one year down - 9 million to go

Since my last post (from this morning) was kind of on the negative side, here's a positive post:

I'm done with my first 12 months of seminary!

The paper is turned in!

Two of the books that we read for this class were really good, and for many of you blog readers (Harmans, Kelsey, Richard, Harvey, Karla, Leah . . . I'm not sure who else does urban ministry or urban education and reads this:) ) really relevant to our work and life.

The first is Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson. It describes the moral code that lies behind some of what is seen as senseless violence and behavior in innercity Philadelphia. While the culture and the code is somewhat more concentrated in Philly than in Minneapolis or Saint Paul, the information is good.

The second is is Unequal Childhoods by Annette Lareau, which describes class differences in childraising and differing parenting styles in middle class, working class and poor families and how these parenting styles prepare kids for adulthood in the class that they were born in. This was a particularly interesting read for me, working in a ministry that is so diverse socio-economically. What I liked about this book was that Lareau surveys and tells the story of African American and White families at each income level.

There's a benefit of my seminary education, book reviews for you!

I have no idea if I have two years or four years or six years left. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up and whether I'll be Mastering the Art of Community Ministry Leadership(MA), Mastering Divinity(MDiv), or getting PhD or DMin. (of all the initials D.Min. sounds the stupidest). But it feels good to be done with a year!

So Holly and I are on summer vacation (from school our professional lives are kicking into high gear).

I'm off to bring Matt and Em to the airport, then Kassie and I are going to Garrison Keilor at the fair!


Peace,

Katie