Thinking about seminary?  Looking for ministry opportunities that match your gifts with the world’s need?  Here are some helpful resources for your discernment process. If you are thinking about ordination in your particular tradition, check out the ordination process for these denominations:

• American Baptist
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
• United Methodist
• Presbyterian Church (USA)
• Unitarian Universalist Association
• United Church of Christ (UCC)

If you’d like to get a sense of life as a current or former seminarian, check out some of these thoughts from alums and friends:

• Footloose: Thoughts on Urban Ministry by professor and urban ministry guru Rev. Dr. Deborah Kapp
• A Church for Starving Artists by Rev. Jan Edminston, in which she explores how the Church and its leaders can creatively redirect their thoughts and actions
• Still Waters by McCormick alum Rev. Theresa Cho who blogs about being a Korean-American woman pastor
• The Traveling Theologian by Shelley Donaldson, a recent McCormick alum interested in interfaith dialogue and comparative religious research
• Hyeyoung’s and Kirk’s Korean Adventure by two McCormick alums serving as Presbyterian Mission Co-Workers in South Korea
• Adventures in Post-Christendom by John Vest, current moderator of the Greater Chicago Presbytery

If you’d like to explore ministry through service as part of your vocational discernment journey, check out some of these opportunities that McCormick students have intimate experience with:

• Christian Peacemaker Teams
• Lutheran Volunteer Corps. 
• Mennonite Central Committee
• Young Adult Volunteers (YAV)

If you’ve decided that seminary is definitely the next step for you but are unsure how to fit it into your life right now, check out these helpful resources:

• The Fund for Theological Education has great tips for choosing an institution and how to pay for your education
• Funding Resources compiled by McCormick Theological Seminary