https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog daily 1.0 2025-05-06 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/living-out-my-single-worst-fear monthly 0.5 2022-12-31 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/to-those-who-made-me-a-master monthly 0.5 2025-07-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/ce424e61-2853-4e87-8506-6d6760d6622e/0101CBAA-CF89-4D9E-BF75-829AB42CBADE.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… - My Dad Though I can’t say I set out with ambitions to go to seminary, regardless my dad set the example in my family. Not only did he spend many a pre-bedtime hour with me during childhood fielding all sorts of questions – whether emotional, theological, or just plain quizzical – but so many of these conversations resulted in being lent or suggested a new book to encourage and explore my curiosity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/775ea51c-0841-4d1f-96cb-f5fb8bbf3661/IMG_9372.jpg Blog - To those who made me a master… Though I sat in on some of her classes before I was officially a student, it took many years before finally taking a proper course with Dr. Donna Petter. I’m so glad I opened up an extra elective in my final year to take her class on Exodus. I am also extremely grateful for her leadership and care in serving as my faculty director for my final integrative paper for my master’s degree. She extended patience and latitude for my big ideas and helped me navigate toward focus and clarity. Dr. Petter guided me not only with academic rigor but with heartfelt compassion, thinking and brainstorming with me, crying with me, and praying with and for me. I am grateful for her work and her example and the ways she pours herself into her students as whole people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/a4e89608-95e2-43d6-8dff-0403a4d86891/IMG_6747.jpg Blog - To those who made me a master… - Abbey Cook Abbey is a dear friend and was my roommate for nearly five years; she became an important contributor to a deep sense of home in Boston. Seminary-educated herself, long before I would be, she has always been a thoughtful and enjoyable conversation partner. As I began to consider more seriously the idea of pursuing graduate education, she was one of a few peers in my life who I knew would give me helpful and insightful input in this area, knowing both me and the process well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/ee492bb6-5a12-42ca-b90d-e4d4057a2718/IMG_8020.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… - Liza Silvestri I also met Liza when she was a student and couldn’t have foreseen how our relationship would grow and manifest in beautiful ways. I remember Liza’s encouragement in the early years of my degree when we processed together in our church small group, but these last several years have increased our connections and deepened our bond. I have enjoyed working on our master’s degrees at the same time for several years and, for the briefest period, having class at the same time and place. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/ec907c3c-8a23-4c11-b224-7e5903b56845/IMG_9332.jpg Blog - To those who made me a master… Working on a master’s degree over the course of seven years does not happen without robust support from a community of people! At our Baccalaureate service, the main speaker alluded to the metaphor of a turtle on a fencepost – you know it couldn’t have gotten there by itself. I am that turtle and this post is dedicated to the many who got me here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/b6718883-28a1-4082-aaf3-bc030769a108/IMG_0664.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… Rachel was not only a friend and sister but was my closest conversation partner who challenged and encouraged me, seeing and affirming parts of me in unique and invaluable ways. She shared much of herself with me at intellectual and heart levels. I learned from her through conversations and editing her papers before I even started my own study and was blessed to have her as a first reader, and vice versa, as we studied, wrote, and ministered alongside one another. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/2443a0d4-6b1b-48fa-be16-c63ce86179bb/IMG_0129.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… - Tori Noordhoek I couldn’t have predicted that when I met Tori as a student involved in the ministry for which I work, that she would become such a dear friend and peer. Like several others in this list, she also outpaced me in completing her own master’s degree! Tori is a deep thinker, hard worker, and empathetic listener; her friendship has encouraged me in many ways throughout this degree and beyond. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/35c94fa0-469e-46d8-b5d0-f686cdba06a8/IMG_0549.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… - Ying Craver Ying has been a faithful and encouraging friend who I’ve known for almost 14 years! I’ve loved getting to serve side by side with her in ministry for nearly as long and I’m so grateful for the ways that God has encouraged, challenged, and taught me through our relationship with one another and in community together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/113cf374-2be6-4115-9347-3e7c20f4e26d/IMG_5524.jpg Blog - To those who made me a master… - My Mom and my Sister These ladies shouldered quite a load with me, particularly in the second half of my degree. Our mom-and-daughters text chain became one of a few repositories for my late night complaints about writer’s block or, more often, bemoaning the page limits I had long since left in the dust. (Over writer, here!) They quietly abided my nerdy rants or excitement about various topics as I researched and wrote. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/da9ed870-d7b9-4ac7-911d-b45b831c540f/IMG_7024.jpg Blog - To those who made me a master… - Christa Gould As my roommate of the past few years, Christa has walked quite a road with me. She’s joined a long line of roommates who learn that I concentrate on my work best in front a tv playing programs that I can ignore; so while I may appear to be hanging out socially in the living room in front of my computer, in fact I’m often deep “in the zone.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/1fac8e7e-2b61-44c6-9708-86b80d8fd14e/5AB9803A-63C0-4B1E-9FC3-0D9B9E8DE742.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… - Sarah Christensen Sarah was a sweet acquaintance turned dear friend in the middle of my degree. She entered in during a season of deep loss and walked with me not only as a supportive friend but as a conversation partner about what each of us was learning as she also pursued her own seminary degree. Near weekly lunches, walks, or park hangouts became some of my favorite times during what would be her last year in Boston. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/c3b6a090-5975-475a-bb76-16dfb360b9da/IMG_0127.jpg Blog - To those who made me a master… Together they provided much needed humor along the way that brought levity, humility, and perspective when I was sucked into the headiest parts of a semester’s work. My mom kindly and faithfully gave herself to a lion’s share of proof-reading and editing before my assignments were due. Their participation with me even from a distance had a grounding influence as they have known me and my relationship with academics since childhood. Mom and Jen, thanks for your patience, encouragement, and humor with me during my master’s! Thanks for being a safe place for me to vent, celebrate, be impatient for grades/feedback to return, and be ridiculous in my perfectionistic tendencies. Even where you didn’t care, didn’t follow, or knew better, I have been honored to have you stick with me on the journey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/bdda0cec-0c3e-4673-8451-4ee43d13581d/IMG_2953.JPG Blog - To those who made me a master… - Rachel Gilson Rachel walked with me faithfully and with understanding when I first began to consider moving toward seminary. At that point she was already five years deep and so had invaluable insights into the process of studying alongside ministry and in the particulars of the institution itself. She helped introduce me to the distinctive characteristics of the Gordon-Conwell CUME campus, reminded/taught me how to effectively utilize an academic library, was frequently a passenger with me to and from campus, and lent me books and resources as she had capacity. I am grateful also for Andrew Gilson who gave of himself to fold me into the rhythms of their family in ways that supported me meaningfully on this journey. https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/when-midwives-sing-the-magnificat monthly 0.5 2021-12-24 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/i-am-from monthly 0.5 2021-04-06 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/gazing-at-strawberry-shortcake-and-thinking-about-jesus monthly 0.5 2021-03-29 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/the-stories-we-tell monthly 0.5 2021-03-29 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/christians-hurt-each-other-can-we-survive-it monthly 0.5 2020-12-07 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/fully-equipped-but-failing-now-what monthly 0.5 2020-07-23 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/blog/persevering-in-gods-family monthly 0.5 2020-06-23 https://www.sarahgodwin.org/about daily 0.75 2025-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eefc2c5d1b5db4d3c176c94/7d5c9229-fb62-49d6-9025-cf4efce225b9/IMG_1779.jpg About - Hi, I’m Sarah! I live in the Boston area and work in the Learning & Development space for a faith-based non-profit seeking to end extreme poverty globally. Alongside my full-time job, I’ve spent the last ten years pursuing theological education part-time, earning a Master’s of Religion (MAR ‘22) focused in Biblical Studies and a Master’s of Theology (ThM ‘25) with a concentration on Hebrew Bible/Old Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I’ve also received a certificate in Religion and Conflict Transformation through the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium. https://www.sarahgodwin.org/contact daily 0.75 2020-06-22