Let the games, er classes, begin

My first class in the UK was on Monday morning. Of course, I taught it. I teach "The Gospel of John" on Mondays to third year students and "Hermeneutics" on Thursdays, also to third years. I think the first one went well. I have a small class, 8 students, and they all seemed attentive and interested. FWIW, the Bible translations being used: 2 New King James, 3 New International, 1 New Revised Standard, 1 Good News Bible, and 1 New American Standard (the American teacher's, of course). Yes, that's only 7 students. Student #8 will be there next week.

I also attended my first class on Monday afternoon -- Research Methods. The only thing of note is that I happened to sit beside the only other American in the class of 50 or so. He's a nice guy from Philadelphia working on an MA in Quaker Studies, and he is a Quaker. And no, he does not wear one of those hats and, as far as I could tell, wasn't particularly fond of the oats. He told me that another American grad student and her husband from Savannah, Ga., are living not too far from our place in Bearwood. I hope that we cross paths.

My most tantalizing class will probably be on Wednesdays -- Postcolonial Biblical Interpretation. I'll have to miss tomorrow's class though, because MY FAMILY WILL BE HERE! They're due to land in Bham at 8 am. Let's pray they make is safe and sound.

And, in the "Who Would've Thought" category:
Preacher Dies During Sermon About Heaven
Jan 10, 10:43 PM (ET)
OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) - A Presbyterian minister collapsed and died in mid-sentence of a sermon after saying "And when I go to heaven ...," his colleague said Monday.
The Rev. Jack Arnold, 69, was nearing the end of his sermon Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church in this Orlando suburb when he grabbed the podium before falling to the floor, said the Rev. Michael S. Beates, associate pastor at Covenant Presbyterian.
Before collapsing, Arnold quoted the 18th century Bible scholar, John Wesley, who said, "Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done ... I go to be with Jesus," Beates said in a telephone interview.
Several members of the congregation with medical backgrounds tried to revive the minister and paramedics were called, but Arnold appeared to die instantly, Beates said.
Arnold had been the senior minister at the church until the late 1990s when he began traveling to Africa and the Middle East to teach pastors. The cause of death was believed to be cardiac arrest. He had bypass surgery five years earlier.
Beates also recounted Arnold's death in an e-mail he sent to members of the Central Florida Presbytery.
"We were stunned," Beates said. "It was traumatic, but how wonderful it was he died in his own church among the people he loved the most."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050111/D87HKMPO0.html