The Rev. Karen Bockelman is the Bible study author and presenter for Come to the Waters 2008.

She has served as assistant to the bishop of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 1997. She chaired the ELCA's sacramental practices task force (The Use of the Means of Grace) and participated in the Renewing Worship process as a member of the Holy Communion and Related Rites editorial team. She was also a member of the churchwide ELW training team.

She is the author of Marriage: A Worship Handbook, Christian Burial: A Worship Handbook, Welcome to Worship, and Gathered and Sent, all worship resources published by Augsburg Fortress.

She is also writing the Lutheran Woman Today 2008 summer Bible study, which is the gathering Bible study, "Come to the Waters." This three-session study will guide readers through the rich images and meanings of baptism and will look at the waters of baptism through the lenses of scripture, Lutheran tradition, personal experience, and the call to act boldly in and for justice.