Claimed, gathered and sent

I am now officially a seminary graduate (front row, 4th from the right). Friday, May 11, 2012 my classmates and I graduated from LTSG . We have come a long way. Sometimes it seems like we just started and other times our journey seems has seemed much longer. It was an emotional day that we celebrated with family, friends, and the whole seminary community.  All academic righteousness has been fulfilled. No class projects are hanging over my head. What a relief! But it is a bittersweet relief. Since I began writing this post many weeks ago, I have been called as pastor of a small town church in the Southern Tier of New York State. I was ordained Friday night to the ministry of Word and Sacrament surrounded by family, friends, members of my congregation, and neighboring congregations. I was privileged to have some of my closest friends from seminary participate in this occasion. That too was an emotional occasion. Glad the church has boxes of Kleenex in the pews! I have...

Sunday, May 4, was my last day of undergrad. I am finished...with undergrad that is. The next step in August is The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg . For so long it seemed like finishing undergrad was so far off... years away and now it's here. Graduation is tomorrow, though I am unable to attend. The past few years have been challenging and exciting. I will miss the online classmates I have grown to love. We have become quite a community of faith. Picture courtesy of flickr.