Aaron Ban

2009 Ministry Fellow

		Aaron Ban Eden Theological Seminary St. Louis, MO

Martin Luther said that a “god” is something to which the “heart clings.” If we are to understand our life to have a purpose, we must cling to something. Those of us who would be Christians attempt to base our lives on the God who created and creates, whose relationship with the people of Israel, whose witness through Jesus and the testimony of martyrs since have taught us how to “cling” to something infinitely greater than ourselves.

I was raised in the United Church of Christ tradition that affirms questions regarding all authority, whether worldly or other-worldly, Biblical or contemporary. At home, my family elders encouraged discussion and debate around the table. We were very involved in politics, exhibiting a frustration with the imperfections of society while steadfastly believing that improvements would ultimately come from the bottom up, with God's help.
More recently, I have been influenced by the jubilant faith of Ghanaian Christians who have shared their churches and homes with me as I travel far from my own culture and comfort zone. Weekly, I witness the unshaken faith of some of the homeless people I serve in a local church downtown, who understand that the grace of God is more important, and more reliable, than anything they have already lost. I want to prepare for a ministry of hands-on, down and dirty, community-centered work in the Spirit of Jesus the Christ.