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

The post The Confluence 2024 is in the books! appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

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��.

The post Staff Celebrations and Vocation Reflections appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

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

The post “You are Invited” appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Gretchen Roeck is passionate about inviting youth to engage, critically examine and discern their gifts and call in the world. She loves empowering youth and young adults to be leaders in their own lives and communities. She dreams of building communities of people who are fully alive, connected and invested in one another’s flourishing.��

Gretchen joined the Christensen Center for Vocation team in January 2024 as the Program Director for The Confluence. The Confluence is CCV’s summer institute for high school students, offering youth an opportunity to engage in vocational discernment by exploring the ways their own story merges with God’s story and the world’s story. Gretchen is excited to be a part of the CCV team and their work to inspire and equip people of faith to creatively orient their lives and work around Jesus’ call to be neighbor.��

In addition to her work with The Confluence, Gretchen is a Priest in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. She leads Children’s Ministry at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, and is the chaplain at Circle of the Beloved, an intentional living community for young adults in North Minneapolis. Gretchen spent the last five years serving as the Priest and Internship Director at the University Episcopal Community, a campus ministry for young adults across the Twin Cities. Her ministry has been focused on children, youth and young adults –inviting them into a relationship with God, fostering their personal growth, walking alongside them and guiding young people in their spiritual and vocational journeys. She is committed to building and sustaining safe, inclusive and welcoming communities that lead towards health and wholeness for individuals and their broader communities.��

Creating safe, supportive and loving spaces extends into Gretchen’s personal life. She is the mother of two fun and creative boys, Elliott and Abraham, ages 10 and 6. Together they share a home in Minneapolis with Brigid the dog, and George and Molly, the cats.

The post Introducing our new Program Director for The Confluence: Gretchen Roeck! appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Uncovering Vocation is a partnership between Campus Ministry and the Christensen Center for Vocation at Augsburg University. Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, a member of the Augsburg community is invited to share a component of their vocation story. It has become a way of building community, becoming reacquainted with one another, and celebrating the diversity of people and vocations that make Augsburg University the beautiful place it is.

��’m going to start by reading a few quotes that I find fit well in the story ��’m about to share.��

• American Author Jacqueline Woodson shares that “Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.”
• Another American Author Audre Lorde explained once that “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
• Howard Schultz, a business figure was quoted saying: “I’ve traveled around the world, and what’s so revealing is that, despite the differences in culture, politics, language, how people dress, there is a universal feeling that we all want the same thing. We deeply want to be respected and appreciated for our differences.”
• American minister and activist Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

The last quote by MLK really resonates with me because as a teenager, I came to the United States on a foreign student visa albeit not on a ship but I am indeed in the same boat now.

On that note, let me introduce myself, my story and why I chose to speak about harmony through Unity.�� I hope to show through some of my stories why I feel my calling is that of a unifying person.

I was born in the “République de Côte d’Ivoire” in West Africa known in English as the Ivory Coast, to Lebanese parents in a mostly French speaking household.�� I grew up exposed to Ivorian, Lebanese and French cultures and foods.

Fortunate to experience travel often and from an early age across Africa, Europe and America contributed to my desire to learn other languages and experience other cultures.

This, I believe, shaped the adult I became and person I am today.�� Experiences and friendships gained throughout my life have been varied and colorful in the most wonderful ways and have definitely been learning opportunities and growth triggers.

From an early age, I felt that desire to connect and bring people together.�� As I talk through some of my experiences, this will hopefully become apparent.

After arriving to the United States, I was immediately drawn to connect with other students learning English at the Pacific English Language Institute (PELI) in San Luis Obispo, California.�� Although my English was satisfactory at the time, I was required to take the TOEFL or Test of English as a Foreign Language in order to join the local 2-year Community College.�� It was a rewarding feeling to get a group of PELI students to break barriers by creating opportunities for all to connect through meaningful conversations, activities and games.�� I learned a lot about Japanese culture for example among many other things.�� There were students from a handful of countries from Asia, Europe and South America.

Shortly after joining Cuesta Community college three months later, I quickly realized that there was no organization on campus that connected the diverse groups of people represented there.�� So along with a couple of like-minded friends, I decided to create a club that would just do that. Empowered by the multitude of resources available at the time, I was able to draw up some bylaws and create the MCC or the Multi-Cultural Club, which was the first of its kind in that campus’s history.�� The MCC quickly grew to include over fifty members.�� Through activities that included folklore dancing, singing and reading events, ethnic food fairs, fundraisers and more, the club’s intent was in full display by exposing people to different experiences and cultures.�� The college paper also ran an article at the time to promote the organization and to encourage membership.

After graduating with an AA in linguistics, I transferred to a four-year university in Fresno, California.�� I stayed involved by working for the International Students Office, where I would welcome and assist International Students through their journey at the school.�� In that capacity, I was able to be part of many events that brought people together from all areas of the world.�� Again, I felt fulfilled by connecting with a lot of people from many different walks of life.�� The beauty of working for the International Students Office is that it was in no way limited to foreign students so that others could join the events and students from abroad could learn first-hand about American culture.�� American families would host events for all to join.�� It was a great feeling all around.

As a student majoring in Business Administration, I also got involved with organizations like the International Business Association and I was voted president of the Financial Management Association. Although I was not a Finance major, I took it as an opportunity to influence further the cause of promoted diversity I had started at Cuesta College.�� This allowed me to further promote inclusivity in a different setting and through these organizations.

While attending Fresno State University and probably because of my active involvement on Campus, I was invited to join a select group of students to a diversity retreat at a lake resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains above Fresno.�� There, students shared their stories and background and got to cook together and mingle during an extended weekend.�� This was a great experience I will never forget.

Another experience I would share where I wanted to embrace diversity was my enrollment in Chinese Mandarin classes.�� I had lived with a family from Taiwan in San Luis Obispo for a short time and picked up a few words.�� It was only logical that I should pursue another language I felt connected to through them.

As a French Citizen and before my last year at Fresno State University, I was required to attend a summer military bootcamp in France in order to push back my draft by 1 year so that I could graduate without delay (the French military was compulsory then).�� I ended up joining the paratrooper’s unit.�� There, I again met a lot of diverse people and worked to promote camaraderie and togetherness.�� As the pattern now shows, I encouraged my new friends to connect and share their experiences.�� Although it was just a summer, I stayed in touch with most for many years.

Once I joined the workforce in the late nineties, I tried to apply the same principles to my work.�� I often would create opportunities for people to come together and connect as ��’m sure some of my colleagues here at Augsburg can attest, I do that every late spring by inviting all to a gathering at my house.�� ��’m still in touch with some of my old colleagues like a team I managed at HealthPartners.�� One of my colleagues there once wrote a recommendation and I’d like to read a passage from it that I think really captures well what ��’m trying to convey: “Jad brought us together and took a personal interest in us as individuals and a team. He brought cohesiveness and camaraderie and helped us become aware of our different strengths so we were able to utilize the knowledge of our team members to gain perspective on the issues we solve daily. Our team is better and stronger due to Jad’s leadership!”.

In summary, looking in and analyzing what I feel really is my vocation and from the few examples I’ve shared out of the many more I did not or wouldn’t have time to share, I would say that connecting, uniting and bringing people together as they are is truly what has driven me.�� I think that what I’ve learned most from these experiences is that regardless of your background, religion, creed, race, ethnicity, culture or orientation, you should always interact with people based on the way they treat you and others, based on their personal traits and character rather than their affiliations because although we are all different in our own ways, at the end of the day, as Schultz puts it, “we deeply want to be respected and appreciated for our differences.”

It is only fitting that I ended up at Augsburg where I feel we live these values every day.

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Uncovering Vocation is a partnership between Campus Ministry and the Christensen Center for Vocation at Augsburg University. Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, a member of the Augsburg community is invited to share a component of their vocation story. It has become a way of building community, becoming reacquainted with one another, and celebrating the diversity of people and vocations that make Augsburg University the beautiful place it is.

Abstract

In this heartfelt conversation, we will explore the path of discovering and pursuing a calling inspired by a desire to serve and a belief in the goodness of humanity. We will discuss the ups and downs of this journey with empathy and honesty. Moreover, we will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each step and guide individuals toward resources within the community that can facilitate profound realizations.

Mi familia

The first human I ever loved and respected was a teacher. The first human who ever broke my heart was also a teacher. Consequently, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and I never wanted to be a teacher. Although I understand this idea is contradictory, for me, it was as natural as breathing.

While growing up in rural and forgotten Mexico, I always looked up to my father. He was a respected man and a cherished leader in his community. The farmers, artisans, and elder leaders of this rural landscape always asked for his opinions. They trusted him with their children’s education. Yet, at the same time, this caring social leader, excellent teacher, and public intellectual would open a bottle and become distant and careless to his family.

I always needed clarification on this contradiction. How could such a remarkable man be one person in his classroom and another at home? Moreover, how can he always go above and beyond his line of work and demonstrate what Cariño is all about to his pupils? Cariño is this unique word we use as an endearment for any beloved person (e.g., a child, a partner, a student). However, at home, cariño went out the window.

So here I was, a five-year-old admiring a teacher and detesting one at the same time. I often time wished for a teacher instead of a father. Why couldn’t I be one more in my dad’s classroom?

Time went by, and I began schooling, but I was quiet. Beyond quiet, I would say, I was not using my words. I limited myself to observing and trying to make sense of everything. No one really cared if I learned or not; my first teacher was impatient. She wanted to get me out of her classroom. She took me in only after my mother and grandmother advocated for me. Still, she sat me in the most distant corner where I wouldn’t bother her or any of my peers. It was a frustrating and isolating experience. I even wish I didn’t have to go to school anymore: I hated it!

It wasn’t until my second school year that Magaly came into my life. She was young, energetic, and inexperienced, but most importantly, she wouldn’t take no for an answer and was not ready to give up on me. Thus, with little to no resources, she spent extra time after class teaching me phonics and language. Her lack of skills she patched up with carino. To this day, I am not sure what she did, but she left a profound mark on me. There I was again, admiring another teacher and wanting to be one.

Later, we moved to a big city on the US-Mexico border. I grew up a fairly successful student (Maths aside), wanting to be a teacher until I hit high school. Different factors added up and debunked this teaching nonsense: I was kind of a sports celebrity too good for teaching, the paycheck wasn’t the best, and it was a demanding, stressful career. At least, it was for my high school teachers, who had to bear with guys like me every day. Let me put it this way: I was not a model student.

Consequently, I signed up for Business school. Somehow, this made sense—business-big paychecks. Nevertheless, no one told me that there would be a massive amount of maths involved in the process, and no one talked to me about Accounting courses, Finance, Economics, and so on and so forth. As you might guess, I dropped out. I was miserable. I did not belong there, not my place.

I spent the following years living my life and flying as far as possible from teaching. I buzzed tables, cooked meals, did dishes, and even joined the corporate world as a Walmart associate; I had too many jobs. Remember, I was poor, brown, young, and restless back then.�� But you know I was constantly experiencing this discomfort. Something was missing, ‘besides the big bucks.” Something was off.

Since I was still brown and poor but not too young and restless anymore, I decided to return to school and better my life. So, I figured it out: I always liked teaching but wanted to be something other than a teacher. And I was good at sports (used to), so why not become a PE? I could train students but not be their teacher necessarily. Yes, I was still running away from teaching.

Years passed, and here I am, beginning my field experience. It was my first time in an elementary classroom in decades. And there he was, this quiet and gentle student with the most gorgeous smile ever. I noticed he did not interact much. He was limited to smiling, even when the teacher or his peers said something awful. Three or two classes later, I asked the host teacher: what about that student? He simply answered, “Never mind him, he is R-word. He is not really here with us.” I was thunderstruck.

It took me a long time to process that. I kept thinking that years have passed, and things have not changed much for us. We are still sitting in the darkest corner of the classroom, trying to get by, being good boys, and not interrupting our peers’ learning. So, I told myself, “I need to stand up, and I need to be on the right side of history.”

From that moment over, I never stopped. I finished my bachelor’s with an emphasis on Adapted Physical Education. Then, I went after my license as a Speech Pathologist, so I completed my master’s. Finally, I got my PhD in Special Bilingual Education with a certificate in Autism.

In conclusion, I shouldn’t be here today sharing with you all, and yet, here I am. After all the defies and adverse lived experiences, I had with the educational system and in my personal life. I ended up caring a little about education, and that was reflected in my whole college experience. I struggled all the way through. I skipped too many classes, and I failed too many courses. It was all a challenge for me because nothing motivated me to put in the effort to be successful and to do more than just get by. Even when I returned for my PE license, I still did not care much about education until I heard that calling from the last row and the most distant corner of a forgotten classroom. Only when I was ready to listen, to listen carefully. That is when I found my purpose.

After that, I started developing all of this work ethic and grit that I never had my whole life. Now I was enjoying it not because it was easier, no it was way more complicated, but because there was something bigger than me driving me. Let me tell you this: there’s something about having a purpose that makes us work harder, that makes the battle worth it, that makes those hours and the energy and the sweat and blood and tears worth it when we have a reason to actually work.

Someone once said, “Don’t follow your passion, but always bring it with you.” We’ve been told that we’re supposed to be passionate about everything we do. That passion is what we should always follow, but you know, the truth is there are a lot of parts of life that we’re not necessarily passionate about. You know passion is a feeling and passion is a great feeling. We should feel it as much as we can, but we’re not constantly feeling it. So, when you follow your passion, it can be difficult because there are those times when it runs out or you’re not feeling it. Then you’re starting to question why am I doing this work, but instead, when you figure out what your purpose is, what actually lights your fire, what’s meaningful to you, what’s worth the effort, what’s worth the energy, what’s worth the blood sweat and tears when we have purpose driving us that makes us overcome anything that gets in our way.

When I think of my calling, I think of an intense why that allows me to withstand any crisis. There was a lot of sheltered becoming a teacher they were all worth figuring out because that why was burning bright, and that why is still burning bright for me. So my question for you today is: What is your why? What is your purpose? What is the thing that drives you most that when you’re not feeling the passion, you still know that there is something meaningful worth chasing after? Then, I would also ask: how can you instill that sense of purpose in the people you work with? How can you foster that in your educators if you’re an administrator? Whether you’re a teacher, how can you foster that in your students, and if you’re a student, how can you foster that in your neighbors? There is so much power in knowing purpose and knowing that the work we are doing is meaningful. That’s why I started caring about special education, and that’s why I became an educator myself, and that is why I continue to be one, because there’s something about purpose and knowing that we have this ability to help, bring dignity, skills, and belief to our communities, to our students that could keep me up at night if I wasn’t chasing after it.

Thank you all.

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On September 12, 2023 Dr. Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright from Augsburg’s biology department shared her story, “Vocation Favors the Prepared Mind (or ‘How I Got to Augsburg’)”. Enjoy a video of her talk and the transcript below.

Vocation Favors the Prepared Mind (or “How I Got to Augsburg”)

by Dr. Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright, Biology

If you ask any scientist how they became a scientist or any university professor how they became a university professor, the vast majority will say they don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else. That is not my origin story. �� When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was little, I gave them a whole list: singer, dancer, actress, mother, (and when my mom told me I could check boy careers too) fireman, doctor, police man – I checked all the boxes Except scientist. Or teacher.��

And this continued, though not with much thought, throughout my childhood until …at the end of 9th grade, I knew exactly what my ultimate goal was – my vocation.�� It was time to register for HS classes, and my future was spelled out in all the electives that were now available to me, a high schooler!! Finally!! The next 3 years were going to be amazing, because I was going to register for every elective that would prepare me for my chosen career: THEATER!

I giddily gave my 10th grade registration form to my parents to sign, and family lore recreates this moment like this:��

Me: “Here’s what ��’m taking in high school next year! Isn’t it great?!”

Parents:�� “Hahaha! No.”

Apparently,. I would be taking math and science all 3 years of high school to ensure “I don’t close any doors” with regards to where I went to college and what I wanted to do with my life.�� My parents said “You need to be prepared for any choice you ultimately want to make”�� There were tears, there was pouting, and there was acceptance…because I was 14.

The next year, in the 10th grade biology class that my parents made me take, my teacher Mr. Mitsch changed my life. He told my class a story about genetic diseases and genetic counseling and ethical conundrums and caring for people and I was transformed. I still love the theater, but my dream now was GENETIC COUNSELOR. I would help people understand the biology behind their genetic disease and help them with perhaps the most difficult decisions in their lives. 10th grade; life figured out.

From that moment on, I’ve been fascinated with biology — especially biology related to human health. Long story short: I went to college to get a biology degree on my way to being a genetic counselor. I chose a liberal arts school (College Saint Benedict – ��’m not completely giving up theater!) and, during my time there, I did a summer internship — what we would call an Augsburg Experience — and discovered I loved doing research. I switched my long-term focus from counseling patients to eradicating disease via biomedical research and switched my focus from genetics to immunology, largely because of the HIV pandemic that was in full swing at that time.

To be a researcher, I needed a Ph.D.�� I ended up having to decide between: the University of Chicago and Mayo Graduate School at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. They were both great programs, and I loved Chicago, but Chicago required me to teach undergraduates to earn some of my stipend/payment.�� Mayo did not.�� I had no, absolutely no, positively no interest in teaching in any form. I chose Mayo.

Parents: Are you sure? What if you find out you like it? Like biology in 10th grade? Maybe you’ll find you really enjoy it.

Me: Hahahahahahaha. No.

Narrator: This decision, at 21 years old, marks the beginning of Jennifer’s avoidance of discovering her vocation Yet, as you’ll soon hear, it kept finding her.

During graduate school, I got to be a mentor for the first time – to an immunology professor from St. Olaf, Ted Johnson (spoiler alert – he graduated from Augsburg). This man was beloved by his students – he was living his vocation as a professor. As we worked together and I trained him on the new techniques my lab was doing, he asked whether I had ever considered teaching, because I seemed to have a real knack for it – he thought I would be great in the classroom.��

My response: Hahahahahahaha. No.

I got my Ph.D. and moved to a different lab to do research on asthma and allergies. My new boss, Jerry Gleich, M.D. saw me present scientific articles and results several times and often complimented me on my “gift” for being able to explain complicated ideas very clearly – he asked if I had ever considered teaching since I seemed to have a gift for it.

My response: Hahahahahaha. No.

I began working with SURF students (undergraduates doing summer research) and LOVED it.�� They told me they would love to have a professor like me – did I ever think I would work at a University and mentor students in research there?

My response: Hahahahahahahah. No.

During this time, I also began volunteering with local elementary schools, the Rochester and MN State science fairs for middle and high school students, I was asked to lead a course in the Immunology graduate school program and be part of the teaching group in the immunology course taken by first year medical and grad students. I gave research talks at MN colleges (CSB, St. Olaf) and always connected with students and faculty.�� I was promoted to an Assistant Professor of Medicine because of my work at Mayo, and�� I seemed to really be drawn to (and good at) this whole education thingy-ma-bob. But I still saw that as “giving back” — I was a research scientist who could communicate, hooray!�� People continued to ask me if I’d ever considered teaching, and my response slowly turned from laughter and denial to…maybe? For somebody who said they would never teach I do seem to do a lot of it don’t I? .��

So I started looking at all my “volunteer” activities differently — had I been seeking out TEACHING activities? Why did I love working with my summer research college students so much? Why did I get more “warm fuzzies” from my volunteer activities than my research, which I also loved doing?? Had I been moving toward teaching all along, despite my best efforts to avoid it??!!

My response: Huh….am I supposed to be a…teacher???

Soon after this, I “snuck” into an education workshop for college professors of immunology (I was at the same meeting presenting my research). You know that feeling when you find “your people”? This was that. It was during the flight home from that meeting, when I happened to be sitting next to one of the professors that was in that education group, that – at 35,000 feet, I discovered my true vocation: teaching.

It took me another 5 years to figure out who and where I wanted to teach (undergraduates, at a liberal arts college in a city) and to develop my college teaching skills (and it requires a LOT of skills!). I taught a course at Carleton College, I left Mayo and taught full time at RCTC the community college, and I continued to grow in my abilities and become more and more convinced this is what I was meant to do.�� When permanent positions opened up for a biology professor at a liberal arts college with a commitment to student research in (or very near) a city, I applied. But it wasn’t until I interviewed at Augsburg that things really clicked for me. And it wasn’t the campus or even the city that drew me in: it was the students I met.

They were different from the students I’d talked with during interviews at other campuses. They knew what they needed or wanted from their professors, they challenged me and asked how I would provide that if I were hired. They talked about challenges they faced and what were my thoughts on issues that directly impacted them. I was in love. These were also my people. I left Augsburg that day knowing this was my teaching home and hoping they knew it too. Thankfully they did — and I started teaching biology here in Fall 2008, 13 years after I earned my Ph.D. I was using my Ph.D. for the one thing I was sure I would never use it for: teaching.��

So what’s my advice to help you find your vocation? I’ve stolen it from one of my graduate school professors, Dr. Vanda Lennon. One day she casually asked me what my plans were after I graduated. I said I wasn’t really sure and asked her if she had any advice on choosing. I expected a list of things to do, maybe a reprimand that I didn’t know what to do already, but she didn’t say any of that. She said “Don’t worry. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do. Just keep moving toward what you love to do, and eventually you’ll find your path.” And�� she was exactly right — I kept moving toward what I loved for those 13 years…and I found my vocation here at Augsburg, waiting for me.

The post Uncovering Vocation – Vocation Favors the Prepared Mind (or “How I Got to Augsburg”) Dr. Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

We are so excited to introduce our new CCV staff member with you all, Brenna Zeimet!��

Brenna joined the Riverside Innovation Hub in June of 2023 as a RIH Congregational Facilitator. She will journey with congregations as they discern their vocational path to loving their neighbors as a vital partner in the community where God has called them. She will facilitate cohorts of church leaders, helping them build a network of support amongst each other to empower the work they are doing for the flourishing of humanity and the common good.

Before coming to Augsburg, Brenna spent 20 years in local church ministry where she worked in youth ministry, congregational care, leadership development and change management. She helped steward ministry model change in her congregation; pivoting from a struggling, internally focused church to a public church that engaged the community and the schools, and created vital space for neighbors to meet each other and work together for good in their community. Brenna also oversaw and developed a cohort mentoring program for youth pastors that helped leaders build supportive communities of other pastors that they could learn from and walk with in the sometimes isolating journey of ministry. Brenna has worked as a church consultant, helping leaders build cohesive and healthy teams that explore the needs of their neighbors and what gifts they have in their hands and on their team to meet those needs. Currently, Brenna also works as a clergy coach, helping pastors navigate the challenges of ministry and live into their call in their context.

Brenna is a strategic developer of people, through listening and intuitive questioning Brenna is able to help people find the hidden potential and pitfalls inherent in their story, context and personality, and helps them find the pathway to healing, empowerment and flourishing. She loves navigating group dynamics and connecting people through relationship building and intimacy development born of authentic sharing and vulnerability that allows us to be truly seen, known, and accepted for who we actually are behind our public masks. Brenna believes that the deep relationships that our cohorts will form with each other and their neighbors will create lasting and meaningful change in the world around them and in the congregations and leaders who embark on this journey together.

When Brenna isn’t facilitating cohorts, she is busy with her husband, four children and two dogs. They enjoy the dog park, softball, traveling as a family, and snuggling up together to watch everything that Marvel puts out. She is also passionate about local politics and community engagement. She has served on her local school board, run local campaigns, and is currently working on getting a levy passed for her local schools. She loves to volunteer and build community with her neighbors in her city. Her neighbors have become like family – her village – that love her kids as their own and show up no matter how big the ask.

The post Introducing Our New Congregational Facilitator: Brenna Zeimet appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

The work of being the public church in the neighborhood, of being a vital neighbor in the world, is the work of our lives. There is no graduation. It is a journey that always is and always was. We are called to show up with curiosity, humility and our full selves as neighbors. This work can be exhausting and feel never-ending. So we have learned the power in celebrating along the way. Celebrating the small ways we have been able to be transformed by being in relationship with our neighbors. It reminds us of the hope and the joy in this work.��

At the Center of Vocation we pause throughout the year at milestones throughout the year to reflect and share the joy of being in relationship with others doing this work. We love celebrating and sharing things that are happening in the work and outside of the work in our lives. We especially love celebrating through yummy treats!��

In the spirit of this season of celebrating, we wanted to share with you what we have been celebrating on our team:

Jeremy:����’m celebrating that we were able to sell our home quickly and easily, allowing our family to move into the next chapter of our lives.

Geoffrey: During our sustainability retreat, Cathy crafted the shawl with her own hands. It was during this creative process that she caught sight of me and felt a deep inspiration to offer it as a heartfelt gift. I was incredibly moved and filled with gratitude. The moment she completed it and presented it to me, I was filled with a profound sense of humility. Since then, I have incorporated the shawl into my daily prayer and meditation routine. It has become an integral part of my mornings, akin to experiencing a warm and comforting embrace from God each and every day.

Kristina: Marie’s 80’s concert! I loved seeing my kid doing something they love!��

Amanda:��

I’m celebrating taking time to stop and smell the roses (dandelions).

After a long and busy winter, it feels like a gift to spend quality time at home with furry friends and bask in the sunlight. In a few weeks, I just wrapped up my role as congregational facilitator, and I’m excited to step into summer with more time to rest, explore, and rekindle curiosity. Taking any and all favorite hiking trail recommendations!��

(Amanda will stay on RIH staff in a part time capacity managing the Young Adult Book Project, so don’t worry, she is still around!).��

Ellen:��

I am celebrating the ways that I am helping create community through the sports league I run with friends. It has been a joy seeing old and new faces as the spring season kicked off. It has been energizing to think about the ways we can help create ways for people to build by moving their bodies together through softball, adult P.E. soccer and more!

After the long winter, to be in a community outside again brings new life. And of course, celebrating lots of outside time with our favorite pup Buzz Dublin.��

The post The Art and Importance of Celebrating appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

I, Amanda, said yes to stewarding the young adult book project because I believe that this book, a book that centers and amplifies the voices of young adults who care deeply about the church, will be inspiring, disorienting, and transformational for the readers, congregations, neighborhoods, and communities who experience it. My hope is that this book will inspire us into hope, disorient us away from the status quo, help us remember who God is calling us to be, and continue transforming us so that we can show up more wholeheartedly in the places and spaces we are all called to be.��

We launched the writing phase of the young adult book project in Mid-March by gathering all twenty-two writers at Montreat Conference Center for a Writers’ retreat. The purpose of the time together was to become familiar with each other and this project, preview how we plan to write a cohesive multi-voice book with twenty-two authors, and have each set of co-authors spend time together, in-person, to connect and plan.��

On Friday evening, we gathered for dinner and our first session together. We introduced ourselves to each other, shared what values were carrying into the room and into the project, and looked back at the project’s story so far ().����

On Saturday, we had a mix of large group time and co-author time. In the large group, we looked at the logistics of how this project will come to fruition, and heard from each young adult author on why the theme they’ve been chosen to write on is important to the church.

In co-author pairs, each thought leader and young adult spent time connecting, brainstorming a chapter theme summary statement, and creating a game plan for how they’ll communicate, collaborate, and schedule their work. Each pair did this work uniquely, some started with a hike, some began with solitude, some took a stroll across the retreat center, some began by sharing about how their lived experiences will inform the theme they’ll write on, some began with writing, and all of them did really, really great work. Nicholas Tangen, the thought leader for the Community theme, said, “[He was] glad to meet so many new folks, to conspire and dream with my co-author Amar Peterman (who may be among the smartest people I’ve ever met), and to laugh way more than I had any business to. When people say the church is dying, I’m going to point back to rooms like the ones this weekend and let them know the church is more alive than ever!”��

After dinner on Saturday, we had an optional social hour. We enjoyed refreshments, ate some snacks, and played some group games, like Fishbowl (aka Salad Bowl). Sarah Iverson, a young adult author said, “I had the opportunity to sneak away to a retreat center in the Appalachian mountains with 21 strangers who quickly became friends – all of us invited by Riverside Innovation Hub to contribute to a book about young adults and the church. Or more correctly, a book BY young adults FOR the church. I’ve been asked to co-author the chapter on mental health. ��’m so excited to be part of this team as we spend the next year writing and dreaming together. This group of humans has already made me laugh harder and think more deeply than I have in a long time.”��

On Sunday, we distilled some of the immense wisdom in the room. Everyone shared some of their best writing practices, insights on the creative process, advice and encouragement for each other, and some tools and techniques to try out as we endeavor in this collaborative book. Lunch on Sunday marked the end of our programmed time. About half the group traveled home on Sunday, and the other half on Monday. Talitha Amadea Aho, the thought leader for the Creation and Destruction theme reflected, “It was SO good for my soul to be away thinking big thoughts and having such fascinating conversations with the other 21 people who are together going to be writing a book that will help the church listen to its youngest leaders.�� Young adults haven’t left the faith, but the church has abandoned the public spaces where young people are actively living out their faith. This book will help the rest of the church follow their lead and find meaningful involvement in the issues that actually matter to our young leaders.”��

The writers were sent off to work on a chapter outline, theme summary statements, and a first draft of their chapters. In a follow-up letter to the writing team, Kristina Frugé shared, “I think this book is one way folks will be invited into curiosity about the new thing God is doing in our time. Curiosity not just for the sake of curiosity, but because curiosity unlocks room for transformation, for liberation into a better way to be and be together. And don’t we all need that? I am eager to listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in this endeavor we are on together – in through and with the many voices gathered at our table.”

Stay tuned to this blog and the Riverside Innovation Hub social media to learn more about the writing team!

The post The Writer’s Have Met! A Recap of the Writer’s Retreat in Montreat appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.