|
Hello friends and family!
Greetings to you from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago! As I enjoy a week off before the beginning of our second semester I wanted to update you all a little bit on how life as a seminary student is going. I also want to thank you all for your continued support: spiritually, emotionally and financially. Thank you all for your encouraging words, your warmth and your prayerful support. God continues to bless me through your ministry!
My first semester last fall at LSTC went really well, as did this past J-term that I just completed. Last fall I enjoyed several challenging courses: an Old Testament course, Intro to Pastoral Care and Counseling, Church History I and Greek. The professors here are very knowledgeable and know how to challenge you but yet are also very kind and approachable. They also know how to assign a great deal of reading,(that's for sure!) so you can often find me in the library, curled up on a sofa with my nose in a book. We have classes four days a week, Monday-Thursday, and then have a three day weekend to read, write, and do a little self care and relaxing. I enjoy spending this time with new friends, playing basketball and volleyball, and exploring the exciting city of Chicago. (not to mention catching up with some sleep!) I also help to organize and put on a Parents Night Out once a month for seminary parents and their kids. I love kids and it's pretty fun to hang out with kids of all shapes and sizes for a couple of hours on a Friday night.
This last month of January I took an Urban Youth Ministry course where we learned about and discussed issues in youth ministry and how they impact congregations. One of the highlights for me was getting to attend a Hip Hop Service that was led by youth at an African American Lutheran congregation here in Chicago. The youth led praise and worship music, rapping, and liturgical dance all to the glory of God. It was amazing!
I’m living in an apartment on campus with two other female students, Rebecca and Joy. The building that we live in is ancient and sometimes we have problems with water or electricity. (i.e. The big news this last week was that Joy and I got electricity back in our rooms after a month or so without any.) Overall though the apartment is really nice, it's close to campus, it's become home and the company can't be beat.
I met my roommate Rebecca last year while in the Young Adults in Global Mission program. We were both in Slovakia last year, just on different ends, her in the east and me in the west. We've had the awesome opportunity this last fall to volunteer at a Lutheran congregation that has a Slovak service. We help with the liturgy and the scripture readings. For me it's somewhat theraputic, connecting me to my experience from last year in at least a small way. I keep in contact with my friends and host family from Slovakia, which is nice, but I can tell that I left a piece of my heart there and I miss the people.
I have a small part time job at an afterschool program at the University of Chicago. Several hours each week (maybe 5-7) I work with elementary school kids afterschool, helping them with their homework and playing games. It’s kind of like taking a break to be a kid for a few hours a couple of times a week. I love it!
I’m excited about the upcoming semester and the upcoming season of Lent. I’m taking several courses that I’m really interested in: Paul and the Shorter Letters, Worship, Church History II, and Lutheran Confessions. Lent excites me as well, and my roommate Rebecca and I have been organizing a community devotion for the days throughout Lent, and I’m really looking forward to hearing the reflections of others in our community during this Lenten season.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is a part of a seminarian’s training that they usually complete during the summer between their first and second years. I've been accepted to a site in Wichita at Wesley Medical Center. I’ll be a student chaplain learning alongside five other students from different denominations. We’ll be learning more about pastoral care and ministry to people who are going through tough times. I'm a little nervous about it, but looking forward to growing as well. And it will be nice to spend the summer in Wichita, something that I haven't done since high school.
Once again, thank you for your continued support and prayers! Feel free to e-mail, write or call anytime. I would love to catch up! I pray that God's love and grace is kindling in your hearts this winter. Stay warm!
God's Peace,
Katy Harder
|
