{"id":13782,"date":"2025-09-08T15:51:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T15:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=13782"},"modified":"2025-09-24T15:14:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:14:00","slug":"love-thy-neighbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2025\/09\/08\/love-thy-neighbor\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Love Thy Neighbor’"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\"People
Students took a break from class preparations to connect with friends and future classmates. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the first day of class for the 2025\u201326 academic year, Campus Ministry<\/a> invited the Augsburg community to the lawn outside Foss Center for its annual block party. Augsburg University Student Ministry leaders chose \u201cLove Thy Neighbor\u201d as the theme for the event and provided guests with t-shirts and wrist bands that depicted the message.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that the students are mindful of the importance of caring for and welcoming their neighbors in the spirit of love,\u201d says University Pastor Babette Chatman \u201906<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Students also enjoyed live music from Kent Goodroad and a band, sweet treats, games, and an opportunity for self-performance during an open mic session. \u201cI love the excitement at the beginning of the new year and seeing students enjoying gathering for games, conversation, and music. There is joy in the smiles and dancing,\u201d says Administrative Assistant Janice Dames<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This event also reminds students that Campus Ministry’s doors are always open to offer support and a place to belong. \u201cThe block party embodies for new and returning students what we say all the time in Campus Ministry: You are welcome here; you belong here; and there\u2019s a whole community here that celebrates and supports you,\u201d says University Pastor John Rohde Schwehn<\/strong>. \u201cCampus Ministry is all about creating spaces that cultivate what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called \u2018the beloved community.\u2019 We set tables that intentionally gather the amazing diversity of this campus, building relationships based on human dignity and justice, joy, and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chatman echoes these sentiments as she welcomes students to the new year: \u201cWelcome, Auggies, to your home away from home. Trust and believe\u2014we got you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/a> about Campus Ministry and the Augsburg University Student Ministry leaders.\u00a0<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”13787,13788,13789,13790,13791,13792,13793,13794,13795,13796,13797,13798,13799,13800,13801,13802,13803,13804,13805,13806,13807,13808,13809,13810,13811,13812,13813,13814″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_no” autoplay=”yes” title=”Slideshow: Campus Ministry Block Party”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Top image: Students were welcomed to \u201cLove Thy Neighbor\u201d with complimentary wrist bands and t-shirts. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n

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

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] On the first day of class for the 2025\u201326 academic year, Campus Ministry invited the Augsburg community to the lawn outside Foss Center for its annual block party. Augsburg University Student Ministry leaders chose \u201cLove Thy Neighbor\u201d as the theme for the event and provided guests with t-shirts and wrist bands that depicted the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":569,"featured_media":13785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-the-quad"],"wps_subtitle":"Students celebrate the start of the academic year at Campus Ministry\u2019s annual block party. ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/569"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13782"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13830,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13782\/revisions\/13830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}