“…That what is mortal may be swallowed up by life…” 2 Cor. 5:4
These words from Paul echo in the hearts of this community in these early days of February. One of our beloved staff members, Kari Bostrom, died unexpectedly following a short illness. She served with a deep sense of the joy of God and always extended a gracious welcome to all. Kari was a bridge builder across many in the seminary community and through her extensive network of friends across the Twin Cities. She first connected to Luther Seminary by attending a lay school of theology class in Wisconsin where our professor, Gary Simpson, was teaching. Prof. Simpson invited her to come and study to pursue an M.A. in Church History followed by an M.Th. a few years later. She also began using her museum training here, working in our archives with Paul Daniels and helping cultivate our extensive art collection. Kari did not simply cultivate the artifacts of history and art but cultivated extensive relationships with people from across many walks of life. She built a lively volunteer network which served the archives of the region 3 congregations. Her ready smile, joyful spirit and faithful witness to God’s love will be deeply missed. The whole community commended her to God’s eternal care on Feb. 4, 2017. We trust in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection.
We all face challenges at times. What a gift that we can be strengthened by relying on God’s comfort and reassurance. Our community continues to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in a variety of ways and focus on preparing future leaders who can offer important words of hope and peace.
Our faculty and staff were instrumental in bringing the Luther Exhibit to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Special thanks to Professor Mary Jane Haemig, our Reformation historian and Paul Daniels, our archivist for their attentiveness and collaboration with the MIA which resulted in such a well attended exhibition.
We have been hosting multiple kinds of learning opportunities in order to help the whole church tap into renewed reformation wisdom for our time. We just hosted the Mid-Winter Convocation where we paired faculty with pastors and church leaders to share ideas about ways the Reformation can help us speak into our current religious, political, sociological and economic climate. We invite you to join congregations across the region for what is shaping up to be a phenomenal Reformation experience here in the Twin Cities (October 2017) for another opportunity to think deeply together about ways we can bear witness to God’s work in the world.
These opportunities are not primarily occasions where we bring out the Reformation balloons and have a party. It is a time for us to ask difficult questions about how God is at work in the world now, what congregations need to do to better align themselves with God’s work in the world and what Luther Seminary must do to support congregations in preparing leaders for this mission and ministry. Come join us in this important work.