Skip to content

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Preparing for Ministry in the Way of Jesus

Menu
  • Home
  • Contact Us
Menu

Engaging Place and Story

Posted on June 15, 2022June 8, 2022 by ptsblog
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Proverbs from PTS Field Education (Part 2 of a 2 part series)

by Barbara J. Blodgett, Director of Field Education at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Part of being a supervisor in the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Field Education program is meeting and learning with fellow supervisors. Each supervisor attends two sessions per year. This year, we took those sessions off campus and into spaces that would inspire our thinking about what it means to mentor someone into ministry. In last week’s post we reviewed the first supervisor session of last year, titled “But Can It Be Taught?”. Today we look at the second session, called “Engaging Place and Story.”

Engaging Place and Story

Contextual analysis is a central skill taught in field education, but it is not an easy one. At first glance we may not see the complex and hidden stories of a place. In October 2021, I met with field education supervisors along with Erin Davenport ’05 and Derek Davenport ’05/’17. We walked around the Seminary’s neighborhood to engage four churches knit together dating back to 1971, when a fire destroyed two of their buildings. Then we talked about the challenges often impeding an ability to accurately “read” the context of a place, and how we as supervisors can help our students overcome those challenges. Here are a few takeaways from our gathering, wisdom helpful for students and anyone else in ministry.

Seven Proverbs from Engaging Place and Story

  1.  You can’t always tell a church by its façade.
  2.  The same neighborhood can simultaneously yield stories of systemic sin and Christian hospitality.
  3.  If you listen only to the first or the loudest voice, you might miss important parts of a place’s story.
  4.  Do not assume that your past experience is the norm everywhere.
  5.  Stories of small churches are often closely intertwined with the stories of families. (If you step into a church where you have family connections, you might learn more about your kin than you ever knew!)
  6.  Historic churches are often literally awesome. Try not to let inevitable disappointments tarnish that initial sense of awe you felt when you first walked in.
  7.  People prefer to tell their stories in different ways, so you need to figure out with each whether to converse face-to-face, by phone, or in writing.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter

1 thought on “Engaging Place and Story”

  1. Pingback: "But Can It Be Taught?" - Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Founded in 1794, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a graduate theological school of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), offering master's and doctor of ministry degrees as well as certificate programs. Participating in God's ongoing mission in the world, Pittsburgh Seminary is a community of Christ joining in the Spirit's work of forming and equipping people for ministries familiar and yet to unfold and communities present and yet to be gathered.

Recent Posts

  • Should I Go to Seminary?
  • Engaging Place and Story
  • “But Can It Be Taught?”
  • Why is Sunday Morning the Most Segregated Hour in America?
  • Remembering Elizabeth Rose Vates

Categories

  • Church Planting
  • Counseling
  • Inside the PTS Curriculum
  • Ministry
  • People of PTS
  • Protestant Spirituality
  • Seminary and Programs
  • Sermon Writing Tips
  • Social Work
  • Theological Reflection

Archives

My Tweets

Tags

Bible study bivocational ministry and church planting Call to ministry Christian spirituality church planting church planting for new communities church planting in pennsylvania Communion elements Community worship cross-cultural education doctor of ministry education faith and politics fasting Festivals and holy days Fred Rogers Lent master of divinity mdiv alumni mdiv program mdiv program and social work MDiv program Pittsburgh ministry Ministry conferences and events Mission reflections mission trip Mister Rogers' Neighborhood nursing home ministry pastoral counseling Pastoral vocation Seminary community seminary experience Seminary experiences sermon writing tips Social justice Spiritual journeys St. Patrick's Day theological education theology and social work Urban ministry Volunteering Women in ministry world mission World Mission Initiative Youth ministry

Top Posts and Pages

  • Why does God hate me?
    Why does God hate me?
  • Praying with People Grieving Loss from Suicide
    Praying with People Grieving Loss from Suicide
  • Seminary or Divinity School: What's the Difference?
    Seminary or Divinity School: What's the Difference?
  • Pastoral Care and Counseling to Help Families Heal
    Pastoral Care and Counseling to Help Families Heal
  • Why I am Not Doing Intinction Anymore
    Why I am Not Doing Intinction Anymore
  • When Relationships Harm: How the Church Can Help
    When Relationships Harm: How the Church Can Help
  • Should I Go to Seminary?
    Should I Go to Seminary?
  • Non-Traditional Ministry: Preaching in a Nursing Home
    Non-Traditional Ministry: Preaching in a Nursing Home
  • Why is Sunday Morning the Most Segregated Hour in America?
    Why is Sunday Morning the Most Segregated Hour in America?
  • What's the Difference Between a DMin and a PhD?
    What's the Difference Between a DMin and a PhD?

Subscribe to Blog via E-mail

Enter your e-mail address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by e-mail.

© 2022 Pittsburgh Theological Seminary | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme