CTS Essay
Questions
Tony E Dillon Hansen
8 May 2018
Theological
Studies:
I am pursuing
theological studies due to a renewed sense of call. My call comes despite a
long time of wondering and a period of serious doubt of organized religion.
The calling to
ministry has been part of me since my youth, but I just ignored or put that
answer on hold for a long time. I have endeavored throughout my life to serve
the community and the Call just tickles that desire. Thus, there is a reason
for everything and God has made that clear to me, including the time away from
church as much as the return to church. With
that, I have felt a spiritual connection in my youth, while in exile from
church, and now that connection has been fully restored these years with the
UCC. After reconnecting with the Church, serving various roles at Plymouth UCC,
leading worship at area retirement centers, and then later serving as Student
Pastor at Urbandale UCC, I feel that I am firmly called to parish ministry with
an eye towards social justice and witness ministries. When you read the short
religion and vocational history, I believe readers may understand more about
this call.
With my goals, I
was realizing that PATHWAYS was limited, and that my goals seem to require another
degree.
My Religious and
Vocational History (How I came to serve in the UCC):
I grew up Roman Catholic (and if we went my grandma’s house
(my dad’s side) we went to Missouri-Synod Lutheran). My baptism patron saint is
Anthony of Padua and my confirmation name is from Matthew, the tax collector. Perhaps,
there may have been some intercessions in my life from these great spirits. In
our family, we believed that Mass was not optional, neither were the beliefs
and neither was service. For a while, I thought maybe I was hearing Holy Orders
in my youth. Fundamentally, and probably due in part to my upbringing, I desire
to and wish to serve my country and my community. There, however, was a problem
with Catholic Holy Orders with who and what I was.
So I was in exile for years. In that time, I found strength
and skill in martial arts (eventually achieving the rank of master) but also in
studying Asian traditions that surrounded them. I also found myself serving our
community through non-profit advocacy work in areas like human rights awareness,
legislative lobbying, running pride festivals, HIV awareness, and later with
competition taekwondo and interfaith dialogues. Through these efforts, I have
grown to appreciate the value of the community and togetherness.
Also, I am a software developer by title and pay. Since my
primary job is IT, I regularly use technology and have consulted on several
great projects and strategies. Through this career path, I have learned the
value of logic and simple designs. It has been a means of income for me but has
lacked purpose.
I have learned much along the way, but something was elusive
to me. Eventually, I found myself at Plymouth UCC by way of the Des Moines Gay
Men’s Chorus and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa already meeting there.
Subsequently, I had to see what was happening in the other rooms since I was
already there every week. I attended worship with skepticism until I understood
the UCC was really about embodying what I learned of the Gospels in my youth.
I became a member with my spouse, and like my youth, why
just be a member? Where is the limit? I started as a Deacon, Chancel Choir and
also Stephen Ministry. During that, I heard God calling me again (maybe it was
Pastor Dave Ruhe of Plymouth UCC), but to invoke Psalm 23, perhaps I “heard”
the gate open by the still waters and with Jesus waiting and calling again. So
I have been serving at Urbandale UCC (UUCC) as part of PATHWAYS supervised
ministry, along with Stephen Ministry via Plymouth UCC, leading worship at area
retirement facilities, and pulpit supply where they invite me today as a result
of listening to that call.
I realize that I have made a few mistakes along the way, but
I have felt so many graces and connection with the service. I have learned so
much from Pastor Dave Sickelka and his team at UUCC as well as colleagues in
Stephen Ministry. Most of all, I learned from the congregation and how pastoral
care is more than individual but can be projected in the communal setting of
worship.
My goal:
I want to serve my community and to help lead advocacy
efforts in our community. I believe the
power of the Gospels can help increase the effectiveness of those efforts. I also want to give voice to many sides of
the theological perspectives rather than rhetorical and token slogans attached
to harmful traditions that have caused so much damage and unbelief. With that,
I see myself in pastoral ministry with an eye for social justice.
Also, after walking with my dad at the VA in his final
months, I am also considering chaplaincy to help the many people that simply
don’t have someone to walk with them.
The biggest challenge to my goals is competing priorities
with my current employment and a need to pay down student loans that I acquired
with my previous education. I thought maybe I would be able to take class work
along with CPE, but I learned that CPE via UnityPoint in Des Moines may not be
feasible due to potential schedule conflicts with my current career. I may have to get creative for CPE credits.
Religious institutions and community roles:
As I consider new paths beyond today, I realize that nothing
good has ever happened when I did nothing. Sometimes, we have to change paths
to do the good we want. For institutions relying upon doing nothing different
will not change their situations or the situations in the communities we live. Our
religious institutions influence are waning along with the decline of
participation. The effort to reverse this seems to be relying upon well-worn
methods from society that may not be effective today. There are core components
of worship and some worthy traditions that we must consider, but I believe that
we can work the mission Jesus gave us in ways that work today.
I have consistently made adjustments throughout my life to
prepare for where I am, and with that, I do not expect to ever have the
“perfect” anything. I believe that the UCC is a great home for the many in our
community looking for a church home, and I would submit even for those not
necessarily looking for a church home.
I see possibilities for activism in contrast to the many
voices that have caused my own self-exile as well as social justice activism as
part of the mission Jesus has given to us. Thus, the role that I anticipate is as
parish and ministry leader that promotes social justice advocacy in the
community. I like the idea of working
with mission of Jesus to inspire people to support our community in unique and
sustaining ways.
Two Critical issues:
The two critical
issues facing religious leadership is 1) waning interest from the American
population and especially younger generations and 2) rejection of religion due
to personas that have damaged the pastoral institutions. The PEW Center has reported
a continuing decline of Church participation and attendance especially with
younger generations. This is a
persistent issue from when I was a youth. While there are plenty of ways to
distract people today, there is a fundamental question of the future of the
Church when there is a decline that yields no end at this point.
This leads me to
consider the second issue is that the Church has to be willing to take a hard
look at itself, its practices and if its message really demonstrates what Jesus
taught. The traditional building
(church) for ministry is looking more and more foreign to people that have
never stepped foot into a church and less welcoming to those that felt shunned
by window-dressing rhetoric.
I am not here to
fix things or to save people and I cannot undue damage that has already been
done. I don’t want to add to that damage, and I want to offer the worship and
community of God that lifts up and heals.
I believe that we are here to learn and to work together in community.
We have to be willing go into the community, and from 1 John, our Church is a
mission started by Jesus not just for words but for action. We have to be able lift up the struggles and
social justice issues of our community just as Jesus did. We also have to be open
to listen to all of God’s people because there have been too many pulpits that
excluded people from the Good News. The Good Shepherd story of John’s Gospel
tells us that Jesus, by example, shows us how to be examples to our community
for all people, not just those in the pews on Sunday. That is how our Church lives into future
generations.
Why CTS
application?
God has called me
here and is slowly revealing the path for me, and I have yet to learn where
this will ultimately take me. As I said, I feel my primary call is leading
towards pastor at a congregation. Yet, by Jesus’s example, we are reminded to
go the watering hole (John 4:1 - 26) to be with the community. Also, my
experiences with my dad’s cancer treatments have me looking at chaplaincy, in
addition to pastor role. I have pursued seminary training through the SE
Conference of the UCC called PATHWAYS seminary program. PATHWAYS has greatly
improved my theological connection and understanding for ministry in the UCC,
but I realized the limits of the program. I pray that CTS will enhance this
foundation as I move forward because it provides asynchronous program like
PATHWAYS, CTS provides a path towards MDiv, and I have friends and colleagues
with positive experiences at CTS.
As a pastor and
church leader, I pray that my words and the meditations of hearts will be
worthy in God’s sight always and worthy of the recommendations and recognitions
given to me by Plymouth and my mentors. I will always give thanks for the
opportunities and blessings I have, and I hope to share them with the Church
and CTS.
Thanks Be to God
