~Correction~

Aug. 30, 2006

From time to time, in this space, we will correct errors that have been drawn to our attention.~Editor.

Dear friends,

I wrote on Monday that my schedule was elective-heavy. That is incorrect. A quick look at the requirements list reminded me that Pastoral Care and Intro to Spiritual Life are required, as is Art of Ministry II. Therefore, four out of my five courses this fall are required. I feel so much better.

Thank you.

~Correction~

Aug. 29, 2006

From time to time, this blogs corrects errors that have occurred in this space that have been called to its attention.--Editor

Dear friends,
When I wrote yesterday that this semester appeared elective-heavy, it was without having recently looked at the list of div school requirements. It turns out now that four of my five courses this semester are, in fact, requirements.

It also appears that it is going to be very psychologically neat to have "Preaching, Worship & the Care of Souls" immediately preceding "Introduction to Pastoral Care." More on that to come as the semester develops.

In faith,
Beth

Weekly post

Aug. 28, 2006

Dear friends,

Knowing that I would be studying Greek this year, I made an effort to surround myself with slightly less intensive courses, at least in the fall semester. I will have to ramp up in the spring for two reasons, but it turns out anyway that Pastoral Care and Preaching, Worship & the Care of Souls are both more reading-heavy than I had thought.

I will have to be more intensive in the spring if I can, because I will have to take Hebrew my third year and therefore want to knock out as many "heavy" courses as I can; this semester, other than Greek, leans toward electives (although they fulfill requirements, to be sure). I will also have to be more intensive in the spring because of Theology.

I have a course transfer that meets the requirements of Theology I but not Theology II. Therefore, this semester I am "only" doing the required reading for Theology I, without the class sessions, papers or exams. That helps give me time to get some kind of a foundation in Greek. In the spring, however, Greek continues but I will add Theology II. I've seen the syllabus for Theology I and it's a killer. Theology is dense reading anyway, of the sort that takes 10 minutes a page instead of 1. A 20-page assignment can easily consume more than an hour. It's like lead as opposed to eggshells. But I think having to do the reading without the class sessions, papers or exams will be a way to ease into the course so that Theology II isn't as much of a shock to the system.

I'm still on target to have to take only 12 hours in the fall semester of my third year and nine hours in the spring. That will be my reward for the heavy lifting earlier on! One devoutly hopes.

Grace and peace,
Beth

First blog of the school year

Aug. 24, 2006

Dear friends,

The school year has begun, and I'm now a second-year student! Over the summer, I completed a 10-week, 400-hour unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, serving as a chaplain intern at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had, and truly transformative.
In September, I will begin working 8 to 10 hours a week as a congregational intern at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in High Point. As soon as I figure out how, I'll add a link to its site from my blog home page.
Following is my schedule for this fall:

M T W TH F


Greek Greek Greek

Preaching, Internship PW&CS Internship
Worship &
Care of
Souls

Pastoral PC
Care
Intro to
Spiritual
Life

In addition, I have the syllabus, books and access to lectures online from Theology I. I'll be keeping up with the reading for that course, from which I am exempted by course transfer, so that I can take Theology II in the spring. It all looks challenging but manageable.

I'll post every Monday morning by 10:00. Some weeks, when term papers and exams press, the posts will be short, but I will post every Monday morning.

Thanks for keeping up with the journey!

In faith,
Beth