Singing Along the Journey

formation

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More

Shh…it is finally happening…

I'm sitting in the Starbucks at the Raleigh-Durham airport right now, with my first year of seminary behind me and a great adventure before me, an adventure I have waited many, many years to undertake.   I've been so busy with school and my own formation and a bit of singing here and there, that I just haven't mentioned it much.  And I must confess that even as I boarded the plane at Reagan National this morning,  I wasn't clear enough from the fog of study and preparation to be sure that it was real.  But as I sit here, waiting for the rest of my travel group to arrive, it…
Read More

Holy, holy, holy…

One of the great joys of this time of formation and learning known as "going to seminary" is the opportunity to pull together pieces of learning and devotion that I thought were long ago lost and abandoned.  Right now, I am especially enjoying a class called "Introduction to Judaism," for just that reason.  A very wise friend asked me if I thought that I might be bored in this class, given that my Masters in history focused on the Middle East and Judaica.  But this class has not only given me the opportunity to remember much of what I learned, but the chance to experience as a living, breathing faith…
Read More

Something I noticed…

Last night we had our first meeting of a class I have been anticipating for months -- The Teaching Church.  It is, for me, the beginning of my real education.   It was the work that I have begun to do as a teacher and the awareness of my call to teaching that has been slowly developing in me for the past couple of years that brought me to the doors of this seminary, and it was the one chance meeting with the particular educator who teaches this class that made VTS my school of choice over Andover Newton. And last night did not disappoint -- there is nothing more invigorating than…
Read More

A first semester report card…

Not that kind of report card.    Well, a little bit that-kind-of-report-card. I've had the chance to learn a lot about what it means to be part of a liturgically-based denomination in my first months at seminary and I must admit that I'm intrigued by some of the traditions,how they developed over the years and how they manifest themselves in the 21st century.  One of these practices refers to something called  Ember days.  Mostly, I hear people talking about Ember days because those are the days that, by tradition, the students are expected to communicate in some way (the format often depends on the technology-savvy nature of their individual bishops)…
Read More

And yes, now it is time for a research paper…

Seven years ago (such a very long time ago, it seems now), I had the idea to produce a concert on Good Friday at my then very new place of employment, the Calvary Baptist Church.  I was not yet a member.  The truth was, very few people in the congregation knew anything about me except that I sang with great gusto in the choir and seemed to be pleasant enough to talk to at the coffee hour.  In the previous year, someone of great importance in my musical and spiritual life had died, and I wanted to do a concert in his honor for one of his favorite charities.  I…
Read More

And why is it that I follow Jesus?

Yes, that is our question of the day.  Not an easy question, but one with a simple answer:  I follow Jesus because that is what I must do.   And if I tell the truth, there are days I would rather not. There are days when the price feels too high, in terms of energy and sacrifice. There are days when it feels really, really lonely to follow Jesus. There are days when it seems like a fairy tale, a myth, a totally implausible belief that God could be made flesh and walk upon this earth, experiencing anger and illness and pain and joy, just as we do.  There are many days when…
Read More

What’s my style, anyway?

This week we read a variety of works on writing style.  It was interesting to go back and read Strunk and White's essay on style again, many years and many words after the first reading.  And it is an even more interesting task to answer the question of the week:  what's my style, anyway?  That wasn't specifically the question we are asked to answer, but it is my summary of the exercise. Actually, I realize after reading our assigned writings that the question of style almost never crosses my mind.  Because I have done so many different types of writing (almost everything except fiction and poetry), the primary concern for…
Read More

Writing, writing, and more writing…

To those of you reading this entry:  this particular entry is the first in a series of writing assignments that will be posted to this blog.  As such, it goes to two different audiences.  I wanted those of you who occasionally read my ramblings to know that we are welcoming in a new audience, my new classmates in my current great adventure. One of the reasons that I selected the program at VTS was that as a Masters student I would have an opportunity to create the program that met my needs and the needs of my own individual call.  I would not be bound by a list of requirements…
Read More

The real first day…

Yes, I've already had my first day of school picture and worn my new dress.  I've tried out my new computer/book bag; I've had my share of adjustment pains with changes in schedule and with getting to know new people and a new place.  And I've dealt with the adjustment of sitting  in classes for long stretches of time, something that my not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body is not always so happy to do.  I've figured out that I need one set of glasses for reading Hebrew "tittles and tots" correctly, and I've dealt with the humbling reality that learning a dead language is not nearly so easy as learning one you can…
Read More

Preparing the way…part the second

After days of pitching out mementos and piles of paper, sending books to new homes, taking no longer needed clothing to a place where it was more in need and building furniture with confusing but ultimately accurate cartoon drawings to guide my assembly process...after all those days doing cleanup and reorganization the day finally came:  the first day of orientation. [caption id="attachment_2138" align="alignleft" width="300"] Okay, I look more than a little nervous.[/caption] And so I spent yesterday getting to know this new community into which I have been led.  I met people who had arrived on campus after 16 and 19 hour long flights -- their first airplane flight ever,…
Read More