[Blog] Intern Spotlight: Anita Lang

The Perkins Intern Program is widely recognized for preparing women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry. Internships allow students to integrate classroom learning with the real-life demands of serving congregations or agencies in urban, suburban and rural settings. Interns are encouraged to follow three guiding practices: “Be Aware, Think Theologically, and Lead Faithfully.” Interns receive guidance from trained mentors, feedback from on-site committees, and support from their cohort, intern program faculty and consultants through the Internship Seminars. They gain hands-on experience, reflect theologically and explore how God is calling them to serve. In this ongoing series spotlighting interns, we introduce you to the Rev. Anita Lang, an M.A.M. student and Intern Pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church in Kenosha, Wisc.

Lang has learned to juggle multiple responsibilities this semester: her internship, job, family and schoolwork.  A hybrid student who graduates in May, Lang also teaches as an associate professor in the religion department at Carthage College in Kenosha.  It hasn’t been easy, but Lang is making it work. She shares her experiences here. 

What kinds of work are you doing at Wesley UMC?

I preach, lead worship, teach Bible studies, and assist with pastoral care, visiting the sick and those in senior living communities. I’m also part of an outreach ministry to bring Latino families in the area to our English-speaking congregation.  I basically support the senior pastor, the Rev. David Kim, in all the ways that I can.  He has been an amazing mentor. It been a time of grace, a time of learning, and a time of listening and working together.

Tell us about the journey that first brought you to Perkins.

My call to ministry has been a lifelong journey. I grew up in a Methodist family in Chile. My mother was a seminarian; my grandmother was the pianist at the church, and my grandfather was the preacher. I first felt the call to serve God when I was 16 years old.  But I needed finish high school and college first. After I moved to the U.S. and joined Wesley UMC, the pastor at the time asked me, “Anita, how do you feel about a call to serve God?”

So that call I felt in Chile many years ago became a reality. I began the Course of Study program at Garrett, and that led to teaching at Carthage College, and later, to Perkins.

What’s been most challenging about your internship? 

Balancing church responsibilities, schoolwork and family life is never easy. I have learned to set clear boundaries, to practice time management, and to accept that I cannot do everything at once. I’ve learned to be more merciful to myself and to take things one at a time. Grace and self-compassion have become vital through this internship. I try to remember the ministry itself is not just what I do. It is also who I am.

How has your coursework at Perkins come to life during your internship? 

The Research Theology course at Perkins directly shaped my approach to my internship. We are called to observe God in each of our steps. To ask, “Where is God? Where is God present? And when does it feel like God is absent?” That theological thinking has helped me enormously.

Do you have any spiritual practices that help you stay grounded? 

Prayer. Talking with God, knowing that God walks with me, is with me, and is my companion. I pray in my car, I pray before my teaching, I pray before my internship. I say, “God, here we go. Be with me.”

What do you hope to carry forward from this internship? 

My world is divided in the educational and pastoral fields. In my teaching as well as my work in the church, I hope to develop a deeper sense of pastoral presence. To lead with empathy, to teach with grace, and to serve with a heart centered in Christ. Also, my studies at Perkins are equipping me to reach out even more to other cultural contexts and communities.

What advice would you share with other students trying to juggle ministry and coursework at the same time?

Be kind to yourself. Find rhythms that sustain you: rest, prayer, laughter and community. And do not be afraid to ask for help.