Merry Christmas

Well, we're finally home for Christmas and it is wonderful, yet bittersweet.

Wonderful: it is great to see all of our old friends and family again! We went to church at our home parish on Sunday and we'll be at both Christmas eve services tonight. We have had such a great time catching up with old friends and seeing how everyone is doing... somehow they've survived without us! The kids are having an absolute blast and spend every waking second playing with friends and shopping and baking with their grandparents. Marti and I are trying to get some rest and even the baby seems to be soaking in the peace of this well-earned break. We plan to visit St. Augustine a few times before we head back to Sewanee, especially for our anniversary next week (fourteen years).

Bittersweet: we miss Sewanee and all of our new friends. It is strange to be visiting and having fun and not be able to share or "debrief" with my trio of Sewanee cohorts. I also miss daily morning prayer and our chapel. The term ended on a good note, I think everyone felt secure about their finals, and surely no one is ready to start class again, but I think I do miss class already. It feels odd to have no assigned readings and no homework.

I think this is the way that seminary is supposed to feel, like an in-between time. You have two homes and no home, two lives and yet no "real" life just yet. So through prayer and with God's help a community comes together, a community of in-betweeners, all waiting for their "real" lives to resume.

My prayers for God's peace and blessings are with you all,

Jon

Snow Days, Rainy Days, Final Days

So, our final exams are here and we (all the students and spouses) are very excited to have the term ending! Sewanee has been really great to us, but we're all a bit worn out and looking forward to a nice long break. Academic life is not harder than working life, but it is wildly different. Instead of having pretty constant streams of activity, which is what I had in my last job, we have constant streams of activity combined with blindingly furious outbursts of study and work, these come in the form of 8-10 page term papers and 4 hour essay exams.

It snowed on the mountain a week ago and that was so fun! The kids had an absolute blast and spent more time outside than they did when the weather was warm. The snow fell for just about 8 hours, but it stayed on the ground for 3-4 days, especially in the shadows and woods. Sewanee is a breath-taking campus, a really beautiful place, and when it was covered in snow, it was a winter wonderland that could make Santa jealous. Of course, since it is Advent and NOT Christmas, there is no Santa yet. It is a blessing to be in a place where Episcopal Christians are in the majority and to experience a whole community restraining itself from Christmas-mania in order to observe a holy Advent.

Today it is raining outside, the snows have been gone for days and it is warming up a bit. Last week we had lows in the 20's most of the week... that's pretty cold for a family from Florida. It seems like our gas furnace runs nonstop and we're looking into some insulated curtains for our bigger windows. We do have a large fireplace, which helps a lot, but the house can get pretty cold when the fire finally burns out after we all go to bed.

Next week we'll be headed back to Jacksonville for two weeks. This is such a thrill for us, we can't wait to see all of our family and friends and to worship in our home church. Despite our profound appreciation for being here, in the back of our minds we all recognize that living in Sewanee is temporary. See you all soon!

blessings,

Jon

Advent

Well, exactly a year ago today I started my internship at San Jose Episcopal Church. It is hard to believe that so much time has gone by so quickly. In the 12 months since then, our son Joshua was born, my wife and I both quit our jobs and we packed the whole family and moved to Sewanee, TN for seminary (incidentally, I did finish my internship at SJE a few weeks after Easter).

Now I'm close to the end of my first term at seminary. It was excruciatingly difficult for the first eight weeks, but it has been wonderfully pleasant since midterms ended. There were so many unknowns and so many changes, it just took a while to feel grounded again. Life here is truly sweet and we've done our best to enjoy it. This past week Marti's mom came for Thanksgiving and we all had a great visit. I have been mountain biking two or three times a week and the kids spend lots of time outside - hiking and goofing off. We have finally found a place where we all like to worship... and believe me that is important! There are many options, but Marti and I could never agree with the kids on which place we wanted to go. Interestingly, we all enjoy the local Episcopal convent, St. Mary's, so that's where we have been attending for a few weeks now. The sisters are very nice and welcoming and the views from their clifftop perch are amazing. Anyway, it's just nice to be able to get the kids to church without resorting to WWF-style take downs.

We are just three weeks away from our Christmas trip to Jacksonville and we are all getting very excited. We can't wait to see all our old friends and spend some time at the churches we love so dearly. I have been on the phone with several Florida friends in the last few weeks and that just makes the prospect of going home that much better. We won't know our internship placement for next summer until February, but if all goes well, then we will have 11 weeks in Jacksonville starting in late May of 2010. That would so awesome.

Whenever I make a post on this "Christian Trek" blog, I feel like I should talk more about God. I think the most hopeful and useful thing to say about God and seminary is that God is in it with us. By that I mean that God, as revealed through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is in all that we do here. I was really disappointed when I first got to seminary and discovered that we didn't have a weekly "lets just sit around and talk about Jesus" class. Actually we do have that class, but it takes place according to God's schedule. It is a class that is taught with much more humility and silence than my urban, ADHD addled brain had expected. For instance, I see God's teachings in the sincere affection that we share in this community. I experience lessons in overwhelming hospitality from every person I encounter here at Sewanee. I am awed by the incredible good work being done on shoestring budgets by the small local charities. I was even schooled today at the convent, when one of the quietest and nicest sisters did a brilliant job leading the worship service - wearing her collar. This is a woman that I have known since the beginning of the term, she is in two of my classes, but I had no idea she was a priest. Please understand that I have been planning to wear my collar 24/7 - for the first 2 or 3 years following my ordination... so the thought of someone not "showing off" their clerical and scholarly achievements is a real blow to my desire to inflate my own ego. Clearly there is a "Jesus" class at Sewanee, but don't bother trying to study or be on time for it...

peace,

Jon

update

It has been a few weeks since my last blog and they have been good weeks. I did well on all my mid-terms and now I am preparing for finals. We are so excited about Christmas and the trip back to Jacksonville, it will be so wonderful to see everyone that we've been missing!

Another bonus of the last few weeks was that I got to visit with two of my favorite priests. Father Mark from St. Andrew's, Jacksonville was here for the DuBose lectures, which is the School of Theology homecoming. He stayed with us for a few days and we had some nice meals and great conversations. Then last weekend Father Steph from San Jose Episcopal in Jax was here for a Board of Visitors meeting. He took me and a few other seminarians out to dinner and we had a great time.

A week ago Saturday I interviewed for my clinical pastoral education (CPE), which consists of serving as chaplain for ten 40-hr weeks at a hospital, hospice, homeless shelter, etc. My CPE interview went well and I am being recommended for the program I want in Jacksonville. If I am accepted, we'll be in Jax all next summer. We were told to indicate two other choices, so we could end up in Naples, FL or I might have to commute to Chattanooga, TN. I don't think we'll find out which program we're in until next spring.

One of the other activities that preceed finals is signing up for our spring classes. I'm just going to take my core classes and I won't be taking Greek this time. I want to spend more time on the readings for my core work and I also would like to do some community service. It is surprising how little time is spent in actual ministry while you are at seminary...

One final bit of good news is that I will be attending the Diocesan Convention in January. I've been to convention for the past three years and I really enjoy them, especially because I get to see many people that I hardly ever run into otherwise. It's a bit of a diocesan homecoming and it will be neat to be there as a seminarian. Another plus is that the Dean of the School of Theology, here at Sewanee, will be the chaplain for the convention. He's a great guy and I'm glad that he and Bishop Howard are friends.

So, things are hopping at Sewanee! Everyone is pretty worn out and it's hard to believe that we're almost done with our first term of seminary. The seniors are already starting to make travel plans to interview with prospective churches. Some are also making plans to be ordained into the deaconate, which some dioceses do in December of the senior year...

life is good, blessings and peace to all,

Jon

Midterms

Well, our last midterm exam is tomorrow and then we'll all be ready to breathe a sigh of relief! Last week we had our midterm exams in Greek, the Creeds, and Spirituality for Ministry. On Monday we turned in our 8 page term papers for Church History and tomorrow is the mid-term for Old Testament. Then we get about 4 days to relax and start getting ready for finals in early December.

As a first year seminarian, at the mid point of his first term, I think I can safely say that seminary is not a sprint! This is definitely a marathon. This morning we took a break from studying for tomorrow's test to review some mission work opportunities that are coming up. The key to a successful missionary project seems to be advanced planning... so we are working on a trip to either Costa Rica or Honduras in the summer of 2011. It is weird to think that two years from now we'll still be here at Sewanee, especially since so many of our friends will have already graduated and be serving in parishes all over the country. It's like we're continually waking into this dream of seminary and future ordained life that for so long seemed so far away.

Midterm brings to mind another aspect of seminary: Christmas Break. It's getting so close that we can taste it. As much as I am enjoying seminary, I am so looking forward to going back to Jacksonville for a few weeks! I have heard from other students that when you go back everything is different. I think that will be partly true for us; someone else is living in our old home, we don't have the same jobs, we don't shop at the same places anymore, etc. But, I think that the love and fellowship that we shared with so many wonderful people in Florida will remain unchanged. I do believe that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I can't wait to go home.

My final thought for this midterm post is about prayer, particularly intercessory prayer. We spent about an hour discussing the concept of prayer for others today in class, especially praying for God to act decisively in the lives of others. I felt very well prepared for this discussion because intercessory prayer is a big deal in the Christian community at my home parish of St. Andrew's. When I say "big deal" what I mean is that St. Andrew's believes in the POWER of intercessory prayer and lives out that belief in regular communal and personal intercessional worship. I learned so much from my brothers and sisters there about God's wanting us to bring all our troubles and fears to the altar and to actively ask for and expect help. At St. Andrew's they taught me that God answers every prayer and that there will always be healing; sometimes it's physical, sometimes spiritual, often it is both... Jesus taught us to pray and ask God for help in all we do. St. Andrew's showed me how to pray for every situation by praying in every situation.

blessings and peace,

Jon

Reading Week

Well, we're already to the middle of Reading Week and that's about all I have done so far. It should actually be called "two papers, two essays and one test week", but at least "Reading Week" sounds friendlier!

The reason I've not done any work so far is all the blog entries I've been typing... Just kidding, it's actually due to my in-laws visiting for the last four days. We had a wonderful time (thanks Gail and Charlie!) but there was no studying. Also, my middle child Aidan turned eight on Sunday with a fun-filled Jedi adventure party. So, the weekend was super busy and we did two round trips to Nashville, which is 90 miles one way.

The reading that I have done is a biography on St. Francis of Assisi. What an amazing person he was. He lived a life of high velocity hedonism until his early twenties, but finding that to be empty and meaningless, he took a vow of poverty and committed his life to Christ. He was a small and sickly guy, which was not helped by his rigorous fasting and constant exposure to the elements in central Italy and his travels through Europe. He basically lived like a modern refugee. His commitment to poverty and self denial attracted many followers, but it was his love for common people and his empathy for their plight and suffering that endeared him to the world and made him a saint. The thing I like most about the ancient Franciscans was that they preached a message of hope and joyfulness during a very dark time in Christian history. The majority of their contemporaries preached damnation and misery for sinners, rather than salvation and the love God has for all His children. Francis spent much of his time meditating on the crucified Christ; an example we should all follow.

We've got another guest coming this weekend, a friend from our home parish and then the following weekend we'll be entertaining our parish priest as he comes to Sewanee to enjoy the seminary homecoming events (Dubose lectures). I sure hope that I can get some work done amidst all this frivolity!

blessings and peace,

Jon

Random sharing

The week after next is called "Reading Week," during which no classes are held at the seminary. The purpose is twofold: we are supposed to get caught up on our unfinished reading and it gives us time to complete major assignments in each class. I appreciate having the time and I'm sure that I will be both catching up and also completing my major papers that will be due the week we get back. When I first saw that Reading Week was on the schedule I figured that a few people would use it to get caught up and that most would use it for time off and travel. I was wrong. Almost no one leaves during the week and there is probably more work getting done than at any other time during the term.

This past weekend has been Sewanee's homecoming for the undergrads. The school has a very scientific approach to managing their alumni relations and it has paid off significantly in terms of both school spirit and incredible monetary donations to the school. I have yet to meet a alum of the University of the South who does not love the school and the time they spent here. The homecoming events run on five year cycles, so this year the classes of 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, etc going back to 1959 were celebrating their anniversaries. There were parties all over campus and at the large homes that dot the mountainsides within a five mile drive of the school. The seminarians, because we are older and hopefully more responsible than the current 18-22 year old undergrads, are called on to serve as bartenders, valets, and shuttle drivers for the weekend. I personally worked three events and met some really great people from the classes of 1969, 1974, and 1999. Since I come from Jacksonville, I am used to seeing incredible school spirit in the form of Gators, Seminoles, and Dawgs; but these are all very large universities. Sewanee has 1,500 current students and for much of it's history was much smaller. It was amazing to see that 25-50% of each class is still coming to their reunions (the class of 1969 had like 80 graduates and I met 30 of them).

Our life here is finally starting to fall into comfortable patterns. The fog and mist have settled in and the seminarians who have been here for a year or two basically told me to say goodbye to the sun for the next five months. Our bookstore sells "Fog Happens" t-shirts! On the plus side, it is always cool outside, the last several days have had highs in the sixties. Today Marti and I walked to one of the dozens of small waterfalls that dot the landscape and it was gorgeous. The hikes are strenuous, but not daunting, just tough enough to make you appreciate getting back to the house. The dog rolled in some deer poop (why do dogs do this?) and had to have a bath, but otherwise it was a great day on the Mountain. Aidan's birthday is next week and Marti's parents will be flying in to visit us for four days, so that all promises to be very fun and busy.

blessings,

Jon

It Matters to Them

I have been praying lately for the children of the world and wondering what else I might do to help. A few nights ago I was reading the journal of an association of Methodist church women and the amount of outreach that they are able to support is astonishing. They work all over the globe doing community and education projects. The journal contained several pictures of kids living in garbage dumps and filthy shanty-town streets. Somehow most of the children were smiling and most looked like they were not starving; though not one of them was fat or tall. The smiling faces always surprise me. If I or one of my children was thrown into that kind of poverty I wonder if we would ever smile again. I remember watching television as a teenager and seeing the famines that hit Africa during the 1980's. It seemed incredible to me that there could be such widespread suffering. One thing about famines: there is always one somewhere.

One of my favorite charities, and one my family continues to support during seminary, is Compassion International. We sponsor two ten year old boys in Peru. We have sponsored Yosner and Kevin for about four years. We exchange letters and photos several times a year. It has been very rewarding to see them grow into strong young men who will one day be leaders in their communities. They both are very good students and are likely to go on to college. Our financial support goes towards their education and supplies; otherwise they both would have dropped out by now and gone to work for their families. Compassion International focuses on education as one major way to break the cycle of poverty in the developing world.

So, there are sad stories and there are unhappy endings, but there are also good stories and happy endings. Yosner and Kevin are by no means living the "good life" by American standards, but our little contributions do help and that means a lot to me.

peace and joy,

Jon

Head above water

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This week I have been trying to stay better connected to the will of God as it unfolds in my life. This happens best in community. I am never alone, I go to class, prayer, Holy Eucharist, dinner, etc. with fellow Christians. We are all very different, but the commitment to our creedal faith is strong and so far I've not detected any relativism towards who our Savior is or why we're here. Sewanee has it's faults, but not being faithful to God as revealed in scripture and our episcopal tradition does not seem to be one of them. I am deeply thankful for this.

My wife and kids are doing well. That is important because my commitment to them came before I answered this particular call to vocation. I've heard of people getting divorced so that they could go to seminary; that seems pretty outrageous to me, and makes me wonder what call they were hearing. We live in a society that accepts marital breakdowns, but I have to doubt that God ever told anyone to give up their marriage so they could be a priest. Not sure why I needed to say that, but it is what I believe.

Anyway, things are really good here. I feel like I belong, which is vital. And I feel that with God's continuing love and help I can make it, which is also vital. When I first started mountain biking (my hobby) I could barely go a mile or two without feeling like I needed to be hospitalized. After a while, I got good enough to hold my own with most other riders my age. That's where I feel I'm getting to at seminary. I'm not setting the place on fire, but I'm not an embarrassment either.

My continued thanks and well wishes to all my friends and family in Jacksonville, Sewanee and other places. And my continued love and allegiance to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

blessings to you all!

Jon

Reality

Last week was tougher than I expected. We're really digging in to the books and I've had trouble keeping up with my readings. My whole class pretty much bombed a quiz in Church History yesterday. The best we can say is that it was the first quiz and now we know what the professor expects... the other classes are going ok, but Greek is getting much tougher, I'm really having to apply myself to just keep up. The trouble is that after studying much of the day you want to have a break, but then you fall behind somewhere else. I just haven't learned the correct pacing yet.

I'm also trying to help out more with the kids. Marti misses working and all of the social outlets she had in Jacksonville. The spouses of the seminarians get together a lot, but she was used to working 5 days a week and spending lots of time around other adults. Now she's mostly at home with Joshua from 8am until 3pm M-F.

I have a lot of middler and senior friends and it seems like their lives aren't quite in balance either. I hope that we get credit for trying!

Many thanks to all of you who have worked so hard to stay in touch with us. I really appreciate your encouragement and support, it means more than you know.

God bless,

Jon

What it's like...

I am having so much fun it should be illegal! We start each day with morning prayer, for the last six days we have been singing and chanting, it is glorious. Then I study for until lunch and go to class in the afternoon. Each class is challenging in it's own cool way.

Today we talked about Marcion and the Gnostic Gospels. Very strange belief systems that included seven layers of heavenly revelation, secret codes and amulets. The point wasn't the weirdness of the beliefs, though, the point was that the Gnostics (and others) were successfully promoting their beliefs and so the orthodox Christians had to respond. One of the first responses was to isolate 27 of the hundreds of writings that were circulating throughout the Christian communities and set them apart as Holy Scripture. We call these 27 writings the New Testament. How neat is that!

Tomorrow we'll be in Greek. I spent the last hour (9-10pm) with my friend Josh studying the conjugation of Greek verbs. I can now say the words "throwing", "leaving" and "speaking" in Greek in the first, second and third person, in both singular and plural. This is not very cool in it's own right, but if I keep taking Greek for all six terms, at some point I'll be doing small group work on Revelations or maybe Ephesians, and that is cool. To look at a bunch of squiggly symbols and see the revealed Word in the original Greek - goosebumps!

Not everything is study. Today the kids had the day off from school for Labor Day, so we went to the dining hall and had an all you can eat calorie fest. It's lucky we walk everywhere or we'd already be a much heavier family. Marti and the kids are thriving, making new friends and staying in that nice middle place where you're always busy, but seldom harried.

Anyway, I am having a blast and I am doing the work and it is going so nice. Thanks to all our loving sisters and brothers in Jacksonville and other places, your help and prayers and support are beyond anything we could have dreamed. We miss and love you all!

Blessings and peace,

Jon

Finally a student...

Today was our third day of classes and I am tired! We had Old Testament and Greek on Thursday, the Creeds on Friday and today was church history. Each class is three hours per week, with 6-8 hours of study anticipated for the 3 hours of class time. I haven't worked like this in 20 years. I did get a study carrell, which is little office cubical at the seminary. There are about 25 or so people that get a carrell. The criteria is based mostly on how many kids you have, the more kids, the more likely you will get the carrell. My carrell mate is an RA (residential assistant) so he effectively has 40 kids he's responsible for... I only have my three!

I wish that I could say that I have deep theological thoughts to share, but really I'm just tired and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, it is a light day with only 1.5 hours of Greek. Maybe I can share more fully after we have the rest of our classes this week (and after some sleep).

Orientation

So much for the light schedule I described in my last blog post! The official length of orientation at the School of Theology, University of the South is two weeks, but it feels much longer. We spent all of last week learning about each professor, all our classes, campus histories, traditions and where to find a good cup of coffee (Stirling's Cafe, if they are open...)

This week we've spent every morning learning how to write. I mean this literally, no pun intended, because we've reviewed all the grammatical and stylistic errors and techniques that are common to high school term papers, collegiate papers and graduate level work. Jim Dunkly, our esteemed instructor, has reviewed topics, such as split infinitives, that I've not heard discussed since tenth grade, which for me was twenty-three years ago. I think that we have all done ok and I know that we have all benefited from the exercise.

We spend two hours each afternoon with a speech coach, Marcia Mary Cook, from the drama department and Dr. Bryan, who recently became semi-retired from the School of Theology. We are trying to learn proper liturgical speaking and this is not as easy as I thought it would be. During class time we each get a chance to stand at the lectern and take a shot at some scriptural reading. Some of my classmates are very good speakers and sound terrific. There are others, including me, who sound different every time we speak, moving too fast, pausing in the wrong places, neglecting emphasis where indicated (or not) in the text, etc. We all sound better now than we did at the beginning of the week, but most of us still have some work ahead.

Tonight is our last Friday cookout for the year. These summer barbeques have become a weekly event for our family and we have met most of our new friends this way. We will miss the cookouts! It seems like orientation started just yesterday, but it also seems like it has been months... I have a feeling that each new term will feel this way, but even more so. Every priest I've known has remembered their seminary experience as a significant time of formation and information, growing and learning their way into a new craft, while trying to remain available for the work of the Holy Spirit in themselves and others. Not all of the challenges of this place can be met head-on, because some of them come at you sideways and some of them simply refuse to be pinned down. I pray for all seminarians and the wonderful friends and families they left behind.


peace

Jon

2nd Day of Orientation

Well, today was our second day of orientation. It is absolutely wonderful to be meeting all the other seminarians from my class (Juniors) and many of the Middler and Senior students and faculty! Our schedule is agreeably light, with half days this week and full days next week, before classes begin in earnest on August 26th. They kept the afternoons open this week for the seminarians who have recently arrived, so that they can pay their utility deposits, get the cable and internet turned on, unpack, etc... This is indicative of the way they operate around here and we all appreciate it very much. One of the points of residential seminary education is the modeling of community and hospitality. Those of us from St. Andrew's, Jacksonville, have been the happy benefactors of this training in the form of Father Reed and Father Mark, both Sewanee grads. San Jose Episcopal, a very welcoming parish where I did my internship, is also led by a proud Sewanee grad, Father Steph Britt.

I also want to reflect on the work of the Holy Spirit in terms of Her recruitment policy for seminarians. I have been so impressed by the bright, energetic and diverse group of people with whom I'll be spending the next few years. They come mostly from southern dioceses, though many of them are not southern by birth and they represent most age groups and walks of life. The notable exception is that the ethnic diversity is pretty thin. I think this is more a reflection of Mainline Protestant struggles with reaching out to all of God’s children. It is certainly not a reflection of admission policy. However, it is cool that in addition to Greek and Hebrew, the seminary is also offering classes in Pastoral Spanish. They say turning the Church in new directions is like maneuvering a battleship, it takes a while, but eventually we'll get there.

Well, I gotta go pick up the kids from their first full day of school, more on that later...

Peace,

Jon

Friends

My first sponsoring priest, Father Reed, is in Sewanee this week! He is up here working on his PhD in theology. He has a lot of friends on staff at Sewanee, especially our very talented librarian, who have offered to help him plan his research and prepare for his thesis. It has been a real kick to see Reed; we've been out to lunch and had dinner together the past two nights.

Reed has been a part of my discernment process since late 2005, so it's especially gratifying to see him the week before seminary orientation. It has been a long road and Reed has been a steady guide and source of inspiration. Probably my two favorite things about him are his dry wit and his amazing humility. In spite of being a truly brilliant intellect, Reed has always found a way to connect to every person he meets. I can see Christ in him because he takes no pride in his many gifts; he sees them as God given and feels responsible for using them wisely and productively for the greater good. (From today's readings, John 7:18 – “the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him.") Regarding the wit, well I guess you'd just have to know Reed to appreciate that...

Tomorrow night we're hosting our third dinner at our house. This is a new thing for us, as we rarely had people over in Jacksonville - we usually went out. In Sewanee you have neither the financial means to eat out much (we ate at Chili's in Murfreesboro today & it was gourmet! - btw, this is our closest Chili's, it's only 65 miles away!) and you have the added benefit of there being no where to go. Anyway, all seminarians and their spouses have sponsors from the classes ahead of you, so we've had both our sponsors’ families over. Tomorrow night, though, is only juniors, which means it's all first year seminarians. I'm excited about it, it seems so grown up to have my fellow graduate students invited over for a meal. Woo hoo... of course we're having Cuban sandwiches with rice and black beans, so it won't exactly feel like a night in Paris, but it will be fun.

Old friends and new friends, life is good!

Life Together

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (PS 133:1)

Well, I have had my booklist for two days and I finally bought my first book for seminary... Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. DB was a theologian of the early twentieth century whose amazing faith allowed him to write beautiful, loving works dedicated to the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth, even as he was persecuted and eventually martyred by the Nazis in 1945. The focus of Life Together is the privilege we share as Christians of living life together, in the company of other Christians. It's a really simple idea and a really simple truth, but he points out how often we overlook the fact that our communal faith is a gift, we should not take it for granted.

In the last nine months I have lived in three worshipping communities. First, there is my home parish of St. Andrew's, then I had six months at San Jose Episcopal during my internship, and now I am becoming a part of the Sewanee community (which is very unique, since we worship together as students during the week and then on Sundays we go off to other local parishes).

Having been exposed to these different communities, I have this to say: "don't take your church for granted!" I agree with Bonhoeffer, there are so many reasons to be grateful and gladdened by the experience of faith sharing with others. And, also in agreement with Bonhoeffer, I say this "it's all about Jesus". From one church to the next and one Christian to the next, the tie that binds is the Lord himself. We need each other because of Christ, we come to each other only through Christ and in Christ we are united for eternity.

One of the last people to see DB alive was a fellow prisoner, an Englishman, who later wrote:

"Bonhoeffer always seemed to me to spread an atmosphere of happiness and joy over the least incident and profound gratitude for the mere fact that he was alive... He was one of the very few persons I have ever met for whom God was real and always near..."

God is always near, may we have eyes to see him, especially in one another!

Bridal Veil Falls

My 9yr old Brennan just sent this note to his grandparents back in Jacksonville:


Dear Nana and D'Daddy

I just wanted to tell you all about my hike to Bridal Veil Falls with my dad and Aidan:

First we went to Morgan Steep , which is down the road from our house. Aidan led us to it.

Next we went on the hike there to the falls and there were lots of mushrooms on the side of the trail. Aidan enjoyed kicking them down, but dad only let him destroy two. The storm from last night had knocked down many trees over the trail and we had to jump over all of them.

After that, we reached the falls and they were enormous. The falls started about 40 feet over our heads and poured into a rocky pit that was big enough to fit your house. We were very amazed and a little scared by the falls, so we kept our distance from the edge. Aidan threw lots of rocks and sticks into the falls and so did my dad.

Finally, it started raining and we had to end our experience on the hike . Dad said that he would bike down it and I said that if came back without any briuses an cuts that I would pay him $10.


Sincerely ,


Brennan

Aidan yells at deer

It's not that I miss suburbia, but... maybe I do. Since school hasn't started yet and my kids are always with me, which is bliss, painful, loud, annoying bliss, we get to spend a lot of time wondering things like "why did the squirrels eat all the peaches from the tree?" and "what will we do next year to keep the furry tailed rats from attacking again?" Also, are we seeing different deer, or is the same six deer over and over? Can one doe take care of three fawns & which one of the bucks is the dad? Finally, my dog Abby, who barks at deer (a lot), is actually scared of them, so we're thinking steel cage match, toe to paw, five rounds - winner take all!

Seriously, I can't wait for school to start. The Chapel of the Apostles (COTA) has undergone some restoration this summer, so we've not been able to pray there since our arrival. It is the chapel for the seminary, as opposed to All Saints, which is the cathedral-like chapel for the undergrads. COTA is modern, yet really beautiful. The seminary building itself, Hamilton Hall, not so much. Marti was the first to point out it's circa 1965 charm. I actually appreciate that the seminary is physically set apart (about 1/4 mile of woods separate the seminary buildings from the rest of campus), but I wish the architecture had been more in keeping with the main campus buildings, which are gorgeous and very reminiscent of Oxford, which they are modelled on. Oh well, pretty or not, Hamilton Hall is definitely holy ground and you can sense the prayers and study of scripture that have been the hallmark of the place.

Gotta go babysit Joshua, so more later...

peace

Jon

House husband

I have said it before, I don't know how full time homemakers can handle the stress of being with their own children day in and day out...? Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but for some reason all the neighborhood kids seem to have left for vacation simultaneously over the last few days and I have spent an extraordinary amount of time of time with Brennan and Aidan. I wonder how they have made it to the ages of 9 and 7 without killing each other. They are good boys, but they are boys, so there is a constant chatter about who did what to whom and how one got more cookies than the other. Brennan is currently obsessed with carnivorous plants..."feed me!" and Aidan can turn anything into a gun.

Today we had a near death experience at something called the "Natural Bridge" which is a few miles from campus. When we arrived, the kids jumped from the car and began to run towards an unknown destination. We YELLED for them to stop and holding hands we came to the most treacherous natural formation I've seen since my visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a boy. The trail through the woods we were on simply emptied out onto a rock formation that was the arch. The approach was from the side, sort of, so you could see that you were about to cross over the 50 foot long, 6 feet wide arch to the other side. Six feet sounds wide, it's certainly better than 3, but there was no room for errors, you would not get a second chance from any significant slip! And... there were no railings, guide ropes or any attempt at keeping the foolish or the unlucky from plummeting 25-30 feet to a rocky death or at least a nice full body cast and head wound combo. As I led Aidan across we noticed that there were people below us, they had already crossed and climbed down a path on the other side. But instead of coming back up via the path, they were wearing flip flops and trying to scale the rock wall. Maybe this was going to be an exciting visit after all. I left Aidan in relative calm, watching the locals defy death in their flip flops from his safe perch at the bottom of the arch and went for Brennan. Our eldest displayed a more profound and heart felt fear of the arch, so we have determined that Brennan is our smartest child. After about 14 seconds on the other side, having proved himself a man, Brennan had me lead him back to Marti. Then I went to fetch Aidan, bid the flip floppers farewell and went home. We have determined that life is so rich that we'll only need that single visit to the Arch of Doom... maybe next week we'll try some spelunking.

Settling in

We've been at Sewanee for 10 days now and we're starting to settle into a routine. Our neighborhood is very hilly, so Brennan and Aidan spend a lot of time riding bikes and scooters up and down the long sidewalks (probably reaching speeds of 15-20 mph, really!) We walk just about everywhere on campus, including the library, chapel and bookstore. I go mountain biking for a few hours every other day and we spend other time meeting with our fellow seminarians and helping others to move into their homes, as we were helped when we arrived.

The house is really a blessing, it is a 4 bed, 2 bath unit that was originally built in the 50's or 60's for a then-popular athletic director. It's probably one of the nicest seminary houses (we were assigned a bigger house due to having a bigger family, but many thanks to Father Mark and Father Reed for encouraging me to turn in my paperwork early!) Each morning the same family of white tailed deer can be found eating our front lawn and running through our back yard, which is completely woods. We'll be posting some pictures soon.

Tonight we attended our second weekly bbq, which is done at the cookout area of the seminary housing area known as the "Woodlands". We're about 3/4 mile away from the Woodlands, but it is all hills, so we drive when we take the baby over there. Everyone is excited about the new term starting in a few weeks. We all have our different ideas about what ordained life will be like, but even the middlers and seniors (2nd and 3rd year students) really have no idea. All any of us really know so far is what it feels like to be at seminary, and I don't even know that much yet. The silliest thing so far is how little I've heard about Jesus since I arrived. We talk a lot about church, but it's mostly shoptalk, about home parishes, dioceses and bishops, just like you would find at any other job... I hope this changes when class starts.

I wish words could say how blessed we feel to be here in this wonderful place. Sewanee is one of the most beautiful places that I've ever been. We want all of our friends in Jacksonville to come and visit... we have a guest room waiting for you and we really hope you'll come!

Yours in Christ,

Jon

On the Mountain

We've been here since Weds, it is wonderful! The weather is amazingly cool and the mountain air is fresh and sweet. The kids are having a blast, we have to tell them to come in the house, never had to do that in Jacksonville! The house is great and I've already met many seminarians... a dozen of them helped us move in at 9pm on Wednesday night. We also attended the weekly bbq last night, which is done every Friday throughout the summer.

Everything is better than we had hoped. The kids are already making friends and there are many families with kids their age. Marti is teaming up with another seminary spouse named Brittany, she's really great and they are going to see the new Harry Potter tomorrow.

I went mountain biking this morning for the first time since we got here. It was so steep and rocky that I had to carry the bike 50% of the time, but it was still a blast. There were two water falls, a few streams and lots of rocky overhangs, plus some deadly cliffs (gotta watch yourself here, a wrong move could go really wrong). Funny thing is that I was never more than 1/2 a mile from my house.

We'll be at St. James, which is off campus, for church tomorrow and the kids are going to go to VBS next week there. The Chapel of the Apostostle is shut down over the summer, but the Daily Offices should start up again in early August. Orientation starts on August 10th and classes start on the 24th, so maybe by then I will actually feel like a student...?

The move was tough, but we're so grateful to all the wonderful people who have helped all along the way... God bless you all!

peace,

Jon

More like Him

I want to say that going away to seminary is all an incredible blessing, full of excitement and adventure... but we are so sad. My kids cry every night talking about the friends and family they'll miss, the church and school they'll miss and the way that once everything changes it can never again be the way it is today. And the way it is today is awesome, fantastic, better than we ever expected, hoped or dreamed it could be. We have so many wonderful friends, brothers and sisters, really, who've been with us through tough times and good times and all the in-betweens. We've been with each other as our children have been born and family has passed... at Easters and Christmases and weddings and funerals. We have worshipped, laughed, loved, griped, cried and complained together. We've weathered storms and watched others get blown out to sea. We've seen failings and flailings and prodigal returns and casseroles and fried chicken. St. Andrew's has been our heavenly sanctuary for almost a decade and next Wednesday that changes.

I've been telling my kids that it is ok to cry, it's part of loving. Don't be afraid to feel your feelings, God wants you to, it really is ok. Remember, when confronted with profound loss, Jesus wept. Forgetting all His glory, holiness, and perfection, I often find myself lost in Christ as man, a man who suffered. The God that suffered is the one that makes sense to me.

VBS and the changing of the guard

It's our last week at St. Andrew's and Marti is co-leading vacation bible school with her replacement, Sarah.

The theme this week is Rome, with a focus on the early church and "underground" worship. They have Father Mark acting as St. Paul, in chains with a Roman guard! The music is great, decor is great and the activities are fun and interesting... as far as I can tell the kids are having almost as much fun as the adults.

I'm really going to miss SAE. Last night at the end of VBS we sat around in the parish hall and chatted for about an hour. Joy, Sarah and Karen (all relatively new members at SAE) were right at home with Father Mark, our priest of 11 months and me and Marti. You could really see a changing of the guard type of thing going on. The best news is that SAE is in very capable, loving hands. The bad news is that we'll be somewhere else as this blessed SAE future unfolds :(

But, the God of life, the living God of breath and light, never tires of change. It's His will we're to follow and not our own. Maybe in all this change it's easier to see the things that are permanent, like His love for us and our love for each other...

Short Timer, Part 2

There is so much to do in the next two weeks that I'm nearly paralyzed trying to sort it out and PRIORITIZE! The house is almost ready to be rented out, except that in this case almost means we have two more rooms to paint, a back deck to finish, a sprinkler system zone to complete and there are boxes and boxes everywhere... like I said, almost.

At least the Sewanee side of the deal is set:

accepted into seminary - check
house rented - check
financial aid recieved - check (thank you God!)
move in party planned - check

Now if we can only get the extra car sold, finish packing, finish swim team, finish VBS, finish my job, finish the house, then we're set!

These are good problems to have, I hope I don't sound too much like a baby. We're really thrilled, it is a real adventure, nothing boring here!

breathe

Being overwhelmed - a constant feature of theological education!

I received a very nice form letter from the Dean of the School of Theology at Sewanee the other day. In the letter he welcomed my family to Sewanee and tried to introduce us to the idea of being constantly overwhelmed... anyone who has visited our house lately would know that we are no strangers to this state of mind! We started packing two weeks ago and everything is in a state of flux. We have packaged almost all of our fragile items such as picture frames, figurines, etc in bubble wrap and cardboard. We've peeled wallpaper jungle scenes from the kids' bedroom walls, we have tried to empty out the shed and the garage (although they are more full than ever) and so on... all while keeping everyone fed and clothed, including our infant son Joshua.

All in all it has been fun and exciting and yet we're nowhere near ready to go, but go we will. The rental van is rented, so there's no backing out now.

On the plus side, it is nice to see that we're all getting along with each other pretty well. We're spending lots of time with old friends, silently acknowledging how much we're going to miss each other (a lot, a whole lot!) and wishing we could take everyone with us to Sewanee.

God has definitely been the central figure in this whole process and I pray that we'll keep saying "yes" each time he says "go now".

Jon

Environmental Stewardship

Leave it to me to make a big deal out of something and then take off for the mountains! Over the last few weeks I've been sharing about environmental stewardship at St. Andrew's. The first session was on what we could do as individuals and the next section was about how churches could participate in improving the physical world we live in.

It is certainly true that most people alive today would not even recognize the world that our Christian ancestors inhabited. I would give just about anything to see the vast forests that once covered our land with 250 foot tall pines and oak trees that were 30 feet in diameter. I would love to visit an unspoiled Florida, with no tract housing, no air conditioners humming through the night and fireflies lighting up every bit of swampy ground.

I suppose this is not to be... so what can we do? A lot, really! It begins with reducing our environmental footprint, by being efficient, recycling and re-using. Next we can take active steps to become more sustainable in the products we purchase and the way that we grow our food and use the land. If we can focus on the environment as a blessing, as a true gift from God and seek to better understand his will for us, then we might have a chance. I pray for the renewed health and well being of all my neighbors, especially the ones on the wing, in the water and running about on four legs.

Short timer

We're six weeks from moving and it is getting really exciting! We got our housing assignment last week and what a blessing, it's bigger than the house we live in now (how will we ever survive with less than 2,000 sq ft again?) Marti is thrilled and so am I. Also the house has a guest bedroom which will have a double bed, for whenever anyone from Jacksonville wants to visit. We have reserved the moving van and are starting to line up volunteers for the move. We also have help at the Sewanee end, which is totally great.

I got turned down for one of the scholarships I applied for, but it was a long shot. The rest we'll know when I hear from Sewanee's financial aid office around the 15th of June. The St. Andrew's vestry and finance committees both approved a very generous "aid" package for our family. Thanks to all and to Father Mark for their generosity! This last piece of the puzzle would be enough to stress anyone out, but I feel completely at peace...

The kids are getting excited too. It is starting to sink in that they won't be able to see all of their lifelong friends whenever they want. It adds a certain sense of appreciation that only moving away can provide. My dad was in the Navy, so I am well acquainted with relocating, but Marti and the kids are not.

St. Andrew's is planning a big party for us in July and I am really looking forward to it. I hope that we can find ways to express our love for our wonderful home parish and to thank them for bringing us into the family of God.

yours in Christ,

Jon

The Waiting

Well, it's been two weeks since San Jose sent me off with a lovely going away party. We had a nice reception after the 1030 service that I really enjoyed. It was a bittersweet moment because although Iwas happy to be done with another phase of my development, I was sad to be leaving this wonderful group of people behind.

A week ago today (on May 1) I met with Father Britt from San Jose for our final "chat" regarding my time at his parish. He seemed to pleased overall with my committment to the cause. We sat and talked for about an hour about how he'd entered the ministry in his mid twenties and the changes that he has seen as a life-long Episcopalian. He was especially helpful in encouraging me to reach out to others at seminary. He is not the first one to encourage this, nor was he the first to note that seminarians are real people who bring their real problems with them into the world of education and ministry. I hope that my family can contribute to the peace and spiritual health of the place while we are there...

As sad as leaving San Jose was (and it really was) it was also really great to be back at St. Andrew's for the first time in months. I wish that everyone could have the experience of leaving and then returning to their home parish. You learn to appreciate everything so much more, and you become much more forgiving of the little glitches that used to bother you. It was also great to be able to sit in the same pew as my wife and our 3 month old son Joshua. Every clergy person I know has indicated that they miss sitting with their spouses and family during worship.

I started out with the title "The Waiting" on this post because we are still waiting for an answer from Sewanee's housing and financial aid departments. Right now all we know is that we're leaving on July 15th. We don't know where we're going to live or how much seminary will cost us. I was getting pretty squirrelly about it, but now, after a lot of prayer, I have relaxed again. I know how blessed we are to even have this opportunity and I know that God will care for us throughout, so the rest is just details and they will work out fine. The best thing about waiting is that you've always got something to look forward to!

God bless

Jon

Final Sunday at San Jose

My last Sunday at San Jose Episcopal will be on April 26th. The past five months have really flown by!

Yesterday afternoon I was out for a walk with my three sons. Brennan and Aidan are 9 and 7, respectively, so they rode their scooters and then went hunting for tadpoles and lizards in and around a retention pond by our house. I had three month old Joshua in the jogging stroller (not that I will ever jog with it...) and I mused about the parallels between Joshua's first three months on earth and my five months at San Jose.

Each of us started our little journey in a position of extreme comfort and peace. Joshua began his journey in the womb; there is no warmer, safer, more completely peaceful place than that. I started my recent journey at St. Andrew's; which has been my parish home for eight years. In that time, SAE has become my safe place. St. Andrew's taught me to be a man and follow Christ. It was there that I learned how to be a mature adult, to tithe, to pray, to worship, to raise healthy children and to be a real friend.

Then... trauma. For Joshua, it was birth on January 15th. A tough way to come into the world, but at least you get in! For me it was starting my internship at San Jose on the first Sunday of Advent, 2008. For each of us the change was a shock:

"who are all these strange people?"
"why am I here?"
"when do I get to return to the comfort of my safe place?"

But for each of us the transition turned out to be no so bad after all. Joshua quickly found himself in the loving arms of his wonderful mother and family. He was safe, warm, and fed. I quickly found myself surrounded by caring and thoughtful Christians. I was safe, warm and fed.

After the initial shock wore off, both of us started to enjoy our time in our new surrounding immensely. Joshua came home from the hospital after a few days and then got to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and the dog. Eventually he visited St. Andrew's and was introduced to his larger family. After the first few weeks at San Jose I started to really enjoy every minute of it. I had been afraid that there would be no other place on earth like St. Andrew's. This was true and yet it was not... San Jose and St. Andrew's are loving, thriving, giving Christian communities; each with it's own voice, flavor, and palette of colors and attitudes towards life and the world. The important stuff is the same: devoted to God, followers of Christ, prayerful and giving, love for one another, care for those who hurt, openmindedness, and fondness for the Episcopal way. Some important things are quite different, mostly it is the people themselves and their stories of life with Christ and each other. Other things that are unique, and joyously so, are the music, worship style, architecture, and traditions. This is fantastic because it gives so much spice and variety to each community. After a few weeks at SJE I was ready to savor each moment I spent there.

During our walk Joshua fell quickly asleep. The warm sun was shining down on us from a bright sky full of fluffy clouds. The light from the sun had that filtered, yellow glow that you only get on a spring afternoon. The baby looked so peaceful and content lying there in the stroller, dozing quietly in the warm sun. He knew he was safe and loved; that there was nothing to worry about. I know how he feels.

Jon

Holy Week afterglow

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

Wow, what an exhausting, yet wonderful Holy Week! It seems like it has been months since Palm Sunday, not eight days. I served at both the 8am and 1030am services at San Jose on Palm Sunday, doing the sermon for the 8am. The readings on Palm Sunday are designed for people who won't be attending all of the Holy Week services, so they include the Passion, etc. It's like having a mini Good Friday service in the middle of your Palm Sunday & makes for a difficult sermon. Both Father Mark at St. Andrew's and Father Steph at San Jose had trouble with it too, so I didn't feel too bad that my novice attempt was a bit confused.

We did the Tenebrae for San Jose on Sunday at 4pm. It was a pretty service, with an unusual (to me) choral style. Not that the choral style was unusual, it was just not the chant style that I expected for Tenebrae. Anyway, it was nice.

On Wednesday night Marti and the kids did a Seder dinner with 75 people at St. Andrew's. It was great, as all her events are. I came early and ate dinner, I love middle eastern food, but had to leave for the Taize service at San Jose. That was a great service. Father Britt has a lovely singing voice and it was very uplifting, while still mindful of the solemn tone of Jesus' last week before the Crucifixion. The music was incredible and the soft lighting of the candles really set the perfect mood in the San Jose sanctuary.

Thursday night was madness. I participated in Father Mark's last supper drama at St. Andrew's, playing the role of James the Younger. The drama was great and very well-received. After that we had the foot washing. I started crying when I watched Don Sitterson, Earl Williams, and Pat Shouvlin washing each other's feet. These gentlemen are in their late seventies and mid eighties and have been friends for close to five decades. They have always been an inspiration to me. After the foot washing we stripped the altar and turned down the lights. Following the end of the service we took a short break and then at 10pm we started the Maundy Thursday vigil. This silent vigil reminds us of Jesus' time in the Garden of Gethsemane when the discipiles repeatedly fell asleep while they were supposed to be keeping watch for him. I had the 1pm and 3pm shifts. In addition to managing the watch and participating, my kids usually spend the night in the parish hall. This year we were joined by Robert Slama and his son, 5 year old Adam. The watch went well and was very rewarding in terms of meditation and prayer. At 6am, Robert, Adam, me and my kids, David and Carol Childers and Gary Walker all went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast (thanks Dave & Carol!).

Good Friday had a noon and 7pm service. I was so tired by Friday that I had a hard time staying awake during the noon service. Marti was beat too, so I asked Father Britt if I could skip the 7pm service.

St. Andrew's had two Good Friday and two Holy Saturday services. (Father Mark is TIRED!) The kids stayed with my in-laws and Marti and I went alone with the baby to the Saturday night Vigil at 7pm. It was a beautiful service that included the baptism of Gary and Jan Walker's granddaughter.

Finally, Easter day arrived bright and beautiful on Sunday. The music and scripture for the 7am Vigil at San Jose were perfect. At 9am I joined the choir for a delicious breakfast and then at 1030 we celebrated again with 300 of our closest friends. Both services were great and the festive Easter spirit filled the parish.

I know that clergy and staff the world over are tired from their Holy Week work, but I pray that all are renewed and enriched in their walk with Christ.

God bless,

Jon

Sewanee Visit in March

Here's a picture from our recent visit. That's Brennan holding Joshua in the baby carrier and Aidan is in front of the sign getting funky.

Almost done with internship.

A lot has happened since our visit to Sewanee in early March.

Regarding my seminary education, I was accepted as an MDiv student at Sewanee! This was a fantastic relief and lead me to go ahead and announce that I was leaving to all the people that I work with. This has been very liberating and fun. It's nice to not have to keep the "secret" anymore, plus I get to talk about my faith without worrying so much about "crossing the line".

Now, my internship at San Jose is drawing to a close. I am a little sad about this, I have really enjoyed getting to know the wonderful people there. My relationship with Father Britt and Deacon Sorey has also been great, they are kind hearted teachers who enjoy sharing their faith and their experiences. I will especially miss serving on the altar there, which has been a real privilege.

Sewanee Visit

Well, we're finally making the big trek back to Sewanee Tennessee for my "official visit"! We leave tomorrow morning and we'll spend a few days in Sewanee. The trip up and back from Jacksonville is 525 miles, but we're taking it slow because our new son Joshua is only 6 weeks old. It seems likely that we'll be stopping every two hours or so. I pray that we have a safe journey.

I'm pretty excited to be going back to Sewanee. It was almost a year ago that we first visited and so much has happened since then (we had a baby!). I am certain that no one is ever really ready for seminary, but I feel that I am much more ready now than I was at any earlier time. The internship at San Jose has really shaped the way I relate to the Church and my understanding of ordained ministry. Overall I have to say that I've been having a well-earned, very good time. It is work, but the rewards are amazing, and my walk with Christ has never felt closer.

More when we return...

Postulancy

I was granted postulancy by our bishop about a month ago. This was the final endorsement necessary for my application to seminary. My family and I will be going to Sewanee in a few weeks for my "official visit". This will be the time when I interview at the school and that will hopefully lead to being enrolled this coming August.

We've almost been too busy for me to get excited about it all... Our third son, Joshua Andrew, was born on January 15th and between him and work and interning at San Jose Episcopal and raising our 7 and 9 year olds, we've been stretched!

Our diocesan convention was also last month. It was a good convention, which means that it was mostly boring and uneventful. That's how a convention should be. An exciting convention in today's Episcopal church could easily mean controversy and dissention, so I will take boring any day. The best part of the event was the several short films that were shown highlighting parishes around the diocese, these were particularly gratifying because they showcased the incredible ministry and worship activities of some of our smaller churches. They really showed how effective a parish can be in spite of small congregations. Another wonderful part of the convention was the granting of full parish status to Ressurection Episcopal church on Fort Caroline Road in Jacksonville. This parish had been struggling as a mission for years and to see them return to parish status was heavenly.

Finally, I finished a three part series adult education class at San Jose yesterday morning. Part of my intership requirement is teaching. As someone who lives somewhere between the lay and ordained worlds of the church, I chose to present three sessions on the priesthood. The first two Sundays were lecture based classes on the history and variety of the priesthood in all cultures and also more specifically in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The final session was the story of my discernment. I guess I do like talking about myself more than I probably should, but I hope that the class shed some light on the trials and doubts that all Christians face as they try to listen to God's voice calling them.

God's peace be with you,

Jon