Join us for Sunday Forum

How did the Protestant Reformation affect art and artists, and how did art help to shape the Reformation? In books, posters, pamphlets, and paintings, we will see new types of art and new uses for old forms. From portraits of the Reformers to propaganda pieces, this presentation includes many images from the lively visual arts of Martin Luther’s time. 

Kristin Anderson is a Professor Emerita of Art & Design at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Her Augsburg courses included art history and architectural history surveys as well as more specialized offerings such as American Art, Scandinavian Art, and Women and Art. She also taught a popular course, The Designed Environment, about the architectural and urban history of the Twin Cities. The class met at a different location for each session, bringing students face-to-face with the buildings and spaces they studied.

A graduate of Oberlin College (A. B.), Kristin has master's degrees in art history (University of Minnesota) and church history (Luther Seminary) as well as a PhD in American Art, Architecture, and Popular Culture from the University of Minnesota. She meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards in architectural history.

In this presentation, we’ll examine two famous sixteenth-century altarpieces by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Located in their original settings in Wittenberg and Weimar, these richly detailed paintings used the old tradition of decorated altars as a vehicle to show new ideas developed by Martin Luther during the Reformation.

Kristin Anderson is a Professor Emerita of Art & Design at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Her Augsburg courses included art history and architectural history surveys as well as more specialized offerings such as American Art, Scandinavian Art, and Women and Art. She also taught a popular course, The Designed Environment, about the architectural and urban history of the Twin Cities. The class met at a different location for each session, bringing students face-to-face with the buildings and spaces they studied.

A graduate of Oberlin College (A. B.), Kristin has master's degrees in art history (University of Minnesota) and church history (Luther Seminary) as well as a PhD in American Art, Architecture, and Popular Culture from the University of Minnesota. She meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards in architectural history.

While free from the law requiring sabbath observance, we can be blessed by the spiritual practices of sabbath rest. We will look at some the ways that Christians have understood the relationship between the sabbath command and the Lord's Day and we will consider the biblical and theological foundations for the value of sabbath.

Pam and Charlie Scalise are both retired and enjoy teaching. Pam was a professor of the Old Testament and Charlie was a professor of Church History. They are members at Shepherd of the Valley.

Transgender Awareness Week begins on November 13th and ends on November 20th with Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance honoring the memory of the transgender people whose lives have been lost in acts of anti-trans violence---a truth so prevalent that it was declared an epidemic in 2019. As together we navigate this excruciating era of anti-trans discourse and political-cultural targeting, join queer & trans theologian Seth Anderson-Matz as he articulates the spiritual wisdom that transgender embodiments and experiences can reveal to all of us about the meaning of life and death.

Seth Anderson-Matz is a queer & trans community minister and public theologian based in South Minneapolis. He holds a Master of Arts in Religion & Theology from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and has served in a variety of ministry roles and contexts including as Interim Minister of First Presbyterian Church of Mankato, and Children, Youth, and Families Program Coordinator at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. He has also been engaged in queer & trans liberation work for the past 20 years, and has served in advisory roles with national LGBTQ+ organizations like GLSEN, the Trevor Project, and the National Equality March.

The Old Testament makes God known by telling the story of God's faithfulness in many ways. Festivals celebrate God's relationship with God's people by commemorating the most significant events in their history.

After 34 years as a seminary professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Pam is retired but continues to study and write about Hebrew Bible texts. She has published books and articles about the prophetic books and Old Testament theology. 

For one hour, retired pastors Paul Harrington and Duane Paetznick ask each other questions, and they try to give answers about life, theology, faith, and ministry (without getting stoned for heresy). 

Pastor Paul Harrington founded SOTVLC in 1980 and served as its senior pastor until 2007 when he became pastor emeritus. Paul fully retired in July of 2013. Duane is a retired Lutheran pastor who served at Shepherd of the Valley for 27 years (from 1992-2019). For many of those years, he was a colleague of Paul Harrington

In our time together we will look at Martin Luther's understanding of baptism and reflect on the ways it provided great comfort but also caused division among Christians.

Mark Tranvik is a parish pastor at heart. He spent almost ten years (1984-93) as a pastor at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It was a rich experience, full of struggle and joy. Even today as a teacher he tries to keep one eye on the parish pastor or lay leader when he talks about the Reformation or a theological topic. One of his favorite things to do is to visit congregations and lead adult forums. 

Mark retired in 2020 after twenty-five years of teaching at Augsburg University. That also was a good experience. He learned much from his Auggie students and colleagues. Following his “retirement” he was offered a full-time position in Reformation history and theology at Luther Seminary. His academic interests are in Reformation sacramental theology and Luther’s doctrine of vocation in particular. He looks forward to introducing his students to the crazy idea that Luther picked up from Paul: God’s love for the unlovable.

Information coming soon!

The two Sunday Forum sessions will focus on the rise and influence of the Eugenics Movement in keeping the U.S. White stock from being diluted by allowing inferior peoples from propagating and being part of America's "melting pot." Different aspects of eugenics, in its highlight years, will be featured as well as the more recent adaptations. Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, "The improvement of the British breed is my aim in life, and black people were not as capable or as efficient as white people." 

Jerry taught at the elementary school and junior high levels in Moline, Illinois, prior to finishing his teaching career at the college level. During his doctoral study at the University of Arizona, he worked as an elementary school counselor in Tucson before moving on to college teaching in Ohio. During his tenure at Wittenberg in the Department of Education, he served as department chair, Faculty Personnel Board chair, and Head of the Faculty Development Organization through a grant from the Lilly Foundation. He was the treasurer of the Ohio Association of Colleges of Teacher Education for a period of ten years.  

In his non-teaching time, he was a volunteer football statistician and assistant women's basketball coach. During his last sabbatical, he started the Clark County Community Habitat for Humanity affiliate as well as the university campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. When spring break occurred, he traveled six times with students to Mississippi to help build houses as part of the Habitat Collegiate Challenge.