Going Full Steam

Three weeks into the semester, and I have finally attended a full week of classes!

It's been a busy week, but I'm beginning to feel like I have a handle on things for the semester. On Tuesday, when I walked into Hebrew and realized I was a lesson behind I got a bit worried, but as I sat through that class I began to realize that I still love languages and Biblical Hebrew is no exception. I really feel like I'm learning it well now, and I'm looking forward to finishing a semester of it.

All my other classes are fantastic as well, I am truly enjoying them all. I am taking Church History 2 which covers the time of the Reformation to the present. I always love learning about the Reformation and Luther, and I'm going to enjoy the rest of the history as well. Then I'm taking Introduction to Worship as well as Music in the Contemporary Church. They are both fantastic classes about Christian worship, and they are making me so much happier to be involved in worship and think about ways to create it and lead it. I'm also taking Old Testament 1, and I always enjoy studying the Old Testament. Finally, I'm taking Spanish for Ministry.

I started Spanish along with everyone else last week. Since it was a week later to start than the other classes, I didn't miss anything. I began in the Spanish 2 class and I was a bit worried that it would be too far advanced for me. However, the first class was fantastic and I'm enjoying getting back into my Spanish, which I gave up at the end of high school. At the time I was burnt out on Spanish, but now that I've discovered my love of languages I'm excited to be back into it again. I am also attending a liturgical Spanish workshop, which will hopefully come in handy. When I'm working at Parkland hospital this summer, I am hoping that when I encounter someone whose first language is Spanish, I will at least be able to make an effort to pray for them in their native language. I'd hope that would be comforting to someone needing the kind of comfort they will need in that place.

Tuesdays are a long crazy day, and I'm exhausted by the time I get home, but the things I am learning are worth it. The rest of my days are easier, still working in the library, and spending most of my time at home learning how to read and write papers with George between me and whatever I'm doing. He's doing well, and he got a few new toys this weekend. Hopefully they'll help to distract him if he's distracting me too much.

It's just a week and a half until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I've been struggling with my spirituality on occasion over the past year, but I am eager to move into this and the Easter season, as I rediscover the beauty of worship and my place in it. I feel like it is going to be a wonderful semester.

Peace and love,
Kathryn

By the way: Did you know that the Alb (the white robe worn by worship leaders) is supposed to signify the purity and cleansing from sin we receive in baptism, and those wearing them are representing the baptism of all the assembly? Neat! More people should know that.

Busy Week and Many Churches

So another successful week has past.

I'm still keeping quite busy, and this week I've been working on my Exegetical paper for New Testament. I'm studying the story of Jesus walking on water in Matthew, and it is fascinating what I've been able to learn so far. I like that in my New Testament class we will be studying each book individually, and we can better understand the picture each of the gospel writers were giving of Jesus. I am enjoying getting to know the Bible better in this way. In Church History I am also quite enjoying myself as we discuss Constantine and monasticism. I love history, and learning the history of our Church is like learning all the family stories. The class is wonderful and I'm always excited about going to it.

I'm still keeping busy with work and being out with my friends. I'm also still working on balancing all of that out, but it is nice to have the problem of too many social engagements rather than too few. I have successfully become a crocheter as well as a knitter, and I get together with several women on Sunday afternoons to craft and enjoy each other's company.

Some of my most interesting adventures lately have been in visiting churches as I search for my Ministry in Context site. As I visit several different churches, I am finding I can more easily say what kind of church I want to serve in, both now and in the future. Many churches are not very good at welcoming strangers in their midst, which is not to say they are bad churches, but it can get easy to stick with talking to the people you're comfortable with in a church and not notice the new faces passing you by. I also really would like to be involved with a church that is focused on outward ministry. A church that looks at the world at its doorstep and finds ways to work in their neighborhood and show God's love to all the people they encounter. I would like to work in a church like that now so that I can learn how to better lead a church like that in the future.

In other church adventures, I went to a Spanish service this evening. It was really interesting, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much Spanish I have retained since I took it last several years ago. I was even able to understand the majority of the sermon, which pleased me. I am going to eventually take a Spanish for ministry class here, and Trinity is building a bigger focus on it so that it will be more available. Learning Greek has made me realize that I actually do like languages, so I am looking forward to taking that another semester.

For now I have to get ready for a rather full and long Monday coming up.

Kathryn