Upcoming Event: Stefanus Alliance

The Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community and College Ministry will welcome Ed Brown, Secretary General of the Stefanus Alliance, to campus on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.  The Stefanus Alliance is a global non-governmental organization that advocates for religious freedom throughout the world.

The work of the Stefanus Alliance resonates with the mission of St. Olaf College to create spaces for students to examine the impact of faith and values in their lives and society. In a resonance with St. Olaf’s own identity as a college rooted in a particular religious tradition while striving to celebrate all the ways that students, staff, and faculty practice religion and spirituality, Stefanus Alliance advocates for people of all faiths who have had their religious rights violated out of their Christian foundation.

Mr. Brown will host two public events while on campus:

At 11:10 am, Mr. Brown will speak in Boe Memorial Chapel during Daily Chapel

At 12:00 pm, Mr. Brown will host a lunch discussion for interested students, staff, and faculty. People are encouraged to bring their lunch to Buntrock Commons 220 for this time of open conversation.

Mr. Brown will also present in a class and meet with campus leaders whose work intersects with that of the Stefanus Alliance. 

Ed Brown is Secretary General of the Stefanus Alliance International, a small Norwegian NGO focused on promoting and protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief for everyone and strengthening the presence of the church in areas of the world where there is extensive discrimination and persecution on the basis of religion or belief.

He has also worked as Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and as Leader of the Norwegian Secretariat of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Previously, Ed was pastor for the International Baptist Church outside of Oslo Norway, a small international congregation with members from a number of countries and cultures. In addition, Ed worked as a football (soccer) missionary for several years travelling to Europe, Africa and Asia. Ed’s work has entailed teaching and facilitating seminars, workshops and conferences on the topics of Freedom of Religion or Belief and Human Rights as well as engaging in lobby and advocacy work with grassroots religious leaders and top political leaders.

His fields of interest are: Human Rights, Freedom of Religion or Belief, Minority Rights, Religious Nationalism and Identity Politics, Islam, Hinduism and issues related to caste discrimination as well as broader rule of law and good governance issues. Ed has studied Psychology, Pedagogy, Religion, Theology and Human Rights. Ed is an avid Frisbee golfer with a PDGA rating of 940.

“What Nourishes You?” Monthly Meal Conversations

The Lutheran Center hosts monthly meal conversations for staff and faculty on what nourishes them and contributes to their well-being. Each meal features a St. Olaf staff or faculty member who responds to the question “What Nourishes You?” Each month features a different speaker.

The speaker list for Fall is

September 30, 12-1 – Damian Waite,Assistant Director of Multicultural, Gender and Sexuality at the Taylor Center  RSVP
October 22, 12-1 – Sungha Yun, Assistant Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, RSVP
November 18, 8:30-9:30 Paul Jackson, Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies

Fellowships

Student Interfaith Fellows assist the Lutheran Center in working to deepen campus understanding of the role that religious identity plays in many people’s lives and of the importance of interfaith (including non-religious) education and cooperation on campus and beyond. Fellows plan interfaith events for the campus community, deliver chapel talks and serve on the Lutheran Center Steering Committee, among other duties. Meet our 2024-2025 Interfaith Fellows!

Internships

The Lutheran Center partners with various organizations to offer summer internships to St. Olaf students.  Hear about the experiences of our 2024 summer interns, Riley, Khaosara, Kyra and Jackson.  Contact us if you are interested in a Summer internship.

Conference on Worship, Theology, and the Arts

The Conference on Worship, Theology and the Arts (CWTA) offers professional development, spiritual nourishment and networking opportunities for people engaged in congregational ministry. Pastors, church musicians, artists and lay leaders from many denominations and congregations of varying sizes participate in the conference, which is hosted at St. Olaf. The conference offers ideas and practices that participants can readily incorporate into worship in their own congregations.

All-Community Read

The Lutheran Center regularly holds All-Community Reads in which the St. Olaf Community is invited to read the same book and be involved in programming around the topic of the book. The  most recent All-Community Read took place in AY 2023-24 on the book So That All May Flourish: The Aims of Lutheran Higher Education, a book which features work by St. Olaf faculty Drs. Deanna Thompson ‘89, Anthony Bateza and Anton Armstrong ‘78.

Queer Interreligious Group

This student-led group meets throughout the Semester and discusses various topics around being religious and a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Community Education Courses

We host community education courses in the Winter and Summer. Find out about them here.

Previous Years’ Past Programming

Click here for some of our past events.

Videos and Podcasts

Click here for videos and podcasts of past events.