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Oles to spend Interim with New York City congregations

By Tom Vogel
January 3, 2006

Six St. Olaf students will travel to New York City this January as part of the Urban Pilgrimage to work with Lutheran churches in Brooklyn, Bronx and Manhattan. The trip will offer the students, who were selected from a pool of candidates, the opportunity to explore ministry in a diverse context within several New York congregations.

Pastor Paul Block '93, who is coordinating activities for the group, says that, in partnering with African-American, Spanish-speaking and Arabic congregations (among others), the students will have the opportunity to work with dynamic pastors in some of the most vibrant parishes in the city.

In addition to Block, Pastor Scott Kershner '94 and Pastor Heidi Neumark will guide and support students during their week in New York, along with Vern Failletaz, the St. Olaf faculty member leading the Interim class. Block says he hopes the trip will serve several purposes. "First, the students will be involved in hands-on ministry -- participating in Bible studies, assisting in after-school programs, serving in food pantries and exploring community organizing." He says these activities are valuable both for students discerning a call to ministry and those just wanting to learn more about conditions in urbanized areas.

Emily Moen '06, who is considering continuing her study of theology after she graduates, sees the trip as a practical way to prepare for the ministry and obtain a close look at what it involves. "I wanted first-hand experience in the church," says Moen. "I think that working with actual people in an urban setting will help me further explore ministry as a career option."

Block hopes that the month in New York will also broaden students' understanding of what "being Lutheran" means. "There is a dynamism that comes with being on the margins of the ELCA," says Block. "Congregations learn to respond to their contexts in creative ways, and these congregations have shared the gospel with their communities in such exciting ways."

The small size of the St. Olaf group also provides a chance for more intimate experiences. "This opportunity of seeing the church in action and service in an urban center will raise their awareness of the complexity of ministry in the city," says Janet Kringen Thompson '70, director of Church Relations. "I think the intensity with which they will experience the city, the church, the poor, the rich, the opportunities and the barriers will change their lives."

The trip will be funded in part by the Lilly Endowment's Program on the Theological Exploration of Vocation. In 2002, St. Olaf received a five-year, nearly $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment's Program on the Theological Exploration of Vocation, and St. Olaf has since developed the Program for Lives of Worth and Service (also known as the Lilly Program) aimed at aiding students, faculty, staff and alumni in discernment of and reflection on their own personal vocations.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.