Stories

I had a really fortunate experience on Saturday. I went to our ladies' breakfast and our featured speaker was our own rector, Carol Anderson. Carol told us the story of her ordination. Which is an amazing story. She was actually in a history book I read. She was one of the first women ordained in our church, you see, and she doesn't often talk about those times. But what a tale!

I can't possibly recreate it for you, and I wish so much I could point you to a recording, but it was one-time-only (which gave her some freedom). I will tell you the stories that made the biggest impression on me.

One time she was giving out the bread during Eucharist and a man walked up to her with intense hatred in his eyes and said, "Go to hell." She said, "I can't, I'm busy."

She did all these wonderful performance-art/theatrical protests. They would attend men's ordinations and stand behind the men. Once they went through the entire service alongside the men, and after each guy was ordained, they went up and knelt before the bishop. He was shaking. Then he sat on his hands. He later told them he wanted to ordain them so badly but he just knew he couldn't (he wanted to stay within church boundaries), and he had to sit on his hands to keep them from doing something he shouldn't.

I love that story because it's got so much ritual power in it. The fact that it was this man's hands that were the key to the magic of ordination...I mean, some people would completely pooh pooh this, but I love it. I think it's so amazing, so embodied. The hands hold the power. And he had to sit on them. Because once that power goes out, it can't come back.

That's why it was such a big deal to ordain the Philadelphia 11 (which Carol wasn't part of, because she was in parish ministry and they didn't want to disrupt anyone's present ministry). Because we believe ordination can't be taken back or reversed.

And then there was the bishop who, when it finally passed (by ONE vote!), was telling reporters it was the Holy Spirit speaking to him, and his wife is in the back telling the women: "Pfft...Holy Spirit! I told him I'd never sleep with him again!"

Anyway, it was a wonderful morning. I can't even tell you everything.

I did go home and in my rascally way write Carol a note about how hard it's increasingly becoming for me to answer people when they ask me why I'm not being ordained. I also asked for an internship. Question 2 got a no because she wants me to branch out (fair enough). Question 1...well, she wants me back in discernment with a new committee. So that's good too.

Anyway, if anyone local wants to recommend me to or for an internship position, that would be fine. Pay would be especially nice, but we're getting along without it.

And if it doesn't work out, I'll just do it later, next summer, after classes are done. It's looking like the USC job isn't going to pan out either (because, of all reasons, they can't figure out how to pay me! Honestly, the bureaucrazy...) (that was a typo but I think it's appropro). But I think as I look ahead to what I have to take: Hebrew, Systematic Theology (3 classes), and history (3 classes), as well as Greek and Hebrew exegetical classes - yeah, I'll probably be okay not to work, and I'll probably be even a bit relieved not to intern. I'd most love to keep TA'ing for my favorite prof, so that's kind of a priority.

We'll see. So far grace has been provided in huge measure to accomplish whatever comes along. I'm blessed in that way.

Oh, Dad is doing okay. He's being treated for angina, although they haven't exactly determined what's going on. He's staying overnight in the hospital and having a stress test tomorrow. He thinks he had a heart attack but my mother says he's overdramatic. The worst of it is that he's in a hospital that's 45 minutes from their home (out by where he works) and it's apparently not a very good hospital. So hopefully he doesn't have to stay there any longer than overnight.

I guess that's all I have to say right now. I finished my interfaith theology thoughts and will post them in the next couple days. Looking forward to your responses on that (hopefully not too much vitriol).