My name is Cody Nielsen and I am a first year student here at Wesley.  I'm studying to receive my M. Div, in hopes of being ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in the coming years.  My journey to Wesley has brought me halfway across the country from my home state of Iowa.  While the transition was a challenge, getting out of my element as well as opportunities here at Wesley helped significantly influence my decision to attend school in Washington, D.C.

I began this journey into West Virginia with a mind filled with notions of what to expect, an itinerary that make some points very clear, and yet in the end what I have gained is an entirely new view of the nature of the church. This view is firmly rooted in the Scriptures and speaks to the needs of today’s society, whether in the chicken farm land, the abandoned coal fields, the destroyed mountain tops, in the inner city, or far beyond the reaches of the Appalachia Mountains.

Hey everyone, my name is Elaine and I am the keeper of the Wesley blog. This past week was a busy one here at Wesley, and one that particularly affirms the engagement that we, as leaders of the church, have with our community and perhaps even the world. I thought I would take a little bit of time to let you know about those happenings now!