I still can’t believe that I am here and in typical graduate school format my feet have been moving ever since I got out of the car. I have to admit that to some degree it feels like I am finally home while at the same time it makes me miss my home and friends that I have left even more. I have to keep remember what Drew keeps saying that what I am about to do is bigger then me. It is an awesome humbling task to be discerning a call. To sit quietly and reflect on the sheer awesomeness of a call to word and sacrament brings me to the greatest joy and at the same time completely scares the living be-jesus out of me.
This week us “juniors” as we are called or first year seminary students are conducting what we call Prolog. A two week course intended to equip us with an introduction to seminary life that will allow us to transition into the first week of classes “smoother”. I am glad however that i am not cramming Greek or Hebrew down my throat like many of my other fellow seminary students. We are however getting a rich introduction to the diversity of the people God calls into ministry. Diversity is something that this school prides itself on. For being a Lutheran School you would almost not guess it by looking at the make up of the student body. Most of us “traditional” day students (by the way there is no “traditional way” to go through seminary – God calls us all in various forms and down different paths) are predominately from the Lutheran tradition, but our evening and part time students come from all walks of life all over the Philadelphia area to take advantage of the rich academic experience this seminary has provided to the campus for decades. This school is so much more then being Lutheran, it so much more then being a student, it’s committed to equipping the people of God to serve in the Kingdom of God. As one lady said in my small group today “we are the church, right here in this room, with all of our different backgrounds, we ARE the CHURCH, and we are being called to be leaders not in a future church down the road, but right here right now, WE ARE THE CHURCH.” I did have to step outside of my Lutheran heritage and give a little AMEN to that.
Diversity is something that extends even to the academic crucible though, we experience our own particular faith through the lens of cultural relativism. We look and interpret and re-act to things in our life that may, or may not be “normal” in someone else’s life. We need to take time to be quiet, listen, adjust our glasses and see that we may need to take our own glasses off to put on the lenses of Christ, to see more clearly, to see more perfectly, to see the reality that surpasses all understanding…
This community is amazing and i can’t wait to share it with you… please continue to keep us in your prayers and thoughts… as Earnie the bus driver said in Harry Potter “hold on tight man… it’s going to be a bumpy ride”
I am excited for you. I remember my first days of seminary…I was SO excited to be there. But would you believe, my very first class was Beginning Greek? What a way to start!
Keep posting…I’m excited to hear of your experiences!
Interesting stuff is going on with me. Maybe even going back to being a pastor. I’ll let you know what happens. I know I haven’t emailed yet like I said I would…but it will come!
Brian,
Welcome to LTSP! You have captured the essence of this wonderful place, the community it is a part of, and the world in which we serve. God’s abundant blessings as you continue through seminary and enter the world and answer your call.
- John