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 per day for one month. The theme of this term appears to be "Dis-orientation." I believe that means we are deconstructing and reconstructing our understanding of seminary, and living in community means-- we will see how it all unfolds! We read three books over the summer preparing for the course: The Dream of God, A Call to Return by Verna Dozier, How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You Are Going by Susan Beaumont and Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. We also had selected readings from 1 Corinthians, the book of Jonah, and some articles to read to prepare for the August term. It's a lot of reading! The academics here are no joke.
It's not all just work here, though; the seminarians like to have a good time! Last night, a big group of us went down to Old Town Alexandria for dinner by the water, and tonight we are having a movie night in a dorm lounge. The Princess Bride will be showing (after we do Evening Prayer, of course).
Hopefully, this is already coming through in what I'm writing-- VTS has a deep commitment to a sense of balance. The school's unofficial (but pretty official) motto is "Chapel, Class, Lunch." This means we worship, study, and break bread together in community every day. Most mornings begin with morning prayer followed by coffee at the Flamingo (the campus coffee shop with free, endowed coffee for faculty, staff, and students), followed by classes, followed by lunch together in the refectory.
I hope this short post has illuminated life at the seminary for you. I plan to update this blog every week or two to bring the St. Anthony's community along with me on my journey. You are all in my prayers, and I am excited to live into this experience with all of you. Stay tuned!
Peace,
Beth
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