Luther College, Oct. 26

On my recent trip to Luther College (one of 28 ELCA colleges) in Decorah, IA, the question was asked of a group of staff and faculty, "what makes Luther College unique?" And one of the responses was that they are a "welcoming and hospitable community." And it's true. You may be thinking that many groups say that about themselves, but in reality the only people they are welcoming and hospitable to are themselves. Not so at Luther College! I am often a stranger at many places I travel and I can say with certainty that this has been true for Luther College every time I have come on campus, and it is something which the institution should be proud of, indeed. My thanks especially to the campus ministry and vocational formation staff for embodying this quality.

I did not travel alone to Luther College. At 6 AM Luther Seminary President Rick Bliese, Philanthropic Adviser Tom Jolivette and I piled into a car and headed out for what would be President Bliese's first visit to Luther College. Once on campus it was a full day of touring the town, worship in chapel, lunch with religion faculty and other staff, visits with campus ministry and vocational formation staff, supper with campus ministry staff and spouses, and informal and formal meetings with prospective students.

One of my favorite parts of the day was meeting with prospective students (because that is what I do), especially the Diakonos group. Diakonos in the Greek means "one who serves." This group gathers students who are discerning a vocation of service in ministry; many of the students would consider themselves pre-seminary (see photo).



President Bliese shared his faith journey with the students and they had a chance to respond and ask questions. One interesting tidbit I learned was that President Bliese had once been on track to becoming a professional baseball player in his journey from high school to college, but a knee injury set him on a different path. President Bliese's faith journey included many such re-routings — a path ended here but another opened there. He talked much about allowing oneself to be vulnerable during those times of re-routing and seeing where the Spirit might lead next. And hearing his story, it has been a grand and exciting journey indeed. The best part of listening to his faith journey was looking around the room and wondering what God will have in store for those students. The road is wide open.

President Bliese, Tom and I returned back to Luther Seminary's campus late that night, but feeling good about an enjoyable day spent on the campus of Luther College.