Our son is currently in sunny Cuba and, believe it or not, he has mixed feelings about being there. Ike is in the "home stretch" toward ordination as a United Church minister and this last school term includes what is often called an Exposure Tour. The United Church has a partnership with the Presbyterian Church in Cuba and seminary students from McGill are required to go on this Cuba trip to see how the church functions in a very different environment. For decades Christians were treated poorly under Castro's regime and worshipping openly could lead to exclusion from promotions and professional advancement.
Isaac wasn't sure about this trip because he felt that it might be more valuable to visit a Aboriginal Reserve here in Canada instead, knowing the day might come when he worked on or near a native community. We have heard from him and he said that meeting with a Roman Catholic biship was very worthwhile.
They have moved from Havana to the town of Matanzas where there is a seminary. We visited this seminary a couple of years ago during a trip because Isaac was considering doing an exchange term. In the end he decided his Spanish was too sketchy to keep up academically. We were struck by the simple but beautiful seminary compound. It is at the top of a hill and there are terraced vegetable gardens which provide produce for the staff and students.
What are your thoughts about tours such as this one? Does it make sense to send students to other countries to discover how the church works there?
Any chance to learn abroad is worth taking. I hope Issac has an enriching experience that only adds to his work down the road.
ReplyDelete(And, I'm slightly envious of him, given the -19 degree wind chill today!)
As a diaconal ministry student, I also had an exposure trip (we called it a GPE, Global Perspective Experience). We had some of the same dilemmas. Why a different country? Aren't there enough communities in Canada that are culturally different from the mainstream? One person had a very difficult time with flying because of the environmental impact. Because of these concerns, the Centre for Christian Studies recently decided to be more flexible. There were two people in my graduating class that had life-threatening allergies, so one decided to visit a First Nations community in Canada and the other visited inner-city Chicago. Now, people are able to choose a trip based on their own needs and values.
ReplyDeleteMy trip to Guatemala was eye-opening and I'm sure Isaac will have a very enriching experience.
The windchill here is -33. Some place warm certainly does sound nice!
For some reason your comments about the wind chill stirred me to go for a walk. It was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBoth of you affirm the value to educational experiences in other settings, and I would have to agree. Thanks Deb for mentioning the options now available for UCC ministry candidates.