When I talk to my friends about my experiences at Sattler College, they are often surprised by the details. “You mean there are only twenty-two students?” “You mean there are other Mennonites there?”
I’ve realized, because of those conversations, that I haven’t given either my friends or my blog readers a very accurate picture of Sattler.
It’s my pleasure to introduce you.
Here we are, the twenty-two students of the class of 2022 at the commencement of Sattler’s inaugural year. Over time, Sattler plans to extend its ranks to around 250 students, but that growth will happen slowly, in a way that’s sustainable.
And yes, there are quite a lot of Mennonites here. Sattler is a nondenominational Christian college, but because of its alignment with historic Christian values such as nonresistance, no remarriage after divorce, and separation from the world in dress and entertainment, it has attracted many Anabaptists. Its doors are open to anyone, though. Currently attending are a Methodist, a Coptic Christian, Anabaptists from a wide range of backgrounds, and a couple of evangelical Christians of unknown (to me) background.
The Sattler campus is the seventeenth floor of a skyscraper, located at 100 Cambridge Street in the heart of Boston. Windows are my favorite thing about our campus—wide, wide windows with a view of the Charles River. The world opens up to me, looking out those windows, my mind expanding to meet sky.
Someone asked me recently what pleasant thing surprised me most about Sattler.
I told him it was how caring the instructors and other staff members are. They have gone above and beyond their duty—in providing academic help, yes, but also in caring for our emotional and social needs. It means a lot, when I am homesick for family and homey things, to be invited over to a professor’s house for a meal or to have someone take the time to find out how I am doing.
My other very favorite surprise about Sattler is how much fun learning Hebrew is. Sattler is unique in that it requires students to learn Hebrew and Greek along with other core classes. My initial thought on hearing that requirement was that I would spend two years laboring over nouns and pronouns and come out at the end with a vague understanding of the semantics of those languages and the ability to pick out a few key words from Bible passages.
I was not prepared for how fun and interactive Hebrew class would be under the instruction of Professor Scheumann. We are learning the Hebrew of the Torah as a living, usable language, complete only when used in conversations and stories. While there are differences between Biblical Hebrew and contemporary Hebrew, the differences are slight enough that if we visit Israel someday, we should be able to understand and make ourselves understood. In addition, I was thrilled to learn that by the end of this year—with the help of a special Hebrew edition that has the more difficult words defined—I will be able to read the entire Old Testament in Hebrew.
Sattler hasn’t been all roses and misty thoughts. The most difficult aspect of college for me has been learning to balance the hefty academic workload and not lose my wholeness as a person or my connections with friends in the process. Sadly for me, I’ve had to push my writing goals to a back burner for now. But this struggle to juggle pieces and not drop a-one of them has occurred with every new thing I’ve undertaken, ever. So mostly, this just feels like life.
It’s also been difficult for me to live away from my family and away from the Rusk County countryside. I was excited, before I came to Boston, to live in a place so rich in culture and ethnically diverse. I am still excited about that, but also—sometimes—I look at brick walls blocking the sky and hate them. I want fields and open air and places where no human foot but mine has bent the grass. Walls feel to me like prisons.
Still, Boston has a beauty of its own which I am not immune to.
I rub shoulders daily with students from all over the world, and many of them are mind-blowingly open to discussing spiritual things. The opportunities here to share the gospel are unrivaled in the countryside.
Those opportunities are one of the main reasons I chose this college. I wanted the academic learning, yes, but I also wanted knowledge that would ground me in my faith and tools that would help me to be an effective evangelist in Christ’s kingdom.
And that, my friends, is what Sattler is all about. If you are interested in learning more details of its majors, coursework, founding precepts, and instructors, visit the Sattler website.
***
Feature photo by Eric Weaver.Â
Thank you, Lucinda. Sattler sounds like a wonderful place, and if I were starting over I would definitely want to go there!
You made me wish I learned Hebrew in college. It must be hard to learn Greek at the same time. I find interesting the guy/girl ratio in the college enrollment. Hmmmm!
In spite of homesickness, you won’t regret taking this step, Luci!
Yes, the guy/girl ratio is interesting, Marian, especially considering that girls are outnumbering guys in higher education in other settings. Hmmmm! :)
I won’t have to learn Greek until next year, so no worries there.
Thank you for your encouragement, Marian. It’s good to hear from you!
Very interesting! Fun to see a photo of your classmates as I know a couple of them. 😊
I hope you have an enriching time there at Sattler, learning and growing. Thank-you for sharing your journey. It looks like an interesting place to visit sometime.
It absolutely would be an interesting place to visit sometime, and you could take in the sights of Boston at the same time. It’s a very historical city with a rich atmosphere of learning.
Thank you Lucinda for sharing about Sattler College. It sounds like a wonderful college to be at. I looked around at their website and it I’m impressed by what I read. Lucinda, I will add you to my prayer list. Don’t worry about posting here regularly. You can post monthy if possible.We understand your busy with school and such. You could probably have a family monitor your site to delete spam or rude comments.
Regina, my heart feels warm at your concern. Thank you! I appreciate your prayers so much. I do plan to keep posting weekly, but if sometimes my posts are short or I skip times, I know you will understand.
Sadler sounds so interesting. Learning Hebrew will be a wonderful experience. Great article. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for posting more information about Sattler College. I must confess, I was a bit worry about what college will do to your faith. (I’ve being praying for you)This post took care of that!
I’m glad for more Anabaptist students, and for other Christians seeking The Kingdom of Christ.
Learning Hebrew…Wonderful, You are blessed!
I really appreciate your concern for me and your prayers. Thank you! I am very, very blessed.
Enjoyed your post, Lucinda! I was in Boston last week— just a one day and night stop on a sightseeing tour of New England (I live in Pennsylvania). It had crossed my mine to ask to visit Sattler, but I knew from the website that it isn’t on some big campus and everyone would be busy with classes.
We walked the Freedom Trail— Boston is an awesome city just oozing with history. I recommend staying at the Farrington Inn (cheapest place I could find in Boston and its vicinity) if you’re not traveling by yourself and you don’t mind the slightly eccentric.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying learning Hebrew and have good teachers.
I want to walk the Freedom Trail! And I know it will happen sometime during my time in Boston. I hope to get visitors at some point, too, so I am glad for the inn recommendation. That’s the most difficult aspect of living in Boston: finding lodging for visitors and also figuring out transportation. It’s not like living in Rusk County, where I just hop in my car and go! :)
Lucinda, sorry I am behind with reading. I so hope you get around to see all that Boston and the area has to offer in the way of history and culture. I know you are very busy. Maybe a group of students could do a little field trip now and then.
We have visited Boston several times. My father’s stepmother (his own mother died at during childbirth) was from Boston.
Pingback: To Boston and Back - Lucinda J Kinsinger