For the past week, I have been studying alongside other pastors in my Doctor of Ministry cohort at The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. It is the seventh day, and we are all tired but spiritually and intellectually full. Each day we share morning prayer, midday prayer and evening prayer, taking turns leading worship. The remainder of the day we are in class. On Sunday I was able to visit First Congregational Church of Dubuque, where my friend Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel preaches. That evening we went to Melrose Abbey nearby and experienced the service of evening Compline with the monks, ending with a sprinkling of holy water to remind us of our baptism. It was so peaceful listening to the monks sing Psalm 91.
The University of Dubuque was the first effort of the Presbyterian Church to bring education to Iowa residents. The school was also among the first to bring a "rational method" of education for the great number of foreign immigrants coming to this country. It was originally founded in 1852 as the German Theological College and Seminary, first of its kind west of the Mississippi River by Rev. Adrian Van Vliet, a German Presbyterian minister, as a preparatory school for Presbyterian ministers.
Dubuque even has a Cleveland connection. One campus building is called “Severance Hall”, a gift of Louis H. Severance. I can tell you it’s not nearly as impressive as Severance Hall in Cleveland! Severance was a church elder and Sunday School Superintendent at the former Woodland Avenue Presbyterian Church and served as president of the Cleveland Presbyterian Union in 1893-1903. After retirement, Severance devoted to using his wealth for education and mission. He was a trustee of the College of Wooster, Oberlin College, and Western Reserve University. Severance was a devout Christian who made efforts to directly support churches, colleges and overseas Presbyterian missions.
The focus of our program is “Crisis and the Church” and we study historical crises and responses from Augustine to the modern day, as well as pastoral concerns related to trauma; including gender-related crises, racial and ethnic conflicts and disaster ministry. I am blessed to be in such a place with the time and resources to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree. Thank you, Church of the Covenant!
I look forward to journeying on Wednesday and being back in the pulpit on Sunday!
Pastor Jessie
