SUNDAY MORNING WESTWOOD U​

Westwood U occurs on Sunday mornings in the Westwood Room at 10 am. Lenten programming will feature in-person speakers on theology, ethics, the Bible, and the environment. The speakers and topics will help us build a theological framework that supports "Environmental Sustainability" as a core value at Westwood. ​

​

February 18:  Jim Bear Jacobs, "The Birth of Creation" (click to watch recording) 

​

Born in St. Paul, he is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation, an American Indian tribe located in central Wisconsin. He has degrees in Pastoral Studies and Christian Theology and has served various churches as a youth minister, adult Christian educator, and Director of Men's Ministries. He is a cultural facilitator in the Twin Cities and works to raise the public's awareness of American Indian causes and injustices. He is the Director of Racial Justice for the Minnesota Council of Churches.

​

​

February 25:  Larry Rasmussen, A Grander View - Part 1: "The Swaddling Band of Darkness: Describing Reality" (click to watch recording)

​

March 3:   Larry Rasmussen, A Grander View - Part 2: "Choir the Proper Praise: Lutheran Response to that Reality" (click to watch recording)

​

Larry Rasmussen, a renowned Christian environmental ethicist, is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Emeritus, at Union Theological Seminary. He is the author of "Earth-Honoring Faith," winner of the Earth Community and Earth Ethics Nautilus Awards, and winner of the Grawemeyer Award. He has mentored a generation of scholars in eco-theology and green religion, rooted in environmental justice practices within community contexts.

​

​

March 10:  Kathryn Schifferdecker, "Scripture and Ecology, a brief overview" 

(click to watch recording) 

​

 

Kathryn M. Schifferdecker is a professor of the Old Testament at Luther Seminary. She was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001; Schifferdecker was also the associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, WI.

Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to workingpreacher.org, Word & World and the author of "Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job" (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

​

​

March 17:  Heidi Ferris, "Climate Literacy: Parenting and Education for Sustainability"

​

Hands-on, interactive, and family-friendly, this is for all ages. Especially great for parents who are trying to bring environmental sustainability into their family life and for anyone who wants to transform landscapes and gardens to be more sustainable.

 

Heidi Ferris holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Education, is a member of the National Science Teachers Association and the Minnesota Association of Environmental Educators, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Educational Leadership at the University of St. Thomas. Heidi gained over a decade of first-hand experience by teaching middle and high-school-level science courses and curriculum writing for classrooms, faith-based groups, and secular non-profits. She started Growing Green Hearts in 2011 to combine her passion for the Earth's interconnected systems with her creative talents in teaching children and educators. 

​

​

March 24:  Buff Grace, "How then shall we live? Embracing Climate Justice"

​

Join Buff Grace from MN Interfaith Power & Light for a talk on how you and Westwood Lutheran can respond to climate change in ways that foster hope, make a difference, and might just save you a bundle of money. Learn about what is happening at the regional, state, and national levels on climate action and get your questions answered about climate justice action.

 

When you come to understand climate change and the earth-sized crisis that it poses, almost everyone feels overwhelmed.  It is natural to feel that way, but we don't have to stay paralyzed.  There are hundreds of ways we can respond with hope and courage to alleviate the suffering climate change is causing and to heal our relationship with the earth and one another.  But which actions are the best, most important ones to do?  What actions make the biggest impact?  What actions can we do at home?  What actions are easier as a community?  What actions can get kids and grandkids involved?  How can we develop a practice that is sustainable so we don't burn out?