Your Library Guide to Luther Seminary's "ABIDE" Initiative: Home

"Abide with me" : the old hymn of faith invites us to find our sense of belonging in Christ.  Jesus invites us repeatedly to "Abide in me" (in the old King James language of John 15). 

 Luther Seminary extends this invitation to "abide together in the love of God", which is "to foster community in distinctively liberative and loving ways, trusting that our communal life, our pursuit of mission, and our practices can bear witness to the transformative gospel of Jesus Christ." Thus the acronym:                                                                                                               A: Accountability     B: Belonging     I: Inclusion     D: Diversity     E: Equity  

Luther Seminary's Calling to ABIDE : the official document (2023)

Luther Seminary's Strategic Plan includes this Objective #1 for inclusion and belonging: "By 2024 Luther Seminary will develop and implement concrete and measurable plans to promote inclusion and belonging across its organizational structure and programs, in keeping with its gospel-centered mission, vision and values and the aspirations of the Welcome Statement."

DEIB Events at Luther Seminary, 2022--2023

"Building a sense of belonging"- Q&A with Leon Rodrigues;

Oct.11, 2023 chapel sermon by Dr. Leon Rodrigues, Vice President for Inclusion and Belonging as he reflects on the words of John 15 and the ABIDE process at Luther Seminary.

Dozens of Books are available at Luther Sem Library on the topic of Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging, especially in the context of church ministry and global mission. See the display of recent books and ebooks below. Also check out our LibGuide for New Books in Justice and Social Issues.

Acceptance: "Acceptance: An Historical and Conceptual Review" on the "Recognition of the value of acceptance of the self... ", by John Williams, 2010; see this abstract

Belonging:   Selected articles on a “sense of belonging” from Luther Sem databases 

Inclusion:  22 dissertations on "Inclusion and the Church" from Open Access Digital Theological Library

Diversity:  Selected articles/chapters on "Diversity in Today's Church" linked from Google Scholar, 2023.    Also see our LibGuide on Global Theologies

Equity:     Selected articles from ATLA-Religion Database on 'Equity in the Bible'.    Also see our LibGuide on Social Justice. Concerning equity, here's the 1965 speech President Lyndon Johnson gave at Howard University leading to the Affirmative Action decisions at the US Supreme Court. 

Select Readings and Links related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging