Reflections from Seminary Students

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson’s 2004 novel, is one that I have heard a lot about for several years.  It is one of those books that seems to come up in discussions of favorites. The novel won the  2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award.  In addition President Barack Obama lists Gilead as one of his favorite books on his facebook page.  I attempted to read Gilead on a midnight greyhound to Spokane once, but the slow pace of the book could not compete with my increasingly strong desire to sleep or the strange characters that night busses always tend to collect.  This time around I was much more successful as we were reading Gilead as a class for THEO 6720: Vocational Discernment & Discipleship. » Read the rest of this entry «

The Hunger Games is Suzanne Collins first book in The Hunger Games Trilogy and the start of her second Young Adult series.  The protagonist and narrator, Katniss Everdeen, is a young woman of 16 trying to provide for her little sister and mother after her father was killed in a mining accident four years ago.  Life for Katniss is not always pleasant, particularly as she could be shot dead for hunting outside of District Twelve’s fence.  This illegal act of poaching and trespassing is the only way for Katniss to adequately feed her family; “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety.”  The fact that the majority of people in District Twelve do not have adequate food is not the only concern that Katniss has about her district:

When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District Twelve, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the capitol.  Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble…Even at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics. Like the reaping, or food shortages, or the Hunger Games.

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Empty Bowls is a grassroots organization formed for the soul purpose of fighting hunger across the world and was created by the non-profit Image Render.  According to the organizations website

The basic premise is simple: Potters and other craftspeople, educators and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls. Guests are invited to a simple meal of soup and bread. In exchange for a cash donation, guests are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. The money raised is donated to an organization working to end hunger and food insecurity.

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I wrote a column for University Presbyterian Church about seminary. It is basically a swan song to the SPS and its people. It was originally posted here: http://www.upctimes.org/thought-from-the-cemetery. Enjoy!

Erin (far left—yes, the guy with the glasses) with four friends who help keep his faith alive.

The summer before I started seminary, there were many well-meaning and lovely people who asked me, jokingly, if I was ready to start “cemetery.” I would always laugh politely and tell them, jokingly, “Well, yes, of course!” This half-funny reaction was the only response I had for such an unusual question.

I suppose I knew where they were coming from. I had heard that many people have taken the road to seminary only to lose their faith in academic Christianity. They come out on the other side of a theology degree with a head full of knowledge, but an empty heart for ministry and the church. Apparently, they enter the crypt somewhere in between “Church History 101” and “Karl Barth’s Dogmatics in Full.” » Read the rest of this entry «