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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Vera Bezemer

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

– Gabriel Niola

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

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

– Daykell Navarro��

QUESTIONS?

Gretchen Roeck, Program Director

roeck@augsburg.edu

612-330-1412

FIND OUT MORE:��

The post Announcing our 2025 Confluence Dates: June 22nd-June 27th, 2025! appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

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

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

Written by Ruth Rinard, Immanuel Lutheran Church Team member

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

Thank you for coming!

The post There’s the Surface and then there’s the Depth appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

��– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The post The Christensen Scholars Program: An Exploration of Christian Community and Vocation appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

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.

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.

Our most recent Uncovering Vocation talk was given on Tuesday April 9, 2024 by Dr. Kristen Chamberlain from our department of Communication Studies, Film, and New Media. Kristen earned her PhD in Communication Studies from North Dakota State University in 2007. She has been teaching a variety of classes as part of the Department of Communication Studies, Film, and New Media since the fall of 2007. Kristen is particularly passionate about environmental communication and has identified as an environmentalist since 9th grade. She is also always ready to talk about the media, favorite books, and cats.

The post Look Around! 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.

This week’s Uncovering Vocation talk is given by Jennifer Butler, Augsburg University’s Director of Multicultural Life. Jennifer is a lifelong collector of stories, an advocate for inclusive excellence and equity, and an educator. For years, Jennifer has worked with students to help sharpen their ideas and advocacy skills. Jennifer recognizes that success as a student comes both inside and outside of the classroom and purposefully works to support underrepresented communities as they navigate higher education. Trained as a social scientist, Jennifer strongly believes in empowering through the framework of self-efficacy and hopes to instill in those around her a steadfast belief in their capability to succeed. She is committed to practicing humility, developing understanding, and promoting an inclusive campus. She received her Ph.D. in Asia Pacific Studies from National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan, where she focused on financial behaviors, financial literacy, and self-efficacy. Jennifer is passionate about the role of student services and the unique levels and layers of support students need.

Good morning, when I was emailed about potentially speaking in one of Jeremy’s vocation chapels, I thought there were so many unique and great stories to share here at Augsburg that the odds of me speaking anytime soon were quite slim.

Jokes on me, he asked in December and here we are in March!
I’ll be honest, when I started thinking about this chapel, I googled “what is vocation”

And while the results of my Google search didn’t really clarify things, I remembered from my time working at the College of Business and Analytics at Southern Illinois University this concept of “ikigai” that expresses

1. Find what you’re good at.
2. Find what you love to do.
3. Find what you can get paid for.
4. Find what the world needs.

So today, I’m going to hurry us through my journey of finding.

For those who don’t know, I’m a transracial adoptee. When I was a few months shy of my 2nd birthday, I was adopted by these 2 loving individuals. I spent a lot of my early days watching and taking in the sights of what was happening around me. I was in an unfamiliar place. I was with unfamiliar people. I was surrounded by unfamiliar practices. And I felt alone. But to say I felt alone might be confusing to some because I was constantly surrounded by my new doting parents, their excited families, their happy friend group, and a family pet or two. Being adopted makes me sensitive to and aware of the importance of belonging. The importance of having support. The importance of a community or family or support system. It makes me aware that when life and personal stuff occur, it can fully impact your ability to thrive and succeed.

So fast forward to me graduating high school.

When I graduated high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in… I just knew that I was off to college. I started at my local community college and there, I had a professor who encouraged me to look into the exciting field of actuarial science. Not wanting to be a teacher like my mother, not really being passionate about anything other than the fact that I did not like chemistry, I decided to give it a go.

I transferred to the University of Texas at San Antonio. This was a huge change. I had to live on campus. I was away from my family. I didn’t know anyone. And I had to take Calculus 2 and Accounting. I ended up getting an F in Accounting, a D in Cal 2, and a couple of other sad or bad grades. That coupled with the experience of feeling so alone, disconnected from friends and family, and receiving all the scary emails about needing to turn things around because the next semester I would be on probation…really made me question whether or not college was for me.

Aware of the fact that I was not thriving academically or personally my family and I decided it would be best for me to move back home. I took a summer course or 2 and got my GPA back to non-probationary status and I transferred to the 4-year university in my hometown. I decided to major in pollical science because those were classes I always did well in and it also meant I didn’t have to be a teacher like my mother. I was back with friends, I made new friends at my new university, and my friends were now talking about this cool new thing called graduate school.

Now during my time in college, my mother started a speech and debate club for students 12-18 years old. My younger brother was learning how to be a competitive debater and as one who lives at home often does, I got sucked into this family project. But it turns out I was actually really good at teaching young novice debaters who were debating policy. I know I said I didn’t want to be a teacher, but it was interesting teaching 12-year-olds how to be effective communicators. I loved the moments when it all clicked and came together. When they realized how to defend their debate cases. When they learned that listening is just as important as speaking during a debate round. When they learned just how powerful their voices were as they shared their ideas on topics most 12-year-olds aren’t talking about…like dependency on foreign oil or African trade policies.

But what stood out to me the most was this one young newbie. He and his debate partner were energetic pre-teen boys who probably wanted to be doing anything except debate. But shortly into the experience of learning how to debate and practicing being an effective communicator, this young student of mine, was tasked with giving the eulogy at his father’s funeral. Forget the rules of debate, forget the implication of US foreign policy, he was learning to communicate and be a communicator for this and so many other moments in his life. And that’s when it dawned on me that I valued helping people find their voices. I am passionate about equipping people with the skills needed to speak and advocate for themselves.

Still thinking that teaching was not for me, I poured myself into my poli sci classes and I graduated with a rehabilitated GPA and professors who were happy to write me letters of recommendation. So now I’ve found something I’m good at so off to grad school I go.

I found a small private liberal arts university that had a graduate degree in International Relations where I could specialize in international development and learn about theories such as the capabilities approach or self-efficacy which really resonated and meshed with my newfound passion for equipping people with the tools they need to succeed. So in grad school, I continued to explore themes of advocacy, empowerment, self-efficacy, and yes, education.

When I say I took that campus by storm, I mean I was everywhere. I was in so many student orgs. I served as the student representative on university committees. I worked for the ambassador in residence (the former US Ambassador to Belize). And I decided to write a master’s thesis so I spent a lot of time with my thesis supervisor, the grad IR faculty, and the amazing research librarians. My experience at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio was unlike any other. It was a small enough campus that everyone knew everyone and anyone who stepped foot on the campus could sense the Marianist commitment to belonging, community, service, and justice.

While at St. Mary’s, I got the opportunity to work as the Director of Forensics, teaching and coaching the competition speech and debate students. My students would go on to compete in regional and national competitions and while I could talk of their many awards and accolades, I simply want to put it out there that these former students who were honing their communication skills then are all now in roles of advocacy. They are using their voices to advocate and empower others. So, things are starting to come together. I found something I was good at. I found something I loved to do. And somehow, I had found a way to get paid a little for doing it.

So, as I was starting to wrap up my grad program, the dreadful what’s next questions re-surfaced. I had a few opportunities popping up here and there but nothing felt exactly right. My grad school mentor suggested I apply to this new and experimental PhD program in Taiwan. I kind of was like well what’s the worst that could happen. I applied, got accepted, bought a 1 way ticket to Taiwan, wedged what I thought I might need into 2 suitcases, and hugged my family goodbye.

At this point, I had attended a community college, a couple of 4-year universities, and a private graduate school so I felt like I kind of knew how to navigate higher ed. Wow, nope…I was now in a new country, a new culture, with a new way of doing things. Having come off of a really amazing experience in grad school, and now knowing the importance of having that sense of belonging, having a strong support system, and having that community, I immediately started building and finding it. I cobbled together a community of friends, kindred spirits, and quickly regained that sense of belonging I had become accustomed to before leaving for Taiwan.

Fast forward through my adventures abroad, I came back to the US in February of 2020. Just at the start of something big. Yes, COVID. I managed to catch one of the last flights out of Taipei before much stricter protocols and widespread cancellations of flights occurred. I moved back to the States to be closer to my parents and family but also to put my shiny new PhD to good use. I had gotten a job at Southern Illinois University in a town called Carbondale where I had never visited and knew no one. I was hired to lead the equivalent of the Multicultural Life office for SIU’s College of Business and Analytics.

In that role, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was tasked with making sure that the college’s students felt engaged, like they had a community, and that even though things were remote that they had a sense of belonging. Not exactly the easiest task when people weren’t in a face-to-face capacity. I threw myself into earning the trust of the students, building relationships with the staff and faculty, and understanding the geographical community I had just joined.

Southern Illinois was good to me. I was able to do some amazing firsts for SIU and the students I served. I had excellent relationships with campus partners and I was really happy with the job I had and I wasn’t really looking to move when here comes Augsburg.

One of my mentors told me that after 2-3 years in role, I should take a look at the job postings of jobs being offered in the area I’m in and the areas I’m interested in growing into. That way I am seeing the knowledge, skills, and responsibilities that are part of these roles and can find ways or opportunities to incorporate some of them into the role I currently have. So toward the mid to end of the spring semester of my 3rd year at SIU, I was lightly doing some searches while planning awesomeness for my office and the Fall 2023 semester when I ran across the Augsburg job posting.

I was curious and I hopped on the website to see a little more about Augsburg and I was like, oh hey…y’all potentially are kind of like the Lutheran version of my grad school but didn’t really think much of it until l I started creeping on the social media of the student orgs. Augsburg students were doing so much. I was like wait, what…how…how are they so engaged. So y’all should thank my mother, she encouraged me to apply so I could talk to the interviewer and get a sense of what was going on with this campus.

So poor Joanne and Taylor. I had a 30 mins screener with them wedged between a whole bunch of craziness on my end because at the time I was in the middle of a high school summer camp college takeover with high school students from all over Illinois. I slid into Zoom scattered but excited to ask questions. All I had to do was get to the part where they asked “so what questions do you have for us” And then I could pounce. I could ask about their student involvement. I could get a sense of what specialness was going on with their campus to bring back to mine. Joanne and Taylor were so nice and Joanne went on and on about Augsburg answering my questions and I left the interview with new thoughts for my office and went back to my chaotic summer camp experience.

When I got the email later saying that Augsburg would like to invite me for another round of interviews, I went uh oh. The thought really hadn’t crossed my mind that I could work at Augsburg. I had been on a fact-finding mission. And now I have a full-fledged multi-interview opportunity in a state I’d never been to. Once again, y’all should thank my mother…she encouraged me to do it for the experience. I’m sorry, but who does 4 interviews back-to-back to back for the experience?! And as they say, the rest is history. I packed up my stuff in Carbondale and once again moved to a place I had never visited, a place where I had 0 friends, all to start a new job.

So why do that? It’s because, through the interview process, I saw Augsburg’s intentionality. I saw its dedication to community, to supporting students, and how it valued belonging. I saw students who were learning to use their voices. Who were being empowered to advocate for themselves, their communities, and others. And I saw things I valued and had sought after.
As a transracial adoptee, I found myself searching for community and belonging. As a college student, I was academically more successful when I found a sense of belonging and community and leaned into the support resources available on my campuses.

So now as a person working in higher ed, I look for places where I can serve and hopefully give students that same experience. The experience I had where I felt supported, where I felt like a valued member of the community, where I felt that I belonged, and where I learned my voice mattered.

So going back to the concept of “ikigai”

1. Find what you’re good at.
2. Find what you love to do.
3. Find what you can get paid for.
4. Find what the world needs.

Currently, my role at Augsburg allows me to do exactly that: I can use my talents and skills to serve our campus community. Augsburg values things I love and I’m passionate about. Strangely enough, this is an actual job…Augsburg pays me to do this. And the students we are equipping here at Augsburg are exactly who I think the world needs as future leaders and informed citizens.

The post The Intersection of Passion and Purpose: A Vocation Story appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

At a recent vocation chapel, our speaker shared this blessing as an opening reading. It was lovely and a much needed reminder.��

May we continue to show up true to who we are.��

May we remember that the small ordinary moments are worth blessing.��

That the small things that you do every day matter.��

That we each are worthy of love and no resolution will make us more worthy.��

May it inspire us to continue to work together towards justice, not to earn worthiness, but because we understand that we are in this life together.��That we are called by our faith to show up as neighbor with an open heart and open arms reminding those that they matter and demanding that the world see it too.��

A New Year’s Blessing for realists by Nadia Bolz-Weber.��

As you enter this new year, as you pack away the Christmas decorations and get out your stretchy pants,

as you face the onslaught of false promises offered you through new disciplines and elimination diets,

as you grasp for control of yourself and your life and this chaotic world –

May you remember that there is no resolution that, if kept, will make you more worthy of love.

There is no resolution that, if kept, will make life less uncertain and allow you to control your aging parents and your teenage children and the way other people act.����

So this year (as every year),

May you just skip the part where you resolve to be better do better and look better this time.

Instead, may you give yourself the gift of really, really low expectations. Not out of resignation, but out of generosity.

May you expect so little of yourself that you can be super proud of the smallest of accomplishments.

May you expect so little of the people in your life that you actually notice and cherish every small, lovely thing about them.

May you expect so little of the service industry that you notice more of what you do get and less of what you don’t and then just tip really well anyhow.

May you expect to get so little out of 2024 that you can celebrate every single thing it offers you, however small.

Because you deserve joy and not disappointment.

So, I wish you a Happy as possible New Year.

Love, Nadia.

The post A Much Needed Reminder 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.

One morning about a month ago, as I was running around the house, getting everyone ready for school, when my 3.5 year old son drew an almost perfect circle on a leather stool with a bright red, permanent marker. When I came in the room he pointed to it with the marker and said, “I did not do this.” I frantically told him: We only draw on paper. And asked him repeatedly, “why did you do that?” He responded with tears, apologies, and a smirky 3 year old smile that told me he was both sorry and not sorry. I don’t think I will ever know “why” he did it but I imagine he got the idea and he couldn’t NOT draw the bright red circle while no one was looking. It was a little bit brave and I think he knew it. He definitely took a risk with his selection of media. But he went for it.��

After scrubbing the chair with nail polish remover, I crouched down next to him and said, “That was a very beautiful circle. Next time, please draw it on paper”.��

I tell this story because I believe in the idea that everyone and everything is a teacher. The story of the red circle is funny and playful (in hindsight of course) and it is also a statement about how I try to understand what each moment is teaching me. And what I am teaching others through my life and work.��

I have been called to be a professional educator, to study the arts and sciences of teaching and learning. In this life’s work, I have been a first and second grade teacher in multilingual and multi age classrooms. I have also been a teacher educator for almost 15 years. As my vocation, I do this work on purpose and with intention.

My vocation story doesn’t start with, “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher.” Actually, I have a story that involves dropping all of my classes the night before the deadline, self-advising with a giant undergraduate catalog in hand, and changing my major to Elementary Education with equal parts excitement and anxiety. On the day I graduated three years later, a former teacher of mine gave me a card that reads, “Give your gifts freely to the world, expecting nothing in return. Someday the world will surprise you.” My vocation story is about how I came to hear my calling by listening to what my gifts are, finding a way to freely give them to the world, and being surprised.

I have memories of a time in 3rd grade when my parents were encouraged to move me ahead a grade. But what I had in school smarts I lacked in social skills. So my parents were cautious of setting me up to fail in learning how to be a friend. I remember my first real friends stood out from the crowd in some way; Maria was adopted, Richelle was one of few students of color in our school, Noah’s gold stars on a class behavior chart didn’t quite line up with everyone else’s; and Jessie spoke Japanese at home and English at school. These friends were among my first teachers and I know they taught me to see one of my gifts: Acceptance. When I am with others, I try to see people for who they are. When people are with me, I want them to know that they can be their whole, true self, without judgment.��

In my first year of teaching second grade, the world brought me Aaron. He had quite a few adventures in my classroom, including one in which he stood in front of me during a spelling test, publicly and loudly declaring his hate for me. Instead of trying to fight against him, tell him to stop, or make him into something he couldn’t be right then, I gave Aaron acceptance. Perhaps that gift, which likely appeared as a lack of response, surprised Aaron because he did eventually stop yelling in my face while I gave a spelling test over him.��

When giving acceptance, I have found it can be difficult to establish and express boundaries. Am I ok with someone yelling in my face that they hate me? As a general rule, no. Aaron and I talked about that later and I advocated for myself and for him. Throughout that first year of second grade for both of us, my students and I learned each other’s boundaries, what is acceptable, and what needed to shift as we learned and grew together. That year, Aaron was the student that gave the most hugs, likely because he needed them and saw that I did too.

In any learning experience, there are growing pains. I learned a lot about growing up as the fourth child wedged between 3 older and 2 younger brothers and sisters. In the midst of the chaos we called family, I learned to see another one of my gifts: Calm. My family still jokes that we didn’t need pets because we had so many kids. We tried to have a pet once. Her name was KC, a new cocker spaniel puppy that ran away; probably on the hunt for some peace and quiet! Like KC, I often found myself looking for a calm escape – making art, reading, packing a bag and ‘running away’ up the street to sit under a tree.��

Over time, as I sought out calm I also realized I could bring it back into spaces with me to provide a different kind of energy. Whether in classrooms full of students or in my own home now with 3 children, a husband, a dog, and a cat, I try to give calm as part of my presence. As a young teacher, I remember giving calm to Alex. For Alex, it seemed as though everything was too difficult, too loud, and too bright. Except when he was writing poetry. As an 8 year old, he was the best poet I have ever known. I think he liked the spaces we created in our classroom with quiet music and dimmed lights where he could write and become sure of himself without the pressure of rules.��

One of the dangers of giving calmness is that it can be read as apathy or not caring. Whereas some people give care by worrying, giving calm is the way I care about others and myself. In this, I acknowledge the tensions, stress, and contradictions that are a part of any life.�� Rather than trying to fight them, with the gift of calm I manage my expectations that I am not always in control. I can plan and must be flexible. I can be excited and patient. I can be passionate and steady. I can be quiet and lead. I find and bring calm to the spaces in between extremes.��

Not all of my teachers have been people. I grew up in a place where I didn’t have a choice about the form of religion that I grew up around. As a young child, I went along with the teachings, rituals, and unspoken rules. Yet, over time I understood less and questioned more. I argued with the logic and pushed back on the hypocrisy and injustices that I read in the teachings and ways of living that I was born into. My religious upbringing revealed for me another gift: curiosity.��

I have always loved school and learning. That is one of the ways I get to give and express my curiosity. And yet, I know that I am the kind of person that school was made for. I was set up to be successful in learning. As a teacher in my first few years, I met Sydney, Emmanuel, Jibril, and Jared. These four were among my hardest and my most favorite. They were difficult not because of who they were. They were difficult because school was not set up for them to be successful. As their teacher, I got to give them my curiosity and try to create new spaces where they could be seen as something other than kids who didn’t care, couldn’t get it, or would always be in trouble.����

Giving curiosity can often be read as being contrary. I am ok with being a contrarian. In fact, my parents always thought I would be a lawyer because of my ability to argue. When I ask, “Why does it have to be that way?” I won’t accept, “Because that’s how it has always been done,” as an answer. I know that curiosity is a privilege. That’s why I consider it one of the most important gifts I have received and can give. And I know I must give it carefully so the consequences of my wonderings are not destructive or harmful.��

As a teacher and teacher educator, I get to give acceptance, calm, and curiosity every day. And I have been surprised on the paths that I have taken. I have been able to take risks, make mistakes, and trust that everything that happens in life is teaching me something. Even a red circle in permanent marker, not on paper.��

The post Give Your Gifts Freely by Dr. Jennifer Diaz (Education) 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.

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

The post Together in Harmony by Jad Habib appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.