Okay. Ten minutes ago I had the very coherent idea of what to write regarding my first week of school. Unfortunately the Disciplined Mind is on Holiday. You get My Mind in stead. Joy, O Rapture Unforseen!
I had an incredible week. I have not been this excited about uncertainty in my life. Actually, for those who know me, I have never been excited about uncertainty at all. The Uncertainty Principle made me nervous. I have always been one to find comfort in the fact that Chaos Theory is just that, theory. Well, somehow things have changed a little bit for me. This is a great gift.
This first week of school was your basic Orientation Week. I met the other students (there are 46 or so in my class). That was fun. We received the Hidden Gnosis of Seabury(Their joke, not mine). There are a lot of interesting things to know about last week and I doubt that I will get to them all, but I shall endeavor none the less.
First. I am one of the younger students in my class. The discernment process for priesthood in the Episcopal Church takes several years. You may want to go right from your undergraduate to your MDiv (Masters of Divinity), but if the Bishop of your resident diocese says you should wait, well, you wait. The good thing is that there are nominally mature people entering the priesthood. They have had lives, many have had families and this is a second career. The bad thing is that they are a litte bitter about the process and are distrustful of their ordination committes. Some member of these committes get on a power trip. It is a shame.
Second. I am one of two baptists. Yes, two. The other is a guy from Fisk University participating in an immersion program the Church has. Pretty cool. We have great solidarity, he and I.
Third. I was elected 'Convener' of our class. I am one of three actually. It is a fancy title for class representative to the student government. I never ever ran for such a thing in school. It wast my idea of a good time. Somehow I agreed to this. It should make for an interesting year to say the least.
Fourth. My classes should be fun. Gospel Mission I, your basic 'This Is Christian Ministry' class. Liturgy I....self-explanitory. Ruth Myers is the professor. She was also the professor who interviewed me. The class is your basic, sit-down-stand-up-fight-fight-fight, smells-and-bells study of why Sunday Morning looks like it does. Liturgical Music I, the class with the expensive books. The Early Church Mission and Movement I. Yes, this is a two-part class. Be ye afraid. I may or may not be adding Systematic Theology to the lot. The two liturgy classes are half credits. So this is only 3 hours of classwork for a quarter. A bit light. I should take 4. We shall see what the week brings. Systematic Theology is The Class That Frightens All. The professor is brilliant. He likes to challenge the vocational nature of seminary and make us think...and write at a graduate level. This is good if you think you may want to study further. Otherwise it only serves to frustrate the masses. The school has an interesting policy for the MDiv students. We can take all our classes as Credit/Non-credit. No letter grade, simply an evaluation at the end of the quarter. The idea behind it is that grades build, sometimes, an unhealthy competition and stress that those in ministry feel is unnecessary. The program is really about formation of good ministers. Some of the best Pastors are C students. Getting an A in Pastoral Care will not necessarily make you a good pastor. It just means you know how to give the professor the information he/she wants. You get the idea. I will be taking all my classes for a letter grade. I am keeping the door open for a PhD and the like. Plus, half of my program is for the MTS (Masters in Theological Studies), and that is a more academic program, less pastoral in focus.
My. This is a long blog. Let me close this and write more later. Then I can tell you about work study, waving my arms for Jesus, buying yet another guitar and why having fuzzy dice hanging from my rear-view mirror reveals my egalitarian nature.
Monday, September 17, 2001
Perhaps you are wondering why the heck I am posting a blog at 5:45 in the am. Then again, maybe you have known me for 10 or 15 years and think that this is not unusual for me. I am after all The Early Riser (cue music).
Well, today is the day that I start school. For those of you who have not heard, this is a Big Deal to me...so big I have been running scared for nigh unto 10 years. So the Day of Reconing is here and I feel Compelled to Capitolize as much as I can.
I guess I am that nervous. I am not nervous about what a lot of people have thought I would be. I am not really all that nervous about the school work. I can still write a complete sentence from time to time. I'll just have to recall how to do that more consistantly in order to get the grades I need. The work is not what bothers me. It is the purpose. I am entering seminary. That seems monumental in light of the current strife facing this nation...and by the time 'W' is done, the World. The business of the church is to heal the world. That is no small task at any time. There is so much bloodshed and hatred that we regularly visit upon one another. And, like Christ, the call to clergy is to simply be there in the midst of it all to support people in their times of need and struggle. It is also the job of religious leadership to demonstrate a good example. This is Not Easy. Falwell and Robertson proved that this week. The joy of being human and saying stupid things is that the rest of humanity eventually finds out.
So, for those of you who read this thing, keep us all in your prayers. Think of it this way. In 3 years or so, when I am serving a church or a school, I will be one of the people that is turned to in times like these for comfort and for answers. Do not think that I am leaping for joy for this. I am glad to have been called, still I find the task daunting at the very least. I am terrified.
But, as in all things, I have faith that God is with me in this and will somehow manage to be with those I serve in spite of my bizarre and oft freakish take on life.
Make a note of it. Type in "email my ___________" filling in the blank with the appropriate title. It works. I sent my post to my senators, my representative, the President and the Department of Defence. I encourage all of you to not remain silent...even if you do not agree with my opininions.
I am in shock. I imagine most of us are. The reality of yesterday's tragedy is slowly beginning to settle in. Hundreds of body bags are standing by at the Pentagon, thousands at the Trade Center. It is horrible to think about. The loss of life, the sheer destruction is terrifying.
Here in Chicago, we are still fearful of further attacks. Are there more targets? Was this the only attack? Should we brace ourselves for the Sears tower to come tumbling down? What is next? We do not know. No one is able to give us answers.
So, what should we do in the face of such fear? What to we do to respond to the outrage, the pain and fear that people feel?
Last night we held a prayer service at North Shore. It was more like a forum for people from the surrounding community to voice their concerns and fears. There was so much good said. I would like to share some of it.
We prayed for the victims and their families. We prayed for the people responsible. There is so much hate right now; hate directed at the United States and toward the organization(s) responsible for this atrocity.
We were reminded of a few facts.
· There are people in the world for who this is a day-to-day reality. We should respond to those atrocities in the same way we have responded to our own. We should realize that we are all connected.
· There are people on whom we have visited this same atrocity.
· To say this is another Pearl Harbor condones war…it encourages a violent response that could last for years to come, with greater loss of life than we can begin to imagine. Do we really want that for the earth again? We prayed that cooler heads prevail.
· As Christians, God calls us to love and to show God's love for the people of this world. God can work through anything if we allow. We have to be bold and demonstrate God's Mercy and God's Love and God's Justice (which is not our justice) to the world. We have to forgive.
· A violent response does not serve us.
· God is with all of us in this. God is with those suffering from the attack. God is with the people responsible. God is present. We need to listen to the voice of God in this.
Hatred and rage are natural. They are normal. They are part of the grieving process not to be dismissed or ignored. At the same time, however, it is not right to act out in violence. We have to stop short of those actions and show something greater than that. Christ has no body now but ours. How do we demonstrate that? That is so difficult. Hatred and violence are so tempting. It would indeed be easier to kill, to destroy those who have done this. Is that, however, the right response? Is that what God would have us do? Is that the ethical thing to do? Is it the responsible thing to do? What truly protects us?
What have we done that there are people in this world who hate us so much? What can we do to keep this from happening again?
How do people perceive America that to inflict the greatest amount of damage, both physically and emotionally, they would pick the World Trade Center or the Pentagon? Why not destroy the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument? What has become of us that to hurt us most deeply, you take out an economic center or a place of war? That the Trade Center is an American Symbol should concern us. That the Pentagon is as well should concern us. I am frightened that it does not.
The terror is real. This atrocity, and that is what it is, will change this country. We need to rally around the victims and pray for them. We need to support our leadership and pray that they act Creatively, not Destructively. We need to pray for healing, not for revenge. And we need to look at ourselves and ask the question: What have we done in this world to make people hate us so much?
I know that my view is perhaps a minority view, an idealistic view. Still, to respond blood for blood is foolish to me. We need to look deeper to the root of this problem. We need to try to heal these incredible divisions. There is such hatred in this world. To participate in a hateful act will only propagate the violence. Let us hope for something greater for ourselves…for this world.
Monday, September 10, 2001
Okay. there I was at North Shore Baptist Church assuming that I would have a brief conversation with Carol (one of the pastors) regarding Sunday's evening service and we end up talking about seminary for three hours. Doug (Carol's husband and anothe pastor) showed up as well. Now, do not get me wrong. It was a good conversation and they are very kind and supportive people. Still, being told that I need to begin the ordination process soon...like January...is daunting.
January.
Ordination.
Tripp Hudgins. Pastor, Reverend, Robe-wearing Guitarist for Jesus. Dear God, what have I done? So, um, yeah. I am a little freaked. And rightly so. The Pastors (a borg-like collective at North Shore) think it is a good thing that I am freaked. It shows a healthy understanding of the magnitude of the honor and respoinsibility of what God wants for me. So, during the process I should expect moments of doubt, fear, frustration and emotional regression. That is good. My life is colored by those experiences anyway. Pretty cool.
So, my weekend consisted of rehearsal with the praise band (Soaked) on Friday (followed by a bit of ice cream). Saturday was the Lakewood-Balmoral Yardsale and two hours of playing with the band (Soaked). Had my mandolin lesson with Gus Friedlander that afternoon. Oh! I saw the movie The Musketeer with friends. Leave your brain at home and try not to expect people to act, but it was a great deal of fun. The guy who coreographed the fight scenes for The Matrix was involved. Incredible...no dodging daggers though. That was a shame.
Sunday was a day full of church and football. The Bears lost, but actually gave the Ravens a run for their money briefly in the first half. We may actually win more than 3 games this year. Who knew?
Enough of that. There is work to be done. Laundry, laundry, laundry and cats to move.
What boredom and the internet bring to the world...www.spark.com...
The Death Test April 12, 2044
at the age of 74 years old.
The Sex Test Congrats! In your life, you'll have sex with 117 people!
Also, many men actually find you attractive.
Yay? Well, I have a little time at least. Let's see, another 43 years...I have to pick up the pace a little bit. I wonder if I will have one banner year with multiple sex partners per week or if they will be spread out over time evenly. Hmm. The things that puzzle us.
The Purity Test You are 40% Pure!
(Very interesting.)
Here's how the REST of the world breaks down, compared to you:
people less pure than you (11%)
people like you (0%)
people more pure than you (89%)
Okay, so I am not so pure. That helps with the monumental sexual task ahead of me.
So, here we are later in the day. Sitting has occurred. So has closing down accouts with local utility compaies finally. No big deal. i am finally out of my old place. i will miss it a lot. Really. It was a happy little apartment. Right now my cats are at Wendy's house. Um, she is less than thrilled and so are the cats. Mike especially is bumming. He tends to bite your feet when peeved. Lilly is not so bad. But then she is the mature older sister.
Yes, I am speaking of the cats.
The purpose of this page was to be a forum for my pseudo-intellectual ramblings regarding God and Jesus and such. You have perhaps noticed the lack of postings? I am having trouble motivating myself to get online to manage this simple page. Perhaps that should tell me something.
Though i am a geek, I am not this particular variety/species of geek.
Hmm. The purple-throated fretful Geek is a lovely creature.
