My name is Holly Beck and I am one of the student Interfaith Fellows at the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community. In my work with the Lutheran Center this year, I have been focused on creating a campus environment that is more welcoming and inclusive of people of all religious, spiritualities, secular traditions and beliefs. The main project that I have been working on this year has been the Spring All-Community Read.

This was the second All-Community Read sponsored by the Lutheran Center, the first being the Fall All-Community Read in tandem with the Common Read for incoming new students that focused on Eboo Patel’s Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation. The All-Community Read invites students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the college to read and discuss a chosen book addressing issues of religion, spirituality, and worldview with other members of the college community. Those involved in the All-Community Read are encouraged to participate in discussions through small book groups (both assigned and self-formed) and larger discussion groups. For the Spring All-Community Read, there were six self-formed and two assigned student groups that met from late January to early March. Additionally, college faculty and staff had two opportunities to discuss the book together and there was a meeting held for alumni, parents, and friends of the college after the author’s virtual visit. 

The All-Community Read invites students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the college to read and discuss a chosen book addressing issues of religion, spirituality, and worldview with other members of the college community.

The All-Community Read culminates in a discussion with the book’s author in which people who read the book are able to ask questions about the themes, writing process, and more. Given the broad and enthusiastic participation in the first All-Community Read on Acts of Faith, we in the Lutheran Center decided to offer another All-Community Read. The Lutheran Center booked Chris Stedman, the 2021 Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU) Visiting Lecturer to speak at St. Olaf in March 2021. After choosing to host the NECU Visiting Lecturer, we decided to deepen the impact of his visit by offering another All-Community Read with his latest book, IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in our Digital Lives. 

The Lutheran Center decided to read IRL for its second All-Community Read due to its combination of themes – notably his focus on questions of meaning, vocation, and belonging in digital spaces, particularly for those who don’t participate in religious structures.

Chris Stedman is a Minneapolis-based writer, speaker, and community organizer who currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University where he graduated from in 2008. Chris is an atheist who is also known for his first book Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious. The Lutheran Center decided to read IRL for its second All-Community Read due to its combination of themes – notably his focus on questions of meaning, vocation, and belonging in digital spaces, particularly for those who don’t participate in religious structures.

Stedman visited St. Olaf virtually in early March to talk about IRL with those who read the book. His visit included a chapel talk, an Out For Lunch session with the Taylor Center, and a keynote conversation with Lutheran Center Director Deanna Thompson titled “What Can We Learn about Being Human from Life Online?” Stedman’s visit was well attended and many members of the St. Olaf community resonated with his complex view of the digital world. 

Some of the feedback on Stedman’s visit include: “The appearance of the internet profoundly affects how people relate to one another. This discussion was a very worthwhile probing of how we confront this challenge,” and “I attended Chris’s chapel talk as well as this evening conversation. His personal sharing as well as his campus work experience gave me an appreciation for his life experience and viewpoint as did his perspective about life online that I would not otherwise have been exposed to. My horizons have been broadened and perhaps I can embrace an online life a bit more practically.”

When I began my work at the Lutheran Center in August 2020, I did not plan to work on the Spring All-Community Read as my individual project. I was going to create a collaborative concert between the Lutheran Center and student musicians about different religious traditions and experiences of interfaith cooperation. This changed when I did not return to campus in the fall due to the pandemic. I left campus in March of 2020 and did not return until February of 2021, meaning that I was home in Davenport, Iowa for eleven months. After transitioning to fully remote learning and work during the fall semester, I eventually decided that the Spring All-Community Read would be a fulfilling project to work on for the rest of the year. Two of my goals for my Interfaith Fellow work this year were to connect with my community with intimacy and vulnerability and to be contemplative and intentional with my work. My focus on the Spring All-Community Read as my individual project fulfilled these goals by allowing me to develop skills relating to discussion of identity and humanity through discussions about IRL.

Reading Chris’s book was a cathartic experience, as it allowed me to process how I was using the tools of the digital world to stay connected with the St. Olaf community. Even now as I am back on campus and physically close to my community on the hill, I continue to reflect on the topics of IRL and questions from the conversations with Chris Stedman and the rest of the team at the Lutheran Center.

Being a fully remote student in a different state from my close friends and mentors at St. Olaf was very difficult, but having the opportunity to discuss IRL with them while embedded deeply in the virtual space made a lasting impact on me. Reading Chris’s book was a cathartic experience, as it allowed me to process how I was using the tools of the digital world to stay connected with the St. Olaf community. Even now as I am back on campus and physically close to my community on the hill, I continue to reflect on the topics of IRL and questions from the conversations with Chris Stedman and the rest of the team at the Lutheran Center. I look forward to participating in the next All-Community Read happening in the fall! Stay tuned for details!