Crawling over the finish line....

My semester began with aching muscles after I managed to convince eight of my classmates to participate in a whitewater rafting trip on the Ocoee River less than a week before classes began for our last year of seminary.  I suggested that it would be symbolic of the roller coaster experience we shared the past two years – lots of ups and downs, all at breakneck speed!  Being out of the country for almost six weeks, I was not aware that Tennessee had experienced an extraordinary amount of rain this summer; consequently, the Class III rapids of the Middle Ocoee had turned into Class IV by late August.  We all survived the raft trip...but the semester, hmmmm, this old girl feels pretty bruised and battered!  (I'm the one on the far right...high in the sky!)

 

In the first 30 days of the semester, I learned 150 flash cards with minutia from the Book of Common Prayer for the infamous "rubrics" quiz all seniors must endure for their Liturgics class.  I stood out in the rain with the cross and no umbrella for our mock Burial service.  I preached my last sermon at the Chapel of the Apostles, our "laboratory."  And I said goodbye to the dear people who have embraced me as their "intern" for the last year....here are some of the worship leaders when I preached my last sermon at the Thanksgiving service a few weeks ago.

 

 

But the marathon that was this semester ended with drama....as I was nearing the finish line, I got hit with a very bad cold.  Many at the School of Theology had gone down with the flu, but since I got my flu shot in October, I must have had just a very bad cold with only one final exam left to take.  I took the exam...pretty fuzzy-brained...and crawled to the finish line of the semester.  A little rest to celebrate the birth of Jesus and then sequestering and more study for comprehensive exams January 6-8.  Need to get some new running shoes....

What I did on my summer vacation...in 100 words or less!

Instead of reading material for class tomorrow, I thought I would try to write a quick post...filling everyone in on my summer travels.  I doubt I can do the summer justice now that classes have started and I have begun my last year of seminary (yeah!!) but if I don't try to capture the experience now it will soon be buried with Systematic Theology, Pastoral Liturgics, Contextual Education, Contemporary Moral Ethics, sermon-writing, and new chapel responsibilities!

First stop:  Kenya!  Rather than teach girls prayer practices at Oloile School in Kimana, I was a teacher's assistant for their Christian Religious Education (CRE) and English classes.  While it might seem natural for a seminarian to assist with CRE, I thought everyone should know that this native Texan was informed that she was one of the best English-speakers to have visited the school.  I think it is because I...talk....real...slowly....

Here is a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from Oloile School...since it was winter while I was there, Kilimanjaro was frequently hidden behind clouds...but not on this morning!  You can see the fence around the school that was built to keep elephants out during times of drought!

I developed rich friendships with my host and hostess, experiencing the gift of hospitality that gave me a deep sense of gratitude that carried me through the rest of my summer and back to Sewanee.  Asante sana ("thank you very much" in Kiswahili) became words that I frequently employed while in Kimana.  Here are some of my hosts' children and the children of their extended family...

After two short weeks, I started my four-day photo safari, crisscrossing Kenya and seeing African animals in their natural habitat.  I saw four of the African "Big 5":  lion(ess), water buffalo, rhino, and elephant.  Never saw a leopard, the last of the five, or a male lion (my guide told me that male lions were lazy and never came out...).  Here are a few of my favorite shots:

I had seen Maasi tribespeople at the market when I was in Kimana, but had been warned not to stare or take pictures of them.  So when I got the chance to visit a Maasi village and learn about how they lived, I jumped at it!  Here I am being "greeted" by some Maasi warriors in their "welcome dance":

And before I knew it, my two and a half weeks in Kenya were over.  It is challenging to find words to describe the people, the landscape, the animals, and the experience that is Africa...but on to Jerusalem I went!

Secular Israel is different than spiritual Israel.  We met with a Jewish settler one afternoon and, right afterwards, we met with a young man who was born and lived in a Palestinian refugee camp.  Both spoke their truth, their experience of life in that land.  The way toward peace will be a hard road...

We visited places that "traditionally" has been known to be the site that X happened.  We visited places that we are "99.9% certain" that Y took place.  Either way, I found myself guided by a few lines from T. S. Eliot's "Little Gidding"....If you came this way, Taking any route, starting from anywhere, At any time or at any season, It would always be the same: you would have to put off Sense and notion.  You are not here to verify, Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity Or to carry report.  You are here to kneel Where prayer has been valid...

Here are some of the lesser-known places or unusual viewpoints in Israel where "prayer has been valid":

  Under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where Jerome translated the scriptures into Latin...and ultimately died and is buried there.

 

 My feet in the Sea of Galilee!

 

In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

 

 99.9% certain this was the well Jesus met the Samaritan woman...the water was still cool and pure!

 One of the eight 2000+ year old olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

Just as Kenya entered deep into the marrow of my bones, so did Jerusalem.  No, I don't have "Jerusalem syndrome," [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome] but I will return, hopefully again and again.  It is hard to explain how a city and a country that for thousands of years has been fought over can mean so much.  Yes...it is a dirty, old city.  And yes....there are too many souvenir hawkers.  And yes...how do they really know that Jesus was born at that particular spot??  (Tradition has it...)  But the land has always been sacred.  Archaeologists have found evidence that Jerusalem was a holy site long before the Hebrews settled there more than two thousand years before the birth of Jesus.  And for more than 1300 years, it has been a holy place for three of the world's major religions.  We do need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem...because if Jerusalem can be at peace, the world will be able to as well.



 

 

 

 

Not much summer vacation for this old girl!!

Wow...two years of seminary already completed!  On one hand, it seems like I just arrived...but on the other hand, well...the other hand is suffering from writer's cramp, especially after my History of Christian Worship course from this past spring!  As the professor said at the beginning of the course in January, we would cover 300 years each minute....for all of the major liturgical forms of worship (i.e., baptism, Eucharist, matrimony, etc.) in the church!  It was like being in a liturgical vortex for 3 hours each Thursday morning...!  I frequently was wringing my right hand and giving my professor a "poor pitiful look" as I worked out hand cramps!

The second semester of the second year of study here at the Sewanee School of Theology is notorious for being the most challenging.  And I can say that it lived up to its reputation....it has taken me four weeks to get my sleeping patterns regulated!  But the most challenging part for me was the "winter that would not end" - I finally pulled out my summer clothes in mid-May!  When I was getting a hair cut the last week in February in nearby Monteagle, I was told that the Farmer's Almanac predicted three snow falls in March...and I can tell you now that the Almanac hit the mark!  Here's proof of one of the big March snows...my classmate from Colorado continues to tell me that this is nothing but for this old Texas gal it is enough!

 

 



Holy Week is pretty special here in Sewanee...as I have said before, Episcopalians really know how to put on liturgical pomp and ceremony!  Before the Good Friday service, there is a walked Stations of the Cross from one Episcopal parish to the University's chapel.  A classmate sent this photo....

 

And a little known, but Gulf Coast driven, festival is celebrated on Holy Saturday - the Solemn Feast of the Holy Crawfish.  It was a bit cold this year but the outside temperature helped with our internal temperatures during the celebration....

 

 

I received funding for two different trips this summer...so here is my itinerary!  I leave Houston on June 29th and land in Nairobi, Kenya on July 1st.  The next day I leave for southwest Kenya and will teach prayer practices to girls at a school that is in the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro! ( http://www.staffofhope.org/)  After two weeks there, I will take a 5-day photo safari...I mean, when will I get back to Africa??!!  Then on August 18th, I fly to Tel Aviv....I have 5 days in the Old City of Jesrusalem before my academic program begins at St. George's College (http://sgcjerusalem.org/) on July 23rd.  I return to Houston on August 8th...whew!  Please keep my travels in your prayers...I hope to have great pictures to add to my next blog entry!

Time to go pack!!!

An out-of-culture experience!

Last Saturday morning, I was escorted to a seat in the front, passing through rows upon rows filled with families of all ages.  This was a significant community event and everyone was dressed in their finest clothing.  There was a master of ceremonies who would introduce a speaker from the community, the speaker would give his impassioned speech, then there was usually a musical presentation, sometimes dancing, even a comedy skit, before another speaker was introduced.  I lost count of the number of speakers!  Trouble was – I didn’t understand a thing that they said.  All the language was in a Karen dialect…that’s pronounced “Cur-in”…and I was attending the Karen New Year’s celebration at my new field work parish, All Saints in Smyrna, Tennessee.  Yes…Karen refugees from Burma smack-dab in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Soon after I began seminary in August 2011, I was told I would have to find a parish in which to do field work from January-December 2013.  Field work is typical in seminary – the educational experience of working in an actual parish is called Contextual Education.  When I had envisioned myself in a different seminary, I was certain I would do inner-city field work so that I would have a completely different experience than my large and affluent home parish back in Houston.  So, once I realized that Sewanee was a better seminary fit for me, I had to give up this dream to work with a diverse congregation…since Sewanee is in the “middle of No-where, Tennessee” as I have coined the phrase and there is little variety in these nearby small towns.  Imagine my joy at discovering All Saints, Smyrna, believed to be the fastest growing Episcopal church in the country!  I will now have the opportunity to learn parish ministry from a community of working class refugees – talk about a new experience!  God writes straight with crooked lines, as I have been told!

Although I won’t begin my Sunday commitment to the parish until this coming Sunday, I went to experience Karen culture last Saturday as Karens from all over Middle Tennessee gathered at All Saints for their New Year’s celebration.   The people were friendly, gracious, modest, and humble…what a community to become a part of!  (Can you tell I’m excited??)  As the final speaker was wrapping up his remarks, a team moved up the aisle and passed out bags of chicken and sticky rice and bottled water.  Events were to move outside after the last song but rain was falling in Middle Tennessee.  That didn't stop the young people who started up their soccer game despite the rain.  I decided I could head back to the Mountain....

I planned to include pictures I took of these events in this post...but for some reason I cannot load them tonight, sigh!  Perhaps the blog elves are telling me I should make more frequent posts than I do!  But I have reached the half-way point in my seminary journey - yea!  I am learning wonderful things..but it is extremely demanding so blogging will likely continue to take a back seat!  Thanks for journeying with me!