WHAT'S GOIN' ON

BY:  Cheri Roland

Dearest Family and Family,

         Guess you might have thought we had vanished!  But, no, this is crunch time when working in an almost new institution with a whole world of God possibilities just waiting to be tried on.  “Exciting” would be a gross understatement.

         First we need to thank the United Methodist General Board of Global Missions for developing a dynamite internship program for budding ministers.  Hillary Taylor, a new Furman University grad, came to us a month ago courtesy of GBGM, as a 14 month volunteer to SMMS, after which she will serve another 18 months in mission stateside.   We are grooming her to take over the reins of the practical ministry course, FEM, when we bid adieu in 2013 on April Fool’s Day.  Maybe a message there…

         Finishing the academic year comes with challenges of its own, as all of you teachers will appreciate.  The flurry of assignments, final exams, marking, averaging, avenging!!!  Just kidding…   A major mission for us, exclusive to our course, has been tracking down evaluations written by our partner agencies on individual seminarians.  OH the trauma and gnashing of teeth around typical TIA (This Is Africa) complications - no copier, the weather, no way to bring them, no one there when we go to pick them up, having not even begun to fill them out when we arrive at the agreed upon time, no email access because the power lines have been stolen (to get the copper)…  We also have helped with invigilating, or monitoring, exams.  And all this must be done allowing time for those who have failed an exam to take “supplementaries” (for students who have failed).  Our valedictory service closes out the year this Saturday.   We staff members then work through December 14^th.

         But the MOST exciting project now is the makeover of our FEM program.  It all began with a visit by Dr. Mark Fowler from Garrett Theological Seminary in Chicago, a friend of Pete Grassow.  Pete is our Chaplin and new Head of Formation, under which FEM falls.   Anyway, Mark came this past winter (Tampa’s summer) to review our FEM course; his speciality is practical ministry, so who better to help expand our vision?  He was full of praise for what Doug and I had put in place, saying our program rivalled those of many seminaries in the States.  What he saw missing was integration into the academic side of seminary life.  We wholeheartedly agreed.  Our meager attempts to link with our lecturers had fizzled, often because of the existing seminary structure.

         The renowned Dr. Peter Storey to the rescue!   He has been our interim president and most excellent backdoor neighbour when in visiting in Pietermaritzburg.   Dr. Storey has redefined our internal structure to compliment a just birthed revolutionary seminarian assessment tool.  This is so new that MCSA General Council hasn’t even voted on it yet!  The idea is to evaluate the person called to ministry using the same criteria from day one till ordination seven years later.   We can’t wait to try it out!   No longer will the three years at SMMS viewed as a separate and sacred time block not to be messed with by EMMU bishops peering down from their thrones.  No, now we are all one big happy family, thanks to Ross Olivier, his son Jon-Mark, and Peter Storey expanding horizons.  Yes, there have been hands of reconciliation across the water.  

         With this fortuitous  rethink, FEM will indeed to join the rank of an honest-to-goodness academic class – and get this – will be taught by none other than our new seminary pres, Dr. Mvume Dandala!  Take about instant clout .   One week will be classroom time, and the next, their agency visits to apply what they are learning.  SMMS offers both a Diploma in Practical Ministry and a Bachelor of Theology, with year one providing the foundation for following in Jesus’ footsteps, year two focuses on deepening  servanthood and year three culminates in leadership training.  

         So all of these changes have necessitated ferretting out NEW agencies to partner with SMMS in this adventure.  I’m sure you all are OK with CHANGE, but it’s still a six letter word for me.   My gut reaction was to circle the wagons around the program we had built – but how silly is that?!   This overturning of the apple cart – forgive my mixed metaphors – has actually knocked out the rotten air, making room for revitalization and exploration of other wonderful agencies in our area who are doing amazing work for the Lord.  And, shock of ages, they are not all Methodist…

         Hillary has come to the fore to shake up our in-the-box-thinking (see the need for our blog’s name?), and with her enthusiasm will propel this program to new heights.  She will be the official coordinator, linking the agencies with the lecturers.  And get this!  Our new accountant and his wife from Malawi -- who knew they both have a Masters in Practical Ministry?  Yet another God thing!  So they have been recruited as adjunct lecturers for FEM. This classroom experience will also offer a fabulous venue for our agency staff members to share their stories and expertise as well as greatly increase seminarians’ exposure to issues at the intersecton of ethnicity, church and society .

         SOOO, as you can tell, we have tons and tons to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  Although we are soon closing this indescribable chapter in our lives, our hearts are bursting with joy as we birth a new era of FEM, secure that our call to work with future ministers has been taken up by others.  This seminary will continue to bear fruit!  And, in that spirit we are celebrating Thanksgiving Thursday with real turkey and stuffing and pie and the rest.  Hillary from South Carolina, Wilhelmina and Rodrick from Jamaica, Frenchey from Mississippi, and Nellie and Rob from Holland are converging on #7 Isabel Beardmore to keep up the American tradition of over indulgence alive and well.  And you all will be in our hearts and minds as we praise the Lord for his providence and love.

Blessings for an awesome Happy Thanksgiving,

          Cheri