Journey of Faith: Seminary: Long Awaited Update

The bad news is I have not had time to update this blog in awhile, but the good news is, it's because I have been having an amazing time!

Last Wednesday-Friday I had Orientation at Garrett where I got to meet many amazing people. Our entering first year class is made up of 110 students (including Masters, Doctorate, and Certificate students) and I was happy to find out many of them are around my age. Orientation was a whirlwind of meeting new people and getting prepared for the semester. On the last day of Orientation, we had the pleasure of visiting the Chicago Temple which holds the First UMC of Chicago. The pastor lives in a penthouse on the 24th floor (which we got to see along with his balcony that looks over Chicago). There is also a Sky Chapel which is the highest worship space in the world. The steeple on top of the building is the highest in the world as well. This will be where I will take my Christian as Citizen: Moral Theology class each week.

Each night after Orientation I got to go out with new friends and explore Chicago and Evanston. Over the weekend I showed some friends the Evanston Farmer's Market, some local restaurants, Holy Covenant UMC (where I had attended church the previous two weeks), and my favorite local tavern that has board games! I can already start to see who is going to end up being some of my very close friends through this journey. It is very refreshing that I don't have to drop the "I want to be a pastor" bomb on them either (haha).

Although yesterday was the official first day of classes, I only had chapel choir (which was great!). Today was my official first day and I started off with Old Testament. I was a little nervous since my only real Bible education comes from Sunday School and I had met many students who majored in Religious Studies in college. Luckily, the first day of class went well and the professor assumes most people do not have much prior knowledge of the Old Testament. She even showed a movie clip in class from Mona Lisa Smile to emphasize that even though some of us might know the bible, she will be challenging us to think a different way from how we would normally think when we read it.

After class I got to spend some time walking by Lake Michigan with a friend. We then joined the rest of our peers at the (free) weekly Community Meal. Then it was on to the Gospel chapel service which was incredible! The music was amazing and we sang from a hymnal I had never heard of before (Zion Sings). Instead of a sermon, people were invited to give testimony that was inspired by the scripture reading from that evening. It was a very powerful service and a blessing to hear different people's experiences with a "good Samaritan."

I honestly feel blessed to be at a place like Garrett with a strong emphasis on community. I have made many friends and already feel very close to some of them. It is wonderful to be able to start and end classes with prayer and to be able to experience three different worship styles with friends each week. I am eager to learn more about God, the people at Garrett, and myself.