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Time to return to the Holy Hill!

It's that time of year again!  As I have always been or worked in schools, it very much feels to me that August is actually the start of the new year.  I will return to VTS as a middler, which means that I am at the mid-point of my program.  The program in question is a Master's in Divinity, which sounds like something from a book about wizards and potions, but in theological studies, it's an extended master's program (78 credit hours), and the largely required degree for postulants seeking ordination in the Episcopal Church.   The middler year is a time for completing a few major requirements of my program.  The most significant of which is an internship with a local church (local to VTS).  The church I will be working in is Saint Thomas in McLean, VA .  The intention of the internship is for me to learn the nuts and bolts of being a priest.  I will not only serve on Sundays in various capacities, but I will also participate in ministries, sit in on vestry meetings, an
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First Semester is a Wrap!

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  Hello St. Anthony! What a semester!  I just completed my final tests and papers for the semester and am preparing to return to Scottsdale later this week.  As I start packing up, I wanted to share some reflections from the past few months.   First of all, seminary is hard!  I was not expecting it to be easy, but the rigor of the classes exceeded what I anticipated.  Granted, I probably took one class too many (an error I corrected for next semester), but I can confirm priests in the Episcopal tradition are being formed well!  This past semester I took Old Testament, New Testament, Hebrew, Historical Witness of the Church (a combined theology and history course), and an introduction to liturgy class.  Each class presented its own challenges, be it memorizing hundreds of identifications in New Testament or translating from Biblical Hebrew to English; every class also had its own graces.  I have learned a lot, and I am ready for more!  Next semester, I have more Old and New Testament; I
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Welcome to Virginia Theological Seminary!

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Hello, friends at Saint Anthony! On Saturday, August 5th, my parents moved me into a college dorm for the second time.  The first time they dropped me off, I was seventeen years old, thought I wanted to be a speech pathologist, and hoped the other kids on the speech and debate team would like me.  Happily, this time around, many things are different.  Now, I am forty-two, and thanks to the discernment process, I have some clear direction about my calling: to be an Episcopal priest.  And no speech and debate team this time; this time, I am surrounded by fascinating, faith-filled postulants, aspirants, and discerners from around the world.  There is an overwhelming feeling among us that God has brought us together to learn from each other and to work together to build God's kingdom.  It's pretty cool.   Next week will start my first official week of classes.  The first term at VTS is an "August term." This means all new students take a class together for several hours p
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Location: Virginia, USA
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