We’re Going to Holden Village!

Holden Village Spring Break Info. Meetings
Wed., Oct. 25 | 8pm OR 10pm | Grace University Lutheran Church 

We’re so excited to announce that we’ve decided to go to Holden Village to serve, learn, play and pray together over Spring Break this year!

Through a journey of trains, boats and buses, we arrive at this former mining village turned retreat center and intentional Christian community in the heart of the Cascades, and just kilometers from the Pacific Crest Trail. We’ll be serving alongside community members in the work of the village that week, as well as learning from them about abundant hospitality. Though Holden is the heart of this trip, the journey there and back itself has produced an abundance of gifts for former participants.

We’ll take the train, and leave late on Friday March 9, and return early Sunday morning on March 18th. Cost to you will be between $300 and $400 dollars depending on the cost of the train ticket. The remaining amount will be covered by generous donors to Lutheran Campus Ministry-Twin Cities.

Info meetings will be held on October 25th at 8pm and 10pm, or you can email Pastor Kate if you have questions but can’t make those meetings. The opportunity to officially sign up and pay your deposit will happen soon thereafter.

Looking forward to journeying with you,
Pastor Kate

 

Welcome to Lutheran Campus Ministry!

Dear UMN freshmen (and all other new students!),

Welcome to the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities! We are SO excited to have you here on campus with us this fall…

I know college might seem like a daunting new chapter in life. There are so many new experiences to dive in to! Roommates, dining hall food, new people, new clubs, new classes, new YOU. (But you’ve been hearing this already)

It may seem like you are all alone in this at times, but the good news is: that couldn’t be further from the truth!There is such a vast variety of communities here at the U of M that are overjoyed to embrace you with open minds and hearts. And now all you get to do is pick and choose, and try a few different student orgs and groups on, until you find the right fit!

Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) is one of the amazing communities on campus that is excited to get to know you, and I hope you consider a faith family as an opportunity to support you during this time of transition and growth.

I remember my freshman year feeling a bit overwhelmed with finding all of my classes, figuring out which groups to join, and ultimately how to function as an “adult” away from my parents and life back home. I had a whole other identity back in High School that I wasn’t sure how to carry into my new life at college.

Then, LCM came in. This community is a group of people that has shaped me into who I am today. I am proud of the person I am, partially because of the love, care, and values LCM has instilled in me.

“Pause” worship services every Wednesday night have kept me grounded in my values and faith, given me a moment to press “pause” on the chaos of daily student life, and connected me to some of the people who have grown to be the most important to me on this campus.

As an incoming senior, I am proud to say that I will continue to search for ways to, “Be curious. Be real. Be community.” (LCM’s motto!)

I invite YOU to join us for our first “pause” student worship service the first Wednesday of fall semester, Sept. 7th at 9 pm. “Pause” is held at Grace University Lutheran Church right across the street from superblock. I will be there and would love to welcome you to the University of Minnesota in person! See you at Grace!

Peace,

Claire Erickson(LCM Servant Leader)  

Vision Team Announced!

Vision Team Announced!

Last year, LCM-TC was the recipient of a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment to strengthen our Christian leadership development work.  After a year of trial and error, our community of leaders reshaped our “Core Team” of leaders into a Vision team.  This Vision Team is called by the community to:

• explore a Christian community in a context very different than our own, and then
• integrate that learning into our community as it shifts and grows and changes year by year.

I am grateful that the following people have said yes to this call, and I know they are humbled and honored by the nominations from their peers.  Libby Witte, Dana Rademacher, and Heidi Schaus were recognized for their passion for growing in faith, their demonstrated commitment to serving as leaders in the LCM community, and their capacity to cast a vision for where and how we might grow next.  I know they welcome your prayers, and your well wished for good courage as they explore several options for learning and growing that will strengthen and expand our vision for Christian community.

Please join me in congratulating these three outstanding young women!

-Pastor Kate

Pastor Kate Receives Award!

Pastor Kate Reuer Welton recently attended the Lutheran Campus Ministry National Staff Gathering in Nebraska held by Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was a wonderful event to celebrate our ministry and connect with fellow students, faculty and staff on college and university campuses across the country.

 At the closing banquet, Pastor Kate Reuer Welton was named the recipient of the 2014 Philip N. Knutson Award.  This award recognizes those who have demonstrated special creativity and/or risk-taking in their campus ministry work. 

Pastor Kate was recognized by her colleagues and the people she serves as a gifted, passionate, and vibrant campus ministry professional.  An excerpt from her nomination provides a glimpse of her creative and risk-taking approach to ministry:

“When Kate started at the University of Minnesota four years ago, she did so with just a handful of students. Working together with them to dream about a church that they would want to be part of, the ministry grew quickly, in both depth of formation and outreach to students.  Kate has challenged and nurtured students into deeper faith and a more open understanding of God’s work in the world.  She has also led them in creative justice and immersion work, for example, taking a trip to Chiapas (a state in southern Mexico) to learn and serve with the community there, and to New York City on an interfaith service trip with students from Al Madinah, the Muslim group on campus.  Because of her willingness to be a gracious and loving presence in the face of hatred, her creative immersion and interfaith work, and her deep and easy love of students, I am honored to nominate Kate Reuer Welton for the 2014 Philip N. Knutson award.”