before it all begins...

Hi!

Several people have asked me to record a blog of this coming summer's experiences, so I've decided to start one up. Of course, the summer hasn't quite started yet, and contrary to my profile information, I'm not in Georgia yet either, but give me a moment to explain and (hopefully) all will be made clear.

For any random readers who don't know me, and for those who might not know me very well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Seyward. I'm finishing up my second year at Luther Seminary in St Paul, MN. I'm in the Master of Divinity program (more commonly called MDiv on campus), and I'm on the track to becoming a pastor. As part of my seminary requirements, I have to complete a CPE unit. CPE stands for Clinical Pastoral Education... I think. Something like that. Anyway, it's typically done during a summer, and it takes up the time of a full-time job, except you don't get paid. In fact, I believe it costs $500 to take CPE.

The point of this program is to work on your pastoral care skills and also learn more about yourself in the process. It's supposed to be an intense experience. Most CPE sites take place in a hospital setting, but I decided to do something a little different. My CPE site is going to be at Metro State Prison, located right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It's a high-security women's prison, and it also happens to contain the only female on death row.

You may be wondering why on earth I would ever choose to complete my CPE requirement at a prison. In Georgia. In the summer. Well, to be honest, there's only one reason I even applied for CPE sites in Georgia, and that reason is named Justin. He's my boyfriend, a fellow seminary student that I met last year. Since last September, Justin has been doing his internship year (typically done during the third year of seminary) at a church in Conyers, GA, a town fairly close to Atlanta. The whole long-distance relationship isn't always the best of times, so I thought it would be nice to be in the same state for the summer. Thus, I applied for CPE sites in the Atlanta area of Georgia.

The place that called me for an interview happened to be the women's prison site, and I was very intrigued by what my future supervisor told me about the program during my interview. By the way, I was able to interview in person during the two weeks in January when I was visiting Justin. I was offered the position right at the interview, and Mary Catherine (my future supervisor) said I could have a few weeks to think about it, but that I should get back to her quickly with my answer as the prison site is a popular one and always filled quickly. I didn't have to think long about it to know that Metro State Prison was where I wanted to spend my summer.

So there you have it. I will be living with a very nice elderly couple named Don and Miriam. They are members at the church where Justin in interning, and while I was visiting him in January, we had lunch at their house so I could meet them. I just know I will get along great with them both and live very comfortably. And considering I'll be making no money and spending what I already have made on gas, I'm very grateful for this opportunity to live with them.

Like I said, I'm not in Georgia yet. Right now I'm still at Luther Seminary, finishing up my classes and thinking about packing up my room. I won't need most of my things for the summer, so I'll be storing a lot of it at my parents' house in Morris, MN. On the evening of May 20th, my dad and I are going to begin the long drive down to Georgia. He's coming to keep my company and do some of the driving, and then he'll fly back to Minnesota. I look forward to the drive; I think it will be a fun mini road trip.

So this is the first post of many. I don't know what to really expect from this idea of working at a prison, but I plan on sharing at least some of my experiences here. If nothing else, it will serve as a form of entertainment for any readers out there.

And now, back to current life and deciding what to procrastinate on first: packing or writing final papers?