#29: Barbara Rossing and the community-building lessons of Holden Village

Art of Community NCW podcast

This podcast features Barbara Rossing of Leavenworth, who has been a Lutheran pastor for 35 years. She was pastor for three years in the late 1980s at Holden Village and currently teaches New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.

Rossing is passionate about the future of the natural environment, how we care for our most vulnerable citizens and about finding common cause with folks of other faiths. This is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which split Christianity. Efforts are being made globally and locally to repair relationships. On Sunday night, October 1, a joint service will be held at the St. Joseph's Catholic Church led by local Lutheran pastors.

Rossing and Father Osmar Aguirre will speak. During our interview, we spoke of her admiration for Pope Francis and his outreach to other faiths and the shared values of both churches. We also spoke of the values that she learned at Holden Village and how those have inspired her activism with the local Climate Conversations group, involvement with Upper Valley MEND and other endeavors.

"The more the church can lead on reminding us who we are as compassionate people – as community builders – the more we will be in a better world," Rossing told me. "Community is much more than just a house. Where we experience the love of God and the love of one another rooted in this beautiful, wonderful place we call home," she said. She's a fascinating speaker.