September - A Month in the Life of a Seminarian

Greetings,
I've entered into a whole new world here at Nashotah House Theological Seminary: cassocks, morning and evening prayer, classes and work-crew. I normally rise about six o'clock to either run or lift weights, shower, read my Bible, pray and then stuff my books and computer into my bag, hop onto my bike at about ten to eight and ride off to chapel. After arriving, I quickly grab my cassock off of the hook, pull it on and walk to my assigned seat. The inside of the historic chapel is amazing to behold. The many surrounding statues of biblical characters, martyrs and bishops remind me that I am not worshiping alone, but am joined by a great cloud of witnesses. My mind wanders a bit as we all sit in silence and then suddenly the bell begins to ring and the sounds of creaking pews and feet against the wooden floor, swells throughout the room as we all rise for the service and make the most ancient of Christian symbols, the sign of the cross, remembering that we are crucified with Christ. The service has begun.

About an hour later, I and my classmates rush off to breakfast and then to class. I have a busy schedule which consists of a two liturgy classes in which I am learning how Christians have gathered together throughout history to worship God and commune with him; a class on the history of the Anglican church which is extremely and intriguing; ethics and moral theology taught by a Thomas Aquinas scholar; church music, in which we learn about how the church has used music throughout its history and also how to read music and to sing chants; and parish ministry, which is a class on how to be a pastor. During the afternoon I'm busy either with my studies, choir practice or work crew. The seminary follows a model which was established by a monk named St. Benedict back in the sixth century, in which he required his monks to follow a rule which separated the day into prayer, work and study. At four-thirty we gather again in the chapel for evening prayer and then I hope on my bike to arrive back at our apartment for supper with Melissa and then homework. The days here are very full.

Melissa has been hard at work. Within a few days of our move to Wisconsin, she was out and about applying for jobs. She went to nearly every bank in town and almost all of them called her back for an interview and then offered her the job. (My wife's a pretty amazing woman!) She finally accepted one of the positions only to have another bank call her a few hours later and offer her more money. It was a tempting choice, but because she had given her word and decided to remain at the bank where she had originally accepted a position. Since then she's been moving quickly up the ranks and will soon have senior teller status. I'm quite proud of her.

We've also been quite busy within the Seminary community. I tried out and was accepted into the choir and I have also obtained a job at the library where I'll be working for a couple of hours a week. Melissa and I have been given the opportunity to lead the youth ministry here on campus and have been having fun getting to know the young students. We've also been making lots of friends and have begun gathering folks together for a bonfire every Friday night. Oh, yes, before I forget, Melissa's birthday is coming soon (October 8th - the big two-five). She would love to here from you if you have a few minutes

Thank you for all of your prayers. My experience here at Nashotah has been very formational for me as I continue to follow God's leading. I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I mentioned in one of my letters that Melissa and I were going to be doing some fundraising because our finances were quite tight (we moved here with nearly no money, trusting that if it were God's will, he would provide) and we have been pleasantly surprised. Though not many people have yet responded, we are amazed at the generosity of those who have and we are very thankful for those folks who are prayerfully partnering with us in advancing God's kingdom; we are seeing and experiencing the fruit of your prayers everyday.

Feel free to write to us and let us know how you're doing. Melissa and
I miss all of you.