This month, I’ll join my friends and fellow alums of Augustana University as we gather for our annual homecoming events. It’s always enjoyable to reconnect with those who shared such a formative experience. We can remember together the way we hoped things would be—and celebrate how far we’ve come.
Similarly, in the Church year, October is a time when we’re invited to another type of “homecoming”—one of our rich Lutheran heritage, in which the past shapes the present and future.
I was reminded by our faculty at a recent planning retreat of the famous quote by historian Jaroslav Pelikan: “Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living and tradition is the living faith of the dead.” Rightly remembering our traditions can open for us both a vibrant present and “a useable future.”
This issue will highlight the many ways our Lutheran identity enlivens our present and shapes us for the future.
- Pray together: We invite you to consider receiving the Advent devotionals so that we might pray together during the season of Advent. We ask for your continued prayer for our students, staff, faculty and administration. You can download a copy of the devotional, titled “Creator of the Stars of Night,” online in early November.
- Sing together: We also sing our way into a lively present and a promised future. Singing is a longstanding Lutheran tradition. This year we welcome Luther College and its president, Paula Carlson, to our annual Singing the Faith event. This annual festival celebrates the Reformation in song. We hope you’ll join us on Sunday, Oct. 25.
- Plan together: Our strategic planning conversations are continuing. The faculty has done important work framing how we think about a compelling future, which reverberates throughout the institution out of the commitments and convictions embedded in the new curriculum. We will be crafting a compelling vision statement, along with discerning three to five key strategic priorities, which will focus our institutional attention for the next several years.
You’ll find other highlights of our shared lives and mission in this issue. I wonder: In what ways is your own congregation thinking about its Lutheran identity and the ways a Lutheran “homecoming” takes shape in your ministry outpost?