Month: January 2014

A Prayer for Foolishness

Recently I have been thinking about vocation and what this world has to teach me after leaving the comfort of school.  I’m hard pressed to think of a day in which the thought “what am I going to do with my life?” hasn’t crossed my mind.  The realist in me refuses to fall into the romantic state of naivety in which I can leave college, find a job that will make a big difference in the world, and live happily ever after.  I want to believe that it will be this easy, yet deep down I know that there is much more to be done.  That change takes time and effort and can be incredibly draining. Yet all I want to do is follow this path. To change the brokenness I see around me.

This is part of the reason I participated in an Urban Immersion put on by the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches over winter break.  During our few days there we were confronted with staggering statistics of poverty, hunger, and homelessness and taught about the current systems that cause such symptoms. When confronted with so many barriers it is hard not to be intimidated.  After all, the easier path would be to ignore such things and go on with our lives. I came away from the experience with a lot to process which was immediately followed by a LCM leader retreat.  It was at this retreat I was blessed with the prayer for discomfort (which you can read here).  I was struck by one line in particular:

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world

There is so much power in this line, in this idea that foolishness is a valuable attribute.  Often we are taught that foolishness has no place in the road to success, that it is in fact a distraction to be avoided.  Foolishness more often than not connotes idiocy, rather than being seen as a catalyst for change. This prayer reminded me that in a world where brokenness is commonplace, a cure can be found in foolishness. The foolishness to overcome great struggles though the reward be small.  The foolishness to fight systems deeply ingrained in our culture, to make them change despite great resistance. I like this idea that in the setting of academia and intellect that surrounds us at school, that perhaps the most useful attribute to help us find our vocation and direct our future is some simple foolishness. It is comforting to know that wrapping myself in naivety, when paired with hard work can yield a direction and hopefully change that if not meaningful on the large scale, will be meaningful to someone.

-Lindsey May

Celebrating Student Discipleship!

(a few of our student leaders at leadership training in August of 2013)

Lutheran Campus Ministry-Twin Cities has long been committed to cultivating faithful leaders for both church and world.  We are excited to announce that we have been awarded a 5 year, $100,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment to deepen and strengthen our leadership development and vocational discernment work with undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.[1]

This initiative, the Theological Exploration of Vocation for Campus Ministries Initiative 2013, invited 30 campus ministries from various denominations across the country to apply for funding to “build up their capacities to play a more prominent role in identifying and nurturing a new generation of highly talented and religiously committed leaders for church and society.”   We are very excited to be a part of this cohort, to learn and discern together how we might nurture young adults to lead faithfully in the 21st Century.

Our particular project, The Discipleship Project will deepen and expand leadership opportunities for a core team of students, equip them as teachers of LCM-TC’s central faith practices, and will give them opportunities to share this learning with students and throughout the church.

This grant is significant because of the way it encourages and supports our work with student leaders (and through them the campus).  It does not replace any of our current funding needs, rather enhances our ability to train leaders in a more robust way.  In that, it highlights the importance of leadership in fundraising, governance, and strategic decision making as we stretch and grow on campus, and in the communities these students will impact. 

The Board of Directors of Lutheran Campus Ministry-Twin Cities is honored to have its ministry recognized by the Lilly Endowment and welcomes Lilly as a partner in the great work God is already doing on the campus of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. As we continue learning, it is our hope that we can also share the work that we are doing with the broader church, and invite others into sharing God’s boundless love with the world.

For more information, or to see the executive summary, please contact Campus Pastor Kate Reuer Welton by emailing kate@umnlutheran.org.