A whole new world

This week is my first "real" week as a field education student at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Hamilton. The leader for our field ed group suggested that I journal about my experience working there, but who writes in a journal anymore? So I've been taking notes and I decided to revive Jesusified with a completely different point rather than writing yet another new blog.

So field ed at LTSP is pretty interesting. First year students do a rotational, which means they attend five churches for three weeks apiece throughout the semester. The goal is to observe worship in a variety of settings, learn what they like/don't like, and just simply BE in the church for the last time...ever.

In between the first and second year, we do a Clinical Pastoral Education, or CPE. We spend 40 hours a week for about 10 weeks of the summer working as a chaplain. This can be in a hospital or prison setting, with a few exceptions. Most students end up in a hospital. The goal is to learn more about this specialized ministry, with the purpose of being able to minister to those who are sick and dying in a parish, as well. 

Second year students do a site placement. The goal is to learn a little more about being a leader in the church. Students are supposed to attend council meetings, lead in worship, help teach classes, preach, etc. Because I whined and complained enough (I'm not ashamed to admit that there was a lot of whining and complaining involved in getting this worked out), I am doing this field ed this year, despite the fact that I'm a junior. The rotational sites are all in and around Philly, and I simply don't have the time or the gas money to drive to Philly another day every week.

Finally, we arrive at the internship, which is a full-time, full-year position in a church between the second and third years of study. The goal is to participate fully in the ministry of the church, preaching frequently, leading classes and Bible studies, doing visitation, writing curriculum, etc., etc., etc. An intern is supposed to experience most, if not all, of the work of the pastor, and fully immerse herself in the church setting. Then, when she goes back to school for the final year, she takes classes to help her improve in those areas where she was previously lacking. Then you get ordained (hopefully).


So after all my kicking and screaming, and eventually finding out that trading around the field ed experiences is not that big of a deal after all, I'm in a site. My supervisor/pastor is Linda Thurston, and I'm very excited to be working at St. Mark. It's only about a 10 minute commute, which might be the closest I've ever lived to a job. Very soon, I'll come back and write a little about the last two weeks and what's coming. We're going to talk about feelings, so just a warning there.