March, 2023
In Korea, I was a Christmas-Easter-special occasion Lutheran because the nearest English-language Lutheran congregation was an hour away. Instead I regularly attended a non-denominational church and occasionally attended an Assemblies of God bible study.
The year I taught English in Korea was a time of great personal growth and one aspect of my spiritual growth was realizing how much I missed the liturgical seasons that made waiting for Christmas and Easter an event, where the colors in the sanctuary changed right along with the nature outside and one year shared a special connection with others across my own personal history.
In Bratislava the daffodils are in decline and tulips are starting to bloom despite daily weather fluctuations. The recent equinox saw us change our door’s pinecone and white fluff wreath for one with speckled eggs and paper flower buds. My family follows the academic calendar when we teach and attend school, and mid-March marked a turning point for the graduating class as they took the written portion of their school-leaving exam. Their third quarter grades were due last week and the oral portion of their exams begins in less than two months.
For the Central Europe Teachers program, it is the season of invitation and thanks. Current teachers make their decisions about whether to stay another year or move on, and a group from the ELCA (me included) interviews and invites new teachers. (The schools want more teachers than we have available right now, so please please encourage those who might be a good fit for teaching English in Slovakia to apply before the middle of April!)
We transition into spring, into Easter, into new life. Thank God for change and growth!
Naomi Sveholm
Central Europe Teachers
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