Spring 2022
Dear Classmates,
Part One from Barbara Noe Koch:
The sun is shining, the air is breezy, and at 43 degrees it’s a pretty darn nice March day in Iowa. It might have been similarly pleasant on that March day in 2020 when Julie and I ended our class letter with this sentence: “As we write this, we are in the midst of the Corona virus crisis, so we close with our wishes, dear classmates, for good health and safety in travel.” Oh my.
And here we are two years later. Where do we even begin? The “crisis” turned out to be so much more. Unimaginably more. The deep divisions across our communities in response to the pandemic…racial inequities and injustice…socio-economic upheaval…social isolation. All of us can tick through a lengthy list of how our lives were upturned. Our hearts broke for those students at Luther who were told “don’t come back to campus” after spring break 2020.
Through the tumult of the pandemic, we all had to figure out how to get things done, how to stay connected, and how to keep anxiety at bay and hope alive. I wonder if you were among the many of us who started meeting up with friends on Zoom? In particular, I recall the onset of “virtual happy hours” complete with wine, snacks, bad lighting, and frequent technical glitches!
I had to check my 2020 datebook to find the exact date of my first Zoom get together with a group of six other LC girlfriends. It was April 5th; Palm Sunday that year. And with very few exceptions, we have faithfully continued our weekly calls. I think I can speak for the entire group when I say that our intentional, regular contact has been a touchstone of stability and normalcy during the pandemic. Especially in that first year, we regularly would discuss the latest corona virus report from Luther alumnus Mike Osterholm ‘75. I have to say our hearts would swell with pride whenever he was featured in the national news!
If there was a little bit of good that came out of “lock-down” living, it was our Luther Zoom group. Regularly checking in with each other - - lending support - - sharing laughter - - becoming more close than ever. And so it was exceptionally bittersweet, in July of 2020, when Sue was diagnosed with a terrible illness, we were already organized, in a manner of speaking, to walk alongside her (virtually) through her crisis. Sue passed away one week before Christmas last December. Although her death was not attributable to COVID, her experience, her family’s experience, our experience was significantly altered due to the pandemic. And I know you have had your own stories of upheaval and disruption in these past two years.
Alongside our devastating loss were many bright spots: Marriages of our adult kids! Retirements! New grandkids! And I know you have had your own joys and triumphs. Which brings this letter back around to our Luther College. I hope you have been as impressed as I’ve been with the many innovative and creative ways the Luther community responded to the pandemic challenges. Remember seeing those videos of the choirs rehearsing in the town swimming pool and other outdoor spaces? Remember reading about the plan to stagger student arrival on campus in the fall of 2020? More recently, did you see that the Class of 2020 was honored and celebrated last fall? And the Dorian music camps are back!
It’s great to be looking forward to travel back to Decorah and live events on campus. I hope you are feeling a sense of renewal and hope as well. And that wraps up Part One of this class letter.
Part Two from Julie Dahlen:
Hey Everyone. It's been awhile. A whole lotta life has happened since we last connected.
On a personal note: I became a grandparent in early 2021, moved my longtime home base from Madison to western Michigan last summer (if you ever happen to be passing through Holland, Mich. just look me up) and expect to wrap up some 42 years of work in human services in just a few weeks. The blessing and terror of all those empty pages in my calendar looms. Any helpful suggestions on successful retirement coping strategies would be more than welcome!
Phew! Lots of transitions for us all during these years. We've sort of arrived, haven't we. Many of the challenges we faced back in the spring of 1978 to further our studies and establish ourselves professionally and to generally build our places in the world are mostly in the rearview mirror. In reality the road in front of us is sure to bring both intriguing, delightful detours and some challenging driving conditions. During this time of change I have been mindfully grateful for the blessing of unchanging, ongoing, life-giving relationships in my life including those built during our student years at Luther I echo Barbara's appreciation for our Sunday Luther Zoom Crew as a remarkable source of support and stability during times of uncertainty, loss and change.
Don't know about all of you but in truth I do not remember a whole lot from all those hours spent in confirmation class back in junior high. What I do recall is the wonderful way in which my (very Lutheran!) pastor helped a bunch of unruly pre-adolescents to understand the life altering concept of justification by grace. And the invitation he extended to consider the ways we might choose to respond to such a loving gift.
I've been thinking a lot lately about those words of Pastor Lunde that I did take away and have carried with me long after that Confirmation Sunday: Blessed to be a blessing. Hey Class of 1978: You have been just that!! And you continue to do just that. I recently received an update from the fine folks from Luther's Development Office regarding the Class of 1978 Scholarship, an endowed fund established by you and our fellow '78 alumni, to be awarded to qualified students with demonstrated need for financial assistance. It's been a joy to receive notes on behalf of our class from recipients with both sincere gratitude for your generous gifts of financial support and their vocational dreams and plans. The Class of 1978 Scholarship award has literally been a game-changer, a life-changer, for many of our students.
Blessed to be a blessing indeed! Thanks to you all. The scholarship fund balance currently stands around $100,000 with $5,500 now available for new award recipients. If you might be interested in learning more about options to continue to grow this endowment through outright gifts or deferred gifts, those aforementioned fine folks in the Development Office (giving@luther.edu or 800.225.8664) are available for questions and with lots more info.
Enough from me (and from Barbara). Would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out to either of us with news/updates/suggestions/greetings.
Best of all things to each of you in 2022.
Soli Deo Gloria,
