GHM’s 2024 Symposium

We were delighted to welcome Lon Kightlinger and Dr. Michael Chan as speakers for GHM’s 2024 Symposium, which took place October 26th at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, Minnesota. Inspired by the writings of Dr. Walter Brueggemann on neighborliness, we looked at the question of who is our neighbor through the lens of both science and faith. What did COVID-19 teach us about our connectedness to neighbors we’ll never meet? Does the Biblical identification of “neighbor” include people on the other side of the globe? Is there an intersection of what science and the Bible teach us about these questions?

Panel conversation with Lon Kightlinger (left), Dr. Michael Chan (center) and Doug Cox (right),

GHM’s Executive Director

Prior to serving as State Epidemiologist for the South Dakota Department of Health, a job he held for nearly 20 years, Lon Kightlinger dedicated 20 years of service to the church in Madagascar in medical and public health positions. He sent his career full-circle upon retirement by returning to Madagascar with the Peace Corps as a health volunteer. Evacuation during the Covid-19 pandemic sent him back to South Dakota, where he returned to work with the Department of Health to help control the coronavirus response effort. A recording of his remarks during the Symposium is available here.

A sought-after speaker and Old Testament scholar, Dr. Michael Chan was named Vice President for Mission and Inclusion at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota in February, 2024. Formerly associate professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Dr. Chan joined the Concordia College community in June, 2022 as executive director for faith and learning. In his current role, Dr. Chan provides leadership and support for the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Opportunity at Concordia; Concordia’s Campus Ministry team; the Dovre Center for Faith and Learning; and the Lorentzsen Center for Faith and Work. In his exploration of our question, Who is Our Neighbor, Dr. Chan takes us into the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy to consider an Old Testament vision of neighborliness. Here is a recording of Dr. Chan’s presentation, titled Neighbors: An Old Testament Vision of Abundance and Generosity.