Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Who's Who: Julie Kelsey

Julie Kelsey is an Episcopal priest ordained in 1997. She has served churches in urban and suburban settings, most recently at Grace and St. Peter's Church in Hamden, CT (2001-2008). [At right, a photo of Julie Kelsey, an unnamed academic, and one terrific hat.]

Julie is our Assistant Dean of Students for Pastoral Issues. That means that when you start freaking out because it seems that YDS isn't living up to your hopes and dreams... or because you don't think YOU are living up to YDS's expectations, head for her office (now across from the candy bowl and Mike G.). And don't wait for your molehill to grow into mountain! The sooner you go, the better you'll feel. [A YDS grad herself, Rev. Julie K. feels your pain.]

If you have an idea for an activity that might strengthen the school, talk to her too! Last year in answer to student requests, we started Holy Happy Hour [Ed. Note: Comma, Batman!], a monthly opportunity to meet with faculty in the commuter lounge to ask questions and have conversations in an informal setting. Look for notices of HHH later this fall.

Julie is also a lecturer in the Practices and Principles of Preaching course and a mentor with the Annand Center. She has offered spiritual direction for years – which is a good reason to seek her out. She'll help you with translating psychological language into theological language, and connecting what you're learning at YDS with Sunday worship and daily life.

Julie is one of the founders of Chapel on the Green in New Haven, a weekly service for people who spend most of their time on the Green, some of whom have no other home. You can find her there Sundays at 2pm.

In addition to all of this, Julie has led bereavement groups for adults and for children ages 6-12. She is a mother and grandmother who loves hiking, reading, writing, theater and music.
[Julie wrote her own bio for the blog, which I really appreciate. Parentheticals are my own goofball additions. -Kate]

Div Dictionary: Archie Moore’s


Archie Moore’s (n): The only bar I can walk to in my neighborhood. Also serves food.

Because of Archie Moore’s proximity to the Div School, and the necessity of beers after or during certain moments of theological ferment, you’ll end up at Archie Moore’s many times during your divinity career. Many, many times. You’ll go there for meetings, you’ll go there for lunch, you’ll go there for birthday party beers.

Sigh.

Let me be honest with you. I don’t really like Archie’s. This is probably yet another symptom of having moved here from Chicago: the phrases “only bar I can walk to in my neighborhood” and “Wow, three dollar beer, that's cheap!” make me weep into my Old Style. My drinking career started in a city once described on This American Life as (and I paraphrase) “a magical place with a bar on every corner, where the downtown smells like chocolate.” (This of course before the whole EPA thing.) I’m kind of still searching for my Jimmy’s East, and the fact that when I find it I’ll have to drive/bum a ride/take a cab there irks me.

Viewed through an objective lens, though, there’s a lot to love about Archie’s:

It’s really close to campus.

It serves beer.

It also serves food. Wings are a specialty, but Archie’s has a full menu that includes burgers, salads, and even desserts. It’s no $5.00 Reuben, but the Cajun fries are delish.

You can take your kids there. Yep, for serious. My friend Zach told me it’s one of the best East Rock restaurants to take his three-year-old daughter to. I totally made this face when he said it, but his reasoning is pretty good. Your kid can make any kind of mess they want at Archie’s while they nosh on chicken fingers and the like, while you enjoy adult food and beverage. The waitresses have seen much worse, and that mess was generated by a bunch of seminarians. I still recommend you evacuate the children before the Div School posse takes over the back room.

One of the sweeter things about Archie’s is how much they like Div School kids. Several friends of mine are on a first-name basis with some of the waitresses, and some of the staff made appearances at graduation-week barbecues so they could meet their favorite patrons’ families. Also, Sandra really likes Archie’s (now that she lives in a different neighborhood, the California grilled cheese is a treat for her). Even I can’t totally hate this place.

-Kate

Monday, July 27, 2009

YDS on Twitter!

Thanks to Brock the tech-zombie for a shout out on YDS's twitter page! Check it out for more tiny updates on goings on around the quad, faculty publications, and other religion-related news stories.

... I still don't understand Twitter.

-Kate

Annand Program Mentor Bios

I've previously posted info about the Annand Program, and I hope at least some of you new students are thinking seriously about joining one of the small groups that will start in the fall. Again, my experience was great; the group I joined was a wonderful support system to have, and our leader introduced some little rituals and reflections that created a prayerful space in the middle of a busy week.

To sign up for one of these groups, you'll email Jane at AnnandATyaleDOTedu (replace the caps with punctuation, of course!), and she'll meet with you briefly to talk about your goals and interests. ETA: Jane will post a sign-up sheet for these interviews on the door of her office/meditation room during BTFO. "Interviews" will start on August 31st and continue through September. Jane is happy to answer your questions over email, but you must make an in-person appointment with her to be matched with a mentor and group. (Don't worry, no one will be turned away; Jane just cares about who you end up with!)

We thought it would be fun to introduce some of the people who you might be paired with in these small groups, so here are bios and photos of a few of them. This is NOT an exhaustive listing of folks associated with the Annand Program! We'll be posting more mentor bios in the weeks to come. (Ed note: These bios come directly from the mentors themselves, and were not edited for content, grammar, or
ridiculousness.)

-Kate

Judy Stone is a 1970 graduate of Yale Divinity School. She has been an active lifelong member of the Episcopal Church. She served as a Vestry member and coordinator of the Adult Discussion Group at Christ Church New Haven for 8 plus years. Judy continues to be a member of a Spirituality Group that has met weekly for 25 years, reading classics of Christian and other religious traditions. She has been part of a church choir for a number of years and preaches occasionally.

Judy recently retired from her career in social work, working with children and families. Midway in her career she earned a master’s in Social Work from UCONN in 1993 with a focus on casework and group work. She is intrigued with the connection between some of the therapeutic approaches from her training and traditional spiritual exercises. She finds groups especially helpful personally and professionally.

Judy is an avid gardener and co-ordinates a certified organic community garden at a local farm museum, and has a strong interest in ecology and sustainable agriculture. She enjoys hiking, travel, cooking and art work.

Bari S. Dworken is a lay leader serving in numerous roles at Congregation B'nai Israel in Bridgeport where she has been active for more than twenty five years. Bari has completed the Para Rabbinic Program of the Union of Reform Judaism and has been awarded a Keva certificate for continual advanced learning. A graduate of the first class of the two year Lev Shomea Spiritual Direction Program, she has served as a spiritual director for several years with individuals and groups and at YDS. She completed two units of CPE, worked as a part time On Call Chaplain at Bridgeport Hospital for 10 years, currently chairs the CPE Advisory Committee, and has published in the "Journal of Pastoral Care". She holds a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts and works as an Educational Consultant in Organization Development with not for profit groups and community organizations concentrating in the areas of team building, conflict resolution, diversity awareness and strategic planning. She recently retired from the faculty of the University of Connecticut. Bari is passionate about social action issues, interfaith study and involvement, learning from the natural world, traveling and "walking" with others on their spiritual journey.

Elaine Ramshaw has worked between the fields of theology and psychology all her adult life. She completed a three-year internship in pastoral psychotherapy at the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy in Chicago and a two-year practicum in spiritual direction at Connecticut’s Mercy Center. She enjoys spiritual direction more than psychotherapy because it’s focused more on growth, because you get to listen to people telling their story in their own personal language of faith, and because you don’t have to concoct treatment plans to satisfy the insurance companies. Elaine has a PhD from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, and she taught pastoral care fulltime in seminaries (United Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal) for 16 years. In 2001 her own cancer adventure and her eldest brother’s death led to her decision to choose Connecticut over fulltime seminary teaching. She still teaches pastoral care courses online, for several seminaries of different denominations. A Lutheran layperson, she also works part-time on a parish staff (not to mention the movie theater job!). She’s a single woman who finds family in friends, siblings, and godchildren (an adult goddaughter and a teenaged godson). Prayer comes most naturally to her when she’s sharing communion, singing, drawing, or taking the neighbor’s dog on long daily walks.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

And if we're talking about registering for classes ...

One more quick FYI:


Online Course Information is open to look at fall classes! (Note: Div School courses are under "religion", NOT "religious studies.")

Please don't ask me how to log into OCI. I'm a Millenial; I didn't read the manual. I think at this point you can only look at where/when things are happening -- registration is for later. Lisa H. will walk us through registering for a class during her session at BTFO.

Please remember this about all course information at this point:


IT.

IS.

NOT.

FINAL.

For real, it's Saturday! I'm going to the beach!

-Kate

ETA: Lisa reminds me that it's easy to get to the Online Course Listings through Student Information Systems (SIS). Head here, and click on the OCI link at the left. No, you still can't register for classes.

Who's Who: Lisa H., Reigstrar

Our registrar, Lisa H., likes to joke that the admissions office’s job is to get students in the door, hers is to get folks out – and hopefully with a degree. Sadly, I don’t have any grandiose metaphor in which I compare Lisa to a website. Testimonial: my general experience with her has been more than pleasant; before I even met her she was watching my back as I tried to register for a course at the Yale School of Management. (Which didn’t work out – please come talk to me about the SOM’s whacky academic calendar before you try to take a class there - but which Lisa would have made happen if I so desired.)

Lisa performs all the normal duties you’d expect from a registrar – her office is where you’ll pick up transcripts, notify the school if you change your student status, and process the paperwork you’ll need to take a class pass/fail. You’ll also come to Lisa’s office to keep your student ID valid – Yale requires that you have a little sticker showing when your ID expires.

In addition, Lisa would like everyone to know that she has an open-door policy. No appointments are required to stop by and chat with her. While you will have a faculty advisor assigned, and the first stop you make for life-related drama will generally be one of the deans, Lisa is a great option to bounce course-related ideas off of, and her knowledge of the school runs deep – before becoming registrar, Lisa was bookstore manager for years, which is where this photo comes from:

Lisa is on the right, and is not a zombie. Incidentally, the guy on the left is our tech/web services dude, Brock H. (no relations to Lisa). I’ve never met Brock in the flesh, so I cannot guarantee that he is not a zombie. (There’s a joke in here somewhere about tech people spending too much time with their computers, but I’ll let that one slide for right now. There's also a joke about meeting zombies "in the flesh", but it's Saturday and I'm officially not working. DIY, kids!)

Lisa would also like me to serve notice that, in addition to making sure you get appropriately registered for classes, she’s available for any conversations you’d like to have about hot air ballooning or whales. (Not even Google Image can really combine these two like Lisa can.)

-Kate

Friday, July 24, 2009

A Post So Overblown I Cite Greek Philosophy

Apologies for the slow posting week. I guess I didn’t want to rub in the fact that I’m in northern Michigan, and you’re not (or are you, Martin Jean?!?). My last few days have involved some great beer, a wonderful little strip of beach just north of Traverse City, and a lot of friendly family competition. (I will be looking for Euchre partners in the coming year to strengthen my skills so I can wipe that smirk off my cousin Todd’s face. Please let me know if you’re interested.) I’ve also been reading a lot of theology and communing with my ancestors, so you’ll have to excuse a certain level of ridiculous in this post. And I have a wicked sunburn, which has nothing to do with anything; I'm just looking for sympathy.

Today marks the start of the one-month countdown to BTFO, which kicks off on August 24th. Accordingly, Sandra and I are locating speakers for our panels, talking to our food manager about catering, and having slightly crazy anxiety dreams. Last week I ordered five 10-gallon drink coolers, and then promptly left town, so that someone else had to deal with the physical reality of having five 10-gallon coolers. (Sorry, Mike and Sandra.) Over the next month, we’ll scramble to put together folders, train our volunteers, and make sure we have enough trashcans on the quad during meals.

OK, time to lay on the metaphor. You knew this was coming. Please have your whiteboard handy to play along at home.

Think of divinity school as a lake (not an ocean; oceans are unmanageable and full of sharks and crabs). Some of you will take the cautious approach during your first semester – you’ll wade out from shore slowly, checking back ever so often to make sure your bag is still on the lounge chair where you left it. Others of you will gleefully jump off the dock, ignoring the “no diving” signs, and immerse yourselves immediately and completely.

The thing about about water, which makes it such a good metaphor for everything in life, is how it is both ancient and new. On the one hand, the lake you’ll swim in has been around for generations and longer. Ever think about how all that water was once drank and peed out by a dinosaur? No? Just me? Huh. Anyway, so, yes, the water is ancient – but the shape of the lake, and the course of the river is always changing. Course requirements shift, new faculty are hired, seniors graduate, and suddenly your grandparents’ beachfront property has another mile of dunes in front of it where they are building a subdivision. Furthermore, as Heraclitus says, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” This year you’ll expend a great deal of energy memorizing depth charts and studying the current only to come back next September to a whole new experience.*

Because this is a particularly large lake, and looks as limitless as an ocean, Sandra and I have decided to focus your attention on its tributaries during BTFO. We’ll introduce you to several of the streams that feed the lake, namely: Self-Care (the process of maintaining some sanity when you lose sight of the shore), Academics at the Divinity School, Yale University, and New Haven. ** We’ll spend a day at each of these rivers in succession, and you’ll have the opportunity to dangle your feet in, paddle around a bit, or make for the opposite bank.

So now that we’ve established a bit of an awkward silence while you marvel at my brilliance, let me lay some practical knowledge on you. Here are the very basic things we want you to remember during BTFO.

You can’t do everything. Sandra and I are both a little crazy, and we wanted to make sure that you are least had an opportunity to do everything, so we have programmed stuff back-to-back from 9:30am – 6pm every day. You have a lunch break in the middle, and chapel every day at 10:30am, but still, that’s way too much. Some things are scheduled as breakouts, and occur simultaneously, in which case, unless you are a character in a Harry Potter novel, you really can’t do it all. We expect this, and will not be insulted when you skip things. We’re trying to have someone serve drinks in the commuter lounge during the afternoon, and Nouwen Chapel (a great scavenger hunt item, kids!) will be open all day as a place of refuge.

Your first priority is taking care of yourself. Which is why our self-care day is our first day. Taking care of yourself will look different to each of you, but should be in everyone’s mind. Whether that’s skipping a session and taking a nap, or leaving campus for the afternoon, you are welcome to do this. We’ll highlight things on the schedule that we don’t want you to miss, but we’ll also keep a library of the handouts that get passed around, so take all the breaks you want. This is important because …

You are probably already exhausted. I don’t mean just from thinking about all the stuff we’ll have to do during BTFO. I mean from moving, leaving a life behind or carting it all the way to New Haven. From leaving a job, or graduating college. From when the dog/kids/roommate woke up way earlier than you were planning on and then you couldn’t get back to sleep. Maybe, like me, you'll spend your BTFO trying to sublet an apartment in a different time zone. Maybe, like Sandra, your whole family will follow you out from the opposite coast and want to spend as much time with you as possible. Probably, your challenges will be unique to you.

Seriously, there are a lot of you. The Div School campus is only set up to accommodate so many bodies at one time, and everyone with their spouses, kids, and assorted entourage members is going to strain resources a little. Be nice to each other and to the organizers as we try to shoe horn you into the common room; practice radical kindness if we have to move inside for meals.

I think those are my main points. As my first yoga teacher said at least three times a session “Be gentle with yourself.” This is supposed to be fun, after all, and you shouldn’t feel like you’re drowning in your first week. If it starts to feel like too much, take a glance back towards shore – call a friend or a family member, or just take a few hours to do something you find nourishing. The lake will be there the next day, the next year, and it won’t have shifted that much.

-Kate

*I think in this schema, Petoskey stones = faculty publications. Anyone from around here has at least a few of them in their house, being used as paperweights. (Hey-o!)

** In truth, when conceived of, BTFO 2009 was imagined as a journey outward – first the self, then the quad, then the university, then all of New Haven. This remains a better metaphor for BTFO in particular, but the lake thing is really working for me right now.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Running Around New Haven

I am not a runner in any sense of the word, but this year a few friends of mine have been training for the Chicago Marathon. When I got back from Chicago in June, I'd decided that I, too, was going to run a marathon. The voice of reason, as played by my friend Lydia in this movie, managed to talk me down -- first to a half-marathon, and then to a 5k.

Myself and a few others will be running the New Haven Road Race on Labor Day (September 7th) of this year. Register before August 1st, and the fee is only $25.00. Another friend, Nick*, said it was a great way for him to explore New Haven a little last year. All proceeds go to local charities, so you can feel good about that 25 bucks, too.

If you've never run before, and you're all "OMG, five ENTIRE kilometers?!?", you can join us on the "Couch to 5k" training plan. So far, so good for me. I can now run an entire three minutes without stopping or being actively pursued. (If you have run before, and you're like "OMG, it's only five kilometers?!?", I kind of hate you.**)

Let me know if you end up actually running. Team YDS doesn't have to run together, but we do need a group photo at some point, and maybe pancakes together afterward.

-Kate

*Nick actually runs up BOTH peaks in East Rock Park. He is not a good benchmark to hold yourself against. I plan on closely examining my shoes for a good part of this race.

** But you're still welcome here.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Stephanie's Top Ten List for Kids

One of my all-time favorite Div School moms, Stephanie, took a little longer to write me back about what she likes to do with her two awesome kids in New Haven. You'll want to read this whole list; even though it contains some duplicates from what I've already posted, there's some great new information. Number ten is a real gem, too.

-Kate

1) The Peabody Museum. The MacDougall Center [the Yale grad student center] has free tickets for kids, and your Yale ID gets you in for free. Annual membership lets you have a sleepover in the dinosaur room- awesome.

2) The Eli Whitney Museum - great for rainy or snowy days. Drop by to do a woodworking project on any weekend day rather inexpensively. (Discount for projects if you become members)

3) Sign-up for MacDougall Center family list serve. Great events planned for families every month - young kids and parents play groups, apple picking, and holiday movies and craft parties.

4) Neighborhood Music School for all types of dance and instrumental lessons.

5) East Rock park playground and park off Cold Spring is great for picnics, soccer and kite flying. [You guys must be way sick of us talking about East Rock Park, but it’s pretty great. Did I mention there’s usually an ice cream truck at the summit?]

6) New Haven Youth Soccer is a well-run soccer program for children of all ages. One year fee covers both spring and fall season. The coaches are terrific and the program is lots of fun for the kids.

7) Yale Athletics has a Kids Bulldogs club (check our Yale athletics website) All children can join for free. They get a T-shirt and free admission to certain Yale sports events including soccer, football and basketball. Face painting, autographs by the athletes and pizza parties for Bulldog members. Really wonderful program

8) Yale Outdoor Education Center near East Lyme - $6 per day per person w/ Yale ID. Free canoeing and kayaking. Lovely lake, campsites and cabins for rent.

9) As for culture: the New Haven Symphony Orchestra has several family programs throughout the school year. Yale Art Gallery has once a month (on a Sunday afternoon) family art programs.

10) For the past two years, Div school families have informally gathered for dinner at the HGS Dining Hall* on Thursday nights. It's a great way to relax and catch-up with the other families. The HGS Manager has been offering some special family activities on Thursdays (e.g. make-your own sundaes) and the MacDougal Center has provided coloring books, crayons, plastic cups. Many parents (and children) really looked forward to the Thursday night family dinners so hopefully it will continue.

*My note: "HGS" is the Hall of Graduate Studies, a dorm/coffeeshop/cafeteria building, and where the MacDougal Center is housed. You can use your YDS meal plan at HGS!

Yale-Specific Stuff to do With Kids

So here’s how this blog works: I promise, and then I deliver. I think it’s a good way to build trust. I ask that, when I turn into a raving crazy person during BTFO, you remember me as I was, before someone messed up the catering order and my head exploded.

Being a Yale student in New Haven comes with a lot of baggage, as I’ve hinted at before, but it also comes with a lot of awesome. Much of this extends to your kids, no matter their age. Here are some great things to check out:

Please start by taking a look at the Yale Worklife Program. This paragraph is in bold because this is such a good site. Yes, it says its for faculty and staff, but I get their emails about workshops all the time. (Maybe part-time, casual, grad-student-y employees count as staff?) This site is a great way to find child-friendly stuff around campus – they even have a map showing how to get a stroller around campus. Yale will send you a “new parent packet” if you sign up with them. I suspect that this is targeted towards “new” parents as in “we just had this baby” parents rather than "we just got to Yale" parents -- but I also suspect that it might be worth it anyway.

The Yale Athletics Kids’ Club nurtures young Bulldog Fans in their obsession. From their website:

The Yale Athletics Kids' Club gives all kids 14 & under the opportunity to experience the fun and exciting world of Yale Athletics. The Kids' Club conducts many activities during the Yale Athletic year geared towards making college athletics fun and exciting for kids. Free Admission to most Yale Athletic events, birthday card from Handsome Dan, free Kids' Club T-shirt, Pizza Nights, Youth Days, and Sports Clinics are the fun and exciting benefits that Kids' Club members enjoy! The best part of the Kids' Club is that it's absolutely free thanks to the support of Yale Athletics' Corporate Partners. If you are interested in signing up or signing up a loved one, please go to the Kids' Club e-form. If you have any questions regarding the Yale Kids' Club or would like more information about our promotions please email us at sports.marketing@yale.edu.

(Please note: Handsome Dan is the name of our bulldog mascot, not some middle-aged Athletics Department employee.)

Yale-New Haven Hospital has some great resources for healthy living. Their Kids’ “Korner” website has recipes and other nutritious activities for kids, organized by age group. This site is exhaustive. They begin by showing you how to make a chef’s hat. Meet “Max”:


I may or may not be wearing one of these right now in my apartment.

If you’re importing yourself and your children from another country, we highly recommend that you spend some time on the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) website. Their family page features a run-down of the US school system, which is pretty basic but will get you started.

As for babysitting, you should never write off Dale Mail as a source, but also make sure to check out the Yale Babysitting Service. Yale students sign up with the website, which then creates a searchable directory for Yale parents.

Hope all of that helps. Though I can’t speak from personal experience, Yale certainly presents itself as being very interested in making sure that having children on campus goes well. Anecdotally, the Div School is also interested in making it easy for our moms and dads – children are welcome at a ton of CLC events, and most of BTFO (we’re still trying to secure childcare, but at the very least, children and partners are welcome at all meals).

-Kate

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

More Dispatches from the Summer of Awesome

In keeping with my continual efforts to get *other* Divinity School students' input onto this blog, we recently sent out a Dale Mail asking students to tell us if they were involved in something awesome this summer. The responses were, in fact, pretty awesome. Here are a few of my favorites so far:

"I am working with the Yale Presidential Public Service Fellows this summer. It's a core of 26 undergrad and graduate students from across Yale who are volunteering at various New Haven organizations over the summer.

I am volunteering at the Shubert Theater - the place where Julie Andrews, Robert Redford, Mary Martin, Marlon Brando, and others got their start. It was also the theater where they tried out the plays Streetcar Named Desire, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, Jekyll & Hyde, and Death of a Salesman before taking them to Broadway. The walls backstage are covered with paintings, autographs, and pictures. Every show that has been through the theater since the 1970s has been given a space of wall to decorate.

I'm working with the Operations Division - helping with volunteer recruitment and starting an internship for local high school students. ..."

-Horace, MAR 2010


This summer I am working as an intern for the refugee service in New Haven. The organization which I am working now is called IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Service), here is the link.

At IRIS, thinking globally and acting locally is our way of life. The only refugee resettlement agency is our community, IRIS is where New Haven meets the world and the world meets the New Haven. Refugees are the only immigrants invited by the U.S. government to resettle here. They are women, men, and children who were persecuted on the basis of race, nationality, religion, social group, or political opinion.

The recession is affecting nearly every nation on earth. But many worse thing are happening. Let me give you some examples, hundreds of thousands of refugees are on the move, trying to escape war, torture, rape, and kidnapping. Thousands of Iraqis who faced death threats for working the U.S. fled to Jordan or Syria, their futures uncertain. Terrorized Somali families have watched their country sink into a state of lawlessness, the "lucky" ones have found shelter in refugee camps in Kenya. Now is the time to stand proud for providing refugees a safe haven, one of America's noblest traditions. Our nation is stronger, at home and abroad, when we honor the ideals on which we were founded. I want to share with you guys what I have learned about the refugee, I am also eager to share my experiences with new class students if I have the chance. We in IRIS are also looking for more volunteers to the refugee & Immigrant Services.

-Kuo-Pin, MAR 2010


And one from my friend Delfin, reproduced in total:

hello there divas of righteousness

i hope all is bueno

i am working at the religious institute bringing together issues of sexuality and faith (reproductive issues, lgbt, women, healthcare). i am right now working on a project that is looking at bringing together international healthcare care organizations both secular and faith based in conversation about how to collaborate on issues together.

its cool stuff
paz,

delfin, MDiv 2010


Very cool stuff indeed. I'm sort of sad that grad school doesn't have the same show-and-tell "what I did with my summer vacation" as my third grade class did. For my own part, I'm reading the entire Divine Comedy with my friend Sean, training for a 5k (actually not a joke), and watching every single Mike Birbiglia video on YouTube. And, of course, planning BTFO...

What's really wonderful about being in New Haven in the summer is the chance to explore it beyond the context of YDS, as a resident rather than a student. I went for at three-hour walk in East Rock Park, saw Mavis Staples perform live on the Green(!), and watered a community garden plot. Next, I will actually go to a beach, and maybe even think about overcoming my decades-long fear of salt water. (Traceable to a traumatic crab injury, age seven. Also, there are sharks!)

-Kate

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Introducing the Annand Program ...


The Annand program, sponsored by Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, runs a number of spiritual formation opportunities. Through the Annand program, you can participate in small prayer groups, individual spiritual direction, and go on retreat. Annand is headed by the Reverend Jane Stickney, pictured above. Over the next few weeks, Jane and I will endeavor to introduce you to a few of the mentors who partner with Annand to offer spiritual formation – either in groups or in one-on-one settings.

Jane writes:

Spiritual formation is a term you will hear often. It can refer to anything that is part of your spiritual growth and vocational development. Your whole divinity school experience will contribute to your spiritual formation. One of the great resources available to you at YDS is the Annand Program for Spiritual Formation. Funded by Berkeley Divinity School, but available to all Yale Divinity School students, the Annand Program provides small groups, workshops, retreat scholarships and spiritual direction. The First Semester Formation Groups are especially for first year students. You will want to sign up to be part of one of these groups lead by Annand Mentors. The groups meet once a week beginning toward the end of September. As part of a group you will get to know 5-8 students in a setting outside of classes. As well as supporting each other as you settle into school, you will pray together and learn about different methods of prayer and spiritual traditions.

While participation in the Annand program is required for Berkeley M.Div students, the program is absolutely NOT limited to Episcopalians. I have availed myself to the spiritual direction program; Sandra, who comes from a completely different tradition, has gotten funding to go on retreat with friends. I really don't know that I can recommend the Annand program enough -- my first-semester spiritual formation group was a great way to find support and meet some new folks I might otherwise have never gotten to know so well.

Check out more about spiritual formation programs at Berkeley here, Annand in particular here. You can email any and all questions to Rev. Stickney at annandATyaleDOTedu (replace caps with punctuation); in my experience Jane has always been lovely to deal with.

-Kate

Kids in New Haven

So far, I’ve not done anything on child-friendly activities in New Haven -- of which there are a lot. I apologize for this oversight. Since I can barely be trusted to keep a plant alive, I emailed some of my favorite Div School parents and babysitters and asked for some ideas. This is the inaugural post in a series of things to do with kids in the area. Today: things to do in greater New Haven. (Later: things to do with kids in/around Yale.)

Someone tried to tell me on Friday that a good 20% or more of New Haven’s land area is parkland. I guess I believe this. Check out all the offerings at the Parks and Rec website. We’re closer to East Rock Park, but there’s a whole host of parks and playgrounds to be explored in New Haven.

If you’re willing to travel just a bit further, there are also lots of beaches around here. Hammonasset State Park is a perennial fave, despite being tough to spell.

Wilbur Cross high school, in East Rock, opens up its pool to the community for family swims during the summer. Wilbur Cross also has tennis and basketball courts and a track behind it.

The Peabody Museum has dinosaurs.*

For more athletics kiddlings, there’s the New Haven Youth Soccer League or Southern Connecticut's Pop Warner football league.

Finally, the great catch-all website KidsCT.com, with much, much more to do – from the New Haven Children’s Museum to ice skating in Milford (year-round!).

Again, I’ll update later with some Yale-specific stuff, once I wade through the 10 pages of stuff Sandra sent me.

-Kate

*Also a pretty good place to park one's parents for an afternoon, I've found.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

It's Reality Show Clip Time!


I’ve previously posted some piecemeal information about the Divinity School apartments, but there was a request for more detailed information, and maybe even some photos. Thanks to the generosity of my friend Scott's initiative and his roommate's indulgence, I’ve now got ten interior photos of a Div School apartment. Click here! You can also take a look at sample floor plans, here.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Div apartments come in three sizes: Jr. One Bedroom, One Bedroom, and Two Bedrooms.
- Most are unfurnished.
- Most are uncarpeted. You’ll have to BYO on the rugs unless you really like having a linoleum floor in your bedroom (which Darron seems fine with, so suit yourself)
- Heat, water, electric and wireless internet is included in your rent.

These apartments tend to be a little warmer than you’d like them, even in the winter. While most bedrooms have window-unit air conditioners, you might also think about bringing a fan or two. It’ll be hot in New Haven in August and September.

While the apartments themselves are a little on the basic side, Scott and Darron have done a great job decorating here, so you can see the potential. Plus, isn’t real estate all location, location, location? Short of living actually on campus, you can’t get much closer to your 9:30am O.T. lecture.

-Kate

Friday, July 10, 2009

The Most Important Blog Post Yet?

Yesterday I promised an entry comparing the YDS bookstore (very favorably) to a certain megalomaniacal web portal. Today, I deliver. Below, the words of Micah Luce, bookstore manager. (And a photo: Micah on the right, with two of last year's graduating seniors.)



They're dying! Independent bookstores everywhere are succumbing to the giant youknowwho.com and other such monsters. But not your Student Book Supply: the bookstore at YDS. Through the incredible support of our students, faculty, staff, and local New Haven-ite shoppers, the SBS lives on.

Serving YDS since 1938, the SBS provides not only your course textbooks, but also over 17,000 titles in theology, biblical studies, ethics, world Christianity, black studies, gender studies, etc. etc. etc.! Need a snack to get you through that 4pm class? We have it! A little too cold in Niebuhr during OT? Get a sweatshirt from us (also great for picking up dates on the local New Haven scene)! Feeling sick from nights up learning Hebrew vocabulary? We can pump you full of NyQuil or Tylenol. Want to eat a bit of popcorn for 75 cents on Friday afternoon? Swing by for that as well!

Even more, every student who chooses to pay a simple $25 annual membership due will receive 15% off of EVERY PURCHASE in the bookstore (sale items and stamps excluded).

Here at the SBS, we love you and want to support your studies, your research, your writing, and even your social life while at YDS. So please come by at any time (located immediately inside the entrance to the Divinity School) to browse, buy, or just hang out. We look forward to seeing you, and please write or call me at any time with questions.

Micah Luce
203.432.6101
micahDOTluceATyaleDOTedu (replace those caps with punctuation)

Check out the Student Book Supply's website for more info (and a larger version of the above photo), including hours and the senior gift registry.

-Kate

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Div Dictionary: CLC

CLC (n): the Community Life Committee, YDS’s school-sponsored social scene.

From unpromising beginnings, I’ve had quite a productive day. Having just woken up from a 45-minute reward nap on the CLC/BTFO office couch, it occurred to me that many of you may not actually know what the CLC is. (BTFO, I assume, you’ve got down.)

Whether out of concern for building a real sense of community among YDS folk, confusion over how to blow endowment funding, or concern that the dorkier among us might not be able to build social lives without a nudge or several, YDS sponsors a huge number of events on campus. The ones that aren’t lectures or conferences, the parties, study breaks, movie screenings, happy hour and other such frivolity, are often sponsored through the Community Life Committee. Since we love our acronyms around here, we just say “CLC.” Here’s a much better description than my nap-addled brain is going to put together, straight from the CLC website:

The YDS Community Life Committee (CLC) seeks to provide opportunities for fellowship, spiritual and intellectual growth, rest, celebration, and relaxation for the YDS Community. The Community Life Committee (CLC) is a Standing Committee of the General Faculty of the Divinity School comprised of faculty members, administrators, and student Representatives. The CLC allocates funding to student groups, is responsible for the annual Back-to-School Cook-out, the Christmas Party, Spring Fling, the All School Conference, Fatted Cafés, Coffee Hour, and more!

Faculty members and administrators are appointed by the Dean, with one serving as co-chair. The other co-chair is held jointly by the student co-coordinators. Other students serving on the Committee include four elected members of the student body: a first-year student, a Master of Divinity student, a Master of Arts in Religion student, and an at-large member. The Student Council President may also serve on the CLC.

On this website you can also take a gander at the impressive number of student activities YDS has going on. (Remember that we’re a mere 350-students strong, and that many of us are supposed to be spending all our time studying. In that light in particular, that’s a pretty active group of folk.) Since CLC funds student groups, most on-campus student-produced events are at least partially CLC funded. CLC also funds and produces the BIG campus events – like our end-of-semester parties: the Advent Party and Spring Fling. Generally, if you’re eating free food on campus, you’re probably at a CLC event. If you’re drinking free beer on campus, you’re definitely at a CLC event. The CLC is headed by a faculty member and two students (not gonna lie, I just learned that from the website). Last year’s student CLC coordinators were also at just about every event that happened within a 10-mile radius of campus to provide support and Key Lime Pie.

The one thing the CLC doesn’t fund is BTFO, which is why I will kindly redirect all your complaints about the lack of beer and Key Lime Pie elsewhere.

-Kate

PS: I just want to say that I tried pretty hard to Google-image some photos from Spring Fling and the Advent Party, and they were all photos of Dale. (And this gem, of our registrar, Lisa Huck, which is my new favorite thing on the internet -- pending zooborns.com update, of course.) Yet, when you Google "Dale Peterson"? Nothing.

Who’s Who: Mike G. and Patricia O.

I have a lot of BTFO things to do today. I do not want to do them. Blog post!

In an effort to make sure you know who’s who on campus, I’ll be doing a “Who's Who” feature on the blog*, so you can put faces and names together, and not say anything embarrassing around Harry Attridge.

There’s nothing I love more than an extended metaphor. I think it’s the anthro major in me. (Next time you have a white board and 15 minutes, allow me to explain how getting into college is exactly like a series of football downs.) In fit of internet boredom, I haphazardly compared Mike G., Dale’s assistant/YDS’s saving grace, to the new search engine/awesome machine Wolfram Alpha. The more I thought about this one, the more I realized IT IS TOTALLY TRUE. Allow me to whiteboard this for you:

Above: Mike and Dale. Since, for some reason, men being friends evokes the same reaction from me as photos of newborn pandas, I’ll stick to noting that Mike is on the left and Dale is on the right.

Many similarities exist between Mike and Wolfram Alpha -- even beyond their remarkably similar color schemes. Wolfram Alpha is a little more difficult to find than other things on the internet, like, say, Google (see below); Mike’s desk is hidden behind a whole row of administrative people who make YDS happen. Much like Wolfram Alpha, Mike’s main job isn’t just to answer my increasingly goofy questions. While he’s happy to entertain almost any query, Mike’s real job is something else. Although I sometimes find this hard to believe, Mike doesn’t just sit around and wait for me to come and ask a thousand random questions. No, Wolfram Alpha is on a mission to make the world’s knowledge computable, and Mike is busy making YDS run smoothly.** Equally formidable tasks, to be sure.

Things you need Mike for:
- sending a Dale Mail
- finding lost and found items OR turning in my iPod to lost and found (thanks in advance)
- getting keys to things which are NOT your mailbox (offices, classrooms, etc.)
- getting Dale’s credit card for student activities purchases
- getting candy

I’ll assume you’re following me so far.

Now. Patricia O., YDS’s receptionist extraordinaire, is exactly like Google. Google is the reception desk at the front of the internet, a gateway of entry into a world of time wasting. Patricia’s desk sits right in front of the main entrance to YDS. Like Patricia, Google is ebullient, charmingly silly, and always happy to see you and say hi. Google changes up its design with the seasons; Patricia’s desk features seasonable decoration AND a sign telling you what’s going on at YDS today (really helpful in figuring out what random conference is taking place in Niebuhr at the moment). Google also manages my (e)mail (and the BTFO accounts, too) – and, as you’ve read here before, Patricia runs the YDS mail system and the commuter lockers (which I guess are GoogleDocs and Picasa in this scheme). You’ll meet her almost immediately, but here’s a photo of Patricia so you can be extra friendly:

Above: One of the few photos of someone from YDS that Dale is not in.

Things Patricia will happily help you with:
- getting a mailbox key
- getting a commuter locker
- figuring out where things are
- finding out what random conference is going on in Niebuhr today
- getting a paycheck (or join the 21st century and set up direct deposit, Denice!)
- getting candy (there seems to be a hold on LifeSavers during the summer, but I remain hopeful they’ll be back in the fall)

Up next: Micah L., the bookstore, and how they’re not anything like Amazon.com. (Because they are more awesome!)

-Kate

With thanks to Patricia and Mike, who allowed their Facebook profiles to be raided for photos. I was very tempted to use the one from Halloween a few years ago, but worried it didn't do either of you justice.

* Which is to say, I will probably do this a couple times, get bored, and then blog my way through August by whining more about the weather. (Sixty-three?!? In July?!?)

** Confession: I have the barest grasp on what Mike's job description is. Just like the particulars of Wolfram Alpha are clearly beyond me! This metaphor*** is brilliant!

*** Wait, is this a simile?

Monday, July 6, 2009

Here Already? Things To Keep You Busy on Your New Grad Student Budget

Many of you have already interacted with Jan F. through the admissions office. If you’ve met her, you’re already familiar with the fact that she’s totally wonderful. As a long-time New Haven area resident, Jan also has a hidden talent for coming up with wonderful stuff to put on this blog. Two wonderful, FREE things for you to do this summer:

The Elm City Shakespeare Company
combines several of my favorite things: theater, the outdoors, and cheap-like-free pricing. Elm City puts on free shows in Edgerton Park, a quick walk from YDS and most points in East Rock. You’ll note that neither of this year’s productions are actually written by Shakespeare, but I think we should all agree to overlook that in the spirit of summer outdoor festivals. Shows start mid-August.

N.B: We will be taking you to an Elm City Shakespeare production during BTFO. So if you want, you can save it until then. No, I don’t know which show yet.

Jan also recommends the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven. Parking and admission are both free (!), and the museum brings in exhibits of art and history that look pretty cool, including contemporary stuff. This is a good reminder to me to actually go here; I’ve been meaning to for quite a while, even though both K of C buildings in New Haven are really ugly. (Then again, a lot of the modernist and international styles of architecture are just lost on me. Feel free to form your own opinion.)

Once again, thanks Jan!

-Kate

Thursday, July 2, 2009

(The) Two Things I Like About New Haven (The Most)

So I’m back. Leaving Chicago is always a little hard on me, and since I did a sixteen-mile all-night charity walk on Saturday night (with my mom, who is almost sixty and most definitely awesome!), I’m also a little groggy and out of it. I’m a fake Chicagoan, too, having spent the first 75% of my life in the ‘burbs of Philly and the backwoods of Massachusetts, but like many of you, I have spent and continue to spend not a little time grieving the life given up to come to YDS. I miss my old apartment, my home parish, and cheap, terrible beer.

In the joint spirits of cheering myself up and informing you (which continues to be the main objective of this blog, even with the rambling), I will now share with you the two areas in which New Haven completely outpaces Chicago.

1) Recycling. (Maybe environmentalism in general?)
Chicago has had a long flirtation with recycling, but can’t really get it together. It’s not that we don’t care about the environment, it’s just that … we don’t care that much. We were doing something else, and then it got late, and we always leave work at 4:55pm, and then we forgot for a while. We like to bike, and we love our lake, but the logistics of effective curbside recycling continue to elude us.

In New Haven, not only are recycling resources plentiful at school, with bins and reminders everywhere, but also curbside recycling is really easy! If you live on-campus, you’ll have recycling containers outside near the dumpsters you’ll take your trash to. If you live off-campus, you’ll find a blue bin somewhere in your apartment. By keeping an eye out on your street, you’ll be able to figure out that everyone puts their trash and recyclables out one night a week (100 block of Linden – Wednesday night!) for an early morning pickup. The bin will look like this:


(I contemplated putting up a picture of my own bin, but decided against it, to avoid any uncomfortable questions about my Diet Coke consumption. I’m down to one a day … most days.)

You can figure out what to put in the bin at this helpful site from SoHu New Haven. While you’re there, marvel at the fact that “SoHu” is its own neighborhood now.

2. Food from carts.
Having grown up near enough to Philly to understand that soft pretzels are supposed to be smothered with brown mustard, I was initially confused when I found that I couldn’t buy a hotdog from some guy with a cart in the Loop. Apparently they think you need a running hot water hookup to serve food properly. I think that this is why everyone is suddenly allergic to peanuts. Not that I’m hating on people with allergies – I have a cousin and a good friend who are both peanut-intolerant – but has anyone else noticed that everyone is allergic to peanuts these days? My basic assertion is that, like asthma, we'd have fewer food allergies if kids ate more dirt. And while they’re at it, a hotdog.

“The carts” are a wonderful part of life at YDS. I’ve been talking like the only thing you can buy from a cart is a hotdog, but if you’re willing to make the quick drip down to the School of Management at the corner of Prospect and Sachem (and, more daunting, the trip back up the hill) on a weekday around lunch, you’ll be able to take your pick: burritos, Indian, Ethiopian, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese. Sometimes there’s a cupcake truck, too! A complete lunch (food plus a drink) will run you in the neighborhood of $5/$6. That price is so good it deserves its own low-budget local commercial.

If you grew up in Chicago or on the moon, here is a picture of what food from a cart looks like that I stole from the Yale Daily News:


(Again, I considered taking my own photo of a cart in New Haven serving food. Then I remembered that I’m lazy and didn’t want to go downtown today.)

OK, that totally worked. I feel better. Hopefully you feel more informed, too. Long-time CT residents and lurking YDS people, what do YOU love about this city/state?

-Kate

Driving Up Here?

Jan. F, from the admissions office, passes along the following tidbit of info for those of you driving here from points south of NYC.

Does the thought of driving over the George Washington Bridge cause you to panic? Fear not—there is another way to access New Haven from points south. You can take the Tappan Zee Bridge (which is easily accessed from the Garden State Parkway in NJ) and then Rt. 287 East to Port Chester, NY and then onto I95 to New Haven.

Happy U-Hauling!

-Kate