The last few months have been a whirlwind of activities and life events.  In early November, we found out that Chris has a fabulous pastoral residency job lined up for next year in Groomsport, Northern Ireland. (In case you missed that news/want more information, you can read more about our upcoming adventure here.)  We were (and still are!) very excited about where life will take us next year. We started to plan out our adventures, where we wanted to travel, where I was going to work, etc.  
Life was looking up! 

It is with great excitement that I can share with you where Mary Erin and I will be headed following my graduation from Princeton Theological Seminary!  It is probably the most asked question I get when talking to people about my time in seminary.  "So, you're a senior, huh?  What comes next?"  For the longest time, our answer was something like, "Most of our family and friends are back in the midwest, so we will probably be looking for a solo pastor call in that area of the country, likely in a smaller community."  Well, we will be moving to a smaller community, but it isn't exactly in the midwest.

One of the strange things about your last year in a place is that somehow, everything becomes about marking the passage of time.  You begin noticing the last time.  The last time I registered for fall classes.  The last time I auditioned for choir.  The last time I attended convocation.  It is strange, because I just feel like I am starting to make sense of what it means to be here, to be in seminary; and now I am getting ready to not be here.

This post is a bit of a two-for-one deal.  First, there is an update about my summer internship as a hospital chaplain.  Second, I share a bit about a trip I took to a Benedictine monastery way back in May.  At first, the two seem quite unrelated, but I think they might have more in common than even I saw initially.