RealWorld Detroit - Day 1

I blogged and journaled my Ministry Immersion experience in Detroit but I had no access to Internet...so I will disperse some of my thoughts and discoveries over the next few days.

Real World- Seminary in Detroit Day 1

Topics for the Class? Racism- Class-ism- Sexism- Heterosexism

     For the past eleven days I have had the unique pleasure to live with a group of seminarians and our professor, in the city of Detroit, Michigan. One of my classmates referred to our experience as “Real World…Seminary style.” Now, there wasn’t any illicit sex, drug use or violence but we did talk about such subjects, plus topics such as racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism. Our discussions were thought provoking, lively, emotional, and candid. Often times we were challenged and angered and sometimes there were hurt feelings, but there was always the presence of understood grace and love. Throughout our days, we found creativity, joy and laughter interspersed in the soul Detroit.... in and amongst the devastation of poverty and crime there was GOD!

      The group largely gathered in Columbus, Ohio and consisted of six male seminarians ranging in ages 24 to 56 and six female seminarians ages 25-59, plus our female professor. Four men were Caucasian and two were African American. The composition of the women consisted of a student from the Republic of Liberia, South Africa, and the rest were Caucasian. In the whole group, ten of us were ELCA Lutheran, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, and one Baptist.

      Before the class started, I knew no one, I was the “new kid on the block,” but I was welcomed with generous hospitality. I was the sole person from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. We had two seminarians from Southern Seminary and the rest were from Trinity Seminary in Columbus OH.  Just like the reality show “Real World”…we hit the road from a neutral-ish location and set ourselves toward Detroit in a caravan of five cars. We arrived at the house on the first day and set about unloading cars and claiming our rooms. The ladies headed upstairs and took claim to a large dorm style room which would sleep four comfortably, next door another room would keep the two other ladies… the Basement- Main level and Upstairs each took pairs of men. We quickly assessed our surroundings….inside temperature 36F….Full size air mattresses for each of us …folding chairs on the main level…2 large banquet tables…4 Queen Anne arm chairs…no couches..no stuffed chairs…no other furniture…scant kitchen set up, no internet, 1 shower…1 claw tub bathtub…3 toilets. And lots of locks on the doors. Locks that locked people out and locks that locked us in….this was going to be interesting.

Debriefing starts here:

- Isaiah 61:1-4 

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor,
   heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
   pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
   a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—
   and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
   give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
   a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness"
   planted by God to display his glory.
They'll rebuild the old ruins,
   raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They'll start over on the ruined cities,
   take the rubble left behind and make it new

A New Day a New Year and Great Resolutions

So one of my new year's resolutions is to start a blog! And look! I can cross off my list "a thing" accomplished! I feel fantastic about this new goal and the idea that I have actually resolved to do this new thing. Seriously, I am not at all real big into making New Year's resolutions. That is because I rarely excel in sticking to them. Oh yeah, we have all been there and done that list: "I am going to lose weight, read more, pray more, love more, be healthier, exercise, do more volunteering, talk less/ listen more, be kinder and more compassionate, travel places, spend less and save more, become a list maker/list crosser off-er, and make up new words (that is my own unique one). Every year the list gets more and more extensive and we can feel overwhelmed with the feeling of failure before we even start. So, why bother?

Then I began to think about the words Jesus says in Matthew, Mark, and John,  "You will always have the poor among you. . . ". This is not an excuse to ignore the poor....but just that we will always fail without the help of God. Just like our New Year's list of resolutions...we will always fail when we don't fully rely on God. I will forget to pray, forget to rely, I will ignore the power that pulls me, pushes me, and fills me. The question is, will I simply stop trying to rely on God just because I come up short so often?

God does not give up on me so I hereby choose grace and mercy and forgiveness...I hope you do too!

I hereby in 2011 resolve to do more with God's help...Relying on Grace though Faith!
Happy New Year with Faith in Tow,
                                                         Teri