A hard-earned Congrats!!

Today - Friday the 13th - is the 154th graduation of my beloved alma mater, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

So today, in honor of the G-ETS graduates (but especially the women), I am wearing my red shoes. Red shoes that need broken in but have been worn on only one other occassion: my own graduation. (Why red shoes? My friend Amanda wrote a great blog explaining this great tradition. Read about that here.)

My hats go off to you, Garrett grads. I am so excited for the ministry that shall follow this day you have worked so hard to get to. May God's grace, peace, love, and especially JOY follow you in the days ahead!

An Update

I haven't updated in quite some time, so here's a quick recap of things I thought about writing about but never got to...

I had the opportunity to go to Arizona for the last week of August. I got to spend time with family I don't see often enough (even meet some I'd never met before- and meet their little boy that was born my last night there!!). I spent the weekend with some Ride:Well friends, including 4 teammates and many friends of Red Oak Fellowship Church (near Dallas, Texas). It was fantastic. We were able to hike a few miles in the canyon, got really wet in a cold, windy downpour, sat around a fire in an attempt to stay warm (and dry!), and laughed - a lot. Very refreshing, and a piece of closure I was in great need of after such an intense summer.

Classes started the day I returned, and I have been on the go ever since. They started slow, and I've since added a course and am now taking an overload. This does mean that I am now spending (nearly) all of my time reading... I guess that's what happens when good readings are actually assigned for courses. Awesome.

I also now have 2 jobs: one at school working at the front desk (being the "Face of Garrett" and answering the phones), and one at Starbucks. Believe it or not, a lot of thought went into selection of a job off campus this year, and I am more than pleased with my decision. It is a LOT to learn (not really what I expected), but I work with great staff, Starbucks treats its employees ("partners") VERY well, and it is the flexible schedule I need for my student life. Also, it is nice to have a job that doesn't add stress to my already-stressful semester: when I leave work, everything from work stays there. No baggage is a wonderful thing.

Starbucks has also had some other randomness to go with it. It turns out Evanston is full of "celebrities" - and they come into our store regularly. The first latte I ever made was on Saturday morning... for Jerry Springer. Funny stuff... and we've had other "Hollywood actors" in since then... and I've only been there a week.

Lots of crazy stuff going on at home. Everyone is okay, just crazy stuff that's been stressful. And my "sixth sense" kicked in in the midst of drama, giving me a near anxiety attack in the midst of the chaos, while I didn't know why. Long story short: I eventually made the connection and am grateful everything ended as it did.

On a lighter note: My friend Laura has the CUTEST little girl!!! I am privileged to be her first babysitter, and grateful that at 7 months old, she equally adores me, and doesn't hate that spending time with me means Mom is away. She's a bundle of joy, and always provides a welcome break from otherwise busy schedules.

Summer seems to have ended early (or at least abruptly), so I've given up on running outside, and it couldn't be better. Fortunately, a few more Garrett folks joined my gym, so though schedules have changed, etc, I have plenty of gym buddies. We've been going to classes, and while they kick my butt, I LOVE the spin classes. Good times. :)

Exciting, huh? Hopefully now that we're up-to-date and my semester is off to a busy (brutal!) start, I'll procrastinate more and keep this updated.

Finished!

I just finished my final paper of my second year of seminary. It is done, and I am FREE!!!

Now on to packing and preparing for my trip... I can't believe I leave in 4 days!!!

Graduation Day at G-ETS

Today was a great day. GREAT.

The day began with THE best chapel service I have ever been to at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. It was two hours long and included great music by a praise ensemble and two choirs, the Gospel read in multiple languages, a sermon that was full of the Holy Spirit from someone who is clearly called to preach, a sharing of Eucharist for the hundreds who were gathered, and a sending forth with anointing and laying on of hands for the graduates.

Following chapel, the festivities continued over lunch at 1st United Methodist Church of Evanston, where the graduation ceremony was to be held just a couple of hours later. It was great to have this block of time to chat with the anxious graduates and their families, as well as see some familiar faces of friends who have graduated in years past and returned to wish the graduates luck.

The graduation itself was great as well. It began with music and some necessary recognitions of distinguished persons among us. The address titled "What Are the Things That Make for Peace? Building Peace in the Midst of Conflict" was given by Father Alias Chacour, Archbishop of Galilee. He began by jokingly telling us, "You will always remember this day... and you will always remember me." We will indeed remember, as he noted, the day the "pastor of Jesus' church, of Jesus' mother, aunts, uncles, and cousins" came to speak to, bless, and send forth graduates of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. The appropriate level of humor he used allowed for greater reception of carefully chosen words he came to share. His address was short and to the point, something we could all appreciate on many levels. It was indeed an honor to have him among us.

Following the reception of the graduates and some picture-taking opportunities, it was nice to have a relaxed dinner with some friends (old and new) who will all be around next year. Too often, even when we go out to share in a meal, we are in a hurry to get somewhere. This was a nice change of pace as we sat to enjoy one another's company purely for the joy of it.

The Beginning of the End

The beginning of the end for many who are graduating - and thus time to begin bidding farewell - has begun. As such, today was a VERY busy day...

First, congrats to this year's Myrtle Saylor Speer Award recipients: Jen Stuelpe-Gibbs, Arionne Williams, and Audrey Krumbach. This is a long-standing (31 years) Garrett tradition; an award given at a "just desserts" party for women of the seminary only. As Audrey so nicely put it, the short is that its an award given to women (who are voted on by their class) who we know will "go out and cause some trouble in the church." It seemed appropriate, then, that the award's first recipient - Rev. Dr. Marti Scott - was present tonight to talk about the history of the award.

Following "just desserts" was the end-of-year picnic (only inside b/c of rain). It was especially great to see everyone and just have some time to chill in light of the intensity I'm still not over from General Conference. Who'd have guessed it would be so difficult to "jump in" after getting back!?!

I intentionally missed most of worship tonight, as it was the "stress busters" service, and I'm just not there, so I didn't feel the need to get stressed about how I should be more stressed! I did pop in for the end, though... as I was waiting for my ride and they were running over. No harm ever done in joining in a couple closing songs! This was possibly the BEST decision I have made in a long time! Dean Lightsey got ahold of the mic, and there was no turning back! We sang, danced, and praised God for a good 20 minutes after the service was supposed to end. It was AWESOME! Talk about Holy Spirit overload!!! Praise God for nights like this... when I am thankful for these opportunities that I thought (hoped) would come more often in my seminary community life.

After worship we made our way to Margaret Ann (seen here caring for the baby broccoli ) & Jack's house. There, they (and Bishop Rader) led a "debriefing" conversation about what General Conference was and will mean in the future. Not just what our experiences were - but what does that mean and how does/ should/ could that trickle down into our local churches? It was a fruitful conversation that I am thankful to have been a part of. There is much work to be done, but it is helpful and hopeful to have these conversations.

If nothing else, this is yet another reason I am thankful to be a Garrett student... that our faculty found it so important to have this opportunity (both for their sake as well as ours) that they went out of their way to invite us into their home in order to host it. Gracious hospitality and intentional community at its best, to be sure (especially since we were all tired b/c many of us had to go to all 4 big social events today!)

Mission Holiness

A fellow seminarian sent this to me, and I think its well worth sharing. An entertaining article, to be sure... and since Garrett fairs so well, I thought I should make sure everyone knows we're the holiest United Methodist seminary, haha.

Read the article here: Mission Holiness Rankings of UM Seminaries

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Prayers for the Garrett Community

In light of some very unfortunate circumstances on Garrett’s campus yesterday, campus is buzzing with confusion, pain, anger and questions. Slowly but surely, folks (staff and students alike) are learning details of the events that unfolded. After a prayer meeting this morning, I am happy to have been offered another perspective from the one I had. There are two sides to every story, and in this situation, there are a great number of people to be cared for… not the least of which is the very one around whom this conflict revolves.

I was fortunate enough to meet with our Dean this afternoon, and it was reassuring to confirm that positive steps are being taken in all directions. Our faculty and administration really do genuinely care about our students, and I feel that the steps they have taken have been well thought out, positive ones. There are always things that could be done better, always “if… then” statements to be made… but the reality is, no one will ever know the answers to “what if” questions, and I fully affirm their decisions to take preventative steps, putting trust in the “safe way.”

I have not yet heard results from the meetings that took place a few hours ago. Nor have I stopped praying that whatever is best for both this community and the individual involved who is now (in many ways) isolated from this community is able to happen. There is a great deal of healing that needs to take place, and in the days to come, I pray we are able to walk together and allow movement of the Holy Spirit among us, in our hallways and conversations and frustrations and laments. I pray that our cries of pain and sorrow and confusion and isolation are heard, and that more importantly, we are able to feel God’s presence and movement among us as we seek peace for our community, school, and selves.

A Day of Unceasing Prayer

For reasons I can't go into or even begin to explain here, today was a difficult day. My heart is heavy and hurting, confused and sad, concerned and experiencing a sea of emotions I just don't know what to do with. A new level of emotion... or at least one I haven't felt in a long time. There's even some guilt associated with it, but the kind of guilt that is absolutely ridiculous because the situations at hand that lead to it are completely out of my control- in fact they are nothing that I could do anything about. But still, my heart is heavy, and I seek peace through prayer.

I seek peace and prayer and healing tonight. And I lift up the Garrett community, distraught after an eventful afternoon on campus about which it seems few know details (and they intend to keep it that way).

A Garrett-style "Retreat"

We were required to go to a retreat today as a part of our Field Education program. I must admit, I went in with sour feelings about it because the last one was a workshop- there was nothing about it that felt like a retreat! Further, I don't feel its appropriate for them to require us to go to day-long activities on what is for many of us the only day that we can have as Sabbath. As seminarians, we are often very protective of our time, and especially on a week like this one, I was far from willing to give up my much-needed Sabbath day if I could get out of it in any way.

Of course, I couldn't. Not if I want to pass the course. So we went, grudges and all. I brought my computer hoping I could at least get some work done, which might allow me to have some rest later. But of course they expected that so welcomed us with a no-computer policy. Awesome.

The first 3/4 of the retreat was not terrible, but it was far from ideal. They gave us some worksheets and asked us to reflect and write on some personal thoughts about where the questions left us. About the fruits and growing pains and failings of our personal lives, ministries, academic settings, etc. In asking us to do so, we were encouraged to be honest, as no one was going to see what we wrote... and no one would be asked to share. Then after we wrote, we were asked to get into pairs with someone we didn't know and share. All a bit confusing and backwards...

After finishing a series of these questions, we were asked to make a visual aid of our calling (and/or ministry). We knew this was coming- we had been asked to bring magazines to cut up, etc. Typically, I'm not an artsy person, but this kept me busy as I flipped through some old magazines I hadn't had a chance to look at in a while. It was surprisingly fun. Who knew- making collages is an appropriate (required) project for graduate students? I certainly could have found better use for our 2 hours of time spent making and explaining them, but overall, it was kind of fun. It was great to see how others chose to design theirs, and to see how so very many of the collages were fitting to who I know my classmates to be.

Since it'll probably sit on my table (maybe I'll put it on my fridge...) for a few days before it gets thrown out, I thought it would be appropriate to post this for others to see. Mine is mostly words that caught my attention, with only a few pictures. Even though there was no rhyme or reason or thought process as I cut out random words, I think they all seem to go together quite nicely.Note: Comments and Inquiries welcome. Such as why specific words, pictures, etc? I'm too tired to type out a full explanation of all of it tonight, but if you have any Q's, I'm happy to later!

A Surprise Frustration from an Easy Class

Today is the second day of the new semester, and I can already feel the pressures of too many things I've go going on piling up. But no worries- most of these things are good, exciting things, and I have taken them on willingly. The stress I expect to endure over the next couple of weeks in order for all said things to happen, will be worth it.

After a fantastic first class last night, my morning started today quite routinely, meeting my friend Beth as the sun rose to head to the gym, after which I headed straight to my second class: Pneumatology, Ecclessiology, and Eschatology. Yep. All 3 in one. Good times...

My problem is this: I have loved my time at Garrett, and value the classes and experiences I've had. However, in light of some of the changes that are occurring with administration and faculty, things are a bit sticky. They're getting better, and things are really looking up- enough that I would definitely encourage anyone applying to look into Garrett. However, that doesn't take from the fact that I feel like my class kind of got "gypped." This is my third theology class I've taken at Garrett, and while none of them have been terrible, I don't feel like any of them have really pushed me, either. After only one day of class, I am absolutely sure this class will be the same.

There are many reasons for thinking this, the most obvious one is something I did not run into in the other 2 courses I took (which I loved! but could have been pushed more). We have 3 major texts we'll be focusing on- one for each topic. All 3 of them are Moltmann's texts. NO diversity in texts there... I feel like- and the lecture today solidified it- I'm studying what Moltmann thinks more than I'm focusing on how we as theologians can/should form our own theologies around these three very important pieces of theology... Not to mention that our only "research" (he REALLY emphasized how important it is to do good research!) paper of the semester has limitations like not using more than 5 resources. 5!?! I think the last time I used so few was in high school! Ok, maybe freshman year of college... but still! I guess quality over quantity? But I like being able to have more diversity of resources than that...

Maybe it will be fine. I've thought a lot about dropping the class with hopes that I can take one of the other 2 faculty next year... but I have to take 2 theology electives left to take, and I don't want to have to double-up and take 2 together next year (as that would leave 3 theology classes in 2 semesters)- if I did that, i know they wouldn't get what they deserve anyway. The only other theology classes this semester don't work with my schedule.

I've looked at the syllabus and evaluated the work load, and while I initially thought about dropping one class just because I'll be so busy at church, etc this semester, this one wouldn't make sense, as it doesn't seem like its going to be that hard. So I guess my question is- do I "suck it up" and take it now, even if it means I'm getting gypped on what my education could/should/would be if I waited? I could always read more later, or even sit in on classes next year (though I know better than to think I will have time to actually do that). Hmm. I guess I've already decided, and I'll stick with the class. It might pleasantly surprise me. But I'm also a bit sad about it, knowing that I'm not getting what I should out of it. Fearing that my theology is going to suffer more long-term as a result of it.

Or maybe it will be fine... and I'm concerned over this needlessly...

Chicago's first snow of the Season!

I made a promise (to Dion, I think) that I would post pictures of the snow when it arrived... so until I get more pictures loaded on Facebook, these will have to do!

I took the LONG way home from work on Tuesday so I could walk and enjoy the falling snow while chatting to Ruby on the phone...so she could enjoy the snow vicariously through me! (See all that snow accumulating on my hat!?!?)

This is the entrance view of my beloved Garrett- Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, only about an hour after the snow stopped falling.

Awkward Social Isolation to Comfortable Self-Isolation

Well, friends, the day I always knew would come (but have also always denied) has come. I can no longer deny that I am in fact an academic, and speak “the language” of “the scholars” that surround me.

Beginning in my days at Simpson College and heightened immediately upon my arrival at Garrett Seminary, I have often found myself isolated in the midst of conversations that happen in “obvious” places, such as the lunch table. I would engage in a conversation with peers… and then the next thing I know, they’re using words I have never heard before and arguing over theologians I’ve never heard of before. At the point I realized I had no idea what they were talking about, I would casually become “uninterested” or have a paper to work on, slipping on my headphones in order to make my isolation from whatever they’re talking about, become less obvious. Or at least it kept me from being so uncomfortable…

A few days ago, I was studying in the Northwestern student center with some fellow seminarians. With my headphones on as I worked diligently on an assignment, I found myself caught up in the midst of a (friendly!) debate between two friends. In great love, there was name-calling, use of words no normal person should know, and even comments like, “well do you know what this word means in Latin?” “Of course! It means…” As the debate continued, I took my headphones off and became intrigued by their discussion, finding myself to be in the middle of the two arguments. That’s when it happened.

They just weren’t hearing each other correctly. So I jumped in.
Me: “No, Kate, I think you misunderstood. What Audrey is trying to say is that…”
Audrey: “Yes! Exactly! Thanks, Jen!”
Kate: “oooohh…. well in that case…”
and it went on. As I had been in the middle of other work, I didn’t wish to become further distracted, so I slipped my headphones back on as I smiled and rolled my eyes at my beloved friends…

Then they called me on it. Jen- the one who claims for all that I am that I am NOT an academic- just took part in a very conversation she has sworn off. I took a step: I have moved from being isolated by such conversations, to isolating myself because I’m just not interested. From here on out, I can no longer deny that I am not an academic. They have promised to recall this very conversation next time I make such a claim, and I have no reason to believe they won’t…