Creating a Cultural Liturgy of Intentional Prayer: Leading Grace Lutheran Church into Greater Understanding and Engagement with the Surrounding Community

Aschenbeck, Keith D. “Creating a Cultural Liturgy of Intentional Prayer: Leading Grace Lutheran Church into Greater Understanding and Engagement with the Surrounding Community.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. pp. 166 Grace Lutheran Church, like many churches, has historically approached mission and ministry with the consumer-driven approach model of attraction. The result has often had them looking at how to shape and form how the world sees them so that they would be appealing as a place to worship. This way of approaching ministry has become a cultural liturgy that forms many decisions about what ministry programs and actions to initiate. This MAP aimed to instill a new cultural liturgy of intercessory prayer that would shape and form the members of Grace through the word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. The habits that we create in life also form us. Prayer is foundational to the life of every Christian. However, one element often absent from Christian prayer is the New Testament priestly function given to Christians as a priesthood of believers interceding with God on behalf of others for forgiveness. The congregation was instructed in intercessory prayer through a worship service, sermon, and seminar. A brief liturgical rite for intercession accompanied by devotions and prayers adapted from Scripture was provided to congregation members. In this project, evaluation was conducted through two quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews regarding the lived experience of fourteen participants. The data shows that intentional intercessory prayer is an effective tool for instilling a new cultural liturgy for the shaping of hearts and minds of Christians toward Christian outreach

Aliteracy: The Relationship Between the Electronic Culture and Voluntary Reading

Aliteracy, the term used to describe those who can read but choose not to do so, has become a grave concern in this country. A review of the literature indicates Americans are choosing to use their leisure time to interact with the electronic media to gather information instead of reading to gain knowledge. The skills of critical thinking and decision making are at stake. Schools and homes who have been successful in teaching the skill or reading must now instill the value of reading in order to preserve the democratic process upon which this country was founded

Mourning Small Spaces

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Urban areas have been experiencing rapid change and growth for many years now. The city of Seattle is not an exception to this trend and its current population boom has seen many neighborhoods rapidly become more dense. While there are many good things that come with urban growth, there are casualties as well­—rapid growth can cause disruptions to local businesses as well as re-shape public spaces. While many gather to mourn (or rally to save) local landmarks that are affected by this change, these gatherings are not always extended to smaller, private spaces. However, these smaller spaces add up to whole neighborhoods that begin to look very different once demolition and building cycles take place. This project examines the rapid development in two neighborhoods of Seattle— southwest Capitol Hill and north Beacon Hill—and provides a platform for resident input in regards to the way neighborhoods’ small spaces are changing. This temporary platform asks residents to engage with the loss of small spaces by mourning them—or asking them to contemplate the changes through a situational futuristic experience and by documenting through both visual and written means the aspects of these spaces they will miss. Making this platform a place where submissions are shared ensures that these mourning exercises aren’t solitary and that residents create collective knowledge with their input

101 Ways to Try to Grow Arabidopsis: What Light Intensity Worked Best in This Study? Can High Intensity Discharge Lights Be Used?

This document is one entry in a series of questions and answers originally posted to the Purdue University Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture’s Plant Growth Facility Web site [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/hort/facilities/greenhouse/101exp.shtml] regarding best practices for Arabidopsis thaliana growth. Digital images showing treatment differences are included. A summary of recommendations; materials and methods description; and references list are available in separate documents

101 Ways to Try to Grow Arabidopsis: What Fertilizer Strength and Frequency Was Required?

This document is one entry in a series of questions and answers originally posted to the Purdue University Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture’s Plant Growth Facility Web site [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/hort/facilities/greenhouse/101exp.shtml] regarding best practices for Arabidopsis thaliana growth. Digital images showing treatment differences are included. A summary of recommendations; materials and methods description; and references list are available in separate documents