Harvest Happenings

I love this time of year.  The colours of the leaves are turning and the wind has already started collecting piles of earthen-toned leaves along the sidewalks.  I return to my youth as I kick my way through them on my walks to and from the office.

In celebration of the harvest season, my church holds an annual ‘Harvest Service’ at Alan Hill Farm, a farm store that sells local produce and homemade baked goods, has enclosed animals on the grounds, and has the best view of town around.  We thanked God for the good weather that morning (many years running) and for the farmers around the world, including those whom we know, those whom we don’t but whose fruits of labour we enjoy, and for those struggling to make ends meet in not-so-fertile regions.   It was a beautiful service on a beautiful autumn morning.

I myself have been harvesting fruits as well this autumn.  Judith has a Victorian Plum tree in her back yard, from which I’ve collected dozens of plums over the last couple weeks.  She also has two magnificent apple trees, from which I’ve harvested enough apples to make an apple pie for friends (not my greatest) and a batch of crock pot (or lower aga oven in my case) apple sauce.  Yum!

St Andrews at harvest time.

Otherwise, life here in St Andrews is back in full swing.  While last year I found myself in two tutoring capacities, this year I’m focused on my role as the Study Skills tutor for the University at large.  This means that I meet with undergraduate students on a one-on-one basis and discuss their methods of study: reading comprehension, note taking, scheduling, essay writing, etc., and do my best to provide suggestions for them to assist in the effectiveness and efficiency of their study skills.  I’m so grateful for this job. 

Also in full swing is the use of the ‘Training in Good Academic Practice’ module I was commissioned to write for the University of St Andrews last summer.  The latest report is that approximately 4500 students have taken the course and passed the exams!  Some students are sending the University hate mail for it (not really, but close) and others are writing feedback filled with gratitude and praises for the opportunity to take it.  We like those students. 

In other fun news, I gave a presentation at my church’s Guild Meeting the other night on ‘Life and Ministry in the Wild West’.  It was a slide show of photos and accompanying stories that made the jaw drop of every 65-80 year old women present there that night. 

They seemed to find particular horror in the view from Jeff and Donna’s bathroom… in June.

The take away from the talk, I told them, should be that their winters here are very mild and that they have nothing to complain about.  Even still, one of the women said to me at the end, ‘But there you clearly have people who know how to remove snow from the roads.  Our snow removal men can’t seem to figure it out’.  ‘Yes, that is true’, I told her.  ‘The three times it snows here each winter they do struggle to get the two or three inches off of the ground’!  It was a fun night!

Otherwise, the majority of my time  here is spent working away on the dissertation.  Over the next couple of months I’m writing a chapter focusing on Paul’s Son Christology.  Basically, if Christians are ‘conformed to the image of [God’s] Son’, then we should probably know what it means for Jesus to be God’s Son!  Talk about a lot to read! 

And in all of my spare time (.6 seconds each day) I’m beginning the job search.  Though I won’t have the PhD in hand by next fall, I can nevertheless apply for some jobs in hopes that they’ll allow me to teach and finalize the doctorate while doing so.  Chances are slim of landing a teaching position quite yet, but I’m now at the point of needing to make that effort. 

By the way, do you know anyone who works at or has connections to Carroll College in Helena, MT?  Carroll College has a New Testament position open right now that I’ll apply for.  It’s basically my dream job... and not just because it’s in Montana… though it is about the only teaching position in all of Montana or Wyoming that would suit me.  More than Montana, the institution is a perfect fit for me in a number of ways, far more so than most schools I’ll be applying to.  And, as most of you know… it’s not what you know (though that helps in this case) but who you know!  I had a great uncle who was the registrar there back in the 40’s, but that won’t help me much anymore! 

And with that, you are now caught up on all of my happenings since returning.  It’s now 6:20 am and time for me to translate some German.  Don’t be jealous.