In all its work the Lutheran Center aspires to be…
Gracious. Demonstrating the life-giving, life-enriching traditions of Lutheranism and reflecting God’s grace without prerequisites.
Inclusive. Living out what it means to be a good neighbor, actively building and celebrating communities of love and mutual respect.
Inquiring. Welcoming everyone as whole persons, engaging both faith and reason in asking questions and seeking answers.
Foundational Documents:
Rooted and Open: The Common Calling of the Network of ELCA Colleges
As a member of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU), a consortium of colleges affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, St. Olaf shares an institutional calling that is both rooted in a specific religious tradition and open to embracing insights and values from a diverse variety of religious and non-religious sources. This document articulates what it means for St. Olaf and other ELCA-affiliated institutions to be “rooted and open.”
Passed at the ELCA churchwide assembly in 2019, this document articulates the vision that to be Lutheran in the 21st century is to be actively and intentionally inter-religious and engage with those who are non-religious as well. This both/and vision – both Lutheran and inter-religious – is the vision of the Lutheran Center as well. Some of the first public events hosted by the Lutheran Center in fall 2019 were conversations with students, staff, and faculty about the declaration and how this vision applies to our campus community.