After three years here at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the time has come to move on to the next step as I graduate.

Looking back over the last three years, the comment I heard most frequently from collogues and classmates is that seminary does not seem to prepare us for ministry in the “real world.”  The degree to which this comment is issued runs the gambit from simple frustration to outright dismissal of the entire seminary experience.

Yes, I too have felt the fatigue that comes from sitting through a lecture or completing an assignment that does not seem to have any application to what I am doing or will be doing in my ministry, but I am hesitant to move from there to proverbially throwing seminary education under the bus.

The PTS extended community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and families is certainly a diverse group, yet we all probably sense some kind of higher calling, even if the contours of that calling are still being defined.  Rather than look at the seminary experience as somehow a pause in the journey to fulfilling that calling, we need realize that the call includes seminary.

Certainly not everything we learned will find neat application.  A United Methodist, I probably will not find myself in a discussion of the nuances of language in the Westminster Confession.  Walking down the street, no one is likely to run up to me asking for an emergency exegesis.  But what these things have provided are experiences of diversity, intellectual challenge, and opportunities for growth that I was able to choose to exploit or dismiss.

God has called us together for this time intentionally, knowing each of our gifts, talents, and flaws.  What this means is that yes, for some of us seminary has been a challenge, and for some of us it has been a breeze.  For some our length of stay is short, and for others it is a bit longer.

Our calls and our means of achieving those calls are as diverse of each of us.  Yet for all of us we were called to this place for the time we have been here, to experience exactly what we have experienced, and to be exposed to exactly what we have been exposed to.  Seminary is not vocational training, as much as it is a laboratory for growth—spiritual, intellectual, interpersonal, and personal.  It is not a hammer or screwdriver—a tool meant for a specific task—but rather a Swiss Army knife, a hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated things which we can carry around with us at all times to use in a variety of ways.

So, the road from here is very much like the road to here.  We continue to follow our calls from God, we continue to grow, but much like the seminary experience, which for me will end on May 31st, what we choose to do with it—whether it is wasted or useful—is very much up to us.

Anthony Hita, Senior M.Div Student

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31: 8

If life had a rewind button, I would rewind back to my first year of seminary and assure myself that everything will be okay.  I would try to understand God’s faithfulness in a new way. I would trust my Mom and Dad’s wisdom as they quoted verses like Deuteronomy 31:8 to me on the phone while I stressed about trying to write my first sermon and not being able to get past the initial writer’s block. I would trust that God does come alongside us and is constantly with us in our struggles through Hebrew and Greek, as we are challenged to try to make new friends, navigate our way around a new city, try to explain the Trinity to five year olds in our field education churches, learn to think theologically, and balance life with school demands. The Lord goes before us and we are called to put our trust in Him. But this can be a struggle. Right now, I am trying to trust in God as I am struggling to finish my final papers, pack my apartment, and continue to check things off my Pittsburgh bucket list while hanging out with friends. As I reflect back on my time at PTS, I realize I am still a work in progress and who is learning to rely on God more and more each day with each new experience. This has been something invaluable I have learned in seminary.

While my time at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has challenged my stamina, faith, patience, ideals, and world view; it has also allotted me the space to learn more and prepare for a life-long study of theology and practice of ministry. I’m grateful that I have learned lessons inside and outside of the classroom. I am also thankful for the opportunities provided by WMI and Valentour fellowship which allowed me to travel around the world to see how God is working in and through our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. Seminary gave me the opportunity to meet and live in community with friends.

Thinking about the next step after graduation can be scary. It can be so scary myself and other seniors may not want to talk about it. Graduation will be bittersweet.  I will be excited to see what is in store for myself and classmates but I know I will also miss this chapter in my life. I am not sure where I will be next year but I know that the Lord has gone before me and my classmates and I know the Lord will be with us always.

written by Amanda Maguire, senior M.Div student

 I’m thankful for this opportunity to write what I’m thinking because people are asking or assuming what I am thinking anyway. Yes, I am graduating and no, I do not know what I am doing after May 31. I plan on staying in my apartment until June 3 at noon, which is when I have to move out according to my lease. At least I was given a couple of days as a graduating senior. So after June 3 I don’t know what I will do. It’s been exciting to think about churches I could imagine myself serving in as friends and fellow graduates contemplate their futures and I check out the listings on the Presbyterian jobs website. I still have to wait for another ordination exam and some more months to finish my candidacy stage. I have applied to a non-ordained ministry position but I am still waiting to hear if I was accepted. Applying for that position and interviewing were great learning opportunities, and exciting as well, again trying to imagine myself serving the church and wondering how the work would play out among the people I would work with and the people I would work for.

I still have to graduate - but I’m not adding “God willing” to the end like I used to. I added that soon after my first year because term after term I felt like I was just getting by, that surely some test score would pull me down and my GPA would get too low. I kept getting what I needed, sometimes not much more than that. I’ve had my struggles and found help for them, even when they would not go away. Turns out I really did need a small group of guys way more than I realized. I’ve been supported in so many ways to survive and thrive. As I write this I still know that I will graduate only as God wills because I can’t pull this off by myself.

I like what we have read and studied but I wish I didn’t have to spend so much time doing it. This has been a time of cramming. Even in this last month I sometimes have to fight it out to try and finish the book or reading required for the next class. Getting this work done does give me a sense of accomplishment. I suppose its naive to think I’ll have more time to read more leisurely. I do hope to have more time to read some of the books I put on my online wish list. I wish I felt more confident but I will still continue to serve where I understand God to be calling me. I have studied great things and learned from great professors.

Paul Spangler, Senior M.Div. Student