Call for Contributions


The next edition of the Wesley Journal will be published in March and we'll be focusing on community. Wesley is a complicated place. We have students who live on campus and those who travel in from hours away. We have student pastors, pastors who are continuing their education, future pastors, and those who don't want to be pastors at all. Some of us work full-time and some part-time, but many of us will end up balancing an internship with our coursework and our responsibilities to our finances as well as our families, friends, and other significant people in our lives. No matter how we come to this complicated place, we all need support.

That's why the Journal wants to hear from you. Where do you find community and support at Wesley? What stops you from feeling in community or supported or cared for? What changes do you want to see at Wesley? What do you want to see grow? No matter where you're at in your seminary journey, we want to hear from you!

Interested? Email the editor at wesleyjournaleditor@gmail.com with your ideas! The guidelines for contributions are: 

Contributions should be around 500 words (no less than 350, no more than 700). The piece should be submitted via email to the editor as either a word document or shared as an editable google doc. As part of your submission, please include a photo of yourself for the contributor's page and the blog, your degree program, and the year you entered Wesley. 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Sweetest Things I'll Ever Know

Image
As I am concluding my journey as a Masters of Divinity student here at Wesley, I have entered into a reflective space. I think about my call story, my “Windows On Wesley” experience, orientation, the baptism service, and more. It’s all coming back to me, largely due to the fact that I am overwhelmed with figuring out the next steps of my life. I feel so many unpleasant emotions like doubt, fear, confusion, and anxiety. To be honest, when I am lost in my thoughts, I question why I’ve done all of this in the first place. Photo by Nicole Poland, a winner of the Student Council's Spring Photo Contest. As my thoughts consumed me one evening, I diverted to my self-care and spiritual practice, journaling, which has been essential to my mental health throughout this journey. As I poured out my soul, lamentations, and anxieties on the pages of my journal I heard the sweet, sincere voice that never ceases to stop by to visit me for a little while, the voice of God. In the midst of th
Read more

Closing and Opening Doors

Image
Before coming to Wesley, I had this image of opening and closing doors in my mind. When doors close, I’m told that others open. Before I started at Wesley, I dropped out of candidacy because I was afraid of being outed in my home conference at the time. A door had closed, yet there was Wesley. An open door, inviting me in. Throughout my time at Wesley, I’ve been challenged and stretched. I’ve been invited to grow, and I’ve grown by necessity. I’ve learned a lot and I’m thankful. As my time here ends, I look for new doors. New adventures to explore, new challenges to overcome. The UMC’s door is still closed, bolted shut even, but throughout seminary, I’ve had the privilege to experience a God greater than a denomination and the walls it builds. Wesley encourages me to think outside the box, to let God work how God works and not how I, or anyone else, thinks God should work.  I’ve learned through my classes and through relationships with the faculty, and I’ve learned through m
Read more

A Student Pastor's Reflection

Image
August 28, 2015 is a date I have written on a small sea shell I keep in my office. It was presented to me during the orientation for new students here at Wesley. This was the beginning of my journey holding a dual role, one being a student pursuing my Masters of Divinity degree and the other serving as a pastor to a congregation. I remember the emotions and thoughts flowing through me then. The question of my ability to handle school and a congregation simultaneously loomed in my mind. The shell reminded me of my story, a reaffirmation of my baptismal calling to serve in ministry.  The shell reminded me that despite struggle, failure, and even success, I am sacred, treasured, loved, and called by God. It told me of the promise that God was going to be present and sustain me in amazing ways. Now, as I look back, I can proclaim with boldness that God’s grace saw me through the journey. That grace was revealed in many different ways through some very special people that underst
Read more