Well… I’ve looked over the bulletins for tomorrow and I have nothing else to do until Bill gets back. I guess I’ll work on my essay.

Describe your current life situation including marriage and family situation, physical, spiritual, and emotional health, financial status and geographical restrictions. Describe your understanding of being open to the needs of the whole church as well as your readiness for ministry preparation.
**Maybe it’s just me, but it sounds like this is the weeder question.**

My family situation is thus: I get along with everyone in my family and my husband’s family. Both sets of parents get along well and I often go to my mother-in-law for advice on being a good pastor’s wife. My marriage is as good as it can be considering that I’ve been married only six months. My husband Jonathan is a pastoral intern this year and will be seeking a first call parish next year. I took this year off from seminary so that we could be flexible in where we were placed for Internship.

Physically, my health is good despite a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease (which is currently being looked at again) and my spiritual and emotional health are both improving. In the last six months, I’ve gotten married, moved twice, and transitioned from being a student to being a temporary member of the working world. That does put a strain on the emotions as it creates stress, both positive and negative. Spiritually, I have finally adjusted to not having the same patterns as I’ve had the previous four years. College spiritual life and seminary spiritual life are very different from the spiritual life of one who is in the working world. In college and in seminary, I had little spaces in my day where I could schedule some devotional time. Now, I either have to do it when I get up or before I fall asleep.

Regarding my Crohn’s Diease, I was diagnosed in May of 2001, a month before graduating from college and moving across the country. Back then, I was hospitalized for a week. Since then, I have had one minor stomach ailment with Crohn’s symptoms, but nothing that would confine me in bed for more than a few days. I have altered my diet, my lifestyle, and my physical activity so that I can control the symptoms. Due to my careful watch of my health, I have had no serious problems since May 2001.

Geographically, I do have the restriction of needing to be wherever my husband is called to serve. He has agreed, however, to try to take a call wherever I decide to do seminary. After I finish seminary, we are open to going where the Spirit leads us. We both will have student loans to pay off, so it would probably be beneficial to stay in the Midwest where it is less expensive to live.

In being open to the needs of the church, I understand that I must be available to go where my gifts are needed. This might mean serving in a rural parish, or it might mean that I serve in an urban church. I have been in both environments and I look forward to the challenges that either one offers.

With regard to my ministry preparation, I have completed an academic year of seminary already and I understand the caliber and amount of work that lies ahead of me. While I did not participate in the Ministry in Context program at Trinity (due to lack of eligibility), I was active in my home congregation and learned how to balance my church duties, my academic duties, and my family life.