Courtney (Glynn) Salmon CO '07 GR '20 pens "Poems for Every Season: A Journey Through the Church Year"

Seward, NE (11/12/2026) — Courtney (Glynn) Salmon CO '07 GR '20 discovered Concordia University, Nebraska in high school after visiting the university's promotional booth at a district youth gathering.

"My friend's sister was going there, and I decided to apply. Her dad was a pastor at a church and school 10 miles away from where I lived, but at that point I didn't know much about Lutheran schools," she said.

Salmon has a bachelor of arts in elementary education with early childhood endorsement and Lutheran Teacher Diploma from the university as well as a master's degree in early childhood special education.

In 2026, Salmon published "Poems for Every Season: A Journey Through the Church Year," a book of poems based on Series C of the Three Year Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod lectionary. The poems celebrate God's word, the Lutheran confessions, beloved hymns and the hope that Christians have in Jesus. Salmon explained the background behind the book project.

"I read a lot of poetry in high school and wrote some mostly terrible poetry. One year for my high ability learner project I dressed up and presented on Emily Dickinson. During and after my college years I didn't read as much. But several years ago, Concordia Publishing House published Tanner Olson's "Continue." I bought the rest of his books and remembered what I loved so much about poetry: the ability to share human experiences in a short set of words."

Salmon said as she's gotten older, she has grown to love the gift of the Psalms and how they cover the myriad of human emotions and situations. She found her old book of poetry and came across a poem she had written about Good Friday based on the John 19 text. Since she plays organ three Sundays a month at the church she attends, she said she was feeling disconnected from the service at times, since serving is much different than sitting in a pew during worship.

"I wanted to be more intentional about listening to the Scripture readings and the sermon, so I decided to reflect on the service by writing a poem each week. I underline passages from the Scripture readings that stick out to me, make notes from the sermon and lines from the hymns. When I get home, I pray for guidance and write. My church uses the three-year liturgy and I happened to start in Year C, so I am currently working on Series A and plan to do Series B. Before, I never really thought about the beauty of our liturgy and the cycle of the church year, but it is a blessing."

She said she finds beauty and comfort in the triennial repeating liturgy, which reminds us of our need for a Savior and the work that Christ has done for us.

"Since I have been playing organ, I have also developed a deep appreciation of our hymns and the comfort and joy they can bring," she said. "A few of my poems can be sung to well-known hymns."

"Poems for Every Season: A Journey Through the Church Year" is available on Amazon. Her next collection, which focuses on Series A, will be published in December.

As a student at Concordia Nebraska, Salmon played clarinet in the university's wind ensemble and enjoyed traveling with the band and recording the album "In the Spring." She said her theology and education professors supported her and helped her to be excited to become a Lutheran school teacher where she could share Christ daily with her students. After attending public schools from Kindergarten to grade 12, this was especially exciting to her.

"During my time at Concordia, the focus was on servant leadership, and I think all the professors modeled that in being willing to meet with students outside of class hours, answering emails and getting to know the students more," she said.

She said Concordia Nebraska adjunct professor Dr. Jane Fryar not only taught one of her graduate classes, she also provided helpful feedback while Salmon was drafting her collection of poems and preparing to submit them for publication.

Salmon has served as a classroom teacher for 20 years. Following graduation, she received a call to Zion Lutheran School in Worms, Nebraska, where a friend's dad served as pastor. She taught Kindergarten, first and second grades, art and music. Eventually, that school closed, and she worked for Grand Island Public Schools as a substitute teacher and inclusive preschool teacher. In 2023, she received a call to Trinity Lutheran in Grand Island where she still serves today. Outside of school, she is heavily involved in her church, St. John Lutheran in Palmer, Nebraska, where she is a life-long member and her daughters fifth generation members. She has taught Sunday School there since high school and plans and directs the children's Christmas Eve program and VBS program. She has been playing organ for the past 14 years.

"I love seeing the growth in my students, especially in these early years where intentional teaching and interventions can have a huge impact on their development socially, academically and spiritually," she said. "I love creating a joyful environment to start off their school career that will hopefully impact their view of school and learning in a positive way. I love that we can pray daily, be in God's Word and relate it to all aspects of life."

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