Last First Day

This is my last first week of school. The last time I’ll wait eagerly for all of those books to come arriving from Amazon (and bemoan how the ones I need for this week will inevitably all be late). The last time I’ll pour over syllabuses. The last time I’ll trudge over to the UC to renew my gym membership (seminarians get a great discount). It is a strange, bittersweet, start to a semester.

I have loved my time at LSTC. I have loved being a part of a seminary community that truly cares for me. Faculty who challenge me and want me to succeed. Inspiring worship. New ideas. Classmates who fill me with hope and joy for the future of the church. But as grateful as I am for my time here, as the end of my seminary career comes to a close, I find I am even more excited for what lies ahead. I am excited to get out and do ministry, to enter into the office to which I have been called and for which I have been trained. The next four months will fly by. I plan to enjoy every minute of it. To relish in every joyful, student loan sponsored minute of my last semester of seminary. And then to leave this place knowing that an even greater adventure lies ahead. Spring semester, 2012, here we go.

Family Pastor

So as you enter into seminary and go through the rest of your life as pastor, it is true that you become the "family pastor." This means that at any family gathering, you will be asked to pray. Just accept this now. No one else will want to pray when you are around - both because they believe you can do it better and because they don't want to do it. I guess I cannot really liken this to asking a doctor for medical advice when he is out of the office... but it still feels that way sometimes.

And more recently, I have come across the role of "family pastor" at funerals and weddings. On the one side, I took part in my grandmother's funeral this last Monday. On the other, my big brother just got engaged. It certainly calls into question the role of the "family pastor." Does everyone assume I will do these things? Do they actually want me to or do they feel obligated? Do I, MYSELF, want to?

So far I've taken the course of saying I will do part of it, but not all. Because I knew I'd be weeping like a baby at my Grandma's funeral, I did a small part and left the rest to the local pastor. I sat with my family and held their hands and was also proud to take part in it at the same time. It's that whole "both/and" thing we like to do as Lutherans.

I assure you, this is not something I had thought about before seminary! Being a pastor is such a unique beast...

Pressed to Prepare

The rush is on. There is a calm before the storm that is the beginning of LSTC, but in my world, I am trying to make sure I know where I’m supposed to go, if I have my books, figure out which GIF credit to register for, and complete other death-defying acts such as taking out the garbage or cleaning out the fridge. I feel like my next couple of days will be like a run-on sentence, what looks like a period of conclusion turns into a comma which introduces a sub-thought or something else to add on to the main points in the beginning of the next semester.

I have been spoiled with J-term. I had such a nice time having a couple of weeks off at Christmas, one intensive week of class, and then another couple of weeks off. Now I have to get back in the habit of classwork all over again!

Although it does feel intimidating, I welcome this new semester. It’s another time to build relationships with my friends, grow in my theological understanding, and really enjoy Hyde Park. When I put it that way, things really don’t feel as hectic as I thought they were. At any rate I am happy to finally be back around LSTC-land (with or without snow). I know that sometimes when I get in a mindset to “just go go go” I find it helpful to remind myself that I am so pressed to prepare myself because I care about these things. I wouldn’t want to be anyplace else because I am in a place that cares about these things too.

And so I wish all of my classmates a blessed start to this next semester!

Until Next Friday!

Creation Ascending

Winter has definitely now descended upon, tangling our everyday lives even with the beauty in the rarity of crystals and ice, and the endless snow that sometimes seems to capture our attention.

Four times within a year, I look forwards to the Board Meetings at my camp, LOMC in Oregon, IL because in those moments that I am able to wander freely around camp and listen to the softness contained hidden in the inviting winds I feel as if it is a homecoming. With the mini storm that descended upon us, many parts of the camp are inaccessible for walking to say the least because the snow takes up residence and can be quite the demanding guest. I only then, can imagine what my Valley as I lovingly call it looks drenched in pristine white only to be disturbed by the deer who have the privilege to be present.

I came across this picture on our PC as I was thinking of inspiration to write this week. For me this is Creation Ascending, the inviting staircase to wonders to behold and joy that falls preciously in the sun showers. It is a reminder of the hope that remains and waits for us to climb, walking into the ethereal light of God.

Lape Bondye, God's Peace.

The Prosperity of Liberation Theology

Greetings from San Salvador, El Salvador!

I am currently writing from Central America, where I am taking a course sponsored by a sister-Lutheran seminary (one of the perks of going to LSTC is cross registration!). I am here to learn and explore the current situation in El Salvador, and visit some of the historical and monumental movements of the Salvadorian religious experience. Even as I type this I am writing from at a computer whose spell-check is set to spanish, so please forgive the typos. Among the many things I´m learning is that I am a bit dependent on technology!

Today my group visited the Lutheran Bishop of El Salvador, Bishop Gomez. While there, he voiced a recuring theme of the Salvadorian spirituality - Liberation Theology and the battle to quelch Prosperity Gospel Thelologies.

What is fascinating is that neither of these movements look the same here as they do in U.S. society. In the bulk of the context I´ve seen, Liberation Theology is linked to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and continues to play out from the pulpit of many African American churches and their supporters. Liberation Theology in America involves a lot of educated people providing resources to those who do not have them, in hopes of building skill sets and ideals of freedom. In El Salvador, Liberation Theology is the polar opposite. The people who are the least educated are trying to inform the educated of their rights in order to allow room in society for their equality. Both are important. Both are lead by the same fundamental cause and belief; through God´s love we are all equal and are all entitled to just filled life within our communities.

But how it plays out here versus the U.S. speaks a great deal to the fact that our citizens, even those who are the most oppressed, already have an advantage over a nation like El Salvador.

I have lived in or near two major U.S. cities, Chicago and Cleveland, and am no stranger to violence. I served a church who had a strong outreach program that served the most marginalized in Cleveland. But never before being here did I see a security gaurd carry a shot gun, nor be able to purchase a machete at an artisian market. Of course our view in the U.S. of Liberation Theology is different - we are different.

While the differences of what poverty, violence and oppression are being re-defined for the thousandth time in my life in my time here, one thing remains consistent. God loves us more then we can ever imagine, and that is the voice of hope.

Even in the midst of pain and suffering, there is a great deal of joy in El Salvador. People laugh, they hurry home to their families after a day of hard work, they worship, they live. They have hope because El Salvador is vocal in living out their faith. That is something liberating. Who knows, may even improve my view of Liberation Theology and how I will use it to serve the world, but serve myself as well.

All (Questions) are Welcome in this Place"

“I’m spiritual but not religious.”

Ever heard somebody say that before? I used to say something similar in my sophomore and junior years at Luther guided by the later statement of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “I’m a religionless Christian”. I would be critical of pretty much anything that came out of the mouth of organized religion. I still am a lot of the time. My primary reason was that no one should place human limitations on God’s action in the world.

While I still totally cling to this reason for other faith discussions, I don’t know if I can call myself religionless anymore. I have my views on the role of the institution and the manufactured prettied up stories of the Bible to create particular images of Jesus and God. I have many doubts as to if Jesus through the church is better than Jesus through experience. That said, I deeply appreciate the presence of a community of people who share in a similar tradition and want to develop what Christ means for them in the world today.

I think this sense of community is lost when the Church tries to be a place of answers rather than a place for questions. My Church History professor put it best when he said “The Church should be a place for people to come out of their religious closets, whatever they might be.” When many people experience an institution that seeks to communicate answers rather than receive questions, it is easy to see how more and more people do not feel welcome to voice their underlying concerns about religious Christianity unless they go “religionless”. I have begun to wonder if this cry for being spiritual but not religious is a way for people who are fearful within an institutionalized context to ask the questions that weigh heavily on their hearts and minds about faith-related topics. Perhaps the Church’s response should be more directed at broadcasting that “All Are Welcome”…all people and all questions.

Happy New Year and Blessed Epiphany from your friendly neighborhood Gypsy seminarian!


My wonderful husband surprised me with a beautiful Christmas present, a Celtic Cross ring lovingly carved with 1 Corinthians 13:13. The silver that surrounded my finger seem to shine brightly, in a serene way and as I caressed the words of Love, Hope and Faith it slowly turned as gently as the dawn which breathes into life, softly bows touching the coolness of the Earth as the moon rises meeting our gaze with its shimmering light.


And yet, as the weeks have turned so has my ring which now bears the tarnished scars of wear as I continue my journey into this life; my hands which touch and mold and work in different aspects.


Even as the new year crowned and as we celebrated, those memories too are faded and worn replaced by the weariness of what Mother Earth has birthed: the stresses of the everyday, the questions and the struggles. Many of my fellow Seminarians are embarking on their last semester; many of our LSTC community have made transitions which have left the rest of us prayerful and perhaps even mournful.


And yet, three things remain: Love, Hope and Faith. Even though my ring is worn, the words carved into the silver are as what is lovingly breathed into our spirits by Our Creator. These three things remain, the core of our being that we are able to continue living out what He taught and commanded of us. The faith to continue to follow Him, the love of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and the hope that blossoms within us all.


Lape Bondye, God's Peace.