wesley seminary
wow, what an amazing two days i have had in washington, d.c.! no, i haven't been to the smithsonian yet, nor seen any cherry blossoms, nor been to any monuments. i have spent the last two days in the classroom, learning about the art of preaching. it has been thrilling.
my classmates are very diverse. there are sixteen of us, mostly from the d.c. area or the east coast. another from north carolina, one from alabama, one from hawaii, ohio, wisconsin, new orleans, and me, the only texan. yes, there have been comments about everyone wearing cowboy boots and the weather ("in wisconsin at winnertime we run outside, turn on our heaters, then run back inside. i heard you have to do that in texas in the summer with your a.c." "no," i said... but i may think about it come august!).
fully half of our group are women, half are persons of color, and half are not united methodist. there are even women baptist preachers! how cool is that? it's obvious i am a long way from home, when a woman can still be baptist and preach the word God has called her to preach. i am aware that there are a handful of baptist churches in texas where women are called to preach, but way too many of them are forced to serve in other areas, or only give testimonies. didn't Jesus tell mary magdalene to announce his resurrection? never mind-- wouldn't want to offend any of my readers. both are very supportive, and i'd hate to lose them (of course i'm married to one, so she's stuck).
i am very grateful for the witness of these new brothers and sisters in the ministry. four of us preach every day-- my turn is tomorrow at 3:00; should you have an opportunity to offer a prayer for me i would appreciate it. during my time in d.c., i will make an effort to write more frequently, plus it's dinner time, so i'll sign off for now.
my classmates are very diverse. there are sixteen of us, mostly from the d.c. area or the east coast. another from north carolina, one from alabama, one from hawaii, ohio, wisconsin, new orleans, and me, the only texan. yes, there have been comments about everyone wearing cowboy boots and the weather ("in wisconsin at winnertime we run outside, turn on our heaters, then run back inside. i heard you have to do that in texas in the summer with your a.c." "no," i said... but i may think about it come august!).
fully half of our group are women, half are persons of color, and half are not united methodist. there are even women baptist preachers! how cool is that? it's obvious i am a long way from home, when a woman can still be baptist and preach the word God has called her to preach. i am aware that there are a handful of baptist churches in texas where women are called to preach, but way too many of them are forced to serve in other areas, or only give testimonies. didn't Jesus tell mary magdalene to announce his resurrection? never mind-- wouldn't want to offend any of my readers. both are very supportive, and i'd hate to lose them (of course i'm married to one, so she's stuck).
i am very grateful for the witness of these new brothers and sisters in the ministry. four of us preach every day-- my turn is tomorrow at 3:00; should you have an opportunity to offer a prayer for me i would appreciate it. during my time in d.c., i will make an effort to write more frequently, plus it's dinner time, so i'll sign off for now.
Comments