Praying from far away
One of the things that is tough about being a pastor is leaving your tribe…by which I mean this:
As ministers, we are basically called to scatter ourselves far and wide. When we take calls, we often leave behind family, friends, and people who have nurtured us and helped us grow into the people God wants us to be. Plus, we’re kind of a weird bunch.
As strange as my seminary experience was, as exhausting as it was, as tough as it was, it was also a time when I found people who were like-minded, and there were some people who truly helped me grow into being a minister.
This week, one of my best and most wonderful profs was diagnosed with cancer. Mary writes about this so well that’s there’s not much more I can say.
But, I know that I’ve got many many classmates who are not in “GRusalem” (CRC-speak for Grand Rapids) anymore and when we hear this sort of news, we really miss the tribe.
I’m sorry, Erica. That’s a hard one to go through. Especially being far from the mothership. Well, somewhat far.
Seminary is just one of those things–the people that go through it with you have a connection to you that is just qualitatively different from other school friends, I think. So, even though I have not studied at GRusalem, I can imagine at least a little of what this is like.
2 February 2008 at 7:15 pm
which prof is it, please
4 February 2008 at 9:17 am
Erica, I couldn’t find an email address to send this to you directly. I wanted you to know that we used your prayer stations at our confirmation retreat with some modifications for our group, space, and time constraints. I think it was a highlight for the whole group. Thanks for sharing your great work! It was a blessing to us.
alaina
18 February 2008 at 10:08 pm