"I am enrolled in the Hybrid M.Div. program at Claremont School of Theology (CST) and have completed twenty-one hours toward my degree. Most recently I completed a summer intensive in process theology, and I especially liked that class. I have signed up for nine hours in the fall of 2021 including Hebrew Bible and Homiletics. I have also been accepted into the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Carle BroMenn Hospital in Bloomington, Illinois and will begin an extended internship that begins in September and continues through May 2022. I am looking forward to the experience in chaplaincy.
In my free time I enjoy listening to music of all kinds, but I especially like jazz and classical music. I’m also trying to improve my ability to cook. I find that when I am feeling overwhelmed and worn out, making vegetable soup can be therapeutic. My wife Terri and I live in Washington, Illinois and have one adult son who works on a tall ship in Portland, Maine.
I retired from my first career in engineering and product marketing at the end of April 2020. Through the years I developed an appreciation for the study of scripture, and I wanted the opportunity to study in a guided and disciplined environment with other people who are wrestling with some of the same questions that I have. As I approached the end of my first career, I began to consider attending seminary not to begin a second career but as a journey by itself. I have never regretted the decision to begin seminary.
I grew up in the Apostolic Christian Church but began to attend Eureka Christian Church (DOC) in Eureka, Illinois soon after I graduated from college in 1979. I became a member there and have served in Christian Education, as a deacon, and as an elder.
In my home congregation two things that I have enjoyed are adult Christian Education and doing hospital and home visitation for shut-ins. I have also preached and served communion in nursing homes, so I think that chaplaincy or some form of visitation and pastoral care may be my calling. I am still discerning what shape my ministry will take but I expect to remain in central Illinois after seminary. I am looking forward to meeting other Disciples seminary students through my association with DSF."
- Ron Crawford