With Christmas, New Year, and Epiphany observations behind us, Christians are now on our way to a Lenten journey that will take us to the cross, an empty tomb, and a future full of God’s promises. In this bleak midwinter, however, it can feel as though these promises are so far off, distant, and abstract […]

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” So writes the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians (5:16–18). Despite its secular reputation as the “happiest time of the year,” the weeks before Christmas can be wearying—for students and faculty wrapping up […]

Ryan Panzer ’19 M.A. is the author of “The Holy and the Hybrid: Navigating the Church’s Digital Reformation,” published by Fortress Press in September 2022. It was only a few years ago that digital ministry seemed like an uncertain reality. But following the shifts to online worship experiences during the pandemic, Christian leaders and congregations […]

One of the reasons I’m filled with deep gratitude these days is a growing sense of abundance at Luther Seminary around new ways to connect with and accompany Christian leaders.  In addition to the full-tuition Jubilee Scholarship initiative and an updated curriculum in our M.A. and M.Div. programs, we are listening and learning about what […]

Watching the news in recent weeks, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the heartache and trauma in our world. From all injustice that seeks to oppress God’s beloved children to violent conflicts spiraling ever deeper, the weight of human suffering in the present can feel unbearably heavy and the future can feel precarious and […]

Jennifer Pietz, assistant professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, is the author of “Mary Magdalene, La Malinche, and the Ethics of Interpretation,” published by Lexington Books/Fortress Academic in November 2022. By comparing the intersecting histories of interpretation of Mary Magdalene, a first-century disciple of Jesus, and La Malinche, a sixteenth-century Mesoamerican woman enslaved by […]