{"id":8490,"date":"2026-06-02T00:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T00:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/?p=8490"},"modified":"2026-06-02T14:53:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:53:06","slug":"alumni-news-summer-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2026\/06\/02\/alumni-news-summer-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni News, Summer 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The listings in this publication include notifications received by January 31.<\/em><\/p>\n

1950s<\/h2>\n

James Bjorge \u201957 M.Div.<\/strong> died on September 29, 2025. He served parishes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He wrote 15 books, including sermon series and books on nature. He was chair of the Red River Valley Billy Graham Crusade in 1987 and a member of the Lutheran Health and Banner Health Systems boards from 1990 to 2005. He led tour groups nationally and internationally, and he spoke to groups around the country, including the Fellowship of Christan Athletes national gathering.<\/p>\n

Milan Davig \u201957 M.Div.<\/strong> died on December 16, 2025.<\/p>\n

Donald Gaarder \u201959 M.Div.<\/strong> died on September 13, 2025. Over his 30 years in active ministry, he served parishes in North Dakota and South Dakota. He served as vice president and then president of the South Dakota District Council of the Lutheran Church in America and served on the Augustana University Board of Trustees for 12 years. After retiring from ministry in 1989, he began his second career, selling insurance.<\/p>\n

1960s<\/h2>\n

Rollen Halvorson \u201962 M.Div., \u201992 D.Min.<\/strong> died on December 22, 2025. He served churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin and was also a chaplain for the Civil Air Patrol and a hospice program.<\/p>\n

Ronald Leslie \u201964 M.Div.<\/strong> died on August 9, 2025. He worked as a chaplain, first at Lutheran General Hospital in Illinois and then at Hazelden. After retiring from Hazelden, he ran a pet sitting and dog grooming business and was active in Helping Paws of Minnesota.<\/p>\n

1970s<\/h2>\n

G. Keith Gunderson \u201972<\/strong> has published \u201cStranger on the Plains: A Spiritual Journey,\u201d set in extreme southwestern North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota, where he grew up and where he served as pastor of Reeder-Ralph Lutheran Parish. His publisher writes that it is \u201ca moving blend of memoir, theological reflection, and poetic prose set against the backdrop of the Great Plains in North and South Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stanley Olson \u201972 M.Div.<\/strong> died on September 12, 2025. He served as a parish pastor, bishop, director of vocation and education for the ELCA, president of both Wartburg Seminary and Trinity Seminary, and taught at Luther Seminary.<\/p>\n

Tim Johnson \u201975 M.Div.<\/strong> died on January 24. He served parishes in Minnesota and North Dakota and was a member of the Heritage Society. He was actively involved in music, singing in various musical groups and, while in college, playing bass in a rock band.<\/p>\n

Troy Mooneyham \u201975 M.Div.<\/strong> died on November 22, 2025. He spent four years as a naval intelligence officer before attending Luther Seminary. He served three congregations, with his last 20 years at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Eugene, Oregon.<\/p>\n

1980s<\/h2>\n

Sandee (Christoffersen) Kosmo \u201889 M.Div.<\/strong> published \u201cClinging to the Spirit\u2019s Feathers: Through Fire, Flood, and Faith,\u201d available by emailing skosmo14@msn.com. The book was a finalist in the international New Generation Indie Books 2025 Awards selections, the largest international book competition. Selected in the Christian nonfiction category, the book is 150 short stories that form a memoir and includes her experiences as a commuter student at Luther Seminary. This is Kosmo\u2019s second award- winning book; the first is an environmental book about the return of whooping cranes: \u201cWakanda Whooper: The Curious Cinnamon Crane.\u201d<\/p>\n

1990s<\/h2>\n

Shawn Brandon \u201995 M.A., \u201903 M.Div.<\/strong> was called on January 12, 2025, to serve as pastor at Church of the Nativity and Holy Comforter, an Episcopal-Lutheran Community in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

Brian Knutson \u201995 M.Div., \u201908 D.Min.<\/strong> retired from the U.S. Air Force after 35 years of service, with 22 years as a chaplain, both active duty and Air National Guard. He retired from the 142nd Fighter Wing as wing chaplain, Oregon Air National Guard. He also retired from parish ministry with service in Oregon, Montana, Colorado, and North Dakota.<\/p>\n

Stephen Hultgren \u201997 M.Div.<\/strong> is the author of a new two- volume book, \u201cMighty in Word and Deed,\u201d which uses social memory in the construction of an extended narrative of the ministry of Jesus prior to the written gospels.<\/p>\n

Erik Jelinek \u201997 M.Div.<\/strong> died on August 16, 2025, after a 15-year battle with cancer.<\/p>\n

Stacy Hill Seger \u201997 M.Div.<\/strong> currently serves as a bivocational pastor. She is a part-time pastor at Christ the King Lutheran in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the senior director of philanthropic strategy for the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas. She passed the exam to become a Certified Fund Raising Executive in 2025 and will continue working to match people\u2019s passions with organizations that are making communities better.<\/p>\n

2000s<\/h2>\n

Barbara Koffel \u201902 M.A.<\/strong> died on November 13, 2024.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Brian Konkol \u201905 M.Div. <\/b> Photo provided by Valparaiso University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brian Konkol \u201905 M.Div<\/strong>. is the new president of Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana. Immediately prior to joining Valparaiso he served as vice president, dean, and professor at Syracuse University.<\/p>\n

2010s<\/h2>\n

Along with Trinity Lutheran Church of Blue Earth, Minnesota, where she serves as pastor, Jeanette Bidne \u201911 M.Div., \u201919 D.Min.<\/strong> received a Lilly Foundation Clergy Renewal Grant. Her sabbatical focused on immigration, greater understanding of the Dakota people, and the links between our past and welcoming new neighbors. This included trips to Norway, Germany, and significant Minnesota historical sites and parallel events for the congregation.<\/p>\n

Martha Ambarangu \u201919 M.A.<\/strong> will be one of the plenary speakers and workshop leaders at the Women of the ELCA Triennial event in July.<\/p>\n

2020s<\/h2>\n

Alison Bondy \u201925 M.Div.<\/strong> was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament on November 1, 2025, at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more from this issue of Story<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stay in touch with graduates of Luther Seminary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"issue-summer-2026","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlumni News, Summer 2026 - Luther Seminary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2026\/06\/02\/alumni-news-summer-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alumni News, Summer 2026 - 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