Weekly post

May 12, 2008

Dear friends,

To begin with, no news yet about financial aid from Columbia, but I will let you know as soon as I find out.

It's very hard for me to believe that this will be my last regular post as a WFUDS student. My first post to this blog was in the summer of 2005, preparatory to starting at the div school. How have three years gone by this quickly? (Answer: in the same slow-quick way that time plays tricks with children growing up.) A recap from a February post seems apropos here:

written 93 papers, sweated through 72 quizzes and exams, stacked up 99 required textbooks, provided 193 response papers, and given 17 presentations. I also will have attended 60 chapel services and enjoyed 68 community lunches, consumed 192 soft drinks and 217 cups of coffee, eaten 29 slices of pizza, and made 96 visits to the bookstore. Oh ... and logged 78 hours in Room 202.

And, a week from now, there will be no usual Monday blog posting because we'll all be off a-graduating. Me, excited? No way.

As before, I won't be posting over the summer, but am expecting to get word at some point about financial aid and housing (dorm or apartment -- don't know yet) and the blog will be back this fall, live (-ish) from the absolutely charming Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.

Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

May 5, 2008

Dear friends,

I have gotten word that I should find out about financial aid from LTSS by the end of this week. The financial aid person said that the school had been implementing a new computer system, necessitating training. I expect there's never a good time for that. I hope that next week's post will be able to lede with good news!

On Friday evening, we enjoyed the div school's end-of-year banquet, which is always a treat. The entertainment was a parody of an emergent church worship service, with many guitars, video screen, entreaties from the lead guitarist, etc. The songs cleverly parodied faculty and graduates, and we laughed so hard my throat was raw the next day.

I got off lightly! One of the songs began with the lead guitarist riffing and singing, "Bare feet are so spiritual, yeah, they are so spiritual..." A line later in the song revealed, "Morning on First Street, Kevin lights a cigarette that smells like Woodard's feet...." Classmates were waving cell phones (the modern equivalent of waving lighters at concerts), taking pictures of the words on the screen, and we all hope that the group will release a bootleg CD soon.

Around the table we swapped denominational jokes, most unrepeatable, and enjoyed the food and fellowship. At the end of the evening, seniors presented "pass-downs." The student president passed down the gavel, the premier party-giver passed down his title, that sort of thing. I passed down a turtle necklace to a classmate who started with us but who is not at the finish line yet because of some personal issues and lately an illness that has kept her housebound much of the semester. I also passed down a pair of flip-flops to a student for the purpose of taking on the honorable tradition of thinking better while barefoot, and a dollhouse couch to another student, representing my official seat in the student lounge.

Our daughter received her first communion yesterday. It was a very special morning. The girls were all wearing white dresses and the boys were almost uniformly in navy blazers. Our son will be confirmed next month, so an exciting and proud time for both children and for us, of course.

Primary election day tomorrow. I will vote early, though not often, and bite my nails staying up way past my bedtime watching for results from North Carolina and Indiana. What an interesting primary season it's proving to be.

We had a scare last week. My mother had a dizzy spell and briefly passed out. She had an overnight stay in the hospital and many, many tests, which fortunately found not much. She's okay and has been given instructions on what to do if it happens again.

As of Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at 9 p.m., I have completed! my academic obligations! to Wake Forest University Divinity School! (That, folks, is how you bury the lede.) Exiting, I think, in decent style, I expect to finish with straight A's for this semester and am very pleased with how my senior project turned out. Graduation! Monday, May 19. Directions and instructions in the mail.

Grace and peace,
Beth
Beth

Weekly post

April 28, 2008

Dear friends,

Still no word on financial aid from Southern, which promised information by mid-April. I called last week, but they did not have info for me, so I will probably call again today. I'm hoping to get the information this week, not least so that I can meet with Wake Forest's financial aid person assigned to div students and make sure I make the student-loan transition correctly. The federal-loan folks will need to know that I'm still a student!

I have only one more class session left but three (count 'em) papers. I'm hoping to get two of them done by tomorrow; the third is not actually due for another week. Because my schooling will keep going in the fall, the academic part doesn't feel like a transition. What does feel like a transition is knowing that I'm leaving the community that has been like home and family for three years. I've seen others graduate and know that despite good intentions on all sides, once you graduate, you really have to hop out of the nest and make room for other fledglings. These classmates and faculty I have held dear for three years -- in another couple of weeks, it's unlikely that I'll be talking with or crossing paths with them much.

The tricky part of life is that it does have this tendency to keep moving. As the kids say, it's all good.

Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

April 14, 2008

Dear friends,

After having spent the last two days more or less living at Kinko's, I finally have in print everything I need to have in print for my senior project. Two enlarged pages mounted on foam core for the presentation next week, three unbound, black-and-white, regular-size copies with fanatically precise margins required by the master's degree committee, and a final bound copy for my own vanity.

The professor for whom I will be working over the summer is firmly behind the idea of trying to get it published and has pledged his support, so that's my main project for the summer.

I have not yet heard from Southern, which promised financial aid bottom-line-type information by "mid-April." We are mid- and I am biting my nails. I'll let you know when I hear.

One paper left that's irritating me because I'm having a hard time getting a handle on it, and four incidental papers, are all that now stand between May 19 and me. The end is near.

Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

April 7, 2008

Dear friends,

What seemed on the surface like a quiet weekend, but really wasn't. Ever have one of those? I spent the whole day going places and doing things and by nightfall felt as though I hadn't gotten much accomplished. Made order out of the chaos of books and papers on the dining room table. Did the grocery shopping. Went to a funeral. Went to church. Got daughter new shoes; she's up to a size 1 1/2 and she's needed new shoes for at least two weeks. Took son to confirmation. Watched MLK documentary.

Yes, I got things done ... but felt kind of whirlwinded and unfulfilled ... although that might have had something to do with watching the UNC game. Let's not discuss that.

This week promises to be interesting, in a good way. On Tuesday afternoon, I'll head to Chapel Hill to hear Peter Gomes speak. He is the chaplain at Harvard and holds 36 honorary degrees (and several real ones). I'll spend the night with my parents, and on Wednesday morning, my mom will follow me back and attend the weekly Bible study at my church, followed by some thrift-shopping.

On Thursday evening, I'll be presenting a devotion in Contemplative Life class. I'm planning a narrative about a death-penalty vigil.

Three weeks of classes left, and seven papers. That sounds unbalanced, but they're all little papers, two-page responses to books read or class discussions. I'm planning on writing my senior project presentation talk tonight.

Then: Graduation May 19.

Grace and peace,
Beth

Weekly post

March 31, 2008

Dear friends,

For several years, I have been exploring and praying about why it was that Jesus had to die. I was never satisfied with theories that insisted on God's exacting payment as the reason, that Jesus had to be crucified as a condition of our reconciliation with God. Instead, I believe, God offers reconciliation first, not as an "if ... therefore."

I have begun lately to believe that perhaps Jesus died to show that there are no limits to his love, or God's ... and therefore no limits to the love we can show each other in God's name. It is a way of looking at the crucifixion, in light of the recent celebration of the Resurrection, that brings me peace.

Academically, I have handed in the draft of my senior project and eagerly await getting it back with notes, edits, and comments from the faculty supervisor. I'm also enjoying my classes in contemplative life and liturgical theology ... and (slightly!) looking forward to graduation.

On Saturday, I had my second round of helping with a Habitat for Humanity house. It's just as well that I don't lay flooring for a living, but Habitat always makes sure there are competent supervisors helping so that the family will get a well-constructed house.

Easter blessings to you all.
Grace and peace,
Beth

Weeky post

March 24, 2008

Dear friends,

My senior project/thesis is at Kinko's, and I am trying to keep my mind off it for a couple of days. It is the culmination of a year's worth of work -- I began this project last May -- that is itself the culmination of three years at WFUDS.

Um, woohoo.

The 32-page introduction is in place, five pages of citations, 36 color illustrations, and the all-important actual devotional pages. Draft copy to be handed in Friday with a minimum of fanfare. To be honest, I'm feeling really good about meeting the deadlines.

What's much more important, though, is that as I look over the finished product, I'm feeling really good about the quality of the work. I'm pleased with it. I think, if I may say so, that it's good writing and that it has the potential down the road to make a difference.

I'm enjoying meeting the other people (and animals) who seem to live in the house. I'm thoroughly enjoying being able to pick up a book and read it with no motive other than enjoyment.

Of classwork, little remains. The liturgical theology class meets three more times, which means three more papers and a final paper, but there's truly nothing else on my plate, so ... WOOHOO.

Grace and peace,
Beth