This is a photo I took from The Point, on the lakefront in Hyde Park looking south, the weekend before I went away to the hermitage retreat.Being back in Hyde Park is always interesting. It's where I grew up, and where I did my ministry degree - very formative things. At church on Sunday, I was sharing a little of my concerns about parish ministry and next year, and a person (not affiliated with U of C) said, "Well, of course - it would be hard to go from the University of Chicago into parish life." And I kind of stopped for a second. I didn't know what to say. I felt invisible for a second.
Allow me a little defensiveness: I didn't go to U of C because I wanted to get a Ph.D. or because I thought parish ministry was unimportant. In my class of 14, everyone thought the parish was VERY important. It came with us into all our classes, even more so because our professors were not bringing it into classroom discussion themselves (although Margaret Mitchell, for instance, did). Not everyone went into a parish, but that was for good reasons - 1 still in process, 1 searching for a denomination, 2 Catholic women, and 1 had to do her Anglican year! Two of us have gone on for a Ph.D. - Kirstin in human development (psychology + sociology) and Myung-Sahm in anthropology of religion, specializing in Korean fundamentalism.
I went to U of C, in part, because I wanted to study dead white men - weird, huh? I wanted to try to read Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Niebuhr... and I tried, although I didn't always understand everything. Also, I grew up around the University, and so, like Jacob and the Angel, it was there and I wanted something from it - I wanted to wrestle with it, until it blessed me. It did, although I had disappointments along the way. I'm sure my father's struggle to get his Ph.D. from the University, over thirty years ago, had something to do with my going there, too.
I don't talk about the divinity school much at Seabury, in part because I always get teased about it! But that's alright. It's a diverse and complex experience - 3 years of many different things - that has formed my theology and ministry. I don't believe that it's better or worse than anyone else's formation. It's just there.
In a defensive moment... taken by my friend, Heather.
Hey Heidi,
ReplyDeleteI think UC would be a great place to do seminary--good academics + small community + opportunities for local congregational life. And its not like you have a lack of parish experience; if anything you probably have a very real sense of what is involved.
I still remember before I decided on PTS every place I visited used it as their point of contrast (McCormick, Columbia, Union), probably because they found out my parents lived near Princeton. After a while I got sick of hearing about why its better to be smaller/more pastoral/more academic/more urban/etc. Every place has flaws and strengths.
Probably UC is the 800 pound theological gorilla in the area, so you'll get a lot of this. And now you've had another year to balance things.
H-
ReplyDeleteNot all of us tease you about U of C. Some of us are just plain impressed.
-C.
Hey, thanks for the photo credit, Heidi! You know, I didn't pick up on any defensiveness or ill humor that day, so I'm sorry if I was being oblivious. Thanks for making it a fun time, anyway!
ReplyDeleteheidi- YOU ARE SO NOT QUESTIONING PARISH MINISTRY BECAUSE YOU WENT TO THE U OF C! There I said it. You have legitimate, very legitimate reasons to be questioning going into the parish that existing LONG before you picked and studied at the U of C.
ReplyDeletei'm glad you had a good experience there.
oops, i mean- existed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the validation, everybody! Why is it always so hard to trust in ourselves, as ourselves?!?
ReplyDelete