Fuller it is...

Last weekend I was fortunate to visit my good buddy Peter Sensenig at his current home at Palmer Theological Seminary. It was great to see that he's at a great place and everyone still knows his name. It was fantastic to be able to compare one more school in the grand scheme, and was a hard place to leave and head home.

Following my visit Meredith and I decided on Fuller Theological Seminary in California. It's a huge change and a big move, but one that we are pretty excited about. Here's a mass e-mail I sent out incase you care to hear about our current futures... enjoy.




It's been a while since I last sent out a mass e-mail update about what is happening in my life. Since then a lot has changed for me including getting married and starting the search for a place to go to school in the fall of 2007.

There are two things that Meredith and I have been thinking about for quite some time and we would appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers. It is amazing how much those two things help you along your way.

1. In a few weeks Meredith and I will be heading to Israel and Palestine with a group from Eastern Mennonite Seminary. We will be visiting historic sites, meeting new people, and trying new foods; all as a part of a travel group of about 25 people. The trip is being led by two seminary professors who I have taken classes from and we are both VERY excited. Needless to say, this is an intimidating part of the world to be travelling to and we would love your thoughts and prayers as we go. If you would like to see what we will be doing, our itinerary and details of our trip can be found here -- http://www.emu.edu/seminary/crosscultural/

2. The lengthy search for a school has come to an end. Meredith and I will be moving to Pasadena, California sometime in August so that I can start classes in September at Fuller Theological Seminary. This is a huge decision for several reasons - moving across the USA, starting to live in a city with a much higher cost of living than what we have been enjoying here in H'burg, not to mention leaving so many friends and family behind. The plan is to try it out and if we like it there, to stay until the completion of my Master of Divinity and then take another look at what to do next.

This has been something that has weighed heavily on us for several months, and many of you have been a very big support through this time. We would love your continued thoughts as we plan for this new adventure.

Leaving the EMU community that I have been connected to for almost 6 years will be difficult but I am also excited about the change. The Admissions Office has been an amazing place to work, and I will definitely miss my co-workers and the different challenges of this job.

I will be staying in this role until just before we leave for Israel, and at that point I will most likely be switching e-mail addresses. You can get in touch at ben.wideman@gmail.com or can8ianben@yahoo.com .

Thank you once again for your thoughts and prayers.

Ben