Julie’s News from Maryland

Justin is here visting, so we’ve been out being touristy this week.  We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, 5th Ave, the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, and the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn.  It has been so so great to get out of the neighborhood.  Living directly across the street from school, I often don’t have much reason to go further than a few blocks away from my apartment.  It is so great to get out and be part of the world again.  And, if you’re going to be part of the world, Manhattan is a great place to do it.

We will finish off the week with visits to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and Battery Park.  We’re also hoping to hit the drag show at Lips (a restaurant) and go to a piano bar, too.  So much to do, so little time.

Came across these two cartoons recently and they made me laugh out loud. I think the joke about the cassock and the surplice is only funny to me because I think they make everyone look silly.  Still, I offer these for your amusement.

Nicholas lost his first tooth today.  It has been loose for a long time and has been ready to come out for a couple of weeks.  In fact, the new tooth has almost completely grown in already.  But, Nicholas wouldn’t let us pull it, so it came out on its own this evening when he bit into a chocolate chip cookie.  He was super excited about it.  He has written a note asking the tooth fairy to leave his tooth for him because he really likes it a lot.  It was very cute.

Rick and I are feeling like we have past a parenting milestone now that our oldest has lost his first tooth.  Though, I suppose our whole lives will be filled with little milestones like this now.

I took my last final this morning in my Old Testament class.  I feel good about it.  There were a few things that I felt a little uncertain about, but most things I felt really good about.  This test was mostly short answer, as opposed to the previous test that had been mostly multiple choice and matching.  I think I did well and will probably get an A in the class.  Hurray.

I can hardly believe that the semester has ended.  It seems like just yesterday (a year ago) that we were here visiting and decided that this is where I would apply to come to school.  Now I’m already finished with the first semester.  Won’t be long until I’m finished with the whole thing entirely - yippee!

I think that I have discovered that grades in seminary are completely arbitrary and totally subjective. I now have two examples of this.

First, my church music professor returned our mid-term exams yesterday. The test had 5 sections that tested our knowledge of everything from a keyboard, to a staff system, to plainsong and anglican chant, to pitch keys and classes. I got everything perfectly correct, except I missed every question in the pitch section of the test. He circled the things that I missed and put B- at the bottom of the last page. There were 17 questions on the test. I missed 4 of them. By the numbers, I got a 76%, which is a C. But, he gave me a B-.

My second example of this is my exegesis paper. My instructor sent me an email today with her comments about my paper. She basically said that she thinks that I did not take a systematic approach to exploring the specific words used in the passage and how those words are used in other places in the gospel. She also thinks that I did not make careful observations about the position of the passage in the gospel. (She notes with each criticism that she suggested that I do them in an email to me earlier and also in her handout about how to do exegesis. I felt that her instructions and comments were very vague and had I known to do those things I would have. But, that is another story altogether). She goes on to describe that I have basically missed the point of the passage and my exegesis of it is completely inaccurate because I missed the importance of the positioning of the story in the midst of the travel narrative. She gave me a B+.

A B+?! Based on her comments, I didn’t complete the assignment based on her expectations and I came to all the wrong conclusions. I got a B+.

I’m not really sure what to make of it. In Business School, they add up the numbers, divide by the total number of points possible, and arrive at a grade. Apparently in seminary they are using some other sort of calculation. But, I suppose that I shouldn’t complain too much since, so far, it is working to my advantage.

One of the students at the seminary sent an email to all of us today inviting us to attend Christmas Eve worship at the parish where he is doing his field education this year. He describes the parish as follows:

I’m not entirely certain what that means, but I’m pretty sure it is not the place for my family. Can you imagine Nicholas and Ella immersed in a jewel box of Victorian Piety?!

I had another day of disillusionment where I encountered a number of things that just give me no hope for the priesthood or the church. Here’s the list for today:

• Advent Caroling. Someone in my class is organizing an Advent Caroling event. The singers will stroll the neighborhood and sing Advent hymns (not Christmas Carols or secular holiday songs because this is the season of Advent). Even better, those that own cassocks and surplices (the black gowns with the big poofy white blouses) will be wearing them.
• “I’m not comfortable with evangelism.” During a group discussion today, one of my classmates made this statement. Did anyone notice that we are in seminary? To be ordained as priests?
• “Recessional hymns are theologically and liturgically improper.” Ok, so maybe I didn’t quote that one exactly right, but that was the subject of a several minute speech by my church music professor in class today. Apparently, congregations should never sing a recessional hymn because it does not fit properly into the liturgy as prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer. He went on to say that we should just “not do it” even if that is what the people are accustomed to.

Sigh. Just sigh.

The only good news from today is that I never have to attend another church music class again. Yippee. The final for the class, however, is a singing final. I have to sing a gospel (set to Gospel Tone 1, for those who care), a collect (pointed in the “proper” way), and a liturgical setting (I’m doing the Thanksgiving Over the Water that is said just before a baptism because it is easier than any one of the Eucharistic prayers). Can you imagine? Me, singing? I can honestly say that there is no congregation in the world that would rather that I sing a part of the liturgy instead of say it. But, apparently, my church music professor would and if that is the hoop that I must jump through to get out of this class then I’ll gladly do it.

It snowed overnight.  Nicholas came running into my room this morning just thrilled that he saw snow out of the window.  He said, “This is the best day ever!”  The sidewalks were pretty slushy by the time we got outside.  Fortunately, we have all the right gear: snowboots, warm gloves, hats, and scarves, etc.  It was pretty cold outside (around 20 degrees) when we left for church, but it wasn’t too bad.  Nicholas, of course, ran for every bit of undisturbed snow that he saw.  Rick and I are just wondering how long it will be fun before he gets sick of it.  Only time will tell.

Sometimes it’s easy for me to forget that the big city can be a brutal place.  I get lulled into the security and safeness on our serene campus and in what seems like such a nice neighborhood.  I got a brutal reminder last night that this is New York City and not everybody is nice.

Jay and Daniel and I were walking home at 2:00am from the New Jersey PATH train.  We were on a very busy street (23 St.) and looking across the street we saw some commotion.  We stopped to watch more closely and realized that in the midst of the small crowd, there was a person on the ground being beaten.  There was a lot of motion and it was hard to see what was really happening, but we did see someone pick up a metal post and hit the person on the ground.  Shortly after that, the crowd retreated back towards the front of the bar and left alone on the ground was a young man (who was clearly bleeding badly) and another young man with him.

Jay and Daniel and I stood dumbstruck.  We didn’t immediately know what to do.  We were all inclined to cross the street, but waited a moment or two to see what was going to happen next.  Since it appeared that the fight was over, we crossed the street to see if we could help.  The man on the ground was in a fetal position and there was a small pool of blood near his face.  His friend was kneeling behind him, using a shirt to apply pressure to the bleeding coming from his face.  I sat behind the friend, found the victim’s coat and covered him with it, and began to pray aloud.  Jay and Daniel made sure that someone had called an ambulance.  Daniel took a turn applying pressure to the wound.  Jay talked to the friend and watched for the ambulance.  The crowd in front of the bar took a completely spectator role. Not one of them moved forward to help or participate in what was happening in front of them.

The ambulance arrived within a few minutes.  It seemed like a long time, but I’m sure it was less than 5 minutes.  The victim was able to stand and walk to the ambulance.  Jay noted that he was pretty drunk which is probably what kept him from panicking and screaming in pain.  His friend looked pretty shell-shocked as the paramedics were helping him into the ambulance.  I stood with him and talked to him a bit.  I could see in his eyes that he was scared and I hope he was grateful for our presence.

When they were loaded in the ambulance, we picked up our things and walked away.  I had been nearly asleep on the train I was so tired, but was now wide awake - it’s amazing what adrenaline will do.   I felt good that we had gone forward to help.  Truthfully, there was nothing for us to do but just be there, but I know that I would have wanted friendly people around me if I was in that situation.  Up until last night, I had experienced the city to be a pretty friendly, mild place.  Last night’s events were a startling reminder that it isn’t all so mild and nice.

In my Church Music class yesterday, we were practicing singing gospel texts. (You really don’t want to know what I have to say about that exercise).  One of the texts that we sang was the Palm Sunday gospel.  As we were leaving class, one of my friends rhetorically asked what happened to the donkey - she teased that it would seem that Jesus had stolen it.  Someone joked that he’d just borrowed it and brought it back.  I piped up and pointed out that it really had been a stewardship activity - the man who offered up the donkey was just  being a good steward of his resources.  My friend, Robin, cracked up!  She told me that I am not allowed to preach that the Palm Sunday story is a stewardship story and that if I ever do that she will hunt me down.

But, could the Palm Sunday story be a stewardship story?  Could it be that the owner of the donkey gave it willingly, knowing that he was using the gifts that God had given him to the service of the Kingdom? Things that make you go hmmmmmm.