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Mother, daughter graduate in same month |
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 In the same month that her daughter, Jenni, graduates with a BA from
Augsburg, LaDonna Olson will graduate with an MA from Luther
Seminary. “We both started in September of ‘04, and Jenni went
full-time while I took a half-time load and did some summer courses too. Luther Seminary has many courses that I could take online, so that helped me save on fuel,” LaDonna said.
Pictured: Mother and daughter, Jenni and LaDonna Olson
Her degree from Luther Seminary is in the program of Congregational
Ministries and Leadership. Her specialization is Ministry in Daily
Life. The specialization is to equip Christians with knowledge and
skills for their personal vocations and ministry as it is lived out in
their homes, workplaces, communities, and congregations.
What was LaDonna’s motivation for seeking this degree? “In my life I have experienced two very difficult losses, the death of my 15-month-old son in 1991 and that of my husband in 1996. I had to come to terms with the God questions – a lot of ‘whys’. Searching for some kind of meaning to my life brought me to the spiritual direction program at Christos Center for Spiritual Formation in Lino Lakes, Minn. I studied there for two years to become a certified spiritual director. After that I wanted to supplement my spiritual direction ministry with a firm theological/biblical education.”
Spiritual direction is a fairly new ministry for protestants. The name may be slightly misleading because there isn’t really any directing.
Perhaps describing it as spiritual mentor, or spiritual companion would be more accurate. A spiritual director is one who companions another on their spiritual journey. “I usually meet with a person once a month for an hour. We begin with prayer and then discuss and discern where God is at work in the person’s life. Sometimes a person is going through some sort of crisis and needs someone to talk to about their relationship with God. At other times a person might feel a strong desire to get closer to God but doesn’t know how to go about it. Whatever is going on in a person’s life is a possible subject for our conversation but always with a focus on what God is doing or saying in this person’s life. Prayer and Scripture are central to our conversations. This can also happen in small groups. I do both group and individual spiritual direction in my home.”
LaDonna will be a part of the Luther Seminary graduation on May 25th at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. She serves as the Minister of Music at Fish Lake Lutheran Church in Harris.
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