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| Hiking at Castlewood State Park |
September
has been a month primarily dedicated to school for Mikaela and I. Mikaela has
spent the last month trying to learn what it means to teach upper grades. In
kindergarten the most grading you do is putting a star at the top of the page.
Tests are done verbally, one on one. And grades are not really a thing. In
middle school, however, all of those things are a part of every teacher’s
experience. And so while teaching in the classroom is comfortable to her, she’s
been working on how to manage all of the things that come with it. Weekends are spent lesson planning, and writing tests for the first time was a challenge.
But as much extra work and stress that it is, she is looking at it as a learning opportunity, expanding her skills so that when we move she is more marketable, especially in the grades she would prefer to teach in.
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| Apple picking on a fall morning |
At the
Seminary, there has recently been a massive overhaul of the curriculum,
including a change from quarters to semesters. This sounds like longer classes,
but instead most of my classes only go half a term, seven weeks. And so with
such short terms, September covered most of the first set of classes. This
means that those classes came with what feels like a significantly more rushed
pace. Papers are spaced a lot closer together, and readings have ended up being
more compacted. That being said, this year has actually been lighter because
while the classes have been compacted, there are less at one time. But in any
case, this first term has really flown by.
Not
everything we’ve done at the seminary has been in the classroom. Already we
have begun having meetings for placement. Our first meeting was just a general
introduction to what would be happening, and what would be required of us,
throughout the next year in order to receive a call. On top of that we got
applications to fill out, interviews scheduled, and many other things to do. It
is actually rather thrilling to be able to begin this process and start our
journey toward long-term service in a church, and to not be moving every year.
We also
took time off of official business to spend some time adventuring with friends.
One weekend we drove out to a state park to go on a hike with a small group of
people here from the seminary, catching some surprisingly beautiful views.
Another weekend we decided to make the most of our long-delayed fall weather to
go apple picking with some friends in a nearby orchard, and then went to a
barbecue festival in downtown St. Louis. And mixed in with all of this we have
been taking plenty of walks around the campus and into Forest Park, and even
exercising on occasion. All in all though, outside of school, things have been
relatively quiet, although October should really change that.
We ask
for prayers in many areas of our lives right now. We appreciate your prayer
support so much. It makes such a difference to know that the community of
Christ stretches across the country so that we can lift each other up in prayer
no matter where we may live. We ask that you pray for the placement process. In
late October and early November, we will be going into interviews with
placement directors here at the seminary to help clarify what we are looking
for in a church, community, and ministry as we look to our first call. We ask
for prayers for wisdom and discernment for ourselves and the placement
directors, that we may all clearly express what needs to be expressed. We also
ask that you pray for churches that are beginning the call process, that they
may also receive a pastor who is best fit for their congregation. We especially
ask for prayers in our personal lives. There are things going on in our
personal lives that we cannot share publicly, but we would appreciate it if you
would pray for us, for peace and healing, and that we continue to trust in and
rely on God above all else.
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Nicholas and Mikaela Duerr
