A Seminarian's Update: Dirk Labuschagne

Dear Members of Raleigh Court Presbyterian:

Greetings and blessings to you from sunny Chicago!  That’s right – sunny, not windy, as the city is usually known.  My first year at McCormick Theological Seminary has been during an especially mild and non-Chicago-like winter, and, I have to say, I am very glad.  I was able to adjust to studying, familiarize myself with the libraries, neighborhood, and my fellow classmates, and find my footing with my professors all without frostbite-inducing temperatures and mountains of snow.

I have just concluded a wonderful first year at McCormick.  My wife, Amy, and I live in student housing, and we have enjoyed the community and fellowship of McCormick greatly.  Hyde Park is a beautiful neighborhood, and I have taken advantage of the University of Chicago library as I have researched papers and prepared for exams.  At this point, Hebrew is behind me and Greek is before me, I have examined theological issues I studied in South Africa from an American perspective, and I have hammered out a “faith statement.”  I can say with a certain amount of confidence that, though it would seem easy, a “faith statement” is relatively difficult for a theology student to compose.  Imagine a law student having to write a “law statement!”  Next year I will be starting my field placement at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, which will give me invaluable experience working in a congregational setting as a student intern.

For the summer, Amy and I will be staying in Chicago, where she will continue to work until she, too, begins graduate school in the fall, and I will be involved in a summer program through a local congregation.  We look forward to the slower pace of the season, where evenings can involve a little more ‘calm’ and a little less ‘classwork.’  Toward the end of the summer we are fortunate to be able to make a trip to South Africa for a couple of weeks to visit our family and friends, as well.

Overall, I have worked hard and I have learned a lot.  I am thankful every day for the opportunity I have to study at McCormick and prepare for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  With my first year behind me, I know not what the next two years hold, but I am certain I am in the right place.  Thank you all for your support and kindness as I have prepared for and begun this seminary journey.  I value Raleigh Court, and look forward to returning for a visit soon!

Grace and peace,

Dirk Labuschagne

A Seminarian's Update: Rachel Erb

Dear Friends,

My first year at Union Presbyterian Seminary is drawing to a close.  I have been genuinely challenged, both personally and academically, but on the whole it is a rewarding and affirming experience by far.  It is a marvelous realization that through it all I truly feel that I am doing what God has called me to do.  I made it through Hebrew school this summer, fall semester, a January term, and spring semester.  The classes I took ranged from two semesters of Old Testament to Pastoral Care to The Teaching Ministry of the Church, and though their topics varied widely, they all gave me pieces of the puzzle that have started to make up my practice of ministry.  I have experienced the cancellation due to a blizzard of an in-progress inter-seminary flag football tournament in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, worked as a hostess at a gala dinner and auction celebrating Union’s bicentennial, coordinated all the volunteers for a weekend-long Ultimate Frisbee tournament, and eaten about half my weight in Sweet Frog frozen yogurt while taking study breaks, even running into Tupper there while he was in town.  I have also worshipped at over a dozen different churches and venues in Richmond, had truly meaningful conversations with friends and strangers alike, bought my first set of biblical commentaries, and felt the Spirit at work in my life in too many ways to name.  I have been blessed with remarkable and inspiring professors and fellow students who come together to create a community that faithfully engages, supports, and challenges its members as we all seek to discern and follow God’s call in our lives.

The seminal event in my year was without a doubt my trip to Haiti over spring break.  A group of ten from Union, drawn from both the Richmond and Charlotte campuses, were hosted by an organization called the Comprehensive Development Project (CODEP) in L’Acul, a seaside town about thirty miles to the west of Port au Prince.  It sounds cliché, but it was truly a life-changing experience.  CODEP is a development organization, active for over twenty years, that mainly addresses reforestation, along with related components like education, agriculture, and housing, and seeks to solve Haitian problems with Haitian solutions by employing Haitian people.  While it would be impossible for me to sum up what I learned and my experiences there in what is meant to be a short update, suffice it to say that I was sincerely struck by the amount of wonderful work CODEP does and the results they achieve, a large consequence being the hoping and planning for the future that is engendered in the 600 or so Haitians that they employ, something that is typically hard to find in the Haitian culture and its people.  It is a truly magnificent project, one that I plan to continue working with in the future.

My summer plans take me on a small tour of the Southeast.  After a May term class in Richmond and a short stop in Roanoke, I'm heading to Montreat, North Carolina, for two weeks as a small group leader at the Youth Conferences, and a week as a participant in the Worship & Music Conference.  At the beginning of July I'm moving to Decatur, Georgia, for two months to attend Greek school at Columbia Theological Seminary.  Like Hebrew school last summer, I will (try to) learn two semesters worth of a language in eight short but very full weeks.  I'm excited about connecting with new people in my field, taking advantage of the "big city" opportunities Atlanta has to offer while not being there long enough to get fed up with the traffic, and, of course, learning Greek!

I'll be back in Richmond in time to help with new student orientation at the beginning of September, as I was recently elected Fellowship Committee Chair for next year.  I have accepted a year-long internship at a Presbyterian church near the school which will start in the fall as a hands-on addition to my continuing coursework, and I'm really looking forward to putting the things I'm learning in an academic setting into practice in a congregation.  (A curious aside: We are, of course, RCPC; the church I attended when my family lived in North Carolina was Davidson College Presbyterian Church, DCPC; and my internship is with Three Chopt Presbyterian Church - you guessed it, TCPC!)  Things don’t seem to slow down, but I am definitely enjoying myself through the crazy ride!

On a more personal front, I really cannot express to you how much your prayers, notes of encouragement, and interest in my first year experience have meant to me.  I truly appreciate your support, and miss my Raleigh Court family.  You are in my prayers.  I’ll be back at RCPC for a few Sundays this summer, and would love to catch up, answer questions, or just generally chat, so please say hello!  I’ll see y’all soon, but for now, as always, God bless.

Yours in Christ,

Rachel

SOLILOQUY

SOLILOQUY

Alone I stand

Alone-- alone.

The barren sand

stretched far and wide

on either hand

to where gray heaven

touches grayer land.

One tree alone remains

to break the sad monotony

of barren plains.

Alone as I

its jagged silhouette

imprinted on the sky

bare limbs

that reach for heaven

roots that cling

to cold gray shifting sand.

I listen to its silent cry --

Tired of this weary life

and yet, afraid to die.

-Mary Jo Shannon