I have a love/hate relationship with our discipleship program. It's awful, but it's true. I have long loved that we have this program: a weekly time for discipleship, with the lecturers discipling students. I have long hated that it comes at 4:00 on Wednesdays, and makes for a really long day, before our really long Thursdays (with Eucharist at 5:15). As a lecturer, this love/hate relationship continues, mostly because now, I'm responsible for providing the content!
For a number of reasons, we were late getting the discipleship groups formed. The practical studies coordinator decided to group the students by diocese, so that the discipleship tutors are (generally) also supervising the students on their Sunday and block placements.
Since I was the one posting the lists, last Tuesday I announced to the BD2s that the discipleship lists were posted. Immediately, three students asked if I was their tutor. I told them to check the list.
The next day in discipleship, the practical studies coordinator announced the discipleship groups. I think there was only one set of groans when the tutor's name was read, and when my name was read, one of my students clapped that I was his tutor. I found that to be *just* a little awkward, though I'm thrilled that no one groaned!
The next day, those same three students asked why I wasn't their tutor - as if I can have a discipleship group of 33!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Proverbs coursework
When I was a student, I had an assignment to read a chapter of the Bible a day, noting the "striking message" and writing a prayer to accompany it. I thought it was easy marks. A bit annoying to make notes in my quiet time, but still. How can you go wrong with this?
As a lecturer, I thought this would be a great assignment to give my students. I liked it because it's easy marks (and easy marking for me), but also because it gets the students out of the head-work of studying the Bible and engages the heart. So I assigned this for the book of Proverbs: read a chapter a day, and note the striking message and write a prayer.
Wow. My students really struggled with the concept; I began to question whether I had explained it well. They kept asking me whether they needed to consult commentaries - nope. Just write what strikes you, and a prayer that comes from it.
When they submitted the assignment, I asked what they thought of it. My sweet student Francis, probably about 25, and always sits in the front row and asks insightful questions, shook his head at me.
"Reverend," he said reproachfully, still shaking his head... "this one [the assignment]..." still shaking his head.
I'm glad I gave them this assignment; quite a few of them really engaged with the text. Naturally, some of them coasted through. But Proverbs is such a practical book, and we dealt with the academics of it in the lecture that I wanted them to try to be able to apply the text.
As a lecturer, I thought this would be a great assignment to give my students. I liked it because it's easy marks (and easy marking for me), but also because it gets the students out of the head-work of studying the Bible and engages the heart. So I assigned this for the book of Proverbs: read a chapter a day, and note the striking message and write a prayer.
Wow. My students really struggled with the concept; I began to question whether I had explained it well. They kept asking me whether they needed to consult commentaries - nope. Just write what strikes you, and a prayer that comes from it.
When they submitted the assignment, I asked what they thought of it. My sweet student Francis, probably about 25, and always sits in the front row and asks insightful questions, shook his head at me.
"Reverend," he said reproachfully, still shaking his head... "this one [the assignment]..." still shaking his head.
I'm glad I gave them this assignment; quite a few of them really engaged with the text. Naturally, some of them coasted through. But Proverbs is such a practical book, and we dealt with the academics of it in the lecture that I wanted them to try to be able to apply the text.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Feeling a bit better!
Thank you for your prayers; I think I'm on the mend now. And so, it's time to finish preparing for the lecture on Job tomorrow. :)
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
In other news...
Apparently, I didn't have malaria at all last week. But I do have an infection. And I think the meds are making me sick; my complaints are consistent with its side effects.
Please pray for healing and recovery. Aside from being utterly wretched, I miss being with my students.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Supervision and a reunion
One of my duties as a lecturer in theology is supervising students on their Sunday placement and block placement during the long holiday. The latter will send me back to Soroti, which I'm looking forward to, and to Kigali, Rwanda, which I'm REALLY looking forward to! Especially since I think I'll get to fly, vice taking the bus.
So, we finally began visiting students this week (as last week, they were involved with the Martyrs' Day activities), and while I know that I can never be inconspicuous in a church here, I had hoped that I could go to church, try to hide (so as to not scare my students if they saw me), and then greet the vicar.
I got to the church rather early, so I sat in the parking lot until people started arriving. There were no pillars in this church to sit behind, so I sat in a back row.
That is, until the service leader asked me to go to the vestry. I'm a priest, so I was wearing my collar, but I had intended to *observe* the service, not participate. What is the saying about good intentions?
The vicar is a lovely man, and he insisted that I process in with them, then sit up front, next to the service leader. So much for trying to be inconspicuous. He introduced me to the congregation (which I expected), then asked me to bless the children as they went to Sunday School.
I'm honored that he asked me to participate (and recess out), and of course, after the service there was tea. One delight from the day is that the guest preacher was a friend of mine from seminary, and it was delightful to hear him preach and catch up with him after.
So, we finally began visiting students this week (as last week, they were involved with the Martyrs' Day activities), and while I know that I can never be inconspicuous in a church here, I had hoped that I could go to church, try to hide (so as to not scare my students if they saw me), and then greet the vicar.
I got to the church rather early, so I sat in the parking lot until people started arriving. There were no pillars in this church to sit behind, so I sat in a back row.
That is, until the service leader asked me to go to the vestry. I'm a priest, so I was wearing my collar, but I had intended to *observe* the service, not participate. What is the saying about good intentions?
The vicar is a lovely man, and he insisted that I process in with them, then sit up front, next to the service leader. So much for trying to be inconspicuous. He introduced me to the congregation (which I expected), then asked me to bless the children as they went to Sunday School.
I'm honored that he asked me to participate (and recess out), and of course, after the service there was tea. One delight from the day is that the guest preacher was a friend of mine from seminary, and it was delightful to hear him preach and catch up with him after.
Martyrs' Day
NTV coverage of Martyrs' Day (I've not seen it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE2a38Vso5A&feature=em-uploademail
3 June, Martyrs' Day, is a public holiday in Uganda, and the day that remembers the 45 Uganda martyrs who were killed between late 1885 and mid-1886 for not renouncing their Christian faith. 26 young men were killed on 3 June 1886 for refusing the kabaka's (king's) homosexual advances.
I appreciate how the martyrs are remembered here, as comparatively, it seems as though the American memory is short. The Church marks the day with a Eucharist at the shrine - there are services at the Catholic and Anglican shrines. People make pilgrimages every year to the site (though that is mostly Catholics, one of the Anglican bishops walked from Ankole, at least a six hour drive), and there is an all-night vigil the night prior.
As part of the Bishop Tucker Theological College's centenary celebrations, UCU hosted the celebrations at the Anglican site this year. Preparations have been ongoing for months - fundraising for the event, refurbishing the shrine, shoring up the tree where the martyrs were beaten (as people have been peeling the bark as souvenirs for years).
As part of the hosting, students and staff spent much of the weekend at the Namugongo site, hosting prayers, conducting door-to-door evangelism, and performing dramas. It was a massive effort, and I am so, SO proud of them. In addition to their studies, they spent a huge amount of time here working, and then resumed lectures on Tuesday.
Compared to them, I got off relatively easy. We left UCU about 5:30 am, and arrived at the shrine a little before 6. Mary Jane Dennison had come along to help me sell the new prayer books, and it was so wonderful to have her along. It was a bit strange to be walking around the church and the site in the dark, trying to figure out which students we were greeting. :)
UCU had set up a tent from which to sell the various centenary celebration items: shirts, cups, umbrellas, hats, and of course, the new prayer books. If you're going to do Martyrs' Day, that's the way to do it.
Mary Jane introduced me to a British missionary couple, Chris and Ros Howels, who serve at Namugongo Martyrs' Seminary. They are a delightful couple, with two adorable boys, and most importantly, they allowed us to use their facilities during the day. We had several times of wonderful fellowship with them, as well as enjoying the lovely and spacious bathroom!
The actual service for the day was about five hours, which is what we expected. Though the service is technically "only" a Eucharist, the in true African style, the preaching goes on for a bit (this year, over an hour), and then there are speeches, and lots of music, so really, not so bad. However, the service began at 10, and we had been there since before 6...
This is the second Martyrs' Day I've attended; as wonderful a day as it is, I really don't think I need to do it again. :)
3 June, Martyrs' Day, is a public holiday in Uganda, and the day that remembers the 45 Uganda martyrs who were killed between late 1885 and mid-1886 for not renouncing their Christian faith. 26 young men were killed on 3 June 1886 for refusing the kabaka's (king's) homosexual advances.
I appreciate how the martyrs are remembered here, as comparatively, it seems as though the American memory is short. The Church marks the day with a Eucharist at the shrine - there are services at the Catholic and Anglican shrines. People make pilgrimages every year to the site (though that is mostly Catholics, one of the Anglican bishops walked from Ankole, at least a six hour drive), and there is an all-night vigil the night prior.
As part of the Bishop Tucker Theological College's centenary celebrations, UCU hosted the celebrations at the Anglican site this year. Preparations have been ongoing for months - fundraising for the event, refurbishing the shrine, shoring up the tree where the martyrs were beaten (as people have been peeling the bark as souvenirs for years).
As part of the hosting, students and staff spent much of the weekend at the Namugongo site, hosting prayers, conducting door-to-door evangelism, and performing dramas. It was a massive effort, and I am so, SO proud of them. In addition to their studies, they spent a huge amount of time here working, and then resumed lectures on Tuesday.
Compared to them, I got off relatively easy. We left UCU about 5:30 am, and arrived at the shrine a little before 6. Mary Jane Dennison had come along to help me sell the new prayer books, and it was so wonderful to have her along. It was a bit strange to be walking around the church and the site in the dark, trying to figure out which students we were greeting. :)
UCU had set up a tent from which to sell the various centenary celebration items: shirts, cups, umbrellas, hats, and of course, the new prayer books. If you're going to do Martyrs' Day, that's the way to do it.
Mary Jane introduced me to a British missionary couple, Chris and Ros Howels, who serve at Namugongo Martyrs' Seminary. They are a delightful couple, with two adorable boys, and most importantly, they allowed us to use their facilities during the day. We had several times of wonderful fellowship with them, as well as enjoying the lovely and spacious bathroom!
The actual service for the day was about five hours, which is what we expected. Though the service is technically "only" a Eucharist, the in true African style, the preaching goes on for a bit (this year, over an hour), and then there are speeches, and lots of music, so really, not so bad. However, the service began at 10, and we had been there since before 6...
This is the second Martyrs' Day I've attended; as wonderful a day as it is, I really don't think I need to do it again. :)
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Are you serious?!
Yesterday was Martyrs' Day, and I will write about it soon. The hosting duties rotate among the dioceses, and in honor of our centenary celebrations.
We launched the new prayer book yesterday, so I spent the celebrations with my good friend Mary Jane as we sat in the UCU tent and hawked the book. I'd not been feeling well last week, and trying to talk over the loudspeakers didn't help, and lost my voice a bit.
This morning, I was still feeling awful: feverish and lightheaded. I wondered if I could have malaria, but decided to go to the clinic tomorrow. In the late afternoon I changed my mind, which was good, because I do have malaria. Yay. I think i asked the doctor if she was serious. The good news is that I think I caught it early enough that I won't be as sick as last time.
Here's to better living through chemistry!
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