Greetings, friends and supporters!
I am long overdue for an update on my life and progress towards ordination, so settle in: this is going to be a long one!
I finished internship at the end of July. I am following the “traditional” path, which means that internship takes place between the 2nd and 3rd year of academic coursework at seminary. In order to be at home in North Carolina for internship, I split my time between two churches: Abiding Savior Lutheran in Durham, and Holy Trinity Lutheran in Raleigh. These two churches are very different in many respects – one is a small congregation made up of folks primarily of African descent, while the other is a larger congregation with an active campus ministry and made up of folks primarily of Northern-European descent. As it happened, both churches ended up with interim pastors during my internship, so quite by accident, I have become familiar with the particularities of interim ministry. I promise I did *not* drive the pastors away … I think. 😉
Being at these two sites opened a lot of doors that might otherwise have been closed. Through several leaders from Abiding Savior, I was invited to join the NC Synod’s anti-racism facilitation team, and co-facilitated an all-day workshop on white privilege for about 60 rostered leaders. After the senior pastor left the church in Raleigh, I was able to take on primary responsibility for the confirmation program, which turned out to be great fun! I have been able to participate in ecumenical and interfaith gatherings in not one, but TWO cities over this past year, and have learned so much from a wide range of colleagues in public ministry. It really was a great year.
Holy Trinity extended an offer of regular employment to me for my last year of seminary. So, while I’m taking my classes at United Lutheran Seminary both online and through week-long intensives, I am heading up the Faith Formation program at Holy Trinity. A group of women in the church are ready and raring to tackle systemic racism in the church and asking me for help. I am so excited to work with them to develop a program of education and action under the umbrella of Faith Formation. Additionally, by virtue of what’s available online, this semester’s classes all revolve around our theological and scientific understandings of our relationship to Creation. Meanwhile, a large percentage of the congregation are scientists and faculty in a range of science departments at NC State. Sometimes I think the Holy Spirit is just showing off. Honestly! I expect this to be a fruitful year of integrating everything I’m learning and my passion for racial justice into practical ministry.
The best part about this academic year is being at home to share it with my husband, Noah. Noah will be auditing my next intensive, “Science and Scripture,” so we have both been wading through the book assigned for the class. I did not fully appreciate how much we were missing out on together until this semester. I am so grateful that, through the job at Holy Trinity and through scholarship support, we are able to stay in North Carolina, not worry about the added travel expenses for intensives, and enjoy this rare opportunity to learn together.
Mack and Professor Snugglepuss are doing just fine. Snugglepuss gave us a bit of a scare last winter when he stopped grooming and lost a bunch of weight. The vet confirmed: it’s hyper-thyroidism, a fairly common ailment in older cats. We were forced to give him a rather unfortunate-looking lion cut after his lack of grooming led to matted fur. Snugglepuss has gotten over the embarrassment of that, is now taking medication and feasting like royalty on expensive prescription cat food every day, and is back to a healthy weight. In related news, I joined a Facebook group for clergy with cats, which is amazing and life-giving.
All in all, life is good – just busy. Please keep us in your prayers as we head into the last step of the Candidacy process, which involves interviews with seminary faculty and members of the candidacy committee in the Metro DC Synod. By February or March, we will already be waiting to find out to which region and synod I am being assigned. As it does, time is hurtling us right along towards an ambiguous future. Thank you all for your support on this wild ride!
Peace,
Jen Moore
A Sacred Space 