More Updates

Hi all;
On Saturday, I received my final marks for the Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree that I've been taking. The good news is that I'm finished. I'm scheduled to graduate on 11 May 2010.

On the professional front, I am glad to announce that I will be ordained on 02 May 2010 at 4:30 p.m. at St. James Cathedral, in Toronto. The following day, on 03 May I will start my curacy at St Stephen, Downsview. I'm really looking forward to the challenges this new opportunity will bring.

I am on the run, out the door, but I realise it has been a few weeks since I last posted updates, and I had "promised" to keep updates coming.

Peace

The Beginning of the End ...

Yesterday's mail brought the standard Trinity College convocation package. Fairly standard stuff ... a bio request for the leaflet, and invitations to the event (which is May 11th).

In other news, I am looking forward to receiving the final paperwork for ordination. Curacy details are still being worked out, but I take consolation in that there is still talk of ordination.

More news as it becomes available.

Silence ...

No, I haven't forgotten to post updates, or lapsed into the great corporeal realm beyond cyberspace. There simply has not been that much to write about to date.

School is, well, school. As I said, I'm trying to keep up to date. I attended a Church Planting conference this week. This was my second year in attendance. The conference was good, encouraging one to think about new ideas, as well as an opportunity to meet some new people, and get reacquainted with some old friends.

Information has begun to trickle forth:
We ordinands have been invited to a meeting to plan the ordination liturgy. News of pre-ordination retreats, and rehearsals (yes, kind of like wedding rehearsals) are also coming to light. It's beginning to get rather exciting. Like a child who begins to anticipate Christmas once the Hallowe'en candy is done.

Trying to Focus

As I sat in class today, with half a dozen other students, we chatted as we waited for class to begin. It was then I realised how close I am to the end of the semester. This semester ends at the end of March - one credit and a thesis left to go.

I must admit that the ordination stuff is a little "distracting" - in a good way. My mind keeps wanting to drift away from studies and toward ordination prep. The truth is that for the moment, there's not a lot of "prep" for me to do. At the moment, it's a matter of waiting for meetings, waiting for announcements about curacies, and trying to be patient.

Have you ever noticed that when someone says "Don't look down, the first thing you do is ... look down". Hearing "Be patient!" can be like that too, sometimes.

Two is not a habit, you know!

Well, not yet. I don't want to even hint at daily posts given my evident history, but I think I've found a good time to blog. Today's entry might be somewhat shorter, given the lack of need to catch up.

Today, I am off to coffee with a friend, spiritual direction, and studying. Always studying. The discipline of spiritual direction may be a new term to some of my friends. No, it is not a commandant, dressed in jodhpurs, boots, and a collar barking orders ever ready to crack the proverbial whip.

Rather, it is someone with whom you build a professional relationship, over some time. It can be a cleric, or other person who has taken religious vows (like a nun or monk). It can also be a person who has walked the path of faith for a while, with whom you develop a relationship of trust. As the relationship develops, they can help point out some "blind spots" in life, in a way that is informed by faith. The goal is to have someone to confide in, who is removed from your work structure, family life, etc., and is therefore able to give some honest perspective, and with whom you can be honest.

Sometimes it can take a few tries to find someone who is "the right fit". Do personalities mesh? Is there an accessible time and place for both people to meet? (If you have to climb a mountain every 6 weeks, or so, chances are it ain't gonna happen.) Ideally it is someone who has training and or experience in the field. Like going to a psychiatrist who does not take care of their own mental health, I doubt I would ever seek the counsel of a spiritual director who was not also seeking direction themselves.

For those preparing for ordination, spiritual direction is a requirement. I'm glad it is, because if it were not, I don't know that I would have engaged in the practise. I'm glad that I have. Should you have any questions about this practise, please feel free to be in touch.

Peace

Catching up ...

I could be doing so many other things, but this came to mind, and I thought I might indulge. As I've probably said half a dozen times, in this space, I can't believe its been so long since I've submitted anything. Maybe that says something, maybe it's a cue I need to take, but I think I'm going to make one more run at it for the next few weeks. It may be a discipline that would prove fruitful over the next few weeks.

The last time I posted was in July '08. I had recently graduated with an Master of Divinity from Trinity College (Toronto), and had been accepted as a postulant for ordination in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.

So what's happened since then ...

I spent the fall of 2008 essentially ticking things off my administrative list for Postulancy. Police checks, psychological evaluations, interviews, the list seemed endless, but was complete - for the most part, by Christmas 2008. What remained was attending regular "Working Group Meetings" where one is expected to speak to various issues affecting clergy, and to meet regularly with my Postulants Advisor (once upon a time called an Examining Chaplain). Occasionally, I would receive recommendations to attend various seminars or conferences, and always made sure I made myself available. The committee met last week, and I received a phone call to say that I would be moving toward ordination on 02 May 2010. The letter came this week, putting the conversation in writing.

Over the next 3 months there will be a few things to take care of. Much like the reading of bans before a marriage, one has a Si Quis read before ordination. This is normally done in one's home parish the four Sundays immediately preceding ordination.

There will be an ordination retreat, for a few days, in the week prior to ordination. I believe that will be held at The Sisterhood of Saint John the Divine, here in Toronto.

Other than the candidates for ordination, each candidate has an ordained and lay presenter. The weekend of the ordination, there will likely be rehearsal for those involved. These are the details, as I know them.

On another note, within weeks of graduation I wrote that I missed academics. In the fall of 2008 I registered for a Master of Theological Studies, again at Trinity College (Toronto). Thanks to my MDiv, I received advanced standing, and with the completion of eight credits I will have a second theology degree. I am in my final semester, taking one in class credit, and doing a thesis for two credits.

I am hoping to be complete this spring, so I will graduate from the MTS programme a few days after ordination.

Anyhow, I should go, for now, and hit the books. I do have reading to do. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I think I will try and keep this space somewhat current between now and ordination - but we'll see.

Until next time ...

A gauzy, kind of in between place ...

So, I'm on a few weeks off, because of an injury.   Time spent recuperating is slow time.   Hospital chaplaincy has convinced me of that, & the last couple weeks have affirmed that.

I've spent time packing up some of my papers/essays, organising my book shelf, & catching up on my reading.  I've even taken my degree/diploma in to be framed at a local place that does custom framing.

While I am looking forward to the postulancy process, at this moment in time, I'm missing the idea of going back to school.  I enjoy it.   I enjoy the challenge, the learning, & the opportunity to articulate that learning through papers.  I've never been much of an athlete, but I love exercising my brain.

Having spent the last year of my MDiv writing a thesis (among other things), I found it a most enjoyable & rewarding experience.   If I were to use a sports analogy, I might liken it to driving a fast pitch out of the park, or sinking the last put on the course, and being way under par.

Maybe it's because I'm bored, at this particular moment, but I've begun to long for that feeling again.  It feels very much like being in a gauzy, kind of in between place.