Orientation Conclusion

These last weeks of orientation have been a good time of reflection and fellowship. The first week was in Louisville, where we met with key members of a committee (our “matrix”) that oversees our work (for us, this was an area director, a person who works in theological education, and someone who works with personnel matters).

The second and third weeks were in Chicago. We were housed at McCormick/LSTC. Here we met with long-term volunteers or mission workers with the Reformed Church in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Capuchin Franciscans (a college volunteer corps). I worked briefly in the RCA and UCC and Emily was a volunteer with Jesuit Volunteers, so we found some connections to past experiences. I enjoyed meeting several denominational mission leaders (the RCA's Jhonny Alicea-Baez) and some of the regional directors for these areas (the ELCA's Y. Franklin Ishida). We may see some of these people again in Taipei eventually, which would be fun.

Our daily Bible Study leader was Mark Swanson, someone I enjoyed meeting. Swanson works in Muslim-Christian studies and, along with Jay Rock (PCUSA interfaith expert) led us on mosque visits. Our groups visited the American Islamic College. Our host was friendly and patiently answered questions. I’ve lived or traveled in a few contexts with large Muslim populations (Singapore, northern Ghana, west China), and I enjoyed the perspective on immigrant experiences in the US.

We learned a lot formally, but I probably most appreciated the informal discussions. I enjoyed talking with some other folk headed into seminary education abroad. And I especially appreciated getting to know the Presbyterian contingent. I don’t know how many of these people I will see again, but I have high hopes.

Our next few weeks are primarily a time of transition. Aside from paperwork and getting ourselves together for the flight, our goal is to spend some time with family and to work on academic projects. Emily has two related school projects and I have a chapter, an introduction, and some editing work to do. More updates to follow...