Posts
Sorry for the delay in news on Endorsement.
Pr. Laurie Natwick, Assistant to the Bishop and Pr. Dale Pepelnjak, from Pelican Rapids were here to do the two interviews for our Synod. All the students from NW MN and their spouses went to dinner with the candidacy committee representatives on Tuesday night. My interview was at 7:15 am on Wednesday morning. After our interview they are recommending endorsement to the rest of the committee at the next meeting in December. So until then I am provisionally endorsed awaiting official endorsement. I'm so glad they were able to make the trip - we're a long drive for them and it was nice to have them on campus, even for a short time. Overall it was a very good experience!
SH <><
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Two bits of news
I am posting with two bits of news with the intention of posting more at a later date about both items.
First, I am headed to China January 5th - 19th! Each year students at Wartburg take one class during the month of January (called J Term). We're allowed to choose for ourselves. Last year I stayed nearby and took the Violence Against Women and Children class. This year I'm joining the trip to China led by our Lutheran Confessions professor Dr. Chung who is originally from South Korea and has many connections in China. We will be visiting Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. I'll tell you more about the trip as more information comes along.
Second my endorsement interview will be this week on Wednesday morning. Two members of the NW MN Candidacy Committee will be on campus Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon to conduct two interviews. Mine is at 7:15 am! I will let you know how it goes, please check out the info on candidacy from an earlier post for more info on endorsement.
SH <><
First, I am headed to China January 5th - 19th! Each year students at Wartburg take one class during the month of January (called J Term). We're allowed to choose for ourselves. Last year I stayed nearby and took the Violence Against Women and Children class. This year I'm joining the trip to China led by our Lutheran Confessions professor Dr. Chung who is originally from South Korea and has many connections in China. We will be visiting Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. I'll tell you more about the trip as more information comes along.
Second my endorsement interview will be this week on Wednesday morning. Two members of the NW MN Candidacy Committee will be on campus Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon to conduct two interviews. Mine is at 7:15 am! I will let you know how it goes, please check out the info on candidacy from an earlier post for more info on endorsement.
SH <><
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Back to life, back to reality!
So I'm back in Dubuque after a summer away in Wisconsin. Over all it was a nice summer, but challenging to be away from home so much. After CPE was over in early August I was home for a few days and then off to visit family. I spent a week with my parents and then took my nephew 
Ethan home on the train after a month with grandma and grandpa. I was at my sister's for a few days and then I headed back west. I stayed with friends in Fargo for a couple of days and then we met Mike for camping and the MN Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, MN over Labor Day weekend.
It's good to be home. Mike seems happy to have me back and I'm beginning to feel settled. School started the 2nd with Prolog week (Our first week of school is always a week long 1.0 credit class) and then regular classes began September 8th. After two weeks of class I'm starting to get back into the routine of things. I'm doing work study in the Library again for 10 hours a week. I'm also still in partnership with a local congregation as a Youth Ministry consultant 10 hours a month. So I'm keeping busy for sure. So far the biggest challenge this year is Hebrew! My brain doesn't want to go right to left and the letters are very foreign, but I'm taking it as a challenge and hoping things will improve if I work hard.
Endorsement (see the post from May about the seminary process - recently updated!) is coming sometime in the next few months. We're still awaiting details. I'm excited about taking the next step in the process. We also just had an informational meeting about Internship. I'm really looking forward to Internship and both Mike and I are thinking of it as an adventure. We're open to going anywhere and focused on finding the best Internship fit possible. Of course the assignments won't be made until next spring so we have a lot of time before then to wait and get nervous.
It's great to be back at Wartburg! The fun of seminary is that you take the journey with your class, but meet other classes along the way. The Senior's from last year are off being pastors at their first call. In their place we have a new Senior class, back from their Internships. The Middlers from last year are busy with Internship now and we have a brand new Junior class. So the campus is full of new faces and new friends to make. What fun! Well I should go study Hebrew so TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)
Susan Haukaas <><
9/16/2008 - 8 years of marriage to my favorite red head!
Ethan home on the train after a month with grandma and grandpa. I was at my sister's for a few days and then I headed back west. I stayed with friends in Fargo for a couple of days and then we met Mike for camping and the MN Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, MN over Labor Day weekend.Mike with the Washing Wenches at Ren Fest!
Me writing my Endorsement Essay while camping
It's good to be home. Mike seems happy to have me back and I'm beginning to feel settled. School started the 2nd with Prolog week (Our first week of school is always a week long 1.0 credit class) and then regular classes began September 8th. After two weeks of class I'm starting to get back into the routine of things. I'm doing work study in the Library again for 10 hours a week. I'm also still in partnership with a local congregation as a Youth Ministry consultant 10 hours a month. So I'm keeping busy for sure. So far the biggest challenge this year is Hebrew! My brain doesn't want to go right to left and the letters are very foreign, but I'm taking it as a challenge and hoping things will improve if I work hard.
Endorsement (see the post from May about the seminary process - recently updated!) is coming sometime in the next few months. We're still awaiting details. I'm excited about taking the next step in the process. We also just had an informational meeting about Internship. I'm really looking forward to Internship and both Mike and I are thinking of it as an adventure. We're open to going anywhere and focused on finding the best Internship fit possible. Of course the assignments won't be made until next spring so we have a lot of time before then to wait and get nervous.
It's great to be back at Wartburg! The fun of seminary is that you take the journey with your class, but meet other classes along the way. The Senior's from last year are off being pastors at their first call. In their place we have a new Senior class, back from their Internships. The Middlers from last year are busy with Internship now and we have a brand new Junior class. So the campus is full of new faces and new friends to make. What fun! Well I should go study Hebrew so TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)
Susan Haukaas <><
9/16/2008 - 8 years of marriage to my favorite red head!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I'm halfway through Clinical Pastoral Education. On Friday I observed an open heart surgery and saw a human heart beating. It was incredible! I was amazed and awed by the experience. It's given me a new appreciation for the way the human body is put together. We are incredible creations and our creator must be incredible as well! CPE is challenging, but I'm learning a great deal. Mostly I'm learning a lot about myself. All in all things are good, I would like CPE a lot more if I wasn't so far from Mike. Seeing each other once a week is not great fun. I'll be much happier when the summer is over and we're under one roof again!
TTFN
TTFN
Monday, June 23, 2008
Happy Birthday to me!!!
I love birthdays in general... what's not to celebrate when you've had another year of life! Today is a big deal though... today I am 30. Somehow 30 feels very adult. I feel very old in a good way. So happy birthday to me.
I am in the midst of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) so I was at the hospital all day. I was home in Dubuque for the weekend though and celebrated with some Wartburg friends and Mike. We had cake and game night up at the castle Saturday. Then we had lunch at Applebee's with more friends on Sunday and more cake. Another great part of birthdays is cake.
Tonight some of my classmates from CPE and I are going to dinner.
All in all a nice birthday.
I am in the midst of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) so I was at the hospital all day. I was home in Dubuque for the weekend though and celebrated with some Wartburg friends and Mike. We had cake and game night up at the castle Saturday. Then we had lunch at Applebee's with more friends on Sunday and more cake. Another great part of birthdays is cake.
Tonight some of my classmates from CPE and I are going to dinner.
All in all a nice birthday.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Seminary Tutorial
How does Seminary work??
Candidacy - the process of getting approval from your Synod to attend Seminary. If you don't have their endorsement then you can't be rostered and you can't take a call at a church in the ELCA. There's a lot to this process. You meet with the committee and you also take extensive psychological tests and get evaluated by a mental health professional. I was approved for entrance (given permission to start school) in May of 2000 (but I didn't go to Seminary immediately). The NW MN Synod allowed that decision to stand after meeting with me again in April 2007.
Summer Greek - All Master's of Divinity Students are required to take Greek in undergrad or the summer immediately before starting Seminary. I took some Greek in college, but that was a long time ago (1998-1999) so I took Greek in the summer of 2007. Five weeks of conjugating verbs!
List of classes Below you will find an ever updated list of classes I took. Some everyone takes and some are electives. This is the list of classes I took specifically each semester.
Junior year - First year of Seminary.
Fall Semester Classes
Spring Semester Classes
My site was Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. La Crosse is about two and a half hours from Dubuque. I'm lived in the Lutheran Campus Center house of the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, with two of my classmates, during the week. I tried to get home on weekends to help Mike remember what I look like. CPE lasted from May 27th - August 8th of 2008. In the hospital I was assigned to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), the CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) and the cardiac step-down unit as a Chaplain Intern. Our days consisted of visiting patients on our floors and classroom time.
Middler year - Second year of Seminary.
During the fall of Middler year you meet with your Candidacy Committee to receive Endorsement which is required before you can go on internship. After that meeting the committee will make an internship recommendation.
Fall Semester Classes
Spring Semester Classes
Internship - 1 year serving in a church with a supervisor. The location is assigned by the Seminary and can be just about anywhere in the country. The assignments happen in March of your Middler Year.
I served my Internship with 2 congregations in South Dakota; St. John's Lutheran in Bancroft, SD and American Lutheran in De Smet, SD. It was a rewarding year filled with lots of great experiences.
Senior Year - Final Year. Candidates write a 17-20 page essay. The seminary faculty and candidacy committee must both approve the candidate before they can be assigned and ordained. In February of your Senior year leadership of the ELCA meet and decide first what region candidates will be assigned to and then what synod (http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Synodical-Relations/Regions.aspx). Then candidates begin interviewing at churches for first call.
Fall Semester Classes
Candidacy - the process of getting approval from your Synod to attend Seminary. If you don't have their endorsement then you can't be rostered and you can't take a call at a church in the ELCA. There's a lot to this process. You meet with the committee and you also take extensive psychological tests and get evaluated by a mental health professional. I was approved for entrance (given permission to start school) in May of 2000 (but I didn't go to Seminary immediately). The NW MN Synod allowed that decision to stand after meeting with me again in April 2007.
Summer Greek - All Master's of Divinity Students are required to take Greek in undergrad or the summer immediately before starting Seminary. I took some Greek in college, but that was a long time ago (1998-1999) so I took Greek in the summer of 2007. Five weeks of conjugating verbs!
List of classes Below you will find an ever updated list of classes I took. Some everyone takes and some are electives. This is the list of classes I took specifically each semester.
Junior year - First year of Seminary.
Fall Semester Classes
- Jesus & the Gospels (Study of the four Gospels)Exegetical Greek (Translating the Gospel of John)
- Anthropology & World Religions
- Spiritual Practices
- Justification & Justice (Intro to Theology)
- Early Church History
- Responding to Issues of Violence Against Women & Children
Spring Semester Classes
- Text to Sermon
- Pauline Letters (Study of the letters of Paul)
- Systematic Theology
- Parish Worship
- Medieval History
- Pastoral Care of Adolescents
- Speaking on Tones (Chanting)
- Israeli / Palestinian Conflict (Audit)
My site was Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. La Crosse is about two and a half hours from Dubuque. I'm lived in the Lutheran Campus Center house of the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, with two of my classmates, during the week. I tried to get home on weekends to help Mike remember what I look like. CPE lasted from May 27th - August 8th of 2008. In the hospital I was assigned to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), the CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) and the cardiac step-down unit as a Chaplain Intern. Our days consisted of visiting patients on our floors and classroom time.
Middler year - Second year of Seminary.
During the fall of Middler year you meet with your Candidacy Committee to receive Endorsement which is required before you can go on internship. After that meeting the committee will make an internship recommendation.
Fall Semester Classes
- Lutheran Confessions (Study of the Book of Concord)
- Educational Ministry (Learning about how do do education in the Parish)
- Liturgy and Life: Marriage, Sickness, and Death (learning about the worship options around these life moments)
- Hebrew Bible (Study of the "Old Testament")
- Hebrew Language (This is HARDER then Greek!!!)
- Systems Thinking and Family Theory (Learning about how different systems affect people's actions)
- Trip to China (Hangzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai)
Spring Semester Classes
- Preaching
- Theology of the Congregation
- Seen & Heard; Foundations of Youth & Family Ministry
- Hebrew Language (part 2)
- Hebrew Bible (part 2)
- Ethics: Luther, the Religions, and the Global Economy
- Contemporary Rural Issues
Internship - 1 year serving in a church with a supervisor. The location is assigned by the Seminary and can be just about anywhere in the country. The assignments happen in March of your Middler Year.
I served my Internship with 2 congregations in South Dakota; St. John's Lutheran in Bancroft, SD and American Lutheran in De Smet, SD. It was a rewarding year filled with lots of great experiences.
Senior Year - Final Year. Candidates write a 17-20 page essay. The seminary faculty and candidacy committee must both approve the candidate before they can be assigned and ordained. In February of your Senior year leadership of the ELCA meet and decide first what region candidates will be assigned to and then what synod (http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Synodical-Relations/Regions.aspx). Then candidates begin interviewing at churches for first call.
Fall Semester Classes
- Church Administration and Mission
- Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
- Christianity and Islam
- Children, the Family, and Faith
- Practical Theology
- Senior Preaching - Preaching the Hebrew Bible
- Trip to Haiti
- Shalom Church
- Spiritual Practices 2
- Senior Bible - Isaiah
- Senior History
- Bible in the Parish
- Leaders in Mission
My first blog... ever!
I'm really excited about starting a blog. I originally thought of it because I often have lots of people I want to update about my life and it takes so long to email and I have to edit and send different versions to different people. This seems like the perfect solution.
To begin with I should mention that I'm just finishing up my first year at Seminary (see the next post for a tutorial on the Seminary process). We're all in finals mode around here. Right now I'm working the extra late shift at the library that happens the last two weeks of the semester. I'll be here until midnight. I have several projects that I'm finishing up, but everything should be finished in a little more than a week.
Seminary so far has been a great success. I have enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Greek has been a challenge and Systematic Theology has made me wonder if I ever really knew anything about God, but all in all school has been great fun. Both Mike and I also like Dubuque (even if Mike is calling our years in Iowa "the exile years"). We keep busy with people our own age, which is great fun, and there's always something going on at the castle. We call Wartburg the castle because it is modeled after Wartburg castle in Germany (where Martin Luther translated the bible while living in hiding from the pope). All in all life is very good.
I am currently looking forward to:
To begin with I should mention that I'm just finishing up my first year at Seminary (see the next post for a tutorial on the Seminary process). We're all in finals mode around here. Right now I'm working the extra late shift at the library that happens the last two weeks of the semester. I'll be here until midnight. I have several projects that I'm finishing up, but everything should be finished in a little more than a week.
Seminary so far has been a great success. I have enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Greek has been a challenge and Systematic Theology has made me wonder if I ever really knew anything about God, but all in all school has been great fun. Both Mike and I also like Dubuque (even if Mike is calling our years in Iowa "the exile years"). We keep busy with people our own age, which is great fun, and there's always something going on at the castle. We call Wartburg the castle because it is modeled after Wartburg castle in Germany (where Martin Luther translated the bible while living in hiding from the pope). All in all life is very good.
I am currently looking forward to:
- The end of the Semester (assuming I pass everything)
- Our trip to St. Paul for my broth -in-law's graduation with a master's in business (May 17)
- Our trip from St. Paul to Fargo to see friends and borrow my mom's car for the summer (May 18-20)
- The beginning of CPE (I think, I'm a little nervous) in La Crosse, WI
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)