S+H 2010 Apr-May-June.pdf - Trinity School for Ministry

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Recent Graduate News The Millener Family Clay Millener, a December 2009 MDiv graduate from Trinity, headed south in early March to serve in a new position in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Clay will be assisting former Trinity board member Bishop T. J. Johnston, Rector of St. Peter’s Church in Mt. Pleasant, a church which he planted with his wife, Rees, just over three years ago. The church is growing and in need of additional help, particularly since Bishop Johnston is juggling both his duties as rector and also as bishop in the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). Clay and his wife, Carla, came to Trinity from Trinity Church in Greenwich, Connecticut where another former Trinity School for Ministry board member, Hillary Bercovici, serves as Scholar in Residence. While in seminary, Clay and Carla were blessed with the birth of two sons, Alexander and then Davi. The four Milleners will surely be a blessing in their new South Carolina home church just as they have been among the Trinity Community here in Ambridge. Photo supplied Ian (MDiv 2009) and Megan (DCM 2009) MacLellan have been busy since graduation last May. On June 4, their first child, Clayton Angus Tadd MacLellan, was born. Also in June, Ian began working as a proofreader for a court reporting agency in Johnstown, and Megan returned to hospice nursing in August. In October, Ian accepted a place on the ministry team for the eastern part (District IV) of the Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican). He has been enjoying the opportunity to preach the Gospel weekly, sometimes in Ligonier, sometimes in Somerset, and sometimes in Patton. He is also looking forward to ordination in the near future. Ian writes, “We are immensely grateful for all that we learned in our time at Trinity; it weekly impacts the shape of my sermons as well as our lives. We are deeply grateful also to all who have prayed for us, for our new roles as parents and as minister.” Nate Lee (MDiv 2009) sent an update: While Trinity served as a stimulating intellectual environment for the exploration of my most pressing academic questions, I left feeling like there was still more work to be done. Consequently, I enrolled in fall 2009 for further post-graduate study at Duke University. My current research deals with the theme of “apocalyptic” and its relation to the study of history, particularly through the writings of Ernst Troelstch, Karl Barth, and John Howard Yoder. I have been blessed to be able to conduct this research under the supervision of Professor Stanley Hauerwas, whom Time magazine called America’s “Best” Theologian in 2001. While I am studying at Duke, I also serve as the English-speaking g youth pastor for the primarily-second-generation youth ministry of a local Koreanspeaking Methodist congregation. My duties include preaching sermons on Sundays as well as leading Bible studies, monthly activities, and semi-annual retreats. Given my background as an interracial and second-generation Korean person, this ministry opportunity has been especially rich and life-giving. 12 Seed & Harvest Photos supplied
A Trinity Distinctive: Mentored Ministry Since 2005, Trinity has required its MDiv students to take two semesters of Mentored Ministry. Martha Giltinan, the program’s designer, structured Mentored Ministry to focus intentionally on character issues rather than simply giving the seminarian church experience. Mentored Ministry recognizes the critical importance of dealing with “the stuff” in the life of the seminarian before he or she goes into parish or other ministry work. Each MDiv student is allowed to select a mentor and to choose an area of his or her character on which to focus. The mentor and mentee both read the book, The Potter’s Rib: Mentoring for Pastoral Formation by Brian A. Williams. The book provides theological and historical bases for the vital role of mentoring in shaping the life of the minister, much like a clay vessel on the potter’s wheel. Unlike clay, the person being mentored can allow or not allow the mentoring process to accomplish its intended purpose. The following is the story of one mentoring relationship in which a deep and good work took place. Stock photograph Martha Horn came to Trinity from Charleston, South Carolina. (Martha’s husband, Robert, has been an ordained priest for over 25 years.) She has been working on an MDiv degree and expects to graduate in May 2010. When choosing a mentor for her Mentored Ministry courses, she asked the Rev. Scott Homer, a 2005 MDiv graduate from Trinity and Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Beaver, PA. She had attended Trinity since entering seminary, and she thought Scott would be a natural choice. Martha remembered, “Scott’s sermons spoke to me in deep places in my life, and so I thought he could be a good mentor. But, the Holy Spirit was guiding this whole process,” she remarked. Scott welcomed the opportunity to mentor Martha, the first Trinity School for Ministry student he had mentored. In the fall of 2008, Martha and Scott began their mentoring meetings, and Martha fearfully but bravely chose to ask that they focus on an area she knew could pose problems in her future ministry: the need for acceptance by others. “I am an extreme extrovert,” she offered, “so this is a danger area for extroverts like me.” As the program requires, the two made a covenant agreeing to focus on this area through regular meetings, reading, and prayer. And so it began, the experience which Martha described as “by far the most valuable part of my time in seminary.” “Like most Southern women, I think of myself as a delicate flower – even though we really are steel magnolias,” Martha laughed. “I was really hoping that Scott would be soft in his approach, but instead he was direct. At first it really bothered and even angered me, but slowly I began to realize that this was the very thing I needed. He consistently called me on every instance in which I sought affirmation from him or anyone else. It was tough – the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” “It was tough– the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” Scott applauded Martha for her willingness to tackle such a critical area: “Almost everyone who goes into ministry struggles with a need for acceptance at some level,” he said. “It can be debilitating and makes a minister ineffective,” he added. continued next page... April – May – June 2010 13
Page 1 and 2: Seed & Harvest Trinity School for M
Page 3 and 4: Stock photograph Raising Up Seminar
Page 5 and 6: Student Stories Clinical Pastoral E
Page 7 and 8: enrolment decline, but we do not kn
Page 9 and 10: Trinity’s Curriculum Review Moves
Page 11: Photo by Melinda Helt Trinity Trust
Page 15 and 16: Alumni News Reports from 1990-92 Gr
Page 17 and 18: If you’re into urban ministry, or
Page 19 and 20: Legacy Story - continued I am in th
Page 21 and 22: June 2010 at Trinity Special Insert
Page 23 and 24: WEEK THREE - June 21-25 “The Apoc

S+H 2010 Apr-May-June.pdf - Trinity School for Ministry

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