Updates on the Seminary World
So things have been ridiculously busy! Classes have been interesting, although Hebrew continues to be the most frustrating for me (you try reading characters that look sort of like hieroglyphics right to left and let me know how you make out). I looked at my calendar today and realized that there are only 4 weeks left in the semester, since at Thanksgiving we get a week off. Only having a month left makes me feel both happy and freaked out-- happy because I've almost survived my first semester of seminary, freaked out because I have so much to do before the end of the semester! Gaaah!
The picture above is of my apartment mate Marissa (or flat mate, as they would say in England) and I sharing a pair of mittens. This past Friday a bunch of us went out for dessert to celebrate both my positive Entrance decision (the first step in rostered leadership in the ELCA) and my Lutheran Birthday (it'll be a year since I officially became Lutheran on Nov. 12th)! As we came back to campus, there was a huge group of students hanging out, even though it was about 40 degrees outside. Naturally, we joined the group and continued to have some fun out in the cold!
Some have asked me to explain how the ordination track in the ELCA goes, so here is the gist: the first step is Entrance, which I passed on Friday. Next fall, during my second year of seminary, is Endorsement (after I did my Clinical Pastoral Education in the upcoming summer of 2008), then Approval after my internship year. God willing, after I go through all that the first call process begins, in which the ELCA tries to find a good match for the candidate so that he/she can be ordained and begin his/her first call! Each step involves paperwork, essays, and interviews. Many people think that ordination is an easy thing to achieve-- it's not! But I just have to trust that God is working in the process, and that I'll end up where He wants me to be. It's good to keep reminding myself of that.
Today in Chapel we did something pretty cool-- rather than doing the normal noon prayer and preaching service, we had a traditional Quaker service. At first, the long stretches of silence made me somewhat anxious (I'm loud, what can I say). But after the first (torturous) 5 minutes, I finally settled in and managed to enjoy the presence of God within the silence of the community. I liked the service as a break from the norm, but there is no way I'd make it as a Quaker. I like singing and talking too much.
So things have been ridiculously busy! Classes have been interesting, although Hebrew continues to be the most frustrating for me (you try reading characters that look sort of like hieroglyphics right to left and let me know how you make out). I looked at my calendar today and realized that there are only 4 weeks left in the semester, since at Thanksgiving we get a week off. Only having a month left makes me feel both happy and freaked out-- happy because I've almost survived my first semester of seminary, freaked out because I have so much to do before the end of the semester! Gaaah!
The picture above is of my apartment mate Marissa (or flat mate, as they would say in England) and I sharing a pair of mittens. This past Friday a bunch of us went out for dessert to celebrate both my positive Entrance decision (the first step in rostered leadership in the ELCA) and my Lutheran Birthday (it'll be a year since I officially became Lutheran on Nov. 12th)! As we came back to campus, there was a huge group of students hanging out, even though it was about 40 degrees outside. Naturally, we joined the group and continued to have some fun out in the cold!
Some have asked me to explain how the ordination track in the ELCA goes, so here is the gist: the first step is Entrance, which I passed on Friday. Next fall, during my second year of seminary, is Endorsement (after I did my Clinical Pastoral Education in the upcoming summer of 2008), then Approval after my internship year. God willing, after I go through all that the first call process begins, in which the ELCA tries to find a good match for the candidate so that he/she can be ordained and begin his/her first call! Each step involves paperwork, essays, and interviews. Many people think that ordination is an easy thing to achieve-- it's not! But I just have to trust that God is working in the process, and that I'll end up where He wants me to be. It's good to keep reminding myself of that.
Today in Chapel we did something pretty cool-- rather than doing the normal noon prayer and preaching service, we had a traditional Quaker service. At first, the long stretches of silence made me somewhat anxious (I'm loud, what can I say). But after the first (torturous) 5 minutes, I finally settled in and managed to enjoy the presence of God within the silence of the community. I liked the service as a break from the norm, but there is no way I'd make it as a Quaker. I like singing and talking too much.
posted by Living Life With Exclamation Points! at
7:11 PM
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