Katherine Weeks

I had reached the point in my life where I knew that God needed for me to be still-to further discern the gifts He gave me, and to discern how to use those gifts to serve Him. My Pastor explained to me that seminary is a good place to pursue that endeavor. Upon arriving on campus for a Seminary Days event, I was immediately embraced. Embraced not only by the students and staff, but by the intimacy of the campus itself. The abundance of spiritual gifts in this place flows seamlessly. I "just knew" that this was the place God needed for me to be.

Since my arrival for Summer Greek, June, 2007, the abundance of gifts in this place continue to flow--like a babbling brook meandering through the classes, through the meetings, through the problems, and through the celebrations. At the age of 45, I thought I had a pretty fair handle on my strengths and weaknesses, but I've come to understand, through this community, that there is plenty transformation yet to be done. I'm not as intelligent, I'm not as organized, and I'm certainly not as righteous as I once thought I was. On the other hand, faculty and staff have lifted up to me gifts that I did not know that I had.

Isn't that what "church" is about? We come together to worship and praise Almighty God for fulfilling all of His promises. And as a result of our faith, the Holy Spirit continues to transform us into His likeness, to move us into action by loving all of His creation. As the Body of Christ, we are to help each other by facilitating that movement of transformation and action. And as future leaders of the church, shouldn't we be completely open to that process ourselves? I've come to understand that this is one of Southern's purposes-spiritual formation of leaders in the church, so that they may help foster the same within the Body of Christ.

Yes, the abundance of spiritual gifts is evident in this place