Twin Cities, Part II

My third visit in the Twin Cities was to Luther Seminary. This was outside the scope of my original proposal, though. I had the intention of traveling around visiting Asian American pastors in the ELCA (which means my visit to the Church of All Nations was also outside the original scope of my proposal), but the nature of a proposal is that it is merely that: a plan or a suggestion put forward. And the nature of plans or suggestions is that they are able to change, morph, and evolve. I realized while wandering around the library lounge at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago that I would be visiting cities that are home to ELCA Lutheran seminaries. I started this journey out at Lutheran School of Theology in Philadelphia, getting to wander the campus and interact with some of the professors. I attended chapel in Chicago, but did not have time for a guided tour of the physical building of the seminary and to speak to professors and staff about curriculum.

Why visit a seminary at this phase of the journey? Well, why not? I'm currently a seminary student at an ELCA seminary, and I was curious as to how other ELCA seminaries speak to "multicultural ministries." The staff at Luther made sure that I had a full day, but with this full day came many questions and some frustrations with seminary education and reactions with particular individuals in the ELCA. One conversation in particular was a struggle for me. The person I spoke with would throw out general terms such as "students of color," "international students," "us," and "them." Throughout the conversation, I asked her for clarification on these terms, to which she would add, "You know what I mean?" I told her, "No, actually I don't know what you mean." With words being used as powerful symbols, I get frustrated when words get thrown around without an adequate personal definition. I remember asking, "What do you mean by 'us'? Am I a part of this 'us'? Because if you're talking about students of color not being called to a congregation based on their physical appearance, I am not a part of your 'us.'" Honestly, I was sad and frustrated that this individual has a position which greatly impacts all students at Luther. She then asked me, "Well, you have all the answers, right?"

This is where I have an issue with diversity within the ELCA. Who then is responsible for acting to make the church a diverse body representative of humanity? Is it the responsibility of people of color to bring in diversity? Or is it the responsibility of each member of the denominational church body? Who then is accountable? Will the individual-ness of each person be honored if they come to the church, or will they be forced to act in a certain manner to match up with the dominant population?

I spoke with another individual who talked about some of the multicultural components that goes into a seminary education. One of my gripes with the whole of seminary education is that I wonder if I'm learning about ministry and theology that is applicable to the parish? Are future church leaders being trained to speak about race, gender, and class issues? Are future church leaders being trained in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue? Also, what the heck is multicultural ministry? There have been different definitions flying around since I've started this journey. There is no concrete definition for a multicultural ministry. With the constraints of seminary education, there is an incredible nuance; there can be a significant difference between what one is trained to do and what one is called to do.

I spoke with one of the staff of Church of All Nations before I left the Twin Cities. It was an insightful and challenging conversation. Part of the discussion led to the question, "Can there really be a 'multicultural' ministry?" What happens if populations are segregated? What happens when one population is forced to act unlike themselves to act like the majority? Colonialism still happens in the church, yet can we love one another when people don't fully understand who they are? Ultimately, I still think to John 13:34-35, which is one of the verse I carried with me during my Clinical Pastoral Education experience. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Yet, what does it mean to love? What does it look like to love? I revert back to my conversation with Pastor Jin Kim when he spoke of letting go of fears into the hands of the Spirit, freeing us to love each other, giving us the ability to tell each other, "I care about you" with genuine love and compassion. 

Twenty Centuries as Twenty Days

Greek at PLTS is very different from Greek at Fuller. At Fuller, the classes were structured as if the students were going on to get a PhD in Biblical Languages. I'm fairly certain that wasn't my track, so taking Greek at Fuller didn't last very long for various reasons (my right hand being in a cast for four months was one of the biggest reasons). I'm taking Greek again at PLTS, and it's a very different environment than Fuller. Greek here is much more laid back and taught as an application for ministry; if we're interested in learning more about the language, the professor is extremely helpful with resources to further advance our knowledge.

The professor at PLTS shared a poem with us the first day of class. It was written by Czeslaw Milosz in Berkeley in 1968. When he was in his 60s, he started learning Biblical Greek and Hebrew, and the following poem is about his experience.

You asked me what is the good of reading the Gospels in Greek.
I answer that it is proper that we move our finger
Along letters more enduring than those carved in stone,
And that, slowly pronouncing each syllable,
We discover the true dignity of speech.
Compelled to be attentive we shall think of that epoch
No more distant than yesterday, though the heads of caesars
On coins are different today. Yet still it is the same eon.
Fear and desire are the same, oil and wine
And bread mean the same. So does the fickleness of the throng
Avid for miracles as in the past. Even mores,
Wedding festivities, drugs, laments for the dead
Only seem to differ. Then, too, for example,
There were plenty of persons whom the text calls
Daimonizomenoi, that is, the demonized
Or, if you prefer, the bedeviled (as for "the possessed"
It's no more than the whim of a dictionary).
Convulsions, foam at the mouth, the gnashing of teeth
Were not considered signs of talent.
The demonized had no access to print and screens,
Rarely engaging in arts and literature.
But the Gospel parable remains in force:
That the spirit mastering them may enter swine,
Which, exasperated by such a sudden clash
Between two natures, theirs and the Luciferic,
Jump into water and drown (which occurs repeatedly).
And thus on every page a persistent reader
Sees twenty centuries as twenty days
In a world which one day will come to its end.

Old and New.

I've completed almost all of my classes this first week at PLTS. I'll admit, it felt (and still kind of feels) terrifying, but I'm also excited at the same time. I did appreciate my time studying at Fuller, but something was sort of off for three of the four quarters I was there. One of the biggest difficulties I had was being Lutheran. Don't get me wrong though, I do love being Lutheran, but it was actually kind of hard to be Lutheran at Fuller. In addition, I was (and still am) a new Lutheran, so I would ask off the wall and really naïve questions. My personal favorite was when I asked, "But aren't we all Christian?" during a philosophy study group. I can still hear the silence in my head... I talked a lot to one of the TAs my first quarter at Fuller, and he suggested I write a column for the school paper titled "The Lonely Lutheran." We came up with some funny article ideas, which I really wish I wrote down.

My last quarter at Fuller, things started to click. I had a regular group of friends I hung out with, and people I loved conversing and debating with. I also had friends that provided a safe space at Fuller, when I needed to verbalize why I was making such shifts in my life, and questioning if I was doing the right thing. I was really sad to leave my friends and those safe spaces.

Which brings me to PLTS. Wow, this is a crazy small community. The entering class is less than thirty students, so we've all had the chance to get to know one another. The second through fourth year students have been amazing guides in these first weeks of exploring campus and the surrounding areas. I've loved the opportunities for fellowship, prayer, conversation, and eating brownies and ice cream after Greek.

The seminary sits at the top of a hill, and the view cannot be described in words. I'm amazed with the view of the San Francisco Bay, San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the hills south of San Francisco. It is absolutely breathtaking. The view never gets old. I hope it never will.

Dreamland is coming to a close.

I think I'm finally coming to the realization that the husband and I are not on a very long vacation. We were living a very unsettled life for the first two weeks in northern California. We were surrounded by boxes, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and all of our earthly possessions.

Most of the boxes have been unpacked and collapsed. The blank canvas that we entered three weeks ago is starting to feel like "home."

Even though the house is feeling more and more like ours, I'm still in a type of dreamland. I've been very thankful for this time off, otherwise the house would be in a complete disarray and the husband and I would probably go some kind of bonkers. The dreamland, though, is starting to wear off in a series of small events. The first small event was my online student loan counseling. The second was an email from the dean of students. The third was an email from my student advisor, asking me out to coffee next week.

Another funny sign of my eroding dreamland status: trying to figure out how to get to campus. It looks like bicycling is out of the question, especially after reading this link. Interesting to know the route to school is known as "Death Climb 1." Looks like I'll be bicycling to the North Berkeley BART station, then catching the Martin Looper to campus.

The Rhythm is gonna get ya

The husband and I had a very comfortable rhythm while we were living in Glendale. We normally woke up together, sat on the sofa, drank a cup of coffee and talked about the plans we had for that day. We would go our separate ways, the husband to the office and I would go to school. We would meet up again around 6:30PM, have dinner together, then have an open evening.

One of the hardest yet most exciting things about relocating is trying to find a new sense of rhythm. I probably won't find mine until I start school. In the meantime, I've been unpacking the house, and I have been grateful for this time. It's been interesting seeing how our old lives will transform into new lives in a new place. While there are still boxes around the new place, it's not as overwhelming as it was the day the movers showed up will all of our stuff. Each day, more and more of the boxes are being unpacked and collapsed. The contents of those boxes are finding new places to live. One of the more exciting unpacking adventures involved wedding china, crystal, and flatware. The husband and I have been married for five years, yet our full wedding china set never left the gift boxes. Trying to piece together what pieces we had was kind of fun. We placed the china, crystal, and flatware into a lovely built-in china cabinet in our kitchen. We plan to break in the fine china with pizza from Amici's; hopefully the same Amici's where we had dinner for our first wedding anniversary.

The adventure continues.

Homiletics Crash Course

1. Spending the morning at church talking to Pastor about my upcoming sermon. Lots to think about. I then met with Matt to talk about VBS activities. I'm looking forward to this year's program, which is "Paul and the Underground Church of Rome."

2. Speaking of sermons, I had a crash course in homiletics today. Clay was so kind to take time out of his day to give me a VERY condensed version of his class.

3. Talking to Pastor Marcus. I cannot wait to see him on Friday evening!

4. Making dinner with a recipe from "The Art of Simple Food." I made plain and simple pork chops with a ridiculously simple pan sauce.

5. More leads on rentals in Berkeley. We'll see how it goes starting tomorrow! Eep!

A wonderful Friday

1. Leisure reading. I started and finished The Plain Janes, which was a fun and simple read. It's from a publisher called Minx, who produces graphic novels specifically for teenage girls. Janes had an overall positive message, which makes me wonder what Minx will publish next?

2. Meeting Joyce for lunch. What used to be a weekly tradition seems to have turned into a monthly tradition, but a tradition nonetheless.

3. Visiting The Life Giving Spring Orthodox Bookstore, which was such an interesting experience. I wish I knew about this bookstore while I was in my Early Church History class. It was amazing to look at all of the icons on the walls. In my discussions with Amanda, we talked a lot about Mary Magdalene and her differing histories between the eastern and western churches, especially the her eastern interpretation as the "equal of the Apostles." I spoke with the owner of the bookstore, Anastasia, who has her MDiv degree, but since she is Greek Orthodox, cannot be ordained. It was wonderful to talk with Anastasia about the differing ideas of east and west. I hope to hang an icon of the equal of the Apostles on my wall soon.



4. New running shoes. My knees have been wonky as my old running shoes are getting old. I've stuck with the same brand for the past few years (Ariel, made by Brooks), but in test running shoes (yes, the store lets people test run shoes), I ended up with a pair from Saucony. I hope these shoes and I can become good friends.

5. Getting to say my goodbyes to Clay and Aphuno. Clay is so wonderful. He's giving me a crash course in homiletics in preparation for July 12th.

A Final Day at Fuller.

1. Taking my last exam of the spring quarter. With this came the realization that it was also my last exam at Fuller, which was cause for both mourning and celebration.

2. Part of that celebration involved celebrating with my Early Church History study group. We all survived, and with the knowledge that we were still alive, we went out to celebrate over frizen yogurt.

My treat for finishing exams. A combination of pomegranate blueberry, pineapple, tart blueberry, and plain frozen yogurt covered with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Our "tough" picture. This is almost everyone from the Church History study group. Daniel couldn't celebrate with us since he had three papers due, but said he would take a rain check.

3. Coming home, dropping my backpack on the floor, and napping until the husband came home from work.

4. A supportive family. My parents and the husband's parents have been the best cheerleaders. And the husband isn't a half-bad cheerleader either.

5. Attending my last Thursday Bible study group at Salem. I've learned so much from that class, and have met so many incredible people in that class. We read a devotional that talked about moving and transitioning lifestyles, but through all of that change, God's love remains constant. I couldn't help but cry.

T minus one and counting...

1. The weird curvy chairs outside the Hubbard Library. They are oddly comfortable!

2. My early church history study group. A bunch of funny guys talking religion and politics. I'm really going to miss them!

3. Left over birthday cake.

4. The Casa Verdugo branch of the Glendale Public Library. A nice place to study, and I saw Jackie Ramm from my old Bible study class!

5. The wonderfully cool weather.

I finished my Prophets class. When do I get to take applied prophecy?

1. My Prophets exam. This may not seem like an item of grace, but let me explain. The professor gave us six essay topics, stating that only three of his choosing would appear on the exam. Statistically speaking, I had to learn the material for all six essays. And honestly, I knew some better than others. While waiting for the exam to be handed out, people in the class were predicting which three essays would appear on the exam. When the exam was handed out, all six questions appeared, with the instructions that we were to write on *any* three. Wow. Grace at work. I heard the sigh of relief, and I admit, I sighed as well.

2. Taking a nap to recharge my batteries. It was much needed.

3. Eating a chocolate chip cookie the husband brought home from work. His office makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

4. Listening to the Foo Fighters "The Colour and the Shape." It's one of my favorite CDs, and I haven't listened to it in a long while.

5. Talking with Eric at the bookstore. We have very similar stories of what brought us to our faith, and our signs of affirmation. It's been great getting to know him this quarter in church history. I think one of the things I'll miss the most this quarter is my Early Church History study group. It's been wonderful getting to know my study buddies, and being able to call them friends.

Happy Birthday, Husband!

1. Celebrating the husband's birthday first thing this morning. We shared a cup of coffee together, which was wonderful. We had take-out for dinner, and we'll have cake later this evening. :)

2. Receiving a bracelet I've wanted for five years. Yes, five years. It's a bracelet designed from two forks, with their tines woven together. It's pretty spiffy. The person who created the bracelet also sent me a picture of two kangaroos that are under his care.

3. Therapy. One of the big questions that came out of today's session concerned how classes this quarter have impacted my faith. This is an entirely different blog topic, one that I hope to address once finals are over.

4. Getting to have a nice, long conversation with my mom this afternoon. Life has been sort of hectic and we haven't had much time for a long conversation.

5. Leigh sent me her recipe for heart-stopping mac and cheese. (It really is heart stopping; it's loaded with everything that clogs arteries, but I have many fond college memories attached to that mac and cheese!)

Last day of classes at Fuller.

1. Kindness of my classmates. It was kind of a wonky day with an odd start. I forgot silverware when I got my lunch, and Kevin got me a fork, which he didn't have to do. Then my audio recording crapped out in the middle of Early Church History, and Jon was kind enough to share his audio file with me when class was over.

2. Gummy tummy penguins from Ben.

3. Getting to meet with Henry on campus. We attended the biblical colloquia this afternoon, which was just fantastic. I wish I could have taken a class with Dr. Goldingay while at Fuller. And I'm going to miss Henry so much when the husband and I move.

4. Meeting Amanda for coffee. It's been so wonderful to know a fellow Lutheran woman at Fuller who feels called to enter ministry. We talked a lot about our fears, but also about the great joy we've had thus far on this amazing experience.

5. The husband made me a yummy sandwich for dinner. I'm the luckiest wife in the world.

June 2

1. Getting to have dinner with my tap dance class. I had to skip out on class this evening since it's too close to crunch time for exams, but the class met for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Much fun was had, especially when the fortune cookies came out!


2. Getting to talk to my church history professor about the multitude of saints and how it's very similar to gods within the Hindu pantheon. Still much food for thought for common dialogue...

3. Damian gave me an assortment of cardboard boxes. He saw them at work and thought of the husband and me, so it was very nice of him to pick them up for us.

4. Getting to talk to my mom and brother. It's been hard with our mishmash of schedules as of late.

5. Talking to Pastor Marcus. It will be wonderful to catch up with him in a couple of weeks!

Primero de Junio

1. Getting to talk to Aretha this morning. I miss seeing her in class so much! It was fun to catch up, and I'm hoping she, Ben, and I can do a final pancake breakfast at the end of the quarter.

2. Finishing all of the reading for the quarter this afternoon. Now I just need to study for finals!

3. Date night.

4. Sharing the raspberry chiffon pie with my old Greek TA.

5. Getting a nice brain check this morning.

Happy birthday, church!

1. Celebrating Andrew's birthday yesterday, which was a lot of fun. It was great to see our Clemson west friends, as well as meet new people.

2. Naptime.

3. Sending my Prophets paper to my professor this morning. It was as done as it was ever going to get.

4. This morning was confirmation Sunday at Salem. The lone confirmant, Kimberly did an absolutely wonderful job delivering her statement of faith to the congregation. And it was wonderful to see so much red at church this morning.

5. The husband and his doppleganger (Matt, the youth minister) were worship assistants, which cracked me up. Seeing both of them in their albs and red cinctures was almost too much. When the husband took off his glasses and the husband and Matt stood side by side, you'd think they were brothers!!!

6. Tasked with a fun and interesting activity. How to rewrite the lyrics for "Roam" from the B-52s to reflect Salem's VBS theme: Paul and the Underground Church in Rome.

Last Friday in May... how did this happen?

1. Finishing the content part of writing my Prophets paper that's due on Monday. I really hope to have it done and sent away on Sunday night...

2. Blueberries were on sale at Ralphs, and I bought some for the husband since he loves to snack on them, but doesn't get to eat them very much.

3. Since fruit was on such an awesome sale, I also purchased some raspberries to make raspberry chiffon pie for Andrew's party tomorrow.

4. Getting out for a small walk to the grocery store. I'm usually cooped up in the apartment the days I'm not on campus, so it was nice to get out, even if it was just for a few minutes.

5. Finding a particular piece of jewelry I've been looking for for six years. It's a bracelet made out of a dinner fork.

Thursday...

1. Giving Ben his birthday cupcake. Nice way to start the class day.

2. Looking at the movie poster Jon and his group created in 30 minutes in NT2. The movie's title on Revelation? "The Amazing Jesus." Coming soon to a cosmos near you!


3. Pulling out my first study Bible I received from my in-laws when the husband and I were dating. It was so wonderful to look back on the notes I made concerning the questions I had. My study Bible and I became great friends in 2006, when I started regularly attending Bible study at Salem. It was nice to relive those memories.

4. Steroids, but in this case, used to treat an allergic reaction. I had a wicked reaction last week and am still suffering from the results. Not fun, but at least it didn't require a trip to the hospital.

5. No more additions to the Prophets study guide! I actually went "Woo-hoo" after the professor made the announcement, which elicited a good laugh. And laughing about Elephantine (pronounced Elephantini...), joking about how I was going to drink one after class.

This week's graces

1. Calamine lotion, and lots of it. It even makes me a happy shade of pink, and happy thoughts can go a long way right now.

2. Receiving my Prophets midterm grade. All I have to say is... dude.

3. The husband made scones from scratch.

4. Starting my Prophets paper, more than a week before it's due. I'm hoping to finish it to enjoy Andrew's birthday party.

5. Getting new cross stitch projects for the summer. Babies are on their way (not mine, might I add), and I want to make them blankets!

6. Being asked to be an assisting minister at church. My first attempt is tomorrow... I've just been praying to God that I perform as an act of worship in His name.

7. My Early Church History study group going out for frozen yogurt. They said they didn't help me study for my Prophets midterm, but they sure wanted to help me celebrate my grade.

8. Laughing a lot with my husband and my brother on our theories on the space-time continuum. It's been great entertainment.

9. Getting to see one of my childhood friends perform at the El Rey Theater, and open for the Indigo Girls to boot! I'm so awed by Matt's musical talent, and it's wonderful that he gets to do something he truly loves.

10. Acquiring a hummingbird squatter. He likes to sit on the tomato cage, and normally sits there all day long.

11. Cherry season. I actually saw Rainier cherries at the grocery store, and that made me smile.

I'm back!

Life has run away with me a little bit. It's been an odd week, but with many good points.

1. Getting to see old friends on both Friday AND Saturday. Friday was spent at the Howard Hughes Center, eating dinner at Islands, and watching "Star Trek" in the Director's Lounge, which was pretty neat. Saturday was spent catching up, playing board games, and eating insane amounts of food.

2. New life. Lauren had a baby boy this week. Manika had a baby girl. Marissa found out she's having a boy. Just...wow.

3. Passing my Early Church History midterm. I felt ridiculously schooled after the test. When the professor announced he had our grades, my heart leapt into my throat. When I got my grade, I about did cartwheels out of the classroom, hugging members of my study group. I guess you could say I was a tad excited.

4. I made tiramisu, and it was wonderful. Unhealthy, but wonderful. And everyone who ate it lived to tell the tale.

5. Assistant minister training at church. I was filled with a great amount of awe and fear standing on the other side of the altar. I'm still questioning if I can handle this, and I'm still trying to figure out what "this" is.

6. My in-laws are coming to town for my first sermon and 30th birthday.

7. The husband made pizza from scratch. Well, at least the crust and the sauce. He didn't make his own mozzarella, even though he does have a recipe to do so.

Sunday.

1. The sermon at church this morning, given by a missionary pilot who's based in Bangladesh. His words hit a little close to home concerning love for God and service. I could relate too well. Especially with turning the lives of surrounding family members upside down.

2. Finding yet another birthday present for another friend. Lots of May birthdays!!!

3. A church BBQ. The husband won a toy in a drawing. We were sent home with cucumber tomato salad after the BBQ was over. And the cat's out of the bag at church; more people know the husband and I won't be with our beloved congregation for long...

4. Getting to spend a fairly relaxing weekend with the husband. It's been grand!

5. Sitting with the husband and Emily in church.