"Hello Rob." The group replied in unison.
"It has been 18 days since my last blog post." The man at the podium said without raising an eye, too scared to look at the group in front of him. "I know it has been too long, especially since so many people genuinely care and faithfully read so that they too can follow along on my adventures out here in California. So, here it goes, five weeks in one post. Hold on this might be a bumpy ride...."
So when we got back to Berkeley I had one day to readjust to being back in my monastic cell and get back in the school mindset. CDSP requires that first and second year students take at least one class during the January Intersession. J-Term, as it is often referred to, is supposed to be a time to take a course that will not count towards a degree but a course that is usually a fun topic. This year I decided to take a course called Jesus and the Movies. The course had two goals; first to show the life of Jesus from birth to resurrection through a compilation of ten or so films, and second to ask this question, can we accurately and faithfully depict the dual nature of Christ through film but in such a way that it is not campy? The course was only meeting Tuesday through Friday from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. Even though it was four hours sitting in a classroom, the professor was really into it and there was a lot to see so time just flew by. After four days, I was exposed to a wide array of movies about Jesus, some of which I had seen or heard of before like The Passion of the Christ and The Last Temptation of Christ, as well as movies I had never heard of like Jesus of Montreal and Godspell. All in all each movie had their strengths in portraying both the divine and human natures of Christ, and each one fell short in their own way as well. I concluded that while no movie is perfect it is still necessary to continue to pursue this genre of film in Hollywood and that movies about Jesus have the power to reach out to audiences that perhaps have not been exposed or "unchurched."
"Well that was week one, albeit a condensed week. Let's keep going." the man at the podium added at the end of his first story.
The second week back from the mini-road trip was busy, at least for the first three days. During this week, which also happened to be my birthday week, CDSP was offering four training courses in the span of three days. They were: Canon Law, Safeguarding God's People, Safeguarding God's Children, and Multicultural training. Certification in each of the courses are required by the diocese so this was a great opportunity to get them all in one fell swoop. While it was a good thing to get them all at once, it was a very intense three days because each day was broken up into three session of three hours. Canon Law covered the canons of the national church with special emphasis on Title IV. It is under this section that details the processes and repercussions for various malpractices as a priest. So, it was good to get some exposure to the canons and also become familiar with Title IV. Safeguarding God's People and Children were two separate trainings on preventing abuse of power and authority within pastoral relationships with adults and to recognize child abuse and address this threat to the innocence of all of God's children. The training section about children was particularly difficult at some points but it was indeed necessary for anyone who will be an ordained leader in the church. Finally the last training was about multicultural training. This entailed learning about issues surrounding power in terms of who has it and who doesn't. We talked about being aware of the context in which we were raised and how that can play a role in the way we view others. Ultimately this session was to help us as future leaders of the church to be aware that racism is still very present in our culture. After the three long days of training I had Thursday off to regroup and then Lauren planned an evening out to celebrate my birthday that Friday night. Most of the first year class showed up as well as other friends from the other classes. We had a great time, gathered together outside of school, dancing and being happy to be together. It was a good end to a long week, especially since classes started the next week.
"We are now almost halfway through to being caught up." The man at the podium said. With a heavy sigh he continued. "Now it was time to get ready for the next fifteen weeks of classes and other school obligations."
This semester I am taking a full load of courses. Just like last semester they are more foundational classes that are required by the seminary. I am taking Christian History Part II, which is a collaborative effort between CDSP and another seminary Pacific School of Religion. Since Dan our history professor is on sabbatical in England there is no one at CDSp to teach the course so he got together with the PSR professor and developed the class so that it satisfied our needs and requirements as well as the PSR students. I am also taking Pastoral Theology, which is as the names suggests a course in the theology of pastoral care. I am also taking Intro to Worship which again as the name suggests is an intro course about worship with specific focus on Anglican liturgy. We are learning about the definition of worship and how it has developed over time as well as how it pertains to the Episcopal traditions of worship and liturgy. Finally I am taking a course called Leading Through Lament. This course is particularly interesting because of the topic and the class size. We are looking at lament as found in the Psalms, the book of Lamentations, the writings of the prophets, and portions of the New Testament all while looking at modern situations that would cause lament. There are only five students and the professor in this class, so it is a small learning environment and so far the first small class I have had so far. Overall my schedule isn't too bad with three classes on Tuesday, one on Thursday and one on Friday, leaving me with Monday and Wednesdays off. The first week was typical as we covered the syllabus and did basic intro to the course types of work. Should shape up to be a good semester.
Here the man at the podium paused, took in a deep breath and continued on with his story. It seemed as if he knew that though he was halfway done he still had more to say.
The last two weeks have been pretty busy with reading and assignments. I am beginning to find that it appears as if there is less written work this semester but also a bit more reading. So far I have not yet fallen behind, and God willing I won't, but it didn't feel as if I had found my stride. I didn't quite have my time allotted in such a way to make sure I had ample time to devote to the homework for each course. But now that we are four weeks into the semester I feel a lot better about my weekly schedule. A few things of note did occur during the last few weeks. The board of trustees for the school were on campus early in the second week of school. It was a regularly scheduled meeting but there were a lot of significant changes that needed to be approved. There has been a lot of anxiety around campus about what is going to happen and what will the seminary look like in the years to come. Though everyone is not satisfied with the potential changes, I believe that the school is being proactive instead of reactive in regards to some of the issues. On another note, my bishop was in town Monday so Jeff and I got to spend some time with him. We took him out to lunch and we had a god conversation about how we were doing and what was going on at the school. It was a good opportunity to have a solid amount of one on one time with the bishop since normally getting that kind of time with him is difficult. We are now relatively caught up with the last month and a half. The strange part is...time is flying by, it seems as if I have only been back for a few weeks.
The man at the podium stopped speaking, waited a moment and went back to his seat. As he sat down a small smile crept across his face, as if he felt like he just let go of something that had been weighing on him. Perhaps he felt good now that he got that story out so that other people finally knew what he was doing. I am sure he will get up again and tell another story.
My birthday party at the White Horse Inn in Oakland
Again, my party at the White Horse
St John's Oakland - I went there three Sundays ago to hear a friend preach, even though it is technically in Oakland it looks like a suburban church, perhaps it is just a really nice part of Oakland
More of St. John's Oakland
Again, St. John's Oakland
Guess where this is??? You got it, St. John's Oakland
Staff Meeting at a long table outside LaVal's...this CDSP tradition happens every Thursday night
St. Paul's Oakland - third visit
Chewbacca!!!!
Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns...Lauren is a Suns fan so it was cool to catch a game, wicked cheap tickets, and we had a friend sitting in a practically empty box who saw us and tried to get our attention but we both missed his texts...bummer
Lauren's cat Cubby on the prowl, asserting his authority
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| The first Peet's coffee shop was right around the corner from campus nestled in a residential neighborhood...nothing crazy but interesting factoid |
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