I came to Union-PSCE not knowing what to expect. I was extremely nervous and extremely excited all at once! I was excited about coming to Richmond and getting away for a few days especially with all that had happened at home with my family and the job interview and the failed driving test.
Coming here has been one of THE highlights of this year. PERIOD.
I came here expecting to learn more about Union, and though that did occur, I learned a great deal about myself more than anything else.
The hospitality has been AMAZING. Everyone, from the current students to faculty, and even the seminary president, has been nothing but welcoming and made us feel welcome.
I can definitely feel the sense of community and how very much connected everyone is, and that’s very important for me. The community is a mix of people who all end up on the same page, and have the same spirit, even though they are very different!
I felt a little awkward at first considering seminary because I knew I didn’t want to be a pastor. I have kind of been raised in the mind that God’s will is inevitable, and that you almost have no choice. But I’m finding that is not the case. God gives us a heart, a burden almost, for what we want to do and equips us for the very work that we are called to do. That has been a recurring theme during my visit at Union and that has been a relief to know, that at the intersection of our faith and passions lie our call, and if we take time out to discern, God will surely guide us through the process.
I’ve enjoyed my time at Union immensely, and I’m not 100% positive God is calling me to Union but I’m definitely willing to step out on faith just as I did with coming down here, trusting Him and seeing how it all goes. I have laughed almost non-stop here, and enjoyed the other three girls-Natima from Richmond, Allysen from UNC-Chapel Hill/High Point NC, and Alex from Davidson College/Chappaqua, NY…they are all very sweet and I don’t think it would have been the same if there would have been more people here or different people…the four of us got along very easily and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s like we would fit right in here if we decided to come.
I spoke with the director of admissions and the seminary president who both seem very committed to expanding the amount of denominational, regional, and racial diversity here, and I would love to be part of an increasingly diverse school. I appreciate the differences…I actually liked compline, which was a worship service with hymns, call and response…chapel was more of the same and I didn’t mind it at all. I love the richness and how sacred the bible is and how central it is to Presbyterian tradition. I have a really healthy respect for it, and even admire it…it is totally different from my charismatic upbringing in a non-denominational setting and I really like the differences. Not enough to become a Presbyterian though, but I feel that if I were to come here and finish with an M. Div degree, it would give me a different kind of perspective and even more of a depth to me theologically, expand my thinking and my horizons in ways I can’t even imagine, as a college senior currently considering seminary.
In soooo many ways, I feel called to ministry. To change how things have been done. Not sure what aspect-I’ve told the people here about my desire to work with inner city non profits but honestly there’s no telling what could happen. If anything, this seminary visit helped to open me up to new possibilities and new avenues of thinking, and I’m excited about that. I really feel as if the sky would be the limit if I came here, the sky and beyond! I feel sooooo secure and at peace even though rationally I can’t wrap my brain around leaving Cleveland next year and making such a big move or even going to seminary…feel like my gifting and passions could be used in so many different contexts…so we will see what God does. I will just really do my best to continue to discern and listen for God’s voice in all of this.
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