Study Cains and Hurricanes

Jess: I started seminary last Sunday. Yes, Sunday. I'm taking a class called the Prologue, where we learn about various parts of seminary life, as well as discuss Shopping Malls and Other Sacred Spaces by our wonderful professor, Dr. Jon Pahl. After about 10 minutes of class, I realized that Dr. Pahl is the LTSP version of Dr. Ruge-Jones from TLU, so I'm loving that. He also reminds me of a cross between Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society and Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World. So, that's pretty freaking sweet. He's a history professor, so maybe I'll actually enjoy history for the first time since Euro with Mr. Yanko. 

The class has been pretty interesting. We've been meeting together every day from about 4-10, eating dinner together, worshiping together, and trying to learn the names of the 50 other people in the class. We have tackled some fun topics, and we have tackled some very challenging topics. How do we, as faithful people, address the anti-creational, anti-Jesus things that occur throughout the world today? How do we act in a way that is faithful to Jesus' precepts? How do we end the violence caused by Christianity?

Some of these questions have been difficult to process. We watched a movie called Malls R Us on Wednesday evening, and I seriously had a stomachache by the time class was over. Feel free to watch the preview here. The movie goes into detail about how malls are destroying so much of what God has created and wants for our lives. For example, groups from North America have built malls in India, across the street from where people have no clean water or sanitation systems. 

This class is designed to help us find our voice, to determine our academic level, and to help us make the transition into seminary. Dr. Pahl has used these challenging issues to begin our discussions and to help us find that voice. And the question on my mind hasn't been so much who I am or who I want to be, but what I want to do. What am I going to do for the world? People are lost, people are hurting, people have a void that needs to be filled. We try to fill it with visits to the mall, among other things. What am I going to do to follow God's calling on all of our lives? Who will I help? How will I do it? How will I be Jesus' hands and feet in this world?


Wes: So as many of you know, it seems like the end of the world is upon New Jersey. At least, that is what I heard a teenaged girl say after we were hit by the shocks of an earthquake and a hurricane within one week. I personally thought that the earthquake was kinda cool, but I wish the rain at least from the hurricane could have gone to Texas instead of here. We have enough, and they have too little (or none in some cases). Which brings me to my first point: For everyone in Texas praying for rain, please include a location in your prayer next time. Thanks. 


With the hurricane hitting on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, I was all but ordered to cancel Sunday services. This is a problem for me, because on principle I firmly believe that services should never be canceled. If it is a matter of safety for the parishioners to come to church, I absolutely think that they should stay home, pray together as a family or alone, and not risk the elements. But I firmly believe that part of the call of the pastor is to brave the elements no matter what and be there at the church just in case someone does come and needs to hear a word from God. If I am not there, I cannot be God's instrument in that place. So canceling services was very hard for me to do. I felt like I was letting God and my parishioners down. It doesn't matter that one of the churches was literally not accessible on Sunday no matter how many roads I tried to take to get there or that this church still does not have power due to the hurricane. I should have been there, and I was not, and I feel like I did not hold my end of the agreement between me and God because of this.


So this has been my struggle all week, and I know it might sound stupid, but I can't shake the feeling like I did the exact opposite of what I should have done. 


Oh well. I guess that's what grace is for. 


Well, thanks for waiting patiently for a new post. In Jess' defense, she wrote her's last week and has been impatiently waiting for me to sit down and write my half. I promise to be better about it in the future. Unless I drop the ball on that too... 


Thanks for reading! You stay classy, World Wide Web!




-wes and jess