Ordinary Voices

A Senior Ecologist Project Manager discusses the environment, faith, justice and restoration ecology.

As a boy, Casey Cooper grew up along the Mississippi River in LaCrosse, WI. The river was his playground and he dreamed of canoeing it. A tragic death of his friend’s mother changes his life. A life-long encounter with death pushes him towards life. He decides to take three months to canoe the entire Mississippi River by himself. In his head, he has one shot. How will it turn out?

A pastor walks into the Bierman Field Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota and discovers a profound expression of grace. Listen to how one man, Peyton Owens III, breathes his core value of grace into every aspect of his life.

Drug addiction is having a dramatic impact on the American landscape. However, addiction recovery, often overshadowed in the war on drugs, is having an equally powerful impact on college campuses. Listen as Patrice Salmeri Executive Director of Recovery Advancement at Augsburg University in Minneapolis describes how we can help students find new life.

People on the outside of America’s school system view education through the lens of their own experience. This is natural because it is often our only point of reference. However, today’s education system does not look anything like education in the ’70s or ’80s, let alone earlier. The difference makes people think the situation is worse. It is not worse, matter of fact, it most likely is better. However, better does not mean without challenges.

The wisdom of Millennials is constantly under attack. Perhaps their wisdom is hard to hear because it reflects our younger selves, the young adult we used to be. Maybe an authentic conversation with a Millennial could help us connect with our younger self. Just as a conversation with someone more mature connects with wisdom we are yet to discover. This dialogue may help us live better today.

Kristi, the Director of Canoe Country at Camp Vermillion (MN) shares with us the lessons she has learned from traveling deep into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Northern Minnesota. Her words and reflections may help you discover a new outlook and ways to embrace a living hope.

Author Daniel D. Maurer shares the story of his disease, addiction, and how it crashed his life while serving a congregation as a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor. In the collapse, he found sobriety and spiritual renewal. He then discusses the power of story to help those who do crash find new life and how that story is worth telling.

Worship Service for April 15, 2018

Emergency Medical Service workers are the first to address the aftermath of every human tragedy. They don’t prevent, they don’t arrest, they respond. They will need to look beyond the tragedy itself to deal with the immediate circumstances. Speed is of the essence, but it cannot compromise the best response. How many times have ever you thought about EMS workers? Have you ever considered the toll this job takes on them? This show explores the life of a paramedic's life in an ambulance.