On yesterday I had the honor of visiting one of the great divinity schools in this county, Yale Divinity in New Haven, CT. This institution, which sits on the great hill in New Haven, is a pastor's delight, in that everything you could ever want to have in a divinity school can be found at YDS. Great reputation, check. World recognized professors, check. Beautiful campus and community, check. Diverse students, check. I literally fell in love with this place during my time there.
I was able to meet with an admissions recruiter named Melissa Pucci, who herself is a recent graduate of YDS, and she answered all of our questions with seemingly unrehearsed confidence that made me feel very comfortable and impressed with her passion for YDS. We then went to their chapel hour, which is scheduled during the day so that there are no classes at this time in order for every student and professor and staff member can be available to attend chapel. Although the style of worship was not what I am used to experiencing, I did feel the presence of the Lord in that place. The music was great and the speakers showed that most of all they loved the Lord Jesus with all of their hearts.
I attended a wonderful class lecture taught by Professor Harry Stout entitled History in American Society. This class deals with the church's role in establishing our society during the inception of America, and how it's role has changed in the century's since. Yesterday's lecture centered around the Geneva Bible Translation and how the Puritans used this bible and the formation of the church in their migration to the New England states, and how the community was developed around the church, not the church developed around the community.
They had an interesting practice of stating that the only men who could purchase land were those who were members of the church, and the only men who could vote in the election of officers would be land owners. So this ensured that all land owners and voters were members of the church. Everybody went to church, but not everybody were members of the church. If you didn't go to church, you were in danger of being looked down upon. I wonder how our communities would be if everybody in our community went to church.
The best part of my visit was the manner in which the students, especially the Black students gravitated to me and made me feel very welcome. As a matter of fact, they all were encouraging in that they hoped that I would present my application for acceptance as early as possible to ensure that I was in a better position to receive scholarship monies that are available. They were so helpful to even offer their assistance in my process, which is greatly appreciated and welcomed. I can't wait to get there.
All this has done is to give me something else to pray for, because I believe that God will give us the desire of our hearts and I am praying that the Lord will open this door for me at YDS. An Ivy League Divinity degree is without a doubt something that is important to me. To God Be the Glory!
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