Mark Granquist, professor of the history of Christianity, gave several lectures in May at the Johannelund Theological Seminary in Uppsala, Sweden, where he is an affiliate professor. Granquist also received an award of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute for his article, “Lutherans in Canada,” in the Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference.

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Mary Jane Haemig, professor emerita of church history, is the author of “The Reformation of Prayer among Sixteenth-Century Lutherans,” published by Oxford University Press.

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Mary Hess, professor of educational leadership, was a plenary speaker at the international Seminar on Religious Education and Values in Riga, Latvia, in July. The title of her presentation was “Listening to the Divine Amidst Digitality: Finding Hope for a World on the Brink.” Also in July, Hess delivered a paper titled “Transforming Faith Stories in a Time of Economic Contestation” to the Religious Education Association.

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Craig Koester ’80 M.Div., professor emeritus, recently published four essays: “The Centrality of ‘Life’ for Johannine Ethics” in The Ethics of John, edited by Jan G. van der Watt and Matthijs den Dulk; “The Good Shepherd Discourse as Persuasive Speech (John 9:39– 10:21),” in Aspects of Soteriology in John and Paul, edited by Jan G. van der Watt, Joseph Verheyden, and Jörg Frey; “High Christology in the Gospel of John and Book of Revelation,” in Early High Christology: John Among the New Testament Writers, edited by Christopher Blumhofer, Diane Chen, and Joel Green; and “‘You Are of Your Father the Devil’ (John 8:44): Ethical Interpretation in Light of the Text’s Reception History and 1 John,” in Revelation and Conflict in John 7 and 8, edited by R. Alan Culpepper and Jörg Frey. A Spanish translation of his Anchor Yale Bible commentary on Revelation was published this year as “Apocalipsis.”

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Cody Sanders, associate professor of congregational and community care leadership, is the author of “Spiritual Care First Aid: An All-Hands Approach for Church and Community,” published by Fortress Press. He has recently given several lectures, including the annual Carpenter Lecture on Gender, Sexuality, and Justice at Brite Divinity School; the annual Scott Lecture on “The Trauma of Loneliness” at Ministry Week, hosted by Brite Divinity School and University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas; the Storaasli Lecture at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Canada, titled “Understanding Christian Nationalism, Practicing Christian Community” on the parallel rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and Canada; and the William M. Johnson Lecture at Crescent Hill Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky, titled “Practicing Hope in an Age of Cruelty and Despair.” He was the preacher for the gathering eucharist at the Institute of Liturgical Studies at Valparaiso University, where he also gave a workshop on deathcare ritual. Sanders has joined the editorial board of a new book series, “ARRAY,” a joint publishing venture between the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion and Wipf and Stock. He also served for most of the past year as interim pastor at The Table MPLS.

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Dwight Zscheile ‘08 Ph.D., professor of congregational mission and leadership, coauthored “Embracing the Mixed Ecology: Inherited and New Forms of Christian Community Flourishing Together” with Blair Pogue, published by Seabury Books. He was the keynote speaker at the Central/Southern Illinois ELCA Synod assembly and led a workshop at the Nebraska Synod assembly.