Previews

Ten years ago, my pastor took me out of school for a day and brought me to Luther Seminary. I was sixteen and had never considered the 'pastor factory' or how they are assembled. I spent time in the classrooms, chapel and cafeteria with my peers from all over the Twin Cities. Our pastors had seen something both familiar and unique in each of us and wanted to spark a conversation about ministry and vocation.

There were no explicit miracles. I left happy that I had missed school, but far from convinced that a clerical collar was in my future. Still, the event introduced me to the big questions and a campus I would find again.

Today this event still exists. Previews continues to invite youth leaders and pastors from all over the Midwest to visit campus and find out more about what this seminary journey is all about. These high schoolers were as diverse a group as the students enrolled here, each with his or her own skepticism, questions and interest.

I told this group the truth. I told them that everyone here has a unique story and asks questions. I told them that there are plenty of people in seminary to become pastors and plenty of people in seminary to do other cool ministries like youth, music, service, lay and community organization. I told them that there is room for them here and that, though an open heart can be scary, God has plenty of passions and ideas with which to fill it.

And I told them to ask their pastors and youth leaders why they were chosen to come here today. It's a question that leads to more questions and in many directions, but it's the best question of all.

I ♥ my Teaching Parish

I have from time to time on this blog mentioned my Teaching Parish, Galilee Evangelical Lutheran Church in Roseville, Minn. This time, I want to gush about it.

Teaching Parish, known until this year as Contextual Leadership, is a requirement for Master of Divinity students in their first two years at Luther Seminary. Basically, it allows students to get a foothold in church leadership and apply some of their coursework to a real, live congregation. It's a pretty loose involvement, and it's not all that scary. As a classmate and I recently explained it to a Master of Arts student, "In Teaching Parish, you get your feet wet. On internship, you get your pants wet."

Unlike my future internship site, which has more than 3,000 members, Galilee has somewhere between 200 and 250. It's the smallest congregation I've ever been part of. It's also the most close-knit church community I've ever been part of. They do fellowship very, very well at Galilee. There is also a great deal of involvement from a large percentage of the congregation. My wife's family, which has come to worship with us at Galilee a couple times, was blown away by the number of Sunday School teachers installed last year—as many or more teachers than at my in-laws' 3,000-member home church.

It seems like not long ago at all that Tracy and I first visited Galilee as a potential Contextual Leadership site. But it's been nearly two years, and I've got less than a month to go in my formal relationship with Galilee. And it makes me a little teary-eyed. Although some students consider Teaching Parish another hoop to jump through on the way to ordained ministry, the people at Galilee have made my experience easily one of the most valuable parts of my first two years at seminary. So much of my coursework would have been far less meaningful (and far more overwhelming) without being able to put it in practice. And Galilee has certainly affirmed my call to pastor-hood more than anything else at seminary.

In my two years at Galilee, I've attended dozens of worship services, delivered about a half-dozen sermons and children's sermons, served as assisting minister a couple times, taught Sunday School for much of last year and led a Bible study at a fantastic men's retreat last summer. I've been working one on one in confirmation classes this year with an exceptionally bright student named Joanna who is about to become Galilee's only confirmand this year, and it has been a really rewarding experience as we both have gotten to know the Old Testament better. Meanwhile, I've learned so much from a member of the congregation who happens to be an emeritus professor at Luther. On Sunday, I got to lead my first adult forum, on miracles in the book of Acts, and Tracy was a lay reader for the first time. Tracy has also had the chance to get involved with the reorganization of the church library. It has been a great opportunity all around for both of us.

What has been especially exciting, for me and for all the people at Galilee, is that the congregation is now in the process of calling a new pastor. Dick Carlson, my original supervisor at Galilee, retired in October. Since then, the congregation has been blessed with Pastor Mike Hanson as an interim shepherd, and I've learned a lot from him as I've interviewed him for several course projects.

And last night, in a key phase of that transitioning process, Galilee held a church-wide meeting to review its Congregational Mission Profile and present it to St. Paul Area Synod Bishop Peter Rogness. I had never gotten to see this process before—I've always been on the pastor's end as my dad went from call to call—so this was new to me. And it was inspiring to hear the people of this congregation that I've come to love talk about their hopes for remaining a close-knit (but not closed-door) community while recognizing that they have a Christian responsibility to welcome more people into that community. Galilee has a lot of opportunities, given its location at the intersection of neighborhoods that are home to people of different cultures and incomes, and I can't wait to see how things will turn out once a new pastor is on board.

So thanks be to God for Galilee! I'm going to miss these folks. That's enough gushing for one blog entry. Unless, of course, any of you readers have any great Contextual Leadership experiences of your own to share ...

Women in Public Ministry & the Pulpit

I'm an ENFP (shock), so one of my favorite things about Luther Seminary has been the opportunity for independent studies. I love to dream them up, design them, plan them and track down a faculty member who has the resources and passion to say YES as an advisor.

Of 30 total credits in the MDiv program, 4.5 are electives (I think). Most of my independent studies have been for .5 each and have counted for some kind of core credit I have needed for graduation. This little ditty is no different.

Earlier this fall, two of my classmates and I decided to take some time to think about our future role as ordained women in public ministry. We knew that spring would move quickly and it was important to all three of us that we reflect and learn more about our own female and pastoral identities in this sacred time between internship and first call.

Melodi Hagen, Kari Casper and I designed this course with Dean of Students Patricia Lull and truly enjoyed it. Together we came up with a plan:

• We each chose 3 books to read that would engage our questions about this identity.
• We have been interviewing women in public and ordained ministry we admire and have questions for
• We have been journaling about our reflections about the books, interviews, and a scriptural passage that would guide and center us during this course, each unique to God's call in our lives right now.
• We planned an afternoon tea for several ordained female faculty that took place yesterday.

We were eager to share what we've been learning with them, but mostly curious about their stories and wisdom. For two hours we sat together, both in laughter and all seriousness, learning about their challenges and joys along the way. I confided that, until coming to Luther Seminary in 2004, I had only encountered two distinct styles of female clergy leadership and that I did not seem to fit into either category.

This campus blessed me with female professors, leaders, staff and mentors who had gone before me and found ways to be uniquely themselves. This surely guided me on internship, where I started on the journey of becoming myself pastorally and personally despite the absence of other women in or pursuing ordained ministry as local role models.

I remember the day my clergy shirts came in the mail last year (I blogged about it) and that I suddenly had a new awareness for the clash, blend and dynamic mystery of being both woman and pastor. I am grateful to this place for teaching me the things we are all supposed to know, but also for giving me the space and opportunity to learn the things I, Meta Herrick, am supposed to explore.

The finale for this independent study and our seminary career will be celebrated with a week that sounds like punishment to anyone less interested in preaching. Like kids in a candy store, we will walk among the preaching giants at the Festival of Homiletics during the week between classes and graduation, hosted by Minneapolis. While this might not sound like Disneyland to some, it is gold to those in awe of and humbled by the craft of preaching. We will soak it all in, five final days as little seedlings, before being sent into the world to be ourselves, both women and preachers.

How good it has been to grow in a place for four years that says YES to my independent ideas and needs. How good it has been to grow in a place where fabulous women take time to tell you about their pulpits and people, calls and wonderings. How good it has been to grow in a place where we are treated (rightly) both as little seedlings and as proclaimers with a powerful message of the Holy Spirit. How good it has been to grow in a place where you meet classmates who will spend a week at Preacher Disneyland with you, listening to and being changed by the truth.

Attention Professors

It's spring.

I know you're excited about the material we need to cover today. You might be tempted to push past the scheduled break time each hour or forget to watch the clock all together because it's so interesting. You might ask us if we want to push through and finish earlier.

We'll say yes, but we don't mean it.

It just falls out of our mouths because we're crazy and we say it before really thinking about it. Maybe some of us really DO want to finish early, but that doesn't mean we're really "here" for the final sprint. We'd like to be, but it's not that simple. Regardless of our answer and intentions, pushing on will mean you've already lost us.

It's beautiful out and the classrooms are now a bit warmer, causing our eyelids to droop. We'll say silly things like, "Yes, please proceed" and we'll try to look like we're paying attention, but most of us are, instead, wondering:

• Who said yes first and caused this?
• Wait. All I heard was finish early. I think that promise was contingent upon staying focused until then.
• Ahhhh!
• Was this a good investment? Are we getting more/less break time by moving it all to the end?
• Which of my neighbors is as restless as I am and can I make eye contact with him/her for validation?

I would recommend sticking to the 50/10 rule of thumb...or even breaking it down to a 25/5 as the birds start to sing more loudly. We want to stick with you, but the Old Adam smells spring.

A Weekend Away

Nothing fancy. Just a road trip to Regina, Saskatchewan. I'd never been to North Dakota (I know), and it didn't take me long, with an atlas in the backseat, to figure out that I was going to see most of it.

Matt was the best man in a wedding up dere this past weekend and driving was the least sane/most affordable option. We buddied up with an usher from the wedding and packed the car with everything you need for rain, snow, sun and a special occasion.

We left on Thursday night as the storm set in. Roads were terrible and visibility was minimal for most of Minnesota and North Dakota, but the air inside the car was filled with humor and optimism. I can't think of two guys I'd rather make the trek with, their attitudes filled with perseverance even when we were whited out or struggled to keep a consistent speed of 35 mph.

The trip there was marked by lame stories we all had time for, tiny towns, big sky, good music, fast food and a difficult border crossing. It turns out Matt is flagged at the border (it couldn't be a more innocent reason) and we got to know the border patrol staff more intimately than we had time for. We arrived in time to pull ourselves together, looking mildly presentable for the rehearsal and dinner.

Before long, it was time to turn around again and head home!

The wedding was lovely and the couple so happy, but most of my memories from the weekend are kept in a Toyota creeping through cornfields. I would try to sleep, curling up in the back and drifting off, then would wake to hear good friends up front deep in all kinds of words and memories. Sometimes the longest routes and most inconvenient paths become great adventures and opportunities for reconnecting and discovering.

I spent all kinds of time with Matt and his friends. I heard great stories about the bride and groom, things I'd never known about them. I confirmed that Matt is good at giving toasts and can make anyone laugh. I learned that the Canadian border patrol aren't messing around and that I'm more awkward playing blackjack in an actual casino than at my own kitchen table. (Virtual horse racing is more my style.) I am now certain that I love sleep. I now know that Girl Scout Cookies are called Girl Guide Cookies in Canada (which will stick with me since I thought they were saying Girl Guy Cookies.) I have confirmed that I never turn down an Arby's Roast Beef, but that they lose their luster and I miss the gym after a few. I discovered the northern plains, snowy and sunny.

The big day came!

I've got a ton of reading to do tonight for a book report for my Pastoral Care class, but I couldn't allow myself to be any more overdue in updating y'all about the big day. The day that I had been waiting for. The day upon which an entire year of my life was hanging.

April 8 came. And, yep, "Matlock" came out on DVD. You may recall my excitement about this big day because of Tracy's love for the 1980s-90s courtroom drama starring Andy Griffith. Despite her delight at the Hallmark Channel's celebration of "Mad Mad Matlock Week" last week, Tracy actually forgot that Tuesday was the day when "Matlock" Season 1 was to be released on DVD, but I ... I mean "the Matlock Fairy" ... didn't. When Tracy went to bed on Tuesday night, she found that the Matlock Fairy had left a copy of the newly released DVD set on her pillow. She was surprised and overjoyed. So now 2008-09 can be the year that we relive the magic of Ben Matlock's entire historic first season. Case closed.

What's that? You thought maybe I was talking about another big day upon which an entire year of my life was hanging? Oh ... Internship Announcement Day. Yes, yes. I almost forgot. That ended up being April 4. All of us Master of Divinity students who were planning to go on internship in 2008-09 got an e-mail message telling us where we'd be placed. For some people, this let them know where in the country they'd be moving. One of my friends found out he'd be going to Alaska (and he was actually very excited about this). Due to Tracy's career, I hoped to remain in the Twin Cities, and God (and the seminary's Contextual Leadership Initiative) didn't let us down.

I'm going to be interning at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. This was exciting news. Bethlehem was one of three Twin Cities internship sites that seemed to offer particularly great opportunities in the areas where I wanted to focus, and Bethlehem has been especially good at growth both in membership and discipleship. The church had 92 baptisms last year! It's both a Lutheran church and a Purpose-Driven church, which should make for a particularly fascinating experience. Plus my future supervisor is originally from Wisconsin, which is great (although she also apparently likes to use Comic Sans MS font, and she questioned my aversion to it at the end of my interview). I'll start interning in August, immediately after I finish my clinical ministry experience at hospitals just north of the Twin Cities.

So there you go. The next year looks to be full of great opportunities. And Matlock.

Lesser Known Nuggets from the Luther Seminary Student Handbook, or Hey You're Friggen Right, I Should Read That Through

I was recently made aware of something very disturbing here at Luther Seminary. Students can receive reimbursements for up to $300 per academic year for professional counseling services. Deep within the Student Handbook is a message from our Dean of Students, Patricia Lull, in which she lays out the details of the plan.
Check it out for yourself: http://www.luthersem.edu/student_services/handbook/student_services/counseling.asp

“Great,” one might say. “Harumph,” I respond. Apparently, claims Dean Lull, “health and wholeness as real human beings is a necessary asset for ministry.” Not only that but Student Services encourages students to “make use of such professionals when you are ready to address more complicated issues in your life as a seminarian.” As someone who struggles with depression I know the best thing to do is grin and bear it, pull up my bootstraps, think happy thoughts, give smiles a chance, read more positive bumper stickers, think about tomorrow, fantasize about gumdrops and whiskers on stray cats, give a little whistle, buy some new merchandise, view a series of happy emoticons...better yet send some out, and stay on the sunny side of life.

Access to a faculty adviser, seminary pastor, Student Services staff and myriad peers is enough of an insult to my ability to handle all this stuff on my own, now they go and connect students without prior counseling connections with a qualified, reputable agency (Westminster Counseling Center) and abet all engaged in counseling with funds to make it more cost-effective. Where does Luther get the nerve? Churches of the ELCA deserve rostered leaders and educated lay-persons adorned not with humanity and an honest awareness of one’s own struggles but rather strong examples with the grace to not admit vulnerability, the courtesy not to ask for help, and love that knows oneself doesn’t matter. For years, over-eating, substance abuse, and internet porn have been serviceable alternatives to counseling for clergy. Why should that change now?

Again, that link is: http://www.luthersem.edu/student_services/handbook/student_services/counseling.asp).

If I hadn’t mentioned it before, that link can be accessed here: http://www.luthersem.edu/student_services/handbook/student_services/counseling.asp).

April Showers

It rained all day yesterday, an appropriate forecast for my first bridal shower.

Even more than the lovely gifts and the delicious food, I was grateful for so many wild, wise and wonderful women together in one room. They hooted and hollered, told stories and made connections, hugged and recalled where and when they first met me. As they introduced themselves to the group, I realized that I am related to them indirectly or not at all, though I call most of them my aunts. My mother's distant cousins are not so distant and her friendships have birthed mentors and role models for me along the way.

I see myself in each of them - Judy taught me Suzuki piano and, though my meager musical gifts have since faded, I have her to thank for my quick ear. Helen lived with my mom in college and sent me on study abroad programs while I, too, was at St. Olaf. "Aunties" remember my adoration for public nudity as a child and have nurtured all things wild about me since then.

Other women are more recent additions to this kingdom of support, walking before me into motherhood with grace and humor. Their daughters toddled around with packaging ribbons and glee, creating gratitude for the women I call my sisters in this "family". And without much effort, my dear girlfriends and I are building a web like this one to catch and carry our "daughters" to come.

With each gift I opened, the giver offered a word of advice for our marriage. Those were recorded and will be kept as precious offerings from the wild and wise in my life.

It is good to have family, but it is also beautiful to build one from the people who hold and cherish you as their own. Thank God for April showers.

Oh, what a night

Brian's last post, about mission and zits, caused a reader of this blog to question whether we're truly representing the best of what Luther Seminary has to offer. Well, the truth is we aren't. Or we weren't. That's because we're a couple days overdue in discussing the seminary's third annual Mission Auction and Variety Show, which indeed showcased the best of what Luther has to offer—in music, fashion and comedy.

I think Brian only neglected to mention it and wrote about zits instead because he was being modest. He didn't want to toot his own horn for the stunning rendition of Michael W. Smith's "Place in This World" that he performed in the variety show. It was really ... something. I can't quite describe it. But he had the people waving their cell phones all across the Chapel of the Incarnation.

That, of course, was only one highlight of the evening. There was also a well-choreographed musical number featuring the seminary's entire administrative cabinet. And much more. I really can't do it all justice. This page gives you all the details. If you look at that page, you'll also notice the huge array of auction and raffle items and the figure of $5,900-plus that the event raised for the seminary's International Student Scholarship Fund and the St. Paul-based Keystone Community Services.

I'm not as modest as Brian, and I mention all this partly because I had a small part in the evening's events. Dr. Skinner's Discipleship group, of which I am a proud member, performed a skit suggesting a new way to locate graduating Master of Divinity students in their first congregations: via "Deal or No Deal." My friend, Janel, who masterminded the sketch, served as the pastor-to-be contestant, and I played host Howie Mandel alongside a large supporting cast, but Dr. Skinner stole the scene as the devil who offered the deals. Things went mostly according to plan, and, where they didn't, I had fun applying the old improv experience.

If you missed the show, you're in luck: That page I keep mentioning includes a video of the entire two-hour event. It might take a while to load in its entirety, and there are some unintentional special effects that flicker throughout the video, but it's the next best thing to being there for this night of charity and community. The "Deal or No Deal" act begins at 101:30, but make sure you check out Brian's song (which is every bit as moving as the classic movie of that name) at about the 28-minute mark.

Thanks to Allison Schmitt of the seminary Communication Office for the photos.

A Missional People Gets Popping

Here at Luther Seminary we talk about being a missional people, living in the reality that our existence into the family of God by the faith of Jesus Christ that comes to us as pure gift is also a call to go to the neighbor sharing the gospel, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked…

Another concept that is thrown around a lot at Luther is missio Dei, or Latin for, missio Dei. This is the theological understanding that God is at work throughout the world, creating, redeeming, saving. Certainly this mission is the proclamation of the good news of the cross of Christ (classically understood as the missio ecclesiae, or Latin for, missio ecclesiae) but many consider (including Kevin and myself) that it also includes so-called humanitarian work, inter-religious dialogue, peace-making, justice and advocacy work, even environmental endeavors. The idea is that God is busy at work and that work pops up and out all over the place. Discovering where God’s work is oozing out into the world, and then joining in is the joy and adventure of the Christian life and that of the Church.

It’s kind of like my back zits. They are all over my back, waiting to be uncovered and exposed. However, somebody has to go looking, exploring, scratching, and popping.Let us, therefore, get talking, keep our eyes peeled and risk everything in the freedom of Christ to serve the neighbor in the pluriform reality of God’s saving work. And if someone has a sterile clothespin I could use a hand.

Freelife

I didn't believe the forecast until the snow started falling yesterday. Big, wet flakes that meant business. They swirled and painted St. Paul like a snow globe scene and confusing those of us most eager for Spring. April Fools?

I drove through the flakes and slush with my best friend to the Fine Line last night. The Hotel Cafe Tour was in town and it was worth the hassle of getting downtown, as many Twins fans would agree on the home opener! Several of our favorite sappy singer/songwriters were coming through town to play together, a sold out show that heavy snow couldn't defeat.

Meiko, Cary Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson, Dan Wilson and Josh Radin shared the stage, feeding off our energy and their love for touring together. Dan Wilson, a Minneapolis native, was welcomed home with open arms and performed his latest hit, Freelife. I wanted to share just the chorus with you:

And in the air the questions hang

Will we get to do something

Who we gonna end up being

How we gonna end up feeling

What you gonna spend your free life on?

Free life

This theology nerd found herself arguing silently for and against its heretical tendencies during the ballad, knowing all along that my love for Dan Wilson's thought and style would trump any confessional discrepancies. He takes a word like "Freedom", sometimes overused and misused these days, and melodically sings the questions innately hidden.

We face decisions regarding our planet, our policies, our relationships, our values and our faith all day long. And even when we don't wonder aloud, something inside wants to know what we can do and if it matters. Dan said he wrote this song because "bitching about the wordlessness of Freedom wasn't getting anyone anywhere".

Today the mound of thick snow melted slowly off my car and into the gutters. The sun is out and the natives have exchanged coats for fleece, vests and sunglasses. And even though Dave Dahl said it was coming - the snow and the sun, the slush and the melting - it still surprised me with wonder.

So much can change overnight.

Faking news

Well, folks, I'm back from another inexcusable blogging hiatus. I can only cite the midterm rush, a convergence of other responsibilities and, well, yes, the mourning over Favre's retirement for my absence. (Thanks, Brian, for being so prolific in my absence. With that, I forgive you for your blatant abuse of Copperplate font.)

I'd love to use this entry to describe what's going on at Luther Seminary, as has been my charge as a blogger, but that will have to wait for another post. Instead, since it's April Fools' Day, I'd like to give you a peek at what isn't going on at Luther Seminary. I had the honor of contributing to the long-awaited 2007-08 edition of the Noncord (Luther students' answer to The Onion), which was distributed today. Although I welcome you to read the entire publication here (particularly if you can appreciate inside jokes), I wanted to mark the special occasion of April 1 with a peek at one of my contrived contributions, a hard-hitting expose written under a anagrammatic pseudonym. Although the events depicted aren't real, the location is ... actually, it's kind of surreal.


LIBRARY TYPEWRITER USED
Room in book stacks has first occupant since early ‘90s

M.Div. middler Dan Drahmaier is shown using the typewriter in the Luther Seminary library’s typing room in this photo captured Monday morning by a fellow student’s cell phone.

By Teddy Henbarn

A Luther Seminary student on Monday used the typewriter in the library’s fourth-floor typing room for the first time in at least 15 years, according to library staff.

Staff and student witnesses say Dan Drahmaier, an M.Div. middler, had plugged in the Brother AX-350 and could be seen typing on a white piece of paper for several minutes on Monday morning before shutting himself inside the small, metal room.

M.A. junior Heather Cromwell said she was looking for Genesis commentaries in the book stacks around 10:20 a.m. when she heard a flurry of mechanical punching and beeping noises coming from the corner of the stacks.

“I had never heard those noises before—at first I thought something was wrong with the copier,” said Cromwell, 22. “But I followed the noise to this little closet with a placard that said, ‘typing.’ I peeked in there and saw a guy typing on what looked like a really old laptop, only without any screen.”

Cromwell reported the unusual activity to staff members working at the circulation desk, who alerted Library Services Director David Stewart. Stewart accompanied Cromwell to the typing room, where Drahmaier continued to type. Stewart attempted to greet the typist, and Cromwell snapped a photo of him with her cell phone just as a startled Drahmaier shut the harvest-gold-painted door. The typewriter noises then resumed, the witnesses said.

“This was really something,” Stewart said. “I talked to the entire library staff. We can’t recall from our entire careers here an instance of anyone else ever using this typewriter.”

There are two such typing rooms in the seminary book stacks, Stewart noted. The other, on the stacks’ third level, has been padlocked. Stewart said that room houses another typewriter, along with a mimeograph machine and an abacus.

“We have kept the typing room on the fourth level open just to make sure we’re catering to the full spectrum of library users—that includes users who still find themselves in the 20th century,” Stewart said. “We just didn’t want to leave anyone asking, ‘O Brother, where art thou?’”

Asked what sort of word-processing tasks might be better suited for a typewriter than for one of the seminary’s many computer stations, Stewart said, “Ransom notes, maybe.”

Drahmaier did not return several calls requesting comment. He nonetheless can be clearly identified as the student in the photo from Cromwell’s cell phone.

Results of an open records request made by the Noncord to Computer Services show that Drahmaier had ignored 30 days of warning messages advising him to change his password and was locked out of his LutherNet account on Sunday.

Professor Alan Padgett, instructor for Drahmaier’s Jesus the Savior and the Triune God course, said students in the class had a midterm paper due Monday afternoon. Padgett said Drahmaier’s paper featured Courier typeface, suffered from irregular spacing between lines of type and included several instances of the word eschatology spelled without an h.