Greetings on behalf of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Montana State! I along with the LCM Board, area ELCA congregations, and Montana Synod of the ELCA have been holding our MSU students, faculty, and staff in prayer. And we hope that your first month of classes is off to an excellent start!

And particularly for our students, we hope that your college experience will be formative, enjoyable, and something that helps equip you to answer God’s unique call to you. However, as easy as it is to look towards the future, we must not forget the present…

You might hear people say something to the effect of, “Some day when you’re in the real world…” (I often heard that when I was in college.) But you already are in the real world! And God calls you and me and all of God’s beloved to be faithfully engaged here and now for the sake of the world God so loves.

So what does that faithful engagement look like? Well, in part, I think it looks like developing relationships and building community with people. I think it looks like loving our neighbor, serving others, and caring for creation. I think it looks like exploring scripture through study and worship, and applying it to our lives so that we might follow in the way of Jesus.

But I’m especially interested in what you students think that engagement looks like! And I’m interested in supporting you and your peers as you seek to live that out during your college experience. Therefore, we will have the opportunity discern our time and work together on a number of occasions throughout the year – including a dinner and fellowship gathering this Thursday evening (September 29th) at Christus Collegium. We’ll be meeting with Nicholas Sutherland, a Global Mission Recruiter from the ELCA Churchwide office in Chicago, to learn more about the Young Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM)  program. So please feel free to join us to learn more about opportunities for a year of service in places like Jerusalem, Mexico, Southern Africa, and the United Kingdom in addition to sharing in dinner and fellowship.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, prayer requests, or are just interested in chatting please feel free to contact me! I’d be happy to meet you for coffee or lunch to discuss those in person as well.

Blessings,
Annie Langseth
Serving as Intern Pastor
annie@lutherancats.org

Join LCM for fellowship and dinner this Thursday at our shared ministry space near MSU, Christus Collegium, to meet your peers, learn more about opportunities, and share your thoughts! #montanastateuniversity #montanastate #gocats #lutherancampusministry #lcm #lumin #lutheran #elca #christuscollegium #fellowship #freepizza #pizzapizza #doodle #lettering #postit

A photo posted by GO CATS! (@lutherancats) on Sep 13, 2016 at 3:10pm PDT

• Sunday worship at area ELCA Congregations
  • Christ the King – Sunday worship at 10:00 a.m.
  • Hope Lutheran Church – Sunday worship at 8:15 a.m. (traditional) and 10:30 a.m. (contemporary)

• Sunday, September 11th – Fellowship and FREE FOOD
  • Christ the King is having a BBQ/potluck at 12:30 p.m. followed by their “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Day of Service from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Hope Lutheran Church is having a block party from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. There will be food, games, live entertainment, and fun!

• Second Sundays of the month at 7:00 p.m.
  • Community Taizé Prayer services begin this Sunday evening (the 11th) and will continue throughout the year on the second Sunday of the month at 7:00 p.m.
  • Resurrection University Catholic Parish, which is a short walk from MSU, will serve as our host for the year.
  • These services are a collaborative effort of the area Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran churches.

• Bible Study Opportunities
  • Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., Hope Lutheran Church – Fleeing Oppression: The Story of the Israelites, Ruth, Baby Jesus’ Family, and the Refugee
    • An Interfaith Bible Study focused on Exodus 1-15, the Book of Ruth, and Matthew 2 sponsored by WEBS (Women’s Ecumenical Bible Study), GVIA (Gallatin Valley Interfaith Association), Hope Lutheran Church, Congregational Beth Shalom.
    • September 6th through November 1st, 2016 (except Yom Kippur, October 11th).
    • Please contact me for more info on how to register and access the reading plan: annie@lutherancats.org.
  • Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., Christ the King Lutheran Church – College/Young Adult Bible Study
    • Any 18-25 year old is welcome.

• Thursday, September 15th 
  • Next Thursday evening I am organizing a fellowship gathering at Christus Collegium for LCM students to get to know one another and begin to discern our ministry together for LCM in terms of worship, Bible study, fellowship, and service. FREE FOOD will be provided. Please contact me for more info about the food and scheduled time: annie@lutherancats.org.

Peace,
Annie

-Note: If you need a ride to attend worship or other events, please let me know!-

The fall term at Montana State has officially kicked off and so I wanted to offer a blessing from Irish poet, philosopher, and Catholic scholar–John O’Donohue. Students, please know that you–in addition to faculty, staff, and administration–are held in prayer by the Montana Synod, the LCM Board, and area ELCA congregations, as well as by me. May your year be filled with rich learning, meaningful fellowship, and discovery.

God’s peace,
Annie

Blessing For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

—John O’Donohue

The start of the new school year at Montana State is quickly approaching and Lutheran Campus Ministry is gearing up for all of the excitement that accompanies it! With that in mind, I wanted to both welcome you and introduce myself because I’m new to MSU as well.

My name is Annie Langseth and I have the privilege of serving as the LCM Intern Pastor for the 2016-2017 academic year. I arrived to Bozeman in July from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN for my pastoral internship as part of my seminary education. In addition to serving on campus, I also have the opportunity to serve as the vicar at Hope Lutheran Church. Hope is one of two area ELCA congregations, the other is Christ the King. If you’re not already familiar with them, I would invite you to learn more about each as both congregations would love to welcome you to Bozeman!

Tomorrow I have the chance to help with Move-In Day at Johnstone Hall from 10:00 a.m. to noon and on Thursday and Friday, LCM will be tabling at Catapalooza from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I’m excited to meet students at these events (and others during the course of the year), but you’ll also be able to spot me regularly in the SUB on Thursdays. So please feel free to introduce yourself as you see me out and about, or email me (annie@lutherancats.org) and we can schedule a time to meet for coffee. You can also keep in touch with what LCM at MSU is up to by joining our emailing list and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

I’m looking forward to the year ahead and all of the opportunities to work with students, staff, and faculty in addition to our congregations. And I’m especially interested in listening to what students are wanting and needing from LCM and supporting and fostering their own gifts to make those things comes to life. There are a lot of possibilities for what we can do and accomplish together!

Blessings to you as you embark on the adventure of a new school year. May it be an enriching, formative, positive experience! Please let me know how I might accompany you along the way.

-Annie Langseth

Thanks to LCM Network for the new logo which  is rolling out nationwide. One dictionary definition of luminous is “full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark.”  May we reflect the light of Christ in all that we do.

Peacemakers of the Holy Land, a program by international religious and spiritual leaders

When: Tuesday, October 13, 2015 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Where: Bozeman, MT, Hope Lutheran Church (2152 Graf St, Bozeman)

Description: Buffet dinner will be served
The Abrahamic Reunion is a team of religious and spiritual leaders – men and women, Muslim, Jewish, Christina, and Druze – dedicated to uplifting human consciousness and building peace in the Holy Land.

Founded in 2004, the Abrahamic Reunion seeks to be a living example of our values and beliefs; to find and support other spiritual peace makers and organizations; to provide training for those interested in spiritual peacemaking; and to create and implement interfaith programs, celebrations, youth activities and other educational initiatives.

Sponsored & Generously Supported by:

MSU Diversity Awareness Office
Congregation Beth Shalom
Holy Rosary Catholic Church
First Presbyterian Church
Pilgrim Congregational (UCC) Church
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bozeman
Christ the King Lutheran Church
St. James Episcopal Church
Christus Collegium
Hope Lutheran Church
Bozeman United Methodist Church
Islamic Center of Bozeman
Gallatin Valley Interfaith Association Wonderlust
Family Promise of Gallatin Valley
Lutheran Campus Ministry

Cost: Free
Contact: Tim Spring, 406-586-3172