Our first day has been a whirlwind of getting to know our 35 student cohort, meeting our mentors, and becoming grounded in the work of some remarkable leaders who have developed innovative ideas. I would say that 99.9% of my classmates and I were surprised at the need for attention to our own internal spiritual lives as a required ingredient for innovation. More about that later.
For the uninitiated – the Yale campus is GORGEOUS – even when it is 100 degrees. The Divinity School has just been renovated and is exquisite, functional, comfortable and special. We spent most of the first day at Berkely, which is the Episcopal Seminary which is also newly renovated and efficiently cooled.
Here is my first lesson which is planted in gratitude – singing is a great way to bring 35 individual church leaders together. We were introduced to our music director for the week, Rev’d Andrew Barnett who is the Senior Associate Rector for Program, at All Saints in Atlanta – a gorgeous cathedral-like church!) and a YDS graduate. He had us stand and sing the Doxology acapella, and it was a KNOCKOUT! Instant group gelling!
We are getting to know the program executive director Brandon Nappi, DMin who is a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight.
It is very warm here, and even warmer on the South Shore. I hope that you are all safe and have access to air conditioning. Our dorm rooms are cooler, and we each have a single, with a common room in between. We also have shared bathrooms down the hall, but enough of them so that there are no lines. So, accommodations are not luxurious, but wonderfully historic and comfortable and WAY more accommodating than my freshman college dorm!
We have all agreed to a set of group norms that are wonderful. I’ll share the whole set or upload them to share because they offer guidelines and wisdom for all circumstances. Thus far, here is the most challenging one to honor: Slow down and accept non-closure. Right now, everyone is talking at every opportunity. Not interrupting, but using transition time from one class or one subject to the next to keep talking – about REALLY interesting and thorny things.
I’m off to a class all about Isaiah, which is one of the most exciting and foundational of our biblical texts. I’m excited to learn more about it from the Rev’d Dr. Carolyn Sharp, an expert!
PS: Our class is in Neibuhr Hall, which seems like a pretty extraordinary flex! Thank you for allowing me this time to learn. I’m very happy to be here.
For the uninitiated – the Yale campus is GORGEOUS – even when it is 100 degrees. The Divinity School has just been renovated and is exquisite, functional, comfortable and special. We spent most of the first day at Berkely, which is the Episcopal Seminary which is also newly renovated and efficiently cooled.
Here is my first lesson which is planted in gratitude – singing is a great way to bring 35 individual church leaders together. We were introduced to our music director for the week, Rev’d Andrew Barnett who is the Senior Associate Rector for Program, at All Saints in Atlanta – a gorgeous cathedral-like church!) and a YDS graduate. He had us stand and sing the Doxology acapella, and it was a KNOCKOUT! Instant group gelling!
We are getting to know the program executive director Brandon Nappi, DMin who is a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight.
It is very warm here, and even warmer on the South Shore. I hope that you are all safe and have access to air conditioning. Our dorm rooms are cooler, and we each have a single, with a common room in between. We also have shared bathrooms down the hall, but enough of them so that there are no lines. So, accommodations are not luxurious, but wonderfully historic and comfortable and WAY more accommodating than my freshman college dorm!
We have all agreed to a set of group norms that are wonderful. I’ll share the whole set or upload them to share because they offer guidelines and wisdom for all circumstances. Thus far, here is the most challenging one to honor: Slow down and accept non-closure. Right now, everyone is talking at every opportunity. Not interrupting, but using transition time from one class or one subject to the next to keep talking – about REALLY interesting and thorny things.
I’m off to a class all about Isaiah, which is one of the most exciting and foundational of our biblical texts. I’m excited to learn more about it from the Rev’d Dr. Carolyn Sharp, an expert!
PS: Our class is in Neibuhr Hall, which seems like a pretty extraordinary flex! Thank you for allowing me this time to learn. I’m very happy to be here.
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