At the very end of May, I was waiting for them in the foyer of Drew Hall at Hamline University in St. Paul with room keys in hand and an eagerness to meet these seven young people who were joining us through The ELI Project as summer interns. Seven wonderful, curious young people discerning their calls soon were settled in dorm rooms and headed across campus to our day-time space in Anderson Hall. There was Erin Blackford, Grace Corbin, Hannah Lundberg, Jon Mehlhaus, Joseph (Joe) Meinholz, Ruth (Ruthie) Olson, and Elizabeth (Lizzy) Schmidt.
What did our week look like?
Tuesday: Orientation week began with some introductions and time spent in spiritual practice. We started with lectio divina (a traditional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer) and watercolor painting. We explored our strengths and our values and were joined by Rev. Erica Koser, who shared about being a deacon in The United Methodist Church.
Wednesday: Rev. Rachael Warner joined us and asked the ELI interns, “What do you love about Jesus?” We talked about faith, the aspects of their internships that they were excited about, and the things that they were anxious about. Dr. Alan Padgett then joined us for a conversation to explore the question “What is a Methodist?” In the afternoon, Rev. Shawn Moore worked with us to explore racial reconciliation. It was a full day of thinking and re-thinking about what we believe and how we live.
Thursday: On the road! We headed off campus and into some of our churches. We began the day at Uptown Church with Rev. Jeremiah Lideen, then we went to the Minnesota Church Center for lunch with the Cabinet, then over to Hennepin Avenue UMC for a tour by Rev. Nate Melcher that included everything from the basement to the steeple top—what a view! Then we went over to New City Church, where seminary intern Steven Coles helped us ask great questions, learn about exegeting a neighborhood, and led us in a prayer walk through the community. As if that wasn’t enough, we then headed over to Grand Avenue for dinner with Bishop Ough, where we talked about our concerns and our hopes for the future of the church.
Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55404
(612) 870-0058