I'm gonna go to Ghana!

I was invited this January to consider going on a pilgrimage to Ghana through Episcopal Relief and Development. This is their second pilgrimage this year to Ghana, the focus of this pilgrimage is to share the relationships that Episcopal Relief and Development has built with schools with Episcopal Schools here in the United States and to help us to learn more about the history of Ghana.

We will see Episcopal Relief and Developments hard work at work! We will visit several schools while we are in country.

We will also spend time learning about our own history within Ghana's as a part of the slave trade that ravaged the country.

This pilgrimage is a unique experience for us to experience life and culture of Ghana and the hard work that Episcopal Relief and Development does daily!

I am so thankful for the time and opportunity to go and experience this time. Please keep our team of 10 in your prayers June 30-July 9!

See the work ERD does in Ghana here
Here Presiding Bishop Curry preach about part of his journey to Ghana this past January. Click HERE

It's Fall Ya'll

To steal a phrase from a friend of mine, "It's Fall Ya'll." The sun has been out for the past 4 days and I have been in the library!!! SO, today I took Grace out for a walk and took my camera too!! It is simply gorgeous..now i can go back to the library! Enjoy the Pictures.

Fall Reading Week

Phew, we made it!!!! Fall Reading Week is upon us and not a moment too soon. Between the work load and the joys of Midlore, we all needed a break!
Let me take a moment and clarify. Fall Reading Week is not Fall Break. The undergraduates get Fall Break. They had this monday and tuesday without classes. The seminary has the entire week off. I am not complaining. I would also like to state that I have one take home mid-term, 1 NT paper, 3 Anglicanism Papers, 1 Sermon, 1 Homily and 2 Newsletters to do.... I have been a good diligent student and been in the library for the past 4 days. All with the goal of driving home to see Rob on Thursday!!! So far, my plan is going according to plan! Poor Grace has had some great box time, but i work best in the library!!!
Hoping your October is going along swimmingly! Posted are pics from our Fall Reading Week Kick Off Party!

Pile high of reading

Yes, these are my books. Last semester i apparently measured how many inches of reading I had to do. (Most of it was for one class) It seems so long ago, I hardly remember. But, today, as you can see, there is plenty to do. Grace the wonder mutt woke me promptly at 6am and my Saturday hasn't stopped. I began with the Wal-mart trip for supplies and then baked and cleaned while reading "A History of the Church IN England." Nothing like Anselm and the smell of chocolate biscotti. I think even Anselm would be tempted to taste Martha Stewart's double chocolate biscotti.

So, the school year has officially begun. Lots of reading, lots of work and poor Grace has lots of time in her crate. Seems to be that time! So, here i am in the library with that stack of books to read, better get cracking!

When Bad turns good.

So, today i got up and headed to the gym.

I pulled out my ipod, somehow it had not charged and the battery was dead.

I attempted to turn on the TV, managed to turn someone else's off and abandoned that activity also.

I finally GOT ON the treadmill and found that i was on a treadmill that was convinced that the metric system was far superior and found I had to convert my weight to KG and my speed per mile to Kilometers and then of course convert my kilometerage into mileage. My brain hurt a bit.

And then.

A friend turned on my television (and even asked me what channel i would like)

A neighbor laughed with me about my math skills and conversion rates

I managed to NOT fall off the machine...

Sometimes it is the community that makes the experience so complete. It takes living outside of our individual bubble of music/noise/insular distraction to welcome that in.

Not about WHO we know, but by WHOM we are known

I run (or try to) every morning. These runs take place, for the most part, on a treadmill in a gym. I attempt to divert my attention from the slow digital clock of how far and how long i have been running by watching TV. And every so often I see Erin Burnette. And she makes me smile! You see Erin and I went to high school together. A tiny school in Delaware and now I am running on a treadmill and she is on NBC. It makes me soooo proud to see her on the TV. I usually take a moment and say to my neighbor (who is usually sweating to the oldies in their own cloud of unknowning)- THAT'S ERIN!!!! They usually nod and keep on sweating to the oldies. It just makes me soooo proud to see where she is and what she has done with her gifts and talents.

In our middler year we have launched into our readings of Paul. Or perhaps i should say we have launched into readings about Paul (In true anglican fashion we have to read about him first!) and one of the things that I keep hearing as a chorus is that "we are of christ, not of other apostles." What if I had the same amount of joy and pride with saying, "wow, look at God at work in her." Do we give God the glory? I do find joy in the Christ I see in others, the joy of seeing God's pleasure in God's creation. What a good and joyful thing INDEED it is. And i do think Erin Burnette uses her gifts and talents pretty well!

Same Place, different time, different roles

So, being back at Sewanee and starting anew. I began my studies as a freshman here on this campus 16 years ago. Yes, there are freshmen here who were 2 when this occurred. Yes, I am old. Geez. Now, that we have gotten that out of the way, it has been a real joy to come full circle. Being able to experience Sewanee in a different way. I am still a student. This time i spend more time in the library (I really LOVE THE LIBRARY!) and this year (middler year!) i have been given the opportunity to give back some of what i have received during my first experience of Sewanee. There were lots of things to experience here as an undergrad. As a seminarian the opportunities abound and the joy is from a differnt place. I was able to give a wal-mart trip to three freshmen today, two of which are from my home church. It's a gift to see them weekly and to hear what they are up to. Also i get to be a part of the catechumenate program this year as a facilitator. It was an incredible journey for me and i am excited to be still and listen as the program begins anew this year. And to top it all off, we are all back here in the library and there are new friendly faces and then some of my favorite undergraduate faces....especially one of my former youth from Spartanburg. He is also a fan of the third floor of the library. What can i say? Blessings abound and now i should get back to my reading......reading about preaching... ah me oh my. Thoughts to ponder!