Greetings friends,
I was accepted to Life Together in February of 2020. I planned to build a network in Boston and within the Episcopal Church. I planned to get some great experience, start the process to the priesthood my second year in the program, and then settle in Boston while being sponsored for the priesthood by my site placement, Grace Episcopal Church. I imagined all the cool things I would get to do and try, the people I would get to meet, the places I would get to explore in Boston.
As you can imagine, I could not have imagined that a month after being accepted into the program, the COVID-19 pandemic would dash my plans. I still learned a lot, built a network, got a lot of great experience, and grew deeply into my faith. But my network was mostly virtual, and many of the chances that I expected to have to make friends and meet new people couldn’t happen because of COVID safety reasons. I still had a lot of great experiences, but there were a lot of tears and grief over the fact that much of that experience occurred online.
I also couldn’t have anticipated the direction that my faith journey would take.
I entered with questions about what kind of ordained vocation I would explore. I spoke with Death Doulas and military chaplains. I spoke with young priests who had come through Life Together. I spoke with older priests who had been in this Diocese for decades. I got involved in the Young Adult Advisory Committee. I taught classes, preached, and started a new ministry at my site placement.
Upon reaching the deadline to sign the papers to commit to starting the process to the priesthood in the Diocese of Massachusetts, I realized that I needed to put this on hold so that I could explore whether I had a monastic vocation first. I never would have anticipated that this would be my path when I began this program. It used to be that I didn’t fully believe in the power of prayer. I was embarrassed about being a person who prayed. Turning to God in the hardest, most uncertain times has deepened my prayer life to an extent that dedicating my life to prayer is a lifestyle that now makes more sense. After getting in contact with a few different monastic communities and planning visits (two of which had to be rescheduled because of COVID sickness), I finally visited my first community this past weekend.
I’m so grateful for everything that I have learned since I joined this program, vocationally, personally, spiritually. It’s been an incredibly difficult and fulfilling journey.