Last week

Last week was a busy week - I was glad that the week before had been reading week, since I felt somewhat caught up on reading and assignments, rather than feeling like I was hopelessly falling behind!

I had 3 assignments due:

• A response to one of the readings we did about Communion (8 pages)
• An exegesis on Genesis 32:22-32 (5 pages)
• A Pastoral Glossary, part 2/3 (5 terms each time - we pick the terms and write the definitions)

I also had one midterm exam in Theological Foundations - my first exam of any sort in 15+ years.  Now that it is over, I am feeling OK with how I did, but I am still waiting for my mark.  There were 7 essay questions (all based on the lectures), and I had to choose 4 to answer in 1 hour.  I ended up writing 14 pages (double-spaced), and had a few minutes left at the end to re-read my answers, and cross out and re-print any words where I couldn't read my own handwriting.  Here's hoping that the professor can read my scrawl!

Wednesday afternoon is usually our Formation group - where we get together with our denominational peers and discuss issues specific to our denomination.  Last week, the Anglican and United Church formation groups got together and had a day-long workshop in Ministry with Seniors.  Since I come from a background of working with seniors in the health care sector, I didn't find the morning session very helpful (it was focused on the practical needs of seniors) - though it was interesting to learn how the services are different in this province as compared with my home province.  But the afternoon session focused on the spiritual needs of seniors was much more interesting from my perspective.

Anyways, with papers and exams and regular classes and extra classes, on Thursday I was a bad student and I skipped the student union meeting (and I felt bad afterwards when I found out that they just needed one more student to make quorum…).  But I was feeling a bit weary, and even the thought of sitting in a meeting for an hour exhausted me.  So instead, I headed back in to the chapel and spent an hour practicing on the pipe organ :-)

We also had a couple of arts events last week at the school.  There was a photography display up in the library on the theme of "Houses of Worship" - mostly churches, but trying to include other religions across Canada and the US.  On Monday after chapel, the photographer gave a talk in the library which was very interesting.  And then on Thursday evening, there was a talk on "Poetry and Preaching" in the chapel, and that was amazing!  We had the poet laureate of Halifax, El Jones, along with a former graduate of the school.  The poet recited several of her (very powerful) spoken word poems, and then the preacher gave us a spoken word sermon based on the upcoming Sunday's lectionary.

I have been recruited to sit on the school's Arts and Theology Committee, though I won't be able to attend any meetings until next term due to a conflict with my class schedule.

And one final "arts" encounter.  On Tuesday, when I got off the ferry and was rushing to catch my bus, there was a busker in the ferry terminal.  I couldn't stop and listen for long - it was the morning of my midterm exam so I really didn't want to miss my bus connection - but it definitely gave me pause as I rushed up the stairs behind him.  Hearing one of the Bach solo cello suites echoing around the ferry terminal helped to calm my mind and put me in a good state for my exam.  I was hoping all week that he would be back so that I could stop and thank him; but then I found out at the end of the week that it was an experiment and the busker was the principal cellist for Symphony Nova Scotia.

And that was my week last week!