Matt and Kristin in the Philippines

I'm going to seminary! McCormick Theological Seminary.

I'm not going to be a pastor.

I am going to share a portion of my autobiographical statement....
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We have a ticket home. In two weeks we will pack up our souvenirs and memories in suitcases bound for the United States. In two weeks we will leave behind a country of equatorial sun, pillaged land, political killings, landslides, volcanic eruptions, displaced families. In two weeks we will stand in a Chicago we haven't seen, heard or felt in a year.

So why seminary? Truthfully, it's the only option that brings my gut a sense of peace. I knew we'd return to Chicago for Matt's final year so I researched the tremendous wealth of job offerings in non-profit organizations and could not imagine myself in any of them. I don't know how re-entry will affect my being but I assume it will turn the world upside down yet again and it seems irresponsible to deal with other people's emotional junk when I'm dealing with my own in very new ways. I do know I want to begin the process of rebuilding a faith still scattered at my feet. I want the intentionality of community because it is through relationships that God becomes real. I want the familiarity of McCormick and Chicago. I'd like to go part-time in order to develop my passion for photography, but also because of the uncertainty that accompanies a decision like this. I don't know where I am headed vocationally, but that does not worry me. I want to learn what there is to be taught about making God real through social justice work, how to practice Jesus outside of a traditional church setting, how to unite with my global brothers and sisters of all faith traditions. I come with many doubts about the church and this man we call Jesus, I come with questions and skepticism. I come with the touch of a hungry child on my hip and a prostituted woman holding my hand. I come knowing the imperfection of the world and that the struggle is too big for me. I come believing this is the next right step. I come because I have a ticket home and the knowledge that this is only a beginning.