Mary Hess Luther Seminary 2481 Como Ave. Saint Paul, MN 55108 651.641.3232

Hi! Welcome to my web site. I'm Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Luther Seminary. Although I love teaching at a Lutheran seminary, I am in fact a Roman Catholic layperson who worships at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I am also the life partner of Eric Celeste, and the mother of two sons, Alex and Nathaniel. Alex lives with a right-sided hemi-paresis as the result of a stroke he endured near birth, and I have found the Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association site helpful, and the Our-Kids site useful. Alex enjoys eighth grade at the Crosswinds Middle School (cal) in Woodbury, a public school that's part of the east metro integration district. Nathaniel loves second grade at Harambee in Maplewood (also a part of the EMID).

I have a fairly eclectic set of interests that span the gamut from arcane academic discussions of cultural studies to pop culture vegging. Check out my weblog for details.

My current research project focuses on understanding the ways in which theological educators teach towards missional leadership. An older research project seeks to understand the ways in which religious educators might constructively meet the challenges posed by media culture. For more information on the courses I teach, return to my home page.

You can also find papers I've written, as well as portions of my dissertation, entitled Media Literacy in Religious Education: Engaging Popular Culture to Enhance Religious Experience, linked through my main web page.

I hope you're enjoying your way around the web. Let me know if you have great links you think I'd like. You can send e-mail to me by clicking on my name below. Peace.

Return to main page. Last updated November 2005 by Mary Hess.