Con Ed I

On my first day of seminary orientation, I gathered in a classroom with ten other first-year students and a new professor for a brief discussion of the expectations for "contextual education", a program that combines practical ministry experience with group reflection. I didn't know any of the other students there, and I was more than a little nervous. I had heard that Con Ed was often unpleasant and unpopular, fillwed with difficult work, personality clashes, and useless "reflection". My experience, however, was the opposite.

The point of the program was to give us preparation for ministry through practical experience. It did, I guess, but the main purpose it served for me was to introduce me to the people in the class, people I now treasure. Over the course of that first year, our group met once a week for two hours. We discussed our classes, our lives, our work at the hospital, and our other ministry experiences. We spent time together outside that class, celebrating weekends and studying for exams in other classes. We commiserated about tough experiences at the hospital, from discussions about theodicy to sexual harassment by patients. We shared snacks, Capri-Sun, and ourselves. Many of the people in that Con Ed class became my friends. We've supported each other through weddings, break-ups, job searches, and other classes. I looked forward to seeing them on campus and I learned from their insights. I've loved watching them grow theologically and personally through three years of study and ministry.

Last night we met again for supper to reflect on our three years of seminary and to talk about moving on after graduation. Over pizza, we told stories about how we'd been scared, frustrated, and fulfilled by our work at the hospital. We shared complaints and joys about the school we attend. But most of all, we laughed and shared again in the community we had built together in that group. Several students mentioned that they now use gender-inclusive language because of the influence the professor and I had on them. (I'm so pleased!) Others mentioned that it was the skills learned in that group and in other classes taught by that professor that had helped them in their ministry since that time.

As I looked around the table, I marveled at how much we have all grown over these three years. Through challenging each other, we have all gained new theological insights and perspectives on understanding the world around us. In a few weeks, we'll all finish school and go in our separate directions. Even our professor, one of the best professors I've encountered in seven years of higher education, is going on to new and different things. But we will be different, and better, for having known each other.