Two Down, One to Go

Well, it has been a long time since I have written for my blog but now that the hustle and bustle and downright craziness known as the second year of seminary has come to a conclusion, I figure it is now time to catch up on writing just for entertainment and reflection.

May 13th signified, officially, the end of my second year of seminary at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. It was another successful year of seminary and it is stunning that I have completed two thirds of my course work and only have one more year of to go. It has been an amazing and wild ride so far and I am looking forward to my third and final year of seminary. I have learned so much so far in my two years of seminary and especially in my second year. I truly believe that the classes I took in my second year have been the most formative, not only in my theological development, but also in my practical development of my career. I have been under the guidance of great teachers and advisors and have been on this adventure with great friends (some of which are graduating and moving away which isn’t cool but I will get over it) and I would not trade my experiences for anything. On top of that, if everything works out well, I stand an outside chance of getting all A’s and A-‘s by the time this is all said and done.

Now that the school year is over, my life will consist of being the best pastor I can be to the wonderful, loving, and patient congregation at Cedar Lake and participating in the Clinical Pastoral Education Program at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, IL. CPE is a requirement for commissioning/ordination in the Indiana Conference of the UMC. To be commissioned I have to have one unit of CPE. Riverside is the closest program to Cedar Lake so it was the most logical place to do it. Last week was orientation, which was three days of learning as much as I could about Riverside Medical Center, all of the do’s and don’ts, everything will be learning as a part of the program, and most importantly, began the process of learning how to deal with new group mates that will be along with me in the process. I am currently having mixed emotions about this whole thing. On one hand, I am excited to gain valuable experience and learn how to handle crisis situations but on the other hand, I would love to have the summer to rest and spend time with the wonderful people at Cedar Lake. But alas, I have to undertake this project so I am going in with the attitude that it will be a great learning experience and I am looking forward to the adventure that is ahead.

I will also be going to the 2011 U.S. Open Golf Tournament at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD (just outside of Washington D.C.) with my dad in June! This will be a blast! We will see the best golfers in the world play one of the toughest courses in the country. My dad and I have been anticipating and preparing for this trip for 6 years to the idea that it is now less than a month before we go is crazy to think about but it is almost here and I am pumped!

It will be a summer of action and excitement so stay tuned for more updates on this blog!