Path of God

I already bought my airline ticket for my January term class in Cambridge.  Very rarely do I buy my ticket so far in advance, but I decided that while I have the money, I should go ahead and make the commitment to go to Episcopal Divinity School (EDS).  School has been a dedication to financial, intellectual, and emotional energies. Do I believe that expending these energies is going to be worth it? Absolutely. In fact I think I've already felt and seen the benefits of studying at EDS. 

Possibly the greatest challenge that I have received from EDS is an appreciation of how people are oppressed by those in power, in particular due to race, gender, and socio-economic level.  I see all around me how I benefit from the power that being white and middle-class brings me.  EDS has pushed me to examine what I am going to do with the privileges that I receive.  I think many entries of this blog show how I am taking stock my life and what God wants me to do with what I am learning.

Since I've started my field education experience, I have been pushed even further to decide what I am going to do with my degree when I earn it.  Am I going to work toward helping those who are struggling with lack of resources or am I going to ignore the reality that I see around me?  I don't know what path my education is going to lead me, but I do know that none of it will be wasted.  This I know with every being of my heart AND I am ready for the challenge.

Matriculation

Today the new students at EDS were matriculated. I went through the same process last June. This formal worship service not only welcomes the new students into the academic family of EDS, but also defines their commitment to study as belonging to God.

The dictionary defines the verb, matriculate, as enrolling in a college or university as a candidate for a degree. Most schools consider students to be matriculated when they start going to school. As many other religious institutions do, EDS has a religious ceremony. The act of matriculation, rooted in traditional universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, is an opportunity to recognize the new students as members of the academic community.

At EDS the students state their "desire to be enrolled ... in the Episcopal Divinity School." The returning students, along with the faculty and staff, renew that they continue to be responsible to the service of God in both ministry and life. The new students then step up and sign the book that contains the signatures of previous new students.

The service was a wonderful opportunity for me to recognize that my studies were important to God as well as to the community. If each of us as we began our work in the world had the opportunity to formally sign a book and pledge our lives to the pursuit of knowledge and justice, would we consider our work to be less of a chore and more of an endeavor? Would we approach our daily lives as adventures? Would we see the skills that we bring to the world are in fact talents blessed by God?

What a difference we could all make in the world if we considered our life works to be a blessing and promise from God!

It's a small world

This afternoon I attended a holy union at my church. While there I met a man who earned a master's degree from Harvard Divinity School. We chatted a bit about Cambridge and he suggested that we go to lunch sometime to discuss spiritual stuff. He also gave me a couple of suggestions for some authors to check into.

What amazes me is that in Lubbock, Texas I met someone who has a connection to Cambridge. This past spring I met a man at my interfaith group who graduated from EDS and is a retired Episcopal priest in Lubbock. Really this world is very small.

The internet isn't even the thing that makes us connected. I didn't meet either of these people online. Yes the world wide web makes our world smaller, but I think what connects us and helps us make links to each other is God. If I figured the odds, they would be pretty slim that I would meet these people. However when God decides to put people together, there's no stopping the process.

God's Moving Me!

When Jason and deMarco visited my church in January, they talked about their move from California to Houston. One of them said that when God tells you that you're going somewhere, you'd better have your bags packed 'cause the move is coming quick. I knew God was telling me that changes were coming. Several months later I've packed my bags and God has moved me forward in my education.



I can't believe what an impact EDS has already had on me. My mind has stretched to consider what ministry can mean to anyone and everyone. I've met a great group of people who have helped push me to grow. James challenged me not to hide behind humor. I need to speak my truth without apology by backing off with humor. I knew when James said that to me that he had hit upon something that I hadn't acknowledged.