Graduation

We really made it! Friday was graduation and we now have diplomas in hand. As you can see, the weather was perfect, plenty of people showed up (even the overflow room had overflow), and the ceremony was wonderful.

One of the highlights of graduation was hearing Dr. Ridenhour preach again. He had retired last year while we were on internship and we had missed having him on campus and occasionally preaching in Christ Chapel. Our class had decided to have him as our speaker for graduation, and he did not disappoint us. As always, his sermon was to the point, included law, but had clear, unambiguous gospel proclaimed as well. Would that we could always do so well.

There were plenty of photo ops at graduation as well - while we were robing, during the class photo, and then again afterwards. I am still sorting out photos from the last two days. On Thursday, it was Alumni Day here on campus, and so plenty of grads from previous years were here for lectures, workshops, and of course - food. There was an alumni luncheon, and then a picnic in the evening before the Baccalaureate service in Christ Chapel.

One of our activities here on campus has been the choir. The choir sang during the Baccalaureate Service (see photo below) and at graduation.

I think that even harder than knowing we are done with classes and it is time to move on, was the realization on Thursday evening that this would be the last time we would sing together as a choir in this place. It was also the last service in Christ Chapel for Rev. Michael Costello, who has served as an adjunct teacher of liturgical practicums and choirmaster. Michael graduated the spring before we began our internship, so we count him as friend, classmate, and instructor. We will miss our fellow choir members, and especially, hearing Michael on the organ (see right).

Michael leaves LTSS this next week, and we will all miss having him around, just as we will miss singing in the choir.

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I suppose that over the next several days, it will sink in that our time here is done. Some classmates are headed off for vacations, some are packing up and heading home, some are hoping that a letter of call will come soon so they can move to a new place to begin their ministry. A few know where they are going and will soon be packing and headed off to new adventures. For all of us, the next time we gather in this place, it will be as alumni rather than as students. We will see each other at synod assemblies, or churchwide events, or maybe just on Facebook, but it will as former classmates, not someone that we will see on Tuesday morning in Lutheranism in North America class, or in choir, or at lunch, or in the library. The context will change, but the memories will remain.

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As for us, we are in the hopeful waiting category, with several sermons to write in the next few weeks as we fill in for various pastors who are away on synod assembly or vacation, our out-of-town weddings. Good thing, too! Our A/C unit died this morning. Welcome back to the world of home ownership!

And now we rest

We're done! Believe it or not, this journey that began four years ago is coming to a close, and soon a new one will begin. Today, we attended our last class and turned in our last paper as seminary students. As with our classmate, David, it has not really sunk in that on Monday there will be no classes, there are no more books that have to be read, and no more papers to write.

Instead, next week will be some rest, some yard work and house cleaning to prepare for guests on graduation day, and a few errands. On Thursday, the alumni come to campus for a full day of events (some of which include graduating seniors). Thursday evening is baccalaureate, and then Friday morning will be graduation. A long two days, and at the end of them, we will really be done - degrees in hand and everything.

It has been a long journey. Even though this blog has not existed for all four years, many of you who read this have followed our journey from the beginning; others have followed since we went to the Gulf Coast in December of 2005 and began the blog. It has been hard, it has been rewarding, is has been uplifting, and through it all - we continue to be blessed by God and led by the Holy Spirit.

One of the common questions throughout the seminary journey is, "Do you still feel called to ministry?" I think I can firmly state, that for both of us, this continues to be true and has not diminished over the entire four years. Our faith, your prayers, and God's steadfast love have sustained us over many hurdles and through many dark moments. And now - the day is at hand. On May 9, we will be graduates and waiting a call to be pastors.

Oh -you ask. How is the call process going? About the same. We have had a very busy schedule and not really available to do much. Once graduation is over, maybe things will start to roll along. A few preaching opportunities lie ahead of us, and the North Carolina Synod assembly is coming up, so we will be kept busy at least into June.

And now - time to put our feet up and spoil the dog some (he has missed us the last couple of weeks while we were typing our last papers).

Seminary Meme

No, it is not like we really have time to be posting here, but it does take our minds off of the many papers yet to write.

I have not gotten too involved in meme's (from Dictionary.com : –noun - a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes), but this one seemed interesting - especially as it applies to life at seminary. The text below is from http://www.goingtoseminary.com/ (who knew - here I am almost done and I just found this website).

This Seminary Meme is part of a competition sponsored by Going to Seminary and Eisenbrauns. If you’d like to be entered, simply answer the 7 questions below and tag 5 other people. You’ll also need to post this paragraph (links included) with your answers as the links will be tracked back to your blog and will count as your “entry” into the competition. On April 30th, 2008, one blogger will be selected at random to win a $100 gift certificate to the Eisenbrauns online bookstore.

Please feel free to modify the question so as to make it appropriate to your situation as a pre-seminarian, seminarian, or seminary graduate (example given on first question).

1. Where do (will/did) you attend seminary?
2. What class do you think has most impacted your spiritual life?
3. What seminary professor has been the most influential while in seminary?
4. What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced in seminary?
5. What has been the greatest reward you’ve experienced in seminary?
6. What are your plans after seminary?
7. How many times have you been asked question #6?

Here are the answers for me:

1. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS)
2. Ethics
3. Tough question, but probably Dr. Ridenhour (homiletics professor, now retired)
4. Internship - being a student worker after many years in industry
5. Internship - this is what ministry in the parish will be like
6. Plans after seminary - not up to me - except to find the place that God has prepared for me/us to serve Him.
7. Hundreds, if not thousands during 4 years.

Tagging 5 people is a little tougher, since they need to be seminary students - David, Ruth Ann, Nathan, Carolyn, and Annette are the 5 seminary bloggers that I can think of.

I look forward to your answers, and I know that any of the 5 of us would love $100 worth of books!

And the winner is..

Last night the seminary community had a chili night - with a contest for the best in several categories. Now in some ways, my entering the chili contest might have been considered unfair, as I have been making chili longer than most of my classmates have been alive, and I have made chili professionally (my parents were in the restaurant business for many, many years). I probably have also made more gallons of chili than most people I know. All that said, I do enjoy making chili, and the fellowship of the night was great.

The categories for chili included Best Vegetarian, Best Beanless (meat only), Best w/Beans, Most Unusual, and Hottest. Now, I take my chili pretty seriously - beans and meat with lots of onion and green pepper. Spicy, but not too hot (or no one else in the family will eat it), not too thick and not too thin. Oh - and lots of tomatoes. Canned diced tomatoes work best, unless you just happen to have a bunch of fresh ones that need to be used, and you have the time to peel them (no tomato peel in my chili, thank you very much).

When I made chili in the restaurant, or even when I am in a hurry, I make chili with Bush's Chili Beans (no one else's will do). They are a good, canned bean and the seasoning is pretty good without being overpowering - which means you can add in your own special seasoning and still be able to taste it. These days, I prefer to make the chili from scratch - dried beans and all. I have also developed a taste for black beans, so my chili always has plenty of black beans in it, as well as kidney beans and pinto beans. For this batch, I started on Thursday evening, rinsing and soaking beans. I had to pick someone up at the airport around midnight, so about 1:30 a.m. I was able to give the beans one last rinse and turn the slow cooker on. By morning, the house smelled like beans and tomatoes. At lunchtime, I added cooked ground chuck (well seasoned, with onions, garlic, and green pepper) and more liquid. I like to use V8 juice along with tomatoes, because it adds a nice bit of flavor. During the afternoon, I stirred and adjusted the seasonings, adding chili powder, cumin, black pepper, red pepper, and something new this year - Smoky Tabasco sauce.

All in all, it was a great pot of chili. By starting with dried beans and using No-Salt-Added tomatoes, it was a low-sodium dish (important in our house), low-carb (also important) and high fiber (very important for those of us 50 and over). It also tasted great! The black beans not only add great flavor, but also are a nice contrast to the red kidney beans and tomatoes.

So how did my chili fair in the contest? Many people liked it, partly because it was not so hot as some others (hot should be added by each person to suite their own taste, not forced upon them). It, of course, did not win the vegetarian or beanless categories, but it did carry the day for most unusual. It was not the only chili there with black beans, but a couple of the others had corn added (corn is NOT something I want in my chili). Whatever the case, I was happy to have my chili recognized, but the best reward was that I brought home an almost empty pot, so someone thought it was good.

The best part of an evening like this is that it brings the community together for a very family-fun based evening of fellowship. Especially, at this time of life at seminary - first call for seniors, internship for middlers, CPE for juniors, mid-terms approaching for all - we all have plenty of stress in our lives. This was a great chance to just let go for a little while, and enjoy some time together.

Turning 50

It seems that 1958 was one of those years - a lot of things began in 1958. From a recent mailing inviting us to join AARP was a list of celebrities who, along with AARP, turned 50 in 2008. In addition to that list, last night the Grammy Awards turned 50. This next Sunday, another major event turns 50, the Daytona 500. Why all this interest in things that turn 50 in 2008?

I guess it is because we both turn 50 this year, as well. In fact, Ruth Ann has already had her 50th birthday and mine is coming soon. We recently had a joint celebration, and had to work to convince the cake decorator that, Yes, we really did want the cake to say Birthdays (plural).

So, you might ask - if you have been following this blog for long, what is it like to turn 50 during the senior year of seminary? It is quite interesting, to say the least. While many of our classmates are straight out of college (expected to graduate at the ripe old age of 25 or 26), we also have several classmates who are about our age, or even older. Seminary is no longer full of 20 something men - it now includes men and women, from every age - straight out of college to a retired doctor who decided to come to seminary a week after closing his practice. About half of seminarians at Lutheran seminaries these days are second (or third or fourth) career and the rest come right out of college. Programs like Project Connect are helping to bring more young people to seminary, but more and more people seem to decide on a mid-life career change that includes going back to school - to become a chef, a pastor, a doctor, or something else that did not seem to be an option when they younger.

So yes, we are a bit preoccupied by the number 50 this year. Like everything else, we are thankful to reach the age of 50 in good health and to be able to attend seminary. We are thankful that so many have remembered us as we turn 50. And yes - we look forward to graduating this year - school is hard at 50!

As I turn 50, I have memories of reading Jimmy Buffett's book, A Pirate Looks at 50. I really enjoyed that book a few years ago - I think it is time to read it again.