wfn.org | Candler seminary students increase worship spiritual life

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Nov. 3, 1998	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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A UMNS News Feature
By Dan Howell*

Students and faculty at United Methodist-related Candler School of
Theology are partaking of a variety of spiritual life and worship
gatherings in more settings than ever at the school, and involving more
people than ever.

Participation in worship and spiritual life is gaining popularity among
the seminary students, according to Jay Voorhees, student coordinator of
spiritual life at Candler, a part of Emory University in Atlanta. These
Christian practices are happening because of active leadership at the
school, a desire for blending study and practice, and above all a felt
need, he said. 

"There's a hunger for knowledge of God, for growth in spirituality." 

Voorhees, a United Methodist from Nashville, Tenn., has started several
small groups at the seminary, including a lectionary study group for
student pastors, which meets once a week at 7 a.m.

Morning prayer is held at 7:30 Tuesdays through Fridays. With its sung
psalms and canticles, the sessions complement the factual, analytic side
of education, said Collette Jones of Chattanooga, Tenn., a first-year
student.
        
"It helps in bringing the whole person to the study of theology," she
said. "I've been pleased to find so many worship opportunities."  She
likes the seminary's newest worship occasion, Friday communion, which
was added at student request. Chapel services continue at 11 a.m. on
Tuesdays and Thursdays, and attendance is up by as much as 50.
        
All of Candler's spiritual life activities have counterparts in the
churches, which is part of the point, said the Rev. Barbara Day Miller,
Marcy Assistant Dean of Worship at the school.  

"Worship life is fundamental to the seminary and the most formative
thing we do. That's bold to say, but it's the one practice that runs
through everything - biblical, theological, practical. It all meets in
one hour."
        
Day Miller ascribes the rise in worship attendance to two things. First,
people "want something deep, enriching" in their spiritual lives.
Second, she invites that depth by letting Scripture guide the worship
and including many voices, instruments and visual art pieces in the
responses.
         
"I would hope that through these practices, pastors would be formed in a
variety of spiritual disciplines -- contemplative prayer, searching
Scriptures, sacramental participation -- to name some Wesleyan themes.
These become things they can draw on when they are in local churches, so
they are better equipped to provide food to their congregations and
continue to grow in their own spiritual discipline," Day Miller said.

Student pastors know they need to be equipped, but their split schedules
hamper that process.  The lectionary study group gives them support
during their part-week at school as well as practical help, said Steve
Worth, who pastors at Phenix City, Ala., under Candler's Teaching Parish
program. Participating in the study group "can mean getting the sermon
started on Tuesday, not Saturday," Worth said. "I feel the Holy Spirit
is there."
        
Uniting the spiritual and practical is a goal for Voorhees, one of
several student coordinators working with the Rev. Cynthia S. Meyer,
assistant dean of student programming. Meyer and Day Miller both joined
Candler's staff a year ago, and their presence has expanded the school's
ability to sustain offerings that help students cope and grow.

In spiritual life, Voorhees has continued, updated or introduced a
number of options for the Candler seminary community. These options
include:
* Prayer list. Once a weekly list, it's now on computer.  Anyone can
e-mail spiritual_life@learnlink.emory.edu to subscribe.
* Food for the Soul. Guided conversations at mealtime address such
topics as "Images of God" or prayer.
* Covenant groups. These small groups usually set their own agenda.
* Visiting spiritual director. Occasional visits by certified directors
give students another resource for exploring their interests and needs
in spiritual growth.
* Disciple Bible study. This in-depth course is the same as that used in
local churches.
        
Of course, people observe personal prayer and devotion times, Voorhees
said, but a shared activity kept over time -- a practice -- offers
complementary benefits such as new insights, a sense of belonging and
greater ability to trust.  

"We need to develop the practices of ministry that we will carry
forward," he said.  "Our preparation is practice for what we are going
to do."
# # #
*Dan Howell is director of communications at Candler School of Theology.

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