It is that time of the year where I
would normally be heading back to school, plunging head first into a vigorously
academic year of religious and theological study. Not being in the atmosphere of books and so much homework
that I can't think of what else would ever consume my life--is something that I
am learning to accept.
I won't lie. I love school. I am one of those unique individuals
that thrives in the classroom. I
love the dialogue and discussion;
I love engaging with other people that are genuinely wanting to learn as
well. When the school year ended last year I was faced with the dilemma of what
to do with my life next. As
fantastic as having a BA in Comparative Religion and a MA in Religion is, I
came to find out that in the globalized, consumer, STEM and business-centric
job climate that we are in, finding a job that would allow me to combine my
academic interests and degrees with my job skills and experience was a daunting
task.
After what seemed close to 1,000
job applications in all sorts of industries, from food service and hospitality
and travel to the corporate world of business ethics I came across a job
entitled "Faith-Based Social Justice Fellowship" on idealist.org. This led me to a program called Life
Together that is run by the Episcopal Diocese of MA which is part of the
Episcopal Service Corps.
Not being of the Episcopal
tradition myself I was intrigued by the open-faced model of the Life Together
program which is ecumenical in its acceptance of program fellows. Due to the fact that my interest in
ecumenical and interfaith cooperation is what drove me into seminary and
through seminary I decided to give this program a try. I was accepted into the program as a
Life Together-South Coast Mission Hub Fellow, which is a satellite entity of
the larger Boston based Life Together program. After an interview process of a few different potential site
placement opportunities I arrived in Fall River, MA as the new Urban Mission
Fellow for Youth and Homeless Ministries at two area Episcopal churches.
The beginning of the program placed
me in an intensive two-week orientation and training in Brookline, MA with the
Boston Life Together program directors and the various organizations that they
work with closely. Along with
those of us on the South Coast there are 4 fellows based in Lawrence, MA; 5
second-year fellows in Boston; and 14 first-year fellows in Boston. We all come from various religious
background and are all centered on the idea of building intentional community
and spending a year in service to the communities that we are in.
It's been about a month now and my
Presbyterian soul has found a new home to be housed in for the next ten
months. I've come to find out that
the Presbyterian and Episcopal traditions are not all that different when it
comes to ecclesiology, theology, Christology, dogmatics, or any of the other
tenants of Christian "organized religions." There are certainly different worship and liturgical
practices that are particular to both the Episcopal and the Presbyterian
traditions--however, none are drastic enough to make me feel totally and
completely out of synch.
I must confess though, it is still
very weird to have bishops and priests with unusually "high-church"
vestments. It is also still
strange to have the Eucharist every Sunday and to say so many creedal
statements at each service. Yet-I
must say that my Presbyterian self is quite at home in my new Episcopal
environment.
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