Contributors

Rev. Dr. Sean Chow is the Executive Director of the San Diego Presbytery. He is leading the presbytery through a strategic vision to plant churches, revitalize churches, and be more missionally focused. Sean was the Associate for 1001 New Worshiping Communities for Training and Leadership Cohorts for the Presbyterian Church. He resources and consults with…

A medical school professor diagnosed with cancer during COVID writing in the first person about the end of life.

Grant Brockhouse is the Youth and Young Adult Leader at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Ramsey, MN where he has been for 4 years now. He has been in youth ministry leadership roles for the past 10 years and started when he was just 16. He is also a current MDiv student at Luther…

Emily Brown is graduating this Spring from Luther Seminary. She has been in the MDivX program and interning at University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. She and her dog Pepperoni live in St. Paul.

Jen Gruendler currently serves as the Associate Director of Enrollment Services at Luther Seminary. Her ministry experience includes over fifteen years of ministry with Youth and Young Adults and their families in congregations, on campuses, and at a camp. The people she has had the privilege to journey aside have led her to plant a…

Chris EW Green is Professor of Public Theology at Southeastern University (Lakeland, FL) and bishop-elect of the Diocese of St Anthony. You can find his full bio and CV here and his newsletter and podcast here.

Bryan and his family live in Tacoma, Washington, where he regularly breaks his body skateboarding, works closely with church planters, and serves as the Lead Pastor of Anchor Church.

Natalia Terfa is a Lutheran pastor and author who lives in Minneapolis with her hubby, kiddo, and kitty babies. She loves to bake, to read, practice yoga, and find nature adventures. She is passionate about the church of the future, one with no boundaries and filled to the brim with love and grace and laughter…

Pastor Grant Woodley grew up on a century farm near Clarion Iowa. He attended Simpson College and earned a B.A. in German and Religion. Pastor Grant went on to attend Duke Divinity School and Luther Seminary. His ministry experiences range from Iowa, to North Carolina, to Mississippi, and Minnesota in churches with weekly attendance ranging…

Laura Wolden is currently pursuing her M.Div. degree at Luther Seminary. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and finds the intersection of faith and nature fascinating. She also serves as a church elder and church plant co-leader in the Evangelical Covenant Church. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two sons.

Ryan Popineau is a hospice chaplain and also serves as the Family Ministries Teaching Pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He and his wife Jacy have two children, Emily and Carson.

Pastor Stephen Blenkush is pastor at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Pequot Lakes where he is living the dream as he bikes the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail, paddles around in his kayak on the multitude of lakes and visiting the many local breweries, all the while spouting off about how he lives where you want…

Melanie Weldon-Soiset’s poetry lives in Presence, Clerestory, Earth & Altar, and others. She is a #ChurchToo survivor, MDiv graduate from Wesley Theological Seminary, former pastor for foreigners in Shanghai, and Poetry Editor at Geez Magazine. Find Melanie in real life biking on DC greenways. Find her online (including her poetry and prayer newsletter) at melanieweldonsoiset.com…

Pastor Louise N. Johnson serves as the assistant to the presiding bishop/executive for administration of the ELCA. Prior to her work with the ELCA, she served as a director for LEAD, a leadership development nonprofit. Pastor Johnson also served as the fourteenth president of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where she led the seminary…