Why, Hello!
My fall semester of my senior year at Earlham College is in its death throws (its finals week), and my mind is starting to turn to next semester, my imminent graduation, and the beginning of a new part of my life.
::Cue the opening music from 2001 a space odyssey::
I am a young adult Friend (of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers) and last year I was blessed with a calling to ministry. I grew up in a small unprogrammed Quaker Meeting on the East Coast of US. My Monthly Meeting (the one I have my membership in) is part of a yearly meeting that is affiliated with both FGC and FUM, but which is predominately unprogrammed (we have four or five programmed meetings). When I went to Earlham College I began attending a semi-programmed FUM Meeting. This all matters because the Calling that I was gifted with is a calling to Pastoral Ministry. This calling, although confusing for me at first (I spent many long months working through it with my Spiritual Director) brought me (brings me!!) enormous joy.
It brought my home faith community significantly less joy. If any Friends out there think that there is no tension in the relationship between Programmed and Unprogrammed Friends, I can speak to the fact that there is tension (huge, gloppy, sloppy globs of it, actually).
However, tenacity, as I like to say, is my middle name. I knew that if I wanted to be a pastor, I first wanted to get a MDiv. (Masters in Divinity), and so my next step would be seminary. At the beginning of this fall I put in my application to my two top choices for seminary: Wesley Theological in Washington D.C. and Princeton Theological. I was accepted at both and I was asked to make my decision quickly (something that is maybe possible for Methodist or Presbyterians, but is much harder for Quakers). I will be making my decision in the beginning of January, and then fall 2010 I will be embarking on a new adventure.
This blog is to chronicle my experiences. It is to tell the story of how a young Quaker women from a unprogrammed meeting becomes a pastor, and to tell the story of a Quaker's experience at a non-Quaker seminary.
I hope you will join me. At the very least it should be hilarious.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well, hmmm, how very, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteNot knowing you, I will refrain at this point from some questions. They are probably obvious and you are probably already tired of them.
But I shall follow your exploits with interest.
yours truly
a queerish, female Quaker pastor who does not have an MDiv