A letter from Brenda Harcourt serving in Kenya
Fall 2014 - Preparing Students for Ministry
I was sitting in my office last July when in walked two of my students. They are currently serving as student pastors, waiting for graduation and their ordinations. It was good to see them and share with them about their current locations and the pastoral opportunities they are having. They both commented that the classes they took with me in practical ministry were so helpful for them. We laughed together and shared stories, and then they asked me to pray for them before they left my office. Of course I did and they thanked me again and then said that my prayers always made them feel like God was sitting with us in the room and understood what the needs of each of us were.
After they left I thought about our visit. I thought about how during classes I get so excited about sharing with them about ministry and all the experiences that will be waiting for them. I try to make ministry real and not just a mind-filling experience, but a ministry that meets us in the hearts of the people. In the experiences of sharing with a family at the birth of their baby when God places that baby in their arms and says, “This is my child, raise him/her for the next 18 years, sharing with them the richness of your faith and giving them wings to fly when they are ready.” Or at the deathbed of a parishioner when you get to experience them at their most vulnerable and they invite you in to be a part of the passing from this life to eternity. Then there are all those times in between when we live life by the ups and downs and struggles and joys. That is the meat of ministry. Those Sunday experiences are a brief hour or so when we gather as a community or family of faith and then go back to the marketplace to live out our lives. But those hours and days outside of Sunday are not necessarily what we are given the most help with in seminary.
In November, when we have our graduation and I see these students walk to collect their degrees and then take off the gown and cap and start to share in ministry, I will be so proud that I was just a tiny part of their preparation experience. That we walked together and prayed together that God would equip them with what they need to do the ministry to which they are called.
My ministry here in Kenya has been and continues to be what God has called me to. The people who come in at the beginning of their journey toward ordained ministry are very different from the people who walk out as they go to the marketplaces to do God’s work. In the process of a year I teach Homiletics, Critical and Creative Thinking, Research and Methodology, Biblical Thought, Philosophy, Pastoral Care, Pastoral Counseling, Leadership, and Practical Theology. Usually we try to cover several areas so that we can cover for each other if someone is on sabbatical or only part-time. I am continually amazed that God always gives me what I need to help students in their process of maturing into pastors.
As you center for prayer I ask that you remember my students here at the Presbyterian University of East Africa as they continue on their journey to parish ministry.
The weather here in Kenya is our winter, and so the temps are dropping. For many of you temps in the high 60s F may not seem cold, but when you are used to warmer temps most of the time, that is really cold. It is always fun when folks come to visit and realize that I live so close to the equator and yet feel so cold that most nights I cover with a blanket or two. The days can sometimes get very warm, and so it means that you dress with thin clothes during the day and bundle up at night.
Your prayers and support mean so much to me as I continue to work here in Kenya. My prayers go out to all of you in ministry wherever you are. May God richly bless you and continue to give you strength to meet each day as you journey in your faith.
Rev. Brenda S. Lindsey Harcourt
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 135
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 145
Read more about Brenda Harcourt's ministry
Blog: Church Mouse Musings
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