Weekly post

Aug. 29, 2005

Dear friends,

Classes have begun, with a plunge! The workload is demanding, but about at the level one can reasonably expect from graduate school. I have a definite advantage in having taken several graduate-level seminary courses online, and so the amount of reading and pace of assignments does not seem unreachable.

I have also the advantage of being able to devote some blocks of time over the weekend to reading said assignments. Over Friday and Saturday I read 50 pages for History of Christianity, prepared two written assignments for that class, read about 60 pages for New Testament and 55 pages for Church, Law, and Ethics. I am pleased at having ready to turn in a proposal for my History of Christianity term paper, when the proposal is not due for another two weeks.

One professor has asked that students please not surf the Internet during class. I find surprising the notion that one could do that instead of taking notes, but approaching 40 provides a certain desperation of focus. Mind you, that's an advantage, I think. What I mean, though, is that while I'm in class, and sometimes when I'm not in class, my primary focus is on making sure my assignments are done and I have at hand whatever materials I might need for exams. My age precludes thinking that I can glide.

Classes started on Wednesday, and my heaviest class day is on Tuesdays, when I have three classes, so I'm being rather eased into this. I have just one class on Wednesdays and Fridays, two on Thursdays and three on Tuesdays. On Mondays, I have one class from 9 to 10, then a lovely long block of study time followed by an evening class (Church, Law, and Ethics) from 6:30 to 9. I'd rather not have evening classes, but some of the most interesting and useful electives are offered during evening blocks, likely because they also appeal to professionals pursuing continuing education.

As always, parking is popularly supposed to be a major hassle. Well ... it is, and it isn't, depending on your attitude. There is a huge parking lot directly across from the Div School building called the Q lot (it's alphabetically arranged). Very convenient for div students, most of whom are commuters -- however, it is also the main parking lot for all students, including many who live on campus, stash the car there, and seldom vacate their parking spaces. One can find a space there about 70% of the time. Here is where attitude comes in. When there isn't a space to be had, students can either park illegally; cruise for 15 or 30 minutes (really!) until a space opens up; or leave the Q lot and drive to the backup lot, the W1 lot. The W1 lot is near the main entrance to Wake Forest. Upon coming in, you would pass the law school on the right, then reach the W1 lot. From there, it's about a 10- to 15-minute walk to the Div School building. It's not a bad walk, and if you're in a hurry, no one minds if you take a shortcut across the soccer field.

I find that my pattern has been to go first to the Q lot and make a pass or two through for a space. If I find none, I go back to the W1 lot, find a space with no trouble, and walk to class. It's just a matter of making sure that one arrives at least 15 minutes before the start of class and factors in time to park. Screeching onto campus at 5 till the hour isn't going to work. Even on one day when circumstances contrived to put me behind schedule, I found I'd built in enough time to get to class on time. Mind you, that includes a schedule of getting up at 6 a.m., but that seems to me to be an entirely civilized hour. I've had worse.

I don't intend this to be bragging at all. I just find that I'm in a better frame of mind in class if I find a parking space and walk, if needed, than if I'd had to circle for half an hour. I don't need the frustration.

Chapel is at 11 on Tuesdays and Div student coffee time is at 11 on Thursdays, very nice. Everyone seems very friendly and projects an attitude of being glad to see us and glad we are in class.

I am, too.

Happy to be here.

Yours, in the economy of desperation :)

Beth

Weekly post

Aug. 22, 2005

Dear friends,

It feels as though one long journey has ended and another one has begun. My earlier blog postings have the story of the five years that have brought me to this time and place, and now I am just happy to be here, and eager for what will come next.
Divinity school orientation began Friday morning and took place all day Friday, half of Saturday and a little bit of Sunday night.
On Friday, we were talked to about class schedules, parking, multicultural immersion, diversity, student services, student counseling services, student health, the chaplain's office, plagiarism, security, financial aid, and development. On Saturday we were talked to about parking, student counseling services, student health, the chaplain's office, multicultural immersion, class schedules, and development. On tap for this morning is the counseling center, the learning center, student health, and the chaplain's office. This will be the third time around for most of these topics. After that, however, the fun begins.
"Advising begins" at 10:00, and my adviser is a Benedictine monk who (rats!) does not dress in his robes but wears T-shirts and shorts. Father Sam Weber, OSB, is soft-spoken, friendly, humorous and a bit distracted. I suspect being advised by him will be like being advised by my college adviser, also named Sam, who would practice Zen advising: "Sam, what if I do a, b, c with my schedule. Or do you think I should do it this way instead? Do I need to take xyz this semester?" Sam: "I don't know; what do you think you should do?"
I have a tentative idea of what I think might be a good first-semester course load. "They" recommend 12 to 15 hours; if I take New Testament I, Art of Ministry I, History of Christianity, and Congregational Healing Through the Art of Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, that will be 13 hours. The last is a 1-credit course, one of a dozen or so congregational administration courses the school offers. The classes are at such times that offer a sane schedule and allow for some on-campus study time. They also have the advantage of providing one course from each of the four sections into which coursework is divided: Bible, History and Theology, Ministerial Studies, and Electives.
I am tremendously excited! Classes begin on Wednesday. More information next week.
Grace and peace to you,
Beth

Weekly post

Aug. 15, 2005

Dear friends,

In less than a week, Things will finally start happening! Orientation begins Friday morning and continues through Saturday afternoon, with a Sunday night coffee house gathering thrown in. Registration will take place Monday and Tuesday, and classes begin the next day, Aug. 24. Woohoo! I'm tingling with anticipation, "at the start of a long journey whose destination is uncertain."

We finally heard from our daughter's teacher, and she sounds very nice. We should get a letter listing required school supplies this week (not any too soon, either!). Our son's teacher has six years of experience and has won teaching awards.

I think the parents in this house are more excited than the kids about public school starting up again, but I expect this to be a very good year for us all.

Next week, I will have a report on orientation weekend.

Until then,

Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

Aug. 8, 2005

Dear family and friends,
It seems as though I've been running in place for the last few weeks, waiting for the semester to start. Only two more weeks until Aug. 22, which is kickoff day. Meanwhile, I delivered the sermon yesterday that I mentioned in last week's post. It was well received.
The children go back to school a few days after I do, so the third week in August promises to be interesting around here. I've gotten my son's school supplies, but the school has not sent a similar list for the daughter, so we have no idea what we're supposed to be supplying. As for me, times have changed since I was an undergraduate. It seems the students all take notes on laptop computers they bring with them to class. I have been duly supplied with a laptop computer and so needed few other supplies. I do have a bookbag, and I also bought some notebook paper, a pack of ballpoint pens, and a few folders -- in liturgical colors, of course, red, purple and green.
We've all been enjoying sleeping late, sometimes not waking up until 7:30 or 8:00, but I foresee that changing. They don't tell you the bus schedule until the last minute, I guess to minimize the time for complaining, but I suspect the children will be getting up at 6:00 to avoid being rushed. I've heard other parents talk about how they wake their children just 15 minutes before the bus comes and then have to yell sleepy kids through getting dressed and eating breakfast. I think we'd rather get them up a little earlier and have a more civilized beginning. I expect that if years past are any indicator, the bus will come about 7 a.m., which means we'll wake them about 6 or 6:15. That sounds barbaric, but school starts at 7:30. Given all the studies showing how young people's brains do not get in gear that early, I'd rather see both elementary and secondary schools start at 8:30, with after-school activities adjusting as necessary. A school day ending at 2:30 or 3:30 doesn't make sense, now that we're not an agricultural society anymore. Very few children have to rush home to milk the cows. My high school day started at 8:40, and I don't remember feeling shortchanged in the slightest.
H'm. Stepping off soapbox now.
I've been told that about half of the 45 incoming divinity school students are Baptist, the other half being a healthy mix. I'm the only Lutheran, however. One student is 65, a few are between 45 and 65, six between 37 and 45, maybe a dozen between 25 and 37, and about half the students are under 25, meaning they're coming straight from undergraduate school. I hope it makes for some interesting classroom discussions! Some of us who remember Carter as president and some as "that Habitat guy."
That's more than enough for today. See you next week.
Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

Monday, Aug. 1, 2005
Back after a week of very relaxing vacation. I got the foundation laid for a new sermon, my husband was forcibly removed by a distance of several hundred miles from his lab, the children had fun, and a good time was had by all. The location was a beach house on a tiny tip of land on Chesapeake Bay, very remote and very quiet. Grand! Very renewing and healing.
Last week I got the chance to pre-register fot my very first class -- The Art of Ministry I for the fall semester. I know the instructor slightly -- it's a small school -- and her introductory material sounds at once sensible and challenging, speaking to ritual, community, faith and service.
Soon, in just a couple of weeks, it will be time for school supplies, bus schedules, and a whole shift in morning routines. "You can't go back to school too," my daughter informed me. "You're too old!" Well, I am a good 15 years older than many seminarians who enter straight from college. However, of the 45 or so students in my entering class, six are between ages 37 and 45, so I'm not the only one going out on a limb -- the theme for this year's orientation.
The sermon, to be preached next week, is on I Kings 19:9-8. When we order our lives toward movement, how to we allow the still, small voice to bring in the presence of God?
Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

Monday, Aug. 1, 2005
Back after a week of very relaxing vacation. I got the foundation laid for a new sermon, my husband was forcibly removed by a distance of several hundred miles from his lab, the children had fun, and a good time was had by all. The location was a beach house on a tiny tip of land on Chesapeake Bay, very remote and very quiet. Grand! Very renewing and healing.
Last week I got the chance to pre-register fot my very first class -- The Art of Ministry I for the fall semester. I know the instructor slightly -- it's a small school -- and her introductory material sounds at once sensible and challenging, speaking to ritual, community, faith and service.
Soon, in just a couple of weeks, it will be time for school supplies, bus schedules, and a whole shift in morning routines. "You can't go back to school too," my daughter informed me. "You're too old!" Well, I am a good 15 years older than many seminarians who enter straight from college. However, of the 45 or so students in my entering class, six are between ages 37 and 45, so I'm not the only one going out on a limb -- the theme for this year's orientation.
The sermon, to be preached next week, is on I Kings 19:9-8. When we order our lives toward movement, how to we allow the still, small voice to bring in the presence of God?
Grace and peace,
Beth