Even though not much to do schoolwork-wise, still had a pretty eventful few days. Saturday, I got to be a torchbearer at the cathedral in Baltimore for a classmate's ordination to the transitional diaconate. The service was beautiful, and while I realize it was not in the least about me, I was very happy a) not to have caught anyone or anything on fire, and b) to wear my new alb (I own an alb!).

Last night, I spent the night at a church down the road with a couple of other classmates, overseeing the overflow hypothermia prevention shelter there. We had nine men sleeping in the nave of St. Clement's Episcopal Church (aka St. Clement in the Dark, because of the lack of any windows in the nave), and the thing that struck me most about all of them was that except for the fact of their backpacks and duffel bags, I would have never guessed they were homeless. They were all neat and clean and many of them had jobs. One of the guys told us he'd had some legal troubles and just got into a bind financially; as my classmate pointed out, it just shows you how easily any of us could be in their situations. They were extremely grateful for the space, and I was thankful they were inside, especially on a night when the windchill got down to 7 degrees. Of course, so many more were outside in the cold.

Tomorrow, I have the first of two interviews for field-education, which will start next fall. VTS (and the diocese) requires three semesters of field eduction, which is usually done in a church. A senior recently mentioned to me how great it is to finally get to be part of a parish again during your middler year. She pointed out how we leave these really loving communities to come to seminary and then don't have any sort of church home for the whole first year of school. As juniors, we spend most Sundays of our first year visiting lots of different potential field-ed sites; I've been to a different Episcopal church almost every Sunday I've been here, and while seeing the varieties of Episcopal worship is fascinating, it also makes actually worshipping in any meaningful way a little challenging.

Last, I was really happy to get word I got into the clinical pastoral education program at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. CPE, as it's called, is where you dig into your psyche and learn all about how you function as a minister. Now just have to find someplace to live for the summer. . . .