On Returning to Seminary

It’s almost time for another major life change for the interns of 2005-06. In a few weeks internship will be over, and it will be time to return to the campus for that final year of studies. As a way of helping you think about the change ahead, we’ve invited two 2004-05 interns, Katy Grindberg and Jane Baker, to share their reflections on going back to class.

From Katy Grindberg

A year ago at this time I was in the whirl of activity that accompanies the end of internship – packing and shipping boxes, planning how to say goodbye to the congregation and staff of Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and being hosted to a variety of farewell meals and cups of coffee. It was a busy time as I tried to go about my daily responsibilities, finish my approval essay and still manage to get all of the tasks completed. I was profoundly sad to leave Honolulu and my internship site, but also extremely excited to return to Berkeley and see my classmates and other friends (and of course, to return to classes…no, I’m not kidding, I actually was looking forward to getting back into the classroom).

When I returned to Berkeley I experienced a rather bumpy re-entry into seminary life. I had to readjust to the more rapid pace of academia and the voluminous number of pages that had to be read each week. I had to adjust to a new community with 80% new people – I described it as returning home and finding that my family had left and a whole new group of people had moved in during my absence. So, even though I knew my way around, there were new relationships and personalities to navigate.

If I could go back in time 14 months and give myself advice, I would say:

• Expect to feel at home and an alien at the same time.
• Give yourself time to readjust to the newness and don’t immediately push for things to be the way they were two years ago.
• Definitely have dinner with your classmates more often.
• Spend time with that favorite professor, catching up on life because you never know when he or she will no longer be available.
• Stop making plans to visit all of those places on your list of things to do this year, and just go there. The year will go faster than you think it will!
• Forms B and C are more intensive than you think they will be – it’s like taking another class. Give yourself plenty of time to think about and complete them.

I don’t know if the me 14 months ago would have listened, but I'd hope so. My 4th year was an amazing time – the opportunity to be with friends and mentors, to take all of those electives I’d been dreaming about and to finally visit the churches in the area I’d been hearing all about!

As a wise friend said early in September 2005, “I like the being, not so much the becoming.” And returning to seminary after internship means “becoming” a student and a member of a unique community again. The re-entry likely will be a bit bumpy, but it is a joyous ride, so allow yourself time and space to enjoy it.

From Jane Baker

As the end of internship was approaching, I remember thinking, “Why didn’t I do a fourth year internship?” My classmates who did not have to return to seminary for a final year were indeed the lucky ones! They could move forward into the call process without having to go back to sitting in the classroom.

After a year of doing ministry, I so did not want to return to seminary to sit in classrooms and read about doing ministry again. I had a great internship at Immanuel Lutheran in Silverton Oregon and I loved being in the parish. I learned so many practical things about parish ministry by doing it, that it seemed a waste to go back to hearing people talk about it and read and write papers about it once again. I was ready for the call process, and ready to move on. To be honest, I dreaded returning to PLTS. The grind of commuting to school, churning out papers, meeting deadlines, and speed-reading was getting old. It was so nice on internship to be able to have time to read what I wanted to read, and not to have to do it at break-neck speed! But return I did.

I have to admit to having a bit of a transition problem that first semester back. It was hard to settle back into the routine of attending classes, writing papers, and listening to lectures. My heart and mind were with the folks at Immanuel. I wanted to be with them…It was good to be reunited with my classmates and share our stories, but at the beginning of the semester, my heart (and definitely my mind) was not fully engaged in my studies. However, after a few weeks, I settled in and got with the program.

What changed? After reflecting on my internship experience, I realized two things. First, I needed to figure out how to make my seminary studies have a practical application. For each course in my fourth year, I asked, “How can I take this information and use it in the parish?” For me, everything in my final year had to have a practical application. For example, I concentrated on how I could teach in the parish what I learned in Biblical courses. I focused writing my papers on topics that might be of interest to a future congregation. I chose projects that I could turn into sermons or Bible studies, or small group curriculum. I became more creative. I asked, “May I write a sermon instead of a paper for this assignment?”

When a professor would ask at the beginning of the course, “What do you want to get out of this class?” my standard reply was, “I need to take something away from this course that I can actually USE in my first call.” My reading, papers, presentations, journaling, and projects were all focused on areas that I was interested in. I no longer had time or energy for “busy work” or “writing for the professor.” I wrote for myself! Based on what I learned on internship about the demands of ministry, I focused my seminary efforts and energy on what would be useful to me and to a future congregation.

Secondly, I realized that there were indeed some areas of ministry that I needed to learn more about. I chose course electives to help fill these gaps. I also chose to take two semesters of Spanish at a community college because I realized on internship how valuable a basic knowledge of Spanish would be in future ministries. I knew that once I got in a call, and involved in parish life I would be too busy to learn another language.

Thinking about the fourth year of seminary in these terms, got me fired up about being in school once again. Was I a better student in my last year? No. But I was definitely a smarter one!

Thanks For Your Ministry!   
from Randy Nelson

The beginning of August is a reminder that the summer, which has barely begun, is almost over. It is also a reminder that another internship year is coming to an end. That has already happened in a number of instances because of June starts over a year ago. Meanwhile some of you will continue through the rest of the calendar year.

For the majority of internships, however, mid-August to the end of the month is a time of closure and saying good-bye to the relationships and responsibilities that have filled the days and months since last summer. It is important for all concerned that an intentional closure happens in order that intern, supervisor, and congregation can more fully embrace what comes next, whether that be a return to seminary, welcoming a new intern, or taking a break.

An important part of closure is saying thank you: for opportunities, for growth, for clarity achieved, and for ministry accomplished. Those of us in CLI also say thank you: to supervisors and mentors, to internship committees and church councils, to congregations and congregational members. Internship is a partnership that depends on the good will, hospitality, and commitment of congregations and pastors. It is the whole church that benefits from internship and it is on behalf of the whole church as well as Luther and PLTS and the CLI staff that I express our gratitude and say “thank you,” and may God bless your continued ministry.

Congratulations   
from Steve McKinley

Got an e-mail from one of my best friends the other day.  He’s a retired pastor who has served large congregations in several parts of the country.  A wonderful friend, he is also a tough and discerning critic of pastors.  He has very, very high standards.  Some of those who have served on staffs with him over the years were acceptable in his sight, but not really good. He only gives that label to a very few.  (We’re good friends, but I’m not even sure he would have given that label to me!)

Now in retirement, he is a member of a church served by a CLI intern.  His e-mail was partly the usual friend stuff about children and grandchildren and weather and golf and travel and all that, but he also worked in there the comment that, though they weren’t ready for this to become public, the congregation would really like to have that intern come back in a year as associate pastor.  He knows his church stuff well enough to know that this is not usually acceptable, but he did ask me to intercede to try to make it happen, and, frankly, I probably will.  He thinks this is a good idea.  This intern is, in his words, “going to be a good pastor.” That’s the kind of compliment he throws around like a manhole cover.

Well, I don’t know that this will really happen, that the congregation will be able to call this person back to be on staff.  For reasons that pass my understanding much of the time, the powers that be seem to cast a jaundiced eye on such things.  BUT.  BUT.  I was thrilled to have my friend raise this question, and to label the intern one who is “going to be a good pastor.”

That added credence to my belief that we’ve really had a great bunch of interns out there in the church this year.  It’s been my first year on the job, my first year to be exposed to the whole process of interns and supervisors on a larger scale.  I’ve been awed by the quality of candidates CLI has put out in the field.  (It isn’t time for arrogance.  In my internship clusters I’ve worked not only with students from CLI, but also students from four other ELCA seminaries, and they have been equally committed and equally competent.)

So, interns, as you complete your year of service and head back to the classroom, I hope you’re going with a new appreciation of the work of the parish pastor and a new excitement about doing that work in a year.  For those of us who have hung up our pastoral spurs, who worry a bit about the future of the church, it is a terrific encouragement to see people like you coming through the system.  We can retire, pass from the scene, and the church will do just fine with you leading the way.  God seems to have had this figured out all along.  What a surprise!

It’s been a joy working with you this year.  I look forward to seeing you back on campus!

Internship Debriefing   

The internship debriefing at PLTS will be part of the senior class Public Ministry II:  Congregation and Beyond in the Fall semester.  At the beginning of that course, two class sessions will be exclusively devoted for returning interns to have an opportunity to reflect on and share with their colleagues the experiences and learning of the internship year.  After that, students will study, analyze and further reflect on their internships’ congregational contexts as the class engages in studying congregational systems and the call of the church in the public sphere.  Students’ internship projects and the learnings derived from them will be shared with the class throughout the semester.

For Luther students, senior “Reflection Sessions” for returning interns will be held on September 13, 14 & 15.  This will be a time to reflect on your internship experience with peers and the CLI staff, a debriefing that is helpful both for you and for the staff.  Sign up for a time in the newly-renovated CLI office during the first week of classes.  For a look at the renovation process and the latest pictures, check out http://www.luthersem.edu/contextual_learning/renovation.asp.

Evaluations   

There are, of course, those interns who are doing 20 month or even two-year internships.  And a few who started during the course of the past year.

But most interns are now coming to the end of the cycle.  Which means that final evaluations are due.  Yes, they are due.  From interns themselves.  From supervisors.  From lay committees.  Due.  Now.  Period.  Since most of our interns and their supervisors and lay committees are so marvelously efficient, all of those evaluations are probably in already.  But just in case they aren’t--- GET THEM IN!  PRONTO!  ASAP!

Actually, we have seen a flurry of evaluation submissions in the past two weeks, and we are grateful to all of you who have worked diligently to get them done. To those of you who were on the stick, THANK YOU! You may now gloat with satisfaction at a job well done.

Back Home   

Renovations are complete on the St. Paul CLI office suite and we're back in our 3rd floor office suite of Northwestern Hall. To look at the progress photos, go to http://www.luthersem.edu/contextual_learning/renovation.asp. Better still, come and visit!