I experienced a winsome and exemplary community of God’s people at Austin Seminary in the humility and grace of so many to seek truth and justice in the world and within this very place. – Crystal Silva-McCormick (MDiv’10) I appreciated a seminar with Ellen Babinsky in which we were encouraged to integrate our life experience prior to seminary with the ministry we hoped to enter. I compared the General Assembly I observed to Democratic Party National Conventions I had attended. Others similarly designed projects with Ellen’s guidance that helped all of us integrate different parts of our lives and get to know each other. – Jeanie Stanley (MDiv’99. DMin’13) Being a part of and living among the Austin Seminary community was an aspect of my life I will never forget. – Laurel Dixon (MDiv’11) Just like at any other institution, when I graduated from Austin Seminary I thought that I was set free with no community net to catch me should I fall. Boy, was I wrong. I have moved so often in the last several years that when I am asked where home is I often hesitate because I do not have a home in the traditional sense. Home is not a place, but it is a people. Several years ago I found myself leaving a horrific situation. I did not yet know where I was headed, so I took some time to travel back to the seminary. It was the only place I felt to go. I walked into the office and Ted Wardlaw stood with his arms wide open and with a booming voice said, “Emily! Welcome Home!” This simple sentiment brought me tears then as it still does today. I was home. Though I had left years ago the faculty and staff still cared and were invested in my wellbeing and professional development. Where is home, especially for those of us who have no family? Home is the family of Austin Seminary standing with arms wide open to greet us whether near or far. It’s the unexpected, but welcomed, phone call from Gary Mathews, the banter on Facebook with professors, the Insights and Windows publications, knowing I can call at any time and I am known and loved ... What is home? It is the family at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. – Emily Béghin (MDiv’15) 16 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
By Sarah Kinney Gaventa
T
he image of a seminary community that was formed in me when I attended Virginia Theological Seminary two decades ago was of a body of people called to a common vocation—in this case, the vocation of Episcopal
priesthood—who engaged in a period of educational and liturgical formation to shape us into the people God had called us to be. The path was narrow, deep, and focused. While a deep groove of denominational preparation for Presbyterian pastors is still vibrant at Austin Seminary, the community and formation of God’s people is wider and more complex than I had imagined when I began my work here. Students come to our door with the same tug on their heart—a desire to know more about God, a desire to grow in leadership—but the paths that they take to get here are infinitely more varied. Our Presbyterian students learn and worship alongside people of faith from more than a dozen The Reverend Sarah Gaventa, as dean of students, has a front-row seat (and a job backstage) for creating opportunities for Christian community at Austin Seminary.
