I began seminary the week my daughter turned 2.
In retrospect, that sounds like a challenge, but at the time I was just living into all the ways God has called me. Over those three seminary years, there were a ton of challenges related to parenthood and my course load. My time would not have had quite the same demands on it if I had started seminary single and without a child. However, I would change any of that! Having a family kept me grounded and in the “real” world outside of the seminary bubble. I juggled preschool and seminary schedules; the connection to the preschool allowed me to build relationships in the wider community.
When I began seminary, I was still a bit hesitant to fully answer the call to congregational ministry. I took my time in deciding to enter the ordination process. When I did move forward, I was certain I was not called to a solo pastorate. My future would include being an associate pastor and working with a team of leaders.
I graduated five years ago and find myself in my second call… as a solo pastor. My own ideas about where I would land post-seminary guided my decisions about classes and field education. I took only the required preaching classes and didn’t dive deep into that area of study. When I did field education, I focused on building a youth a program and Sunday school; I didn’t spend much time on worship planning or preaching. In retrospect, spending a little more time on those classes and activities might have saved my first congregation from some less than amazing sermons.
As I reflect on life as a pastor and how seminary shaped me, there are some options I wish I had — like taking my time with course work. So often I was balancing four classes, internships and family that I merely survived some courses. It would be nice to really savor the material and go deeper into it. I would have loved a class on the more practical things that pop up. Church finances 101 would have been amazing! It could have included the nuances of church budgets, effective stewardship practices, fundraising and planning ahead with vision. I was able to take courses on polity, but a course specifically on how to be the most effective moderator would have been hugely helpful. I was a ruling elder prior to seminary, so session meetings weren’t new to me. I can remember clearly my first session meeting as a pastor and realizing: Oh right… I am in charge here! I hate to say it but I might have also benefitted from some practical classes on building management— not that I need to do all the maintenance, but some has definitely been required. I had never owned a home, which is where many of us learn about things like cleaning the gutters and maintaining a furnace. As someone who spends a lot of time as the only person in the building, it may have been good to know to ask where all the emergency shut-offs are or the nuance of the fire alarm.
Overall, I loved my seminary experience, it was a period of time that was full of life and learning, and a place where I felt like all the things that were my oddities in the world were more accepted and where my love of theology and social justice were shared! Seminary taught me how to think critically and be in grace-filled relationships. I am so grateful for the time I spent at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, my professors, my classmates and all the friendships that have followed me from that sacred time and place
REBECCA GRESHAM-KESNER is pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church in Medford, New Jersey. Outside of church and family life, you can find her in nature, finding fun ways to be creative or asking awkwardly deep questions of people she just met.
