ministry leaders, pastors and other church ministry folks. We had opportunities to share in several workshops what we’ve been learning in our work with congregations in the neighborhoods and with young adults. We had lots of conversations with folks who share our curiosity about what God is up to in this time of transition and upheaval – particularly with how churches have been thrust into a much more unpredictable time. We met some new and reconnected with old trustworthy conversation partners and heard what this time of uncertainty and discernment is looking like in their contexts – in places like Deerfield, Texas; Sioux Falls, SD; Faribault, MN; Orlando, FL; Rocky Mountain Synod; many Twin Cities Metro communities; NW Wisconsin Synod region; ELCA National Deaconess Community; ELCA Young Adult Ministry, and many more. The bad news, you may guess, is that folks are overwhelmed and disheartened by the heaviness they experience and witness in their places. But here’s the good news we heard – folks are sure God is up to something and eager to pay attention to it! Hope, curiosity and creativity are alive and well. And we are not alone.��

We left sunny California and went straight away to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in our Lilly Hub Gathering with other seminaries and higher ed institutions accompanying congregations and ministry leaders. This collection of lovely leaders and humans is a rich ecumenical experience.�� Talking with congregational and community leaders and others who lead similar projects to RIH, we heard some of the doubt that comes with facilitating change work. Our colleagues are wrestling with questions like: Is the bigger impact we hope to have even possible? Can congregations and those of us leading Christian communities navigate the changes of our times to align more faithfully with God’s call to be church in this time and place? We spent a good amount of time with leaders from one particular hub in Waukegan, IL who has cultivated a deep sense of trust between congregations, young adults and the larger Waukegan community. Their work has often inspired us at RIH. They shared their deep laments about the sobering reality that comes with deep relationships in the neighborhood. Congregations and their leaders have been dedicated to becoming vital neighbors, but this doesn’t eliminate the fact that hard things continue to happen. Bad news continues to hurt folks, and sometimes the best good news we can offer in hard times is that we don’t have to go through it alone.��

And most recently, on Feb. 24-26, our RIH team spent the better part of the weekend with our RIH congregational teams at our Sustainability Retreat at Mount Olivet Retreat Center in Farmington, MN. We spent Friday evening with the team leaders, hearing the moments of desolation and consolation this work has gifted them with. We spent Saturday with congregational teams who sustained a contagious energy for big heart and brain work during the day. They were deeply invested in imagining how they carry what they are learning into the future – into their congregation and into their neighborhoods. These neighbors of ours offered an inspiring reminder that hope and imagination continue to resource this work in their contexts. There also is a healthy dose of worry and doubt about the capacity of teams and their congregations. Will we and our congregational community have the capacity and openness to take some small risks towards the invitation from God emerging? Will we be able to sustain our efforts towards being vital neighbors? We continue to remind one another that this is not a sprint. In fact, it may not even be a marathon. This work of being a vital neighbor does not have a starting line and finish line. It is simply a journey, one that lasts a lifetime, and one we can be grateful to have so many trustworthy companions who join us for different seasons of it.��

Our team is holding many stories, questions and the gift of connection with so many lovely humans we experienced this past month with our neighbors. We hold these interactions closely as we continue to discern our work being a vital neighbor to you and many others chasing after a vision of being a public church. We remain curious about what God is up to in your places – in both the challenges and joys. So consider this post not only an update from us, but an invitation into further conversation with us – your neighbors at RIH!��

Reach out to our staff Kristina Frugé or Ellen Weber to share your own stories, questions or to scheme about how we can be in this work together.

Curious about our upcoming learning community? Learn more here about our upcoming learning community and application process.��

The post Being A Vital Neighbor appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

In early February, some of the Riverside Innovation Hub staff attended and presented at the ELCA Youth Ministry Network’s annual convening, the Extravaganza, in Anaheim, CA. Amanda Vetsch and Kristina Fruge presented what we heard at the Threshold Event.����

The purpose of the workshop was to share the wisdom we, at Augsburg’s Riverside Innovation Hub, are learning from young adults about their hopes, dreams and concerns for the church. In particular the about key learnings from a recent event we hosted on campus this fall, when we gathered a diverse group of young adults from around the country, representing a wide variety of ecumenical backgrounds and other lived experiences.��

Before we dove into the presentation portion of our conversation, we used Mentimeter to poll the in-person and virtual attendees. This helped us get a sense of who was attending and practice using a new tech tool. Both groups were from across the country, with a strong portion in the Midwest. We were fairly caffeinated, and the majority of both workshop groups believe that the person in the middle seat on the plane does NOT get both armrests. After the icebreaker and Menti practice, we dove into presenting about who we are, what we did, and what we heard.

Who are we?��

In 2017, the Christensen Center for Vocation got a Young Adult Initiative grant from the Lilly Endowment to create an Innovation Hub that equips congregations to explore questions around the intersections of young adults and church. One of our guiding convictions was that young adults don’t want to be attracted or drawn back to church, but would rather see the church move out into the public where young adults are actively living out our faith. The Riverside Innovation Hub spent five years working alongside congregations to be and become public churches and learn how to be led by young adults in that endeavor.��

In 2022, We got a second grant to help expand that work, and one of the ways we’re doing that is through a book project. We’re committed to practicing what we preach and teach, so the book is super collaborative and envisioned and written by young adults. To distill the themes of the book, we hosted an Envisioning Event in November, selected two authors per theme, a young adult and a thought leader, and have built a writing process that includes two retreats, lots of drafts and revision.��

What did we do?��

For the Threshold Book Envisioning event, ��we gathered 50 young adults from across the US to share what they wish the church would know and help identify the themes of the book. This group of young adults had varying experiences with church and came from a wide variety of traditions and denominations

The gathering was designed for them to share their hopes, heartaches and dreams for the church.�� Jeremy Myers and Rozella Haydée White facilitated the space. Five keynote listeners joined us to listen with deep intention to what was emerging in the space. You can read more about how the event was shaped in this blog: Threshold Recap Blog

What did we hear?����

We heard stories full of grief, love, celebration, loss and more. It was an absolute gift and honor to have those shared with us. After two days full of reflection, conversation, and sticky notes, we generated a list of the themes:

• Grief and Healing
• Marginalization, Inclusivity and Liberation
• Abundance and Scarcity
• Community
• Sex/Intimacy and Shame
• Power and Abuse of Power
• Beyond the Walls
• Courageous Curiosity
• Creation and Destruction
• Mental Health
• Tokenism of Young Adults

Audience Participation:��

Just as the young adults used the lens of desolation and consolation to think about their experiences within the church, we did as similar thing at our workshop.����

First ,everyone was invited to pick one theme from our YA’s list that resonates with themselves or a reality in their ministry context.��

Between both workshops, the theme Tokenism of Young Adult was chosen the most. Followed by Community, then Abundance and Scarcity, and Marginalization, Inclusivity and Liberation tied for third.��

Desolation:��

We then spent time individually reflecting on that theme and how we’ve experienced it as desolation.

��Some of the answered shared included:��

• One of the challenges I have encountered as a young person is having a lot of my community around me who is atheist/non-religious. Having spaces in my church community that my non-religious loved ones can participate and not feel alienated
• Existential dread re: the warming planet and the effects on vulnerable people
• Scarcity: Constant focus on too little time, too few people, too little money, always just trying not to die
• Post COVID “skill desert” of how to connect
• Not being fed but asking to feed others
• Courageous Curiosity – doubt/wonder/questions being interpreted to mean that you just don’t believe or aren’t faithful enough
• The rejection of queer voices. I can name more than a handful of individuals in my last congregation that were harmed for their identity
• “Why aren’t the YAs coming?” It feels like it sends the message that our young adults are not enough as they are unless they meet the church’s expectations.

Consolation:��

After reflection and sharing about desolation, we reflected on the chosen theme and how we’ve experienced it as consolation.��

Some of the answers shared included:��

• Creating a Pride Cafe,�� art camp to explore identity issues, creating a community center in unused space. �� Invited folks to dinner and asked what they need spiritually
• Participation in new and ongoing hunger ministries (but desolation in the fact we still need them)
• Spaces where my non-religious loved ones can participate without feeling alienated
• Hiring a mental health specialist on staff
• Curiosity – when you open up space for vulnerable and genuine conversation about life, faith, church, you feel more connected to what church can be.
• scripture and church history/tradition provide a rich source for dialogue and makes space for mystery/hard questions
• exploring creation of an LGBTQ+ Christian group in a neighboring county where there are no affirming congregations

See the full mentimeter responses here: , .

Now What?��

We concluded our time together by thinking through our next steps for our own contexts. What is something attainable we can do next, a low hanging fruit? What is something that is big and audacious we want to do, a moon shot? And who do we need to connect with, or coffee?��

Find the workshop handout here:

To learn more about the book project and receive updates, join our

The post The E: Young Adult Book Project Workshop appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Churches who become a learning partner will journey together with 10-12 congregations over two years shaped by these characteristics. This time will include gathering for large group learning events 3-4 times a year, gathering with cohorts of several congregations and an RIH facilitator to support and share wisdom with one another, work done individually by congregational teams supported by an RIH facilitator, and opportunities for team leaders from congregations to connect around leading this work in our congregations.

Project Description & Eligibility

Riverside Innovation Hub

Augsburg University’s Riverside Innovation Hub is an incubator for people and communities exploring the public church in the neighborhood. These congregations learn a process for discerning how God is inviting them to become more engaged in their neighborhoods.

Learn More about Riverside Innovation Hub

Application Process

Step 1: Submit Letter of Intent

Accepted on a rolling basis

Congregations interested in pursuing the application process are asked to have their senior pastor submit a letter of intent to apply, via a google form. Letters of intent will be accepted on a rolling basis, until the end of the application period.

Submission of your letter of intent will:

• Allow congregations to indicate why they are applying for the project.
• Help RIH staff streamline communications as the application process moves forward by adding you to direct mailings about the process and being available to you for further conversation.
• Help your congregational leaders move through the application process in a timely and thoughtful way.

Step 2: Learn more: Informational Sessions

Step 3: Submit Application

Submit on or before April 20, 2023

The application is a google form, but please see the questions in a pdf below.

Recruit your senior pastor and one lay leader to complete the application and involve others from your congregation in the process as relevant for your context (ie council leadership, staff, lay leaders).��You are welcome to complete the application sections as a group or have one person submit it all after your group has worked on it.

Step 4: Invitation Process

RIH will review applications and extend invitations to selected congregations�� the week of May 16th. Congregations will have until June 8th to accept the invitation.

Augsburg’s learning community begins September 2023 and runs through September 2025.��

Contact us:

The post Launch of RIH Thriving Congregations Partnership Application! appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Project Overview

RIH will continue helping congregations live into “placed-based vocational discernment in the public square for the common good” through two-year learning communities of twelve congregations. The first learning community runs July 2021 – July 2023 and the second learning community runs September 2023 – September 2025.

APPLICATION PROCESS

• Opens: January 24th, 2023.
• Application Opens: February 15th, 2023.
• Application Closes: April 20th, 2023.
• Invitations sent out to accepted congregations: Week of May 16th, 2023
• Congregations accept invitations: June 8th, 2023.
• Community starts: September 2023

Congregations who are a part of this learning community will develop and deepen the knowledge, skills, habits, and values to engage in this work of place-based vocational discernment in the public square for the common good through a method we call the Public Church Framework.

The Public Church Framework consists of four movements that guide us into more intentional relationships with our neighbor, scripture, our core beliefs, and God’s spirit as we seek to discern how our faith community is called to be and proclaim good news with and for our neighbors. It combines threads the church has historically kept separate – discipleship, outreach, relationships, justice, worship, biblical study, theological reflection, and prayer. The common denominator is the neighbor. We do these things for the sake of our neighbors.

Check out our to read more.

You can also go to our website at:����to read more stories about how congregations are exploring their call to be public church in their neighborhoods across the Twin Cities.

CONTACT US:

The post Letter of Intent for Third Learning Community is Open! appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

In early November, a community of fifty young adults gathered at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN to identify our deepest held concerns, hopes, and dreams for God’s church at The Threshold Envisioning event. From those conversations, we distilled key themes that Young Adults want the church to know as it moves from the present moment, into the future. Each of those themes will be a chapter of the book.

Our time together on Friday began with gratitude practices, dinner, and conversation. We finished the evening with a reception.��Our morning and afternoon on Saturday were shaped by the framework of an The examen invites you to reflect on moments of Consolation or hope, joy, freedom, and life and moments of Desolation or fear, brokenness, heartache and anxiety.

We then spent time reflecting on our life experiences with the church, noticing times, places, or experiences of desolation. Each person shared snippets of those experiences by writing them on a post-it note and sticking it to the wall.��We followed the same process for reflecting on consolation and our experiences of church. As we listened to each other, and read what was on the walls, themes began emerging. Those were shared in small groups conversation and through a Mentimeter Poll, you can read those reflections here:��

In small groups, we worked on creating a Table of Contents where each chapter is a theme of what has emerged.��Each group shared theirs and then everyone got to vote on their favorite chapters and book styles. At the end of the evening, the facilitators added up the votes and synthesized the chapters into key reoccurring themes. The keynote listeners started off our final day together by sharing what they had heard over the weekend. Then we had time to reflect in conversation and writing on our theme of choice. There were eleven themes that emerged from the weekend. Check them out below!

Themes:

Grief and Healing

Communities of faith don’t engage grief, lament, and suffering nearly enough. There is much to grieve, and yet the desire for comfort often enables us into denial and distraction. Often, when we practice grief in church, it’s on an individual level, when we also need to grieve and lament on the communal level.What do we need to grieve? What could it look like if faith communities leaned into their rituals and practices we have and lead ourselves and our neighbors through grief into healing? What else could be impacted by deepening our capacity to grieve collectively?��

Marginalization, Inclusivity and Liberation

The inclusion and liberation of marginalized identities (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, people living with disabilities, etc) is an absolute priority for young adults.��

If�� everyone was able to show up in the wholeness of who they are, we’d have a bigger, brighter, more diverse representation of who God is and what God desires for our communities.��

Inclusion is just the beginning. Doing the work of reckoning with our role in marginalization will reveal that all of our liberation is wrapped up together and lead to overall liberation.��

Abundance and Scarcity

The stories of God’s people and God’s promises have an overwhelming theme of abundance. There is enough. We are enough. God is enough. Yet we often find ourselves and our faith communities, wrestling with or defaulting back to a narrative of scarcity. We see a mindset of scarcity show up in our economics and budgeting, in our understanding of membership and church vitality, and when we find ourselves thinking that there’s a limit to who God loves and what God’s love looks like.��

Community

One of the most resounding themes of what young adults have loved most about our experiences with church is community. Church done well includes authentic belonging, vulnerability, showing up, sharing each other’s burdens, and bearing witness to God’s faithfulness. Churches can sometimes make people feel like an outsider, or prioritize the comfort of the existing community over the invitation to be part of God’s ever expanding vision.

Sex/Intimacy and Shame

The church has often cause harmed through sexual shame, purity culture, sexual abuse, and a lack of understanding of the expansiveness of sexuality and sexual intimacy (Asexuality to Polyamory and everything in between). What would it look like to be a faith community that dismantles purity culture, and engages in open and honest conversations about sex, and sexuality?��

Power and Abuse of Power

Abuse of power includes: spiritual abuse, sexual, abuse, emotional abuse, scriptural abuse, financial abuse. It’s an injustice that goes from generation to generation because there is often no accountability. The church must reckon with its complicity in and manifestation of abuse.�� What could a healthy and constructive understanding of power mean for the church?��

Beyond the Walls

The implications of loving our neighbor are vast and expansive. It requires us to center our neighbor, and in turn decenter ourselves, our buildings, and our agendas. Loving neighbors creates mutual flourishing and relationships.��

What are the ways in which the church has tried to do justice work beyond the walls and harmed people? How have mission work and charity work centered the people inside the walls of the church and caused more harm than good?��

Courageous Curiosity

Curiosity can open us up to experiencing and receiving more of what’s going on around us. While fear often closes us off, separates, or divides. Young adults both model and invite us into courageous curiosity. What would our faith communities look like if we turned toward wonder and mystery? What would we gain if we bravely moved through fear?��

Creation and Destruction

Death of creation is the death of created beings—all exploitation is tied up with each other. We get to know our human and other than human neighbors as places where God shows up and is continually creating.��

Mental Health

Young Adults are keenly aware of the importance of mental health and desire even more education, destigmatization, and authenticity. We wish the church would be better equipped to engage in conversations, resourcing, and resiliency around mental health.��

Tokenism of Young Adults

Churches can be anxious about dying, and sometimes that anxiety comes out sideways and becomes directed at young adults. We are often sought after as the “solution,” rarely without sharing any power or authority to create change or be part of any solution. Churches often tokenize us by wanting to know about young adults, wanting to know about what will get us “back to church” so then the church can be perceived as safe from death and decline. This tokenism ends up alienating young adults from the church and from real relationships that could be life giving.

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The post Emerging Themes from the Threshold Envisioning Event appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

This week, we want to highlight the most recent reflection Nick Tangen wrote from his experience at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Columbus, Ohio. He extends to us the invitation to join in the messiness, the vulnerability and realness that comes with wrestling with “What will need to die and rise again in order for each of us as the ELCA to embrace the reconciliation Jesus has set us free to participate in?”. We are grateful for this partnership and for Nick and his team to be in the work alongside us.

“Retamoza’s words have been with me all week. In some ways this challenge captures so clearly my own discomfort with the work of the Assembly; did we want to be good or real? This is, I think, a real tension for us as a church – at all three expressions. It’s a tension ongoing for myself. I know my own desire to appear good, to fall into the trap of perfectionism and performance, and I know how limiting that is when trying to root out injustice and inequity in our life together.

This invitation into the vulnerability, the messiness, and the real-ness of confession and reconciliation stood in such stark contrast to the Assembly. The carefully curated plenaries with the steady march towards resolution felt oddly incongruous with the challenge to deeply listen to the cries of prophetic grief. While I am grateful for the provisions and memorials that the Assembly approved, it was the lament and experience of prophetic grief in worship and from the leaders of Iglesia Luterana Santa Maria Perigrina that my heart continues to return to. I feel both profoundly determined��and��deeply anxious about the church that I love.”

on the Minneapolis Area Synod blog!

The post Our MAS Partner Nick Tangen “Let’s Get Real” appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Our very own Geoffrey Gill is a very talented videographer, so instead of a written blog post, he created a vlog sharing the story of one of our current learning partners, Shiloh Temple Brooklyn Park. We learn about their experience of accompaniment in Central Park. We hope you enjoy learning about their story and can watch a paradigm shift during their debrief discussion.��

The post “Shiloh goes into the unknown and…” A Vlog by Geo appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.