“What do I want to do before I die?”
This was David Applegate’s big question. Dave was in a season of self-described deconstruction. He had left a church community that did not make space for the challenging questions with which he was wrestling. During his time away from church, Dave became aware of how much he missed it. He needed to find a community that would help him along this journey. “The only word I have for this is ‘quest’,” he offers.
Enter Frazer Mennonite Church in Frazer, PA. It was here Dave found a community that would engage his questions and be a place for him as he came out of his deconstruction season. Though the big question still lingered at first, an answer soon became clear. Dave wanted to help others asking the same difficult questions he had. And for that, he would need a seminary that was interested in diversity: diversity of thought and culture. He needed one that endeavored to teach its students to think theologically rather than instill specific doctrines. “Palmer fit the ticket.” Dave began his seminary journey in September 2019.
Dave describes the faculty at Palmer as being the very models of what they were trying to teach. “They live graciously. I can’t think of a professor who isn’t supportive and who isn’t a listening ear.” It was through a class with Dr. Stephen Kim that Dave was first introduced to the work of Abraham Heschel and the pathos of God. The notions of, "God’s wrath as fueled by a deep love for humanity, a God who is deeply affected by injustice, and needless consequences of broken covenant were shifting insights." This understanding taught him to be more skeptical of his own skepticism than of the text.
Through Palmer’s mission, The Whole Gospel for the Whole World through Whole Persons, Dave sees an outpouring of the school’s pursuit of Shalom. The restoration of the world requires engaging every aspect of it. Dave shares that what he is learning from both Palmer and Frazer Mennonite is how to have a new interpretive lens. He describes it as a lens which beckons the pursuit of Christ-likeness. Dave experiences this perspective in his work with Martha’s Choice Marketplace and Community Farm, first as Farm to Pantry Coordinator now as the Guest Registration Coordinator. He sees himself living out Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: “Just as you did to these brothers and sisters of mine, you did to me.” Looking to the future, Dave sees himself becoming a pastor in the Mennonite tradition and expects to finish his MDiv studies at Palmer in 2026.
Dave sees the promise of Hope being rooted in God’s deep faithfulness to God’s people. Like many others, he was warned that people lose their faith in seminary. Instead, he believes Palmer was built to tug at the complexities of Scripture, life, and our relationship to the Spirit of God. And in all these difficult questions, he sees Palmer encouraging his faith in every interaction. “This is God’s work.”