20 April 2009

Nervewracking

The most nervewracking night of my life was a Tuesday evening in April of 1991. My father was a 4th Year Seminarian at Fort Wayne, and I was an 8th grader, with all the nervous energy, lack of self-control, and general junior-highiness which comes with that territory. It was call night in Fort Wayne. We had family showing up, so in order to make sure seats were saved for Grandma et al, mom and I showed up 2 hours early. So I sat for two hours not knowing where I would be living in 6 months. Even then, coming early didn't quite work - it got filled up - and as was befitting decent manners, I (and the a friend of mine) lost our "comfy" pew seats and we banished to the sides, sitting on the cold concrete sides at the Fort Wayne chapel, the air from the vents sliding all the way up our backs. A nerve wracking night. Even worse, I think, than my own call night in April of 2004.

Tonight is placement and call night at St. Louis. Placements for Vicarage tonight at Fort Wayne (including my member Jay Hobson) - call night tomorrow night. Do keep not only the Seminarians, but also their families in your prayers. Keep the Congregations who are awaiting pastors themselves, the congregations which will host vicars in your prayers.

And just in case Jay reads this. . . keep his future Vicarage Supervisor in your prayers as well >=o)

4 comments:

WM Cwirla said...

Ah, the first call. So extra nos. LIke the making of sausage, all goes on behind closed doors. No interviews, no nuanced PIFs. Just the CoP and its dart board. God indeed works in mysterious (ie hidden) ways.

I like to tell my congregation of 16 years, "We are like an arranged marriage. I didn't pick you and you didn't pick me, but we've learned to love each other over time."

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

We had a dart toss here to figure out where Jay would be going for his vicarage. We'll see who got closest soon enough. I have him being just down the road from you in Palm Springs. . . actually the desert around there, but close enough.

Pr. H. R. said...

Pr. Cwirla,

Things have changed, friend. I'd say well more than half of the students today have interviews, and you can pop into the placement guy's office and have a sneak peek while the lips and ears go into the grinder. . .

And you do fill out the PIF and SET before call day as well...

If only it were dart boards...

+HRC

Ritewinger said...

I was interested to see that 5 men were called to the LC-C (plus 1 vicar) and all were from Ft W. That has to be the largest Northern migration since the Canadian Seminaries were opened.