Academic Life at Seminary
I am sure that many of you have noticed that my
blogs have not discussed the academic life at Virginia Theological Seminary. This
is by design. The first few months for VTS first year students are a bit
unique. The school is on a quarters system. Following the intensive August term
of Hebrew, the first quarter consisted of Old Testament, Research and Writing,
Foundations of Theology, Liturgical Leadership and Art of Learning.
Foundations was the study of how philosophers
influenced the development of Christian theology over the centuries. The review
begins with Plato and ends with Descartes. It was fascinating to see the impact
of these philosophers—particularly Plato and Aristotle who lived so long before
the birth of Christ.
Liturgical Leadership was a more practical
course focused on how to move and speak during Episcopal worship. Who knew that
I needed to learn how to read aloud and walk to and fro. I’m confident you are
all reassured that I now can read the Gospel with panache and walk around
reverently.
Art of Learning is something of an experiment at
VTS. It is part extended orientation, part work on developing good study habits
using the results of recent research and part study of how to write theological
papers well.
You can see that the first quarter is not what
most people envision seminary will be. The second quarter began the more
traditional seminary course of study. New Testament and Research and Writing
continue. Foundations, Liturgy and Art of Learning were replaced by Old
Testament and Church History.
Frequently I am asked how seminary compares to
law school. The differences are significant. The time commitment at VTS is at
least as great as law school and, in fact, is as large as the practice of law.
(Darla likes to tell folks that I am doing “a pretty good job of imitating a
lawyer.”) The type of nature of the commitments, however, are quite different.
Those of you who went to law school will recall that time was allocated almost
exclusively to attending class and studying. There were few writing requirements
and no quizzes. Most courses had only a single exam at the end of the semester.
Seminary puts many different demands on a
students’ time. There are 12 to 15 hours of class each week. The amount of
reading required by all of the classes is enormous with the exception of
Research and Writing. In addition to the reading assignments, all courses
require students to submit at least three papers that include significant
research. Finally, every week there are multiple commitments unrelated to
courses. By way of example, every student is assigned to a “chapel team” to
plan services for designated seasons. (Remember, there are 15 services per week
at the school.) My chapel team had the task of planning services for Advent. (We
are in the second week of Advent now.) We met during each of the four weeks
leading up to Advent and spent time between the meetings drafting prayers and
choosing between liturgical options for each service. I will not burden you
with additional examples, but the point is that virtually every day study and
writing time is interrupted with committee and worship requirements.
If it sounds like seminary is stressful, it is.
But, here’s the good news……it is incredibly fun! This is the ultimate
difference between law school and seminary. The classes, study, papers and
other commitments are all energizing. The professors are brilliant, inspiring
and concerned about their students. The reading is fascinating. With every
course and task, it is easy to see how the experience will be useful as a
parish priest. (On the other hand, knowing I wanted to be a trial lawyer, how
excited do you think I was during my tax courses?)
The bottom line is this: I am having a great experience.
Darla and I miss you all and we pray
that each of you will have a Blessed Holiday Season. May the Peace of God be with you.
Randy
