Orientation!!

I've just finished Day two of Orientation. I think my brain is going to explode! Way too many names to try to remember, but some of them are starting to stick.
Yesterday was a student serving day and God has such a great sense of humor... I was with a group that went to the Pittsburgh Project. This ministry reaches out to the most vulnerable of the community - the old and the young. Their mission statement comes from a scripture in Zechariah I think that talks about the old sitting on their porches with canes and the young playing in the streets, and just the idea that if the very vulnerable - the old and the young - are good, then the whole community is good. We worked in their community garden and I was hoeing the rows between the crops getting rid of the weeds! Ha! Thought I was done with that dang hoe!!
We then had a financial aide presentation, and a community cookout for all new students, faculty, and families along with an activities fair to learn about all the student groups. That was followed by a dessert gathering for married couples. Phew! End of Day one!
Day two was full of meetings. Much talk about community. Regular communion with God (self-care), community with other seminarians/faculty, and community with the Pittsburgh community (Metro Urban Institute) and world community (World Mission Initiative).
But the two things that made the biggest impression on me were the Welcome Worship service and the talk from the President of the seminary, Dr. Bill Carl.
The worship service was very traditional, but we sang a song that we've sung before in church, "Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore." The chorus says, "O Lord, with Your eyes You have searched me, And, while smiling, have called out my name. Now my boat's left on the shoreline behind me, Now with You I will seek other seas." That line "Now my boat's left on the shoreline behind me" stuck out to me and what I pictured was leaving behind all that GJ is to me and moving forward seeking "new seas." It moved me deeply. I kept thinking of how ten years ago I was just starting back at Mesa State full-time to finish my bachelors degree because I strongly felt God's call to seminary and that's where I needed to start. Since that time the seminary idea has been a part of my reality, for the most part. There were times where I was so happy in my job that I thought - if I never go, I'll still be totally happy with this! But now here I am, and all that thinking and dreaming and talk has become reality. It was surreal, and as I talked with the woman next to me she was in the same place...teary-eyed not believing that she was where she was.
The other thing was the talk that the President gave on community. He talked about the "Four S's" 1) No secrets 2)No surprises 3) No subversion 4) Lots of support.
He talked about no secrets - the need to be transparent and authentic, that a healthy community cannot have gossip and rumors, that conflicts need to be resolved in healthy ways. With no surprises - that people need a "head's up". It's not healthy to blindside people with accusations, demands, or comments in a group without talking with them first. With subversion - don't poison the decision after the vote.. He talked about in a church where decisions are made in a group and then the griping goes on in the parking lot after the meeting - and nothing was brought up in the meeting. When a decision is made, even if you don't agree, once it's made you need to support it. And with support - we all need to be cheerleaders!
It just affirmed for me that I'm at the right place. Dr. Carl just described the community that I came from - that had been transformed from being an unhealthy community into a very healthy one, and I was so excited to hear that that was the kind of community he set out to create when he came to Pittsburgh four years ago. Praise God!!! He also talked about how as future pastors we all need to learn how to live these "Four S's" so that we can live them out for our congregations and model it. I love this place..
Finally, the director of the Metro Urban Institute talked about how the majority of people barely learn about Jesus and many, many learn in very crude and destitute situations. He said, "We need to be asking God, 'Why has God brought us to this privileged place to learn about Him?'" To those who have been given much, much is required... Quite the question..
Tomorrow includes faculty introductions, time with our faculty advisors, registration & ID photos, chapel service led by the contemporary worship team, lunch w/ faculty, and then in the evening we had a choice of going to the Incline, pizza & a movie at the seminary, or a Pirates game. (We chose the Pirates game!) Ten dollar tickets and it's dollar dog night! Woohoo!
We're having dinner with our friends (and former assoc. pastor from 1st Pres. GJ years ago, Doug Marshall) along with two interns/families who are also seminary students at PTS Sat. night. We hope to invite our neighbors who live in the apts in front of us over for a BBQ on Monday.
Missing our baby Rilo boy... Thank God for cells phones with pix/video! (Missing Sean, Megs, Sar & Rob as well...omg and so many more - don't get me started!)
Thanks for your continued prayers, it has made our transition so rich and comforting.
~Sally