current Catalog - Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Jenna Pulkowski, M.Div.“I’ve always known that I wascalled to action—to be thehands and feet of Christ. I heardthat as a child,” says JennaPulkowski. She grew up in firstthe Assemblies of God andthen the Orthodox PresbyterianChurch. “I saw a very real, activefaith.”Jenna attended LutherCollege and was immediatelytransformed by her experiences there. During her first week,campus discussion focused on the 2005 ELCA ChurchwideAssembly as it “decided not to decide” on gay and lesbianpolicies for the denomination. Jenna began to grapple withher understanding of gender and sexuality issues related toher faith.In her sophomore year at Luther, Jenna was baptized.A female pastor, Amy Larson, performed the baptism. “Itwas one of the greatest blessings of my life,” Jenna says.“Pastor Larson was such a pastoral care giver. She bringsthat presence of God with her.” The day was another turningpoint for Jenna.During a semester in England, surrounded by friends whowere agnostic or Buddhist, Jenna began to question her faith.“One friend really pushed me to think about what it meant forme to claim Christianity as my religion. It helped me definemyself,” she says.A little lost when she returned to Luther, Jenna decidedto work at Sugar Creek Bible Camp for the summer. “I metsome amazing people and soaked up the theology of thechurch—what we teach kids about God.”In her senior year at Luther she realized that “at somepoint I was going to go to seminary.” After serving a yearwith the Urban Servant Corps, she felt drawn to LSTC’sUrban Ministry Emphasis. “I want to work to transform theimbalance in power,” Jenna says.43