This Blog is Closed (for now)
Since graduating from the General Theological Seminary in May 2006 and being ordained an Episcopal priest the following December, I obviously haven't been a faithful blogger. My original objective in starting this blog was to keep my parish discernment committee informed as to what was happening in my ordination process. I then expanded my purpose to be more broad, and that was fun. Now, however, I really don't have the time or the energy to keep it up, so I don't. That is all to say that this blog is officially closed for business. Perhaps forever. Perhaps until a later undisclosed time. Who knows.
Until next post...
PB-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori... and Christina Aguilera?
I received a forwarded email with this picture of a billboard in the West Village of Manhattan (at Perry and Bleeker Streets). It is a display on scaffolding called 'Women We Love' and includes: Melinda Gates, Elizabeth Taylor, Marianne Moore, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg,
PB-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori and Christina Aguilera. According to the sender of the original email, Bp. Jefferts Schori response to seeing this image was:
"I'd heard about this but hadn't seen the billboard. It was a surprise, but if
it can help promote the gospel, God has worked in stranger ways."
I have started a new listserv at Yahoo! Groups for anyone currently involved with CPE Supervisory Training. Its a forum for CPE Supervisors-in-Training (SITs) to discuss all things related to the process of becoming a CPE Supervisor. This may include theory papers, committee meetings, theology, disappointments, celebrations, etc. It is limited to current SITs and those that have been out of an SIT program for up to two years whether they were certified or not. If you are interested in joining or know someone that may be please direct them to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CPESITS/.
New Direction of This Blog
I have decided to take a new direction with this blog.
PASTIn the beginning, the blog came into existence at the suggestions of Dr. F. Amos Bailey, a member of my parish discernment committee, as a way to keep the committee up-to-date on things as they progressed. After it was determined that I would go to the General Theological Seminary in New York I renamed it
Life In General and the focus and theme became "a journey into the Episcopal priesthood."
PRESENTNow that I have completed my studies at GTS and am ordained as a transitional deacon (to be ordained priest in December), the theme doesn't seem to apply anymore.
FUTUREFrankly, I don't know what the blog will become next. More than likely it will be general musings about religion (especially the Episcopal Church), pop culture, and healthcare chaplaincy. I will try to come up with a catchy new name, but if I can't I will leave it as is. We'll see.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Graduation from GTS
Today was graduation day. I leave General Theological Seminary with a Master's degree in Sacred Theology...and a cool picture of Heather and me with Tom Brokaw!!! He received an honorary doctorate today.
Heather and I move to our new apartment in NYC on Monday. Then we head to Birmingham for my ordination on June 3. We are super busy as usual. Once all of that is over with I hope to give more time to the blog.
For now enjoy the pic of Heather basking the in the glow of her experience meeting her TV crush Tom Brokaw.
I received great news on Friday: I was accepted into the HealthCare Chaplaincy's CPE Supervisor-in-Training (SIT) program!!!! It has been a dream of mine for a long time to do this training. And to do it at The HealthCare Chaplaincy makes it even better. This institution is a leader in the field of healthcare chaplaincy and provides almost all of the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) for the New York City area. It is an innovative and highly respected institution. You can check it out at:
http://www.healthcarechaplaincy.org/.
I will be trained in pastoral care (theology), personality theory (psychology), and adult learning theory (education) in order to facilitate the growth of religious students' pastoral identities and skills. I will supervise students from various faith perspectives such as Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Liberal Protestant Christian, Evangelical Protestant Christian, Roman Catholic, etc. The training program usually last about 2-3 years.
I can't wait to get started! But I will have to wait until September since that is when the program year begins. In the meantime, after graduation in May, I hope to continue my work with the the Office of the Bishops Suffragan for Chaplaincies though out the summer.
Things are starting to come together
I just completed two days of meetings in Bham, AL with the bishops, commission on ministry and standing committee. I have good news to report: I was approved for ordination !!!!!
My ordination to the transitional diaconate will take place at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Birmingham, AL on Saturday, June 3 at 11 AM.I don't think the reality of it has set in yet. It has been such a long process so I am having a difficult time believing that it is nearing the end. The first time I ever imagined that I might be a priest was while I was driving in the car in Cleveland, TN sometime in 1999. I was severely dissatisfied with the Pentecostal Church and knew that I no longer belonged there. I had attended a local Episcopal Church and loved it. At that point my mind wandered to the possibility of being the person at the altar serving the congregation as the priest. "No way," I said to myself. Then I started to imagine what it would be like to introduce myself as a priest: "Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Father Fleenor." "Father?" I thought. "I am no father." I was only in my mid-twenties and felt like I was about 18. "Hello. My name is David Fleenor and I am the priest at this parish." No way! I told myself not to fantasize about it any longer. I didn't take my own advice and now, seven years later, I am about to be ordained. (Just to clarify the details, I will not be ordained a priest until December of this year. The Episcopal Church ordains you to be a deacon for 6 months and then a priest.)
Well, where one journey ends another begins. Heather and I will remain in Manhattan and I will be serving as an assistant priest at the Church of the Transfiguration, aka "the little church around the corner." It is called that because in 1870 "Joseph Jefferson was rebuffed in arranging for the funeral of his friend, George Holland, an actor. Told that there was a little church around the corner where 'they do that sort of thing,' (actors were looked down upon at this time) Jefferson fervently exclaimed, 'God Bless the Little Church Around the Corner' and that famous benediction has echoed down through the years. This brought about a close relationship with the people of the theater which has continued to this day. It also brought about the founding, in 1923, of the Episcopal Actors' Guild," which was led at one time by Charlton Heston and Sam Waterston of Law and Order.
We will be living in an apartment at the Church of the Transfiguration (we call it "the Fig" for short). They have a fifth floor apartment that we will move into in mid to late May. We are pretty excited about this place. It has a lot of character (read: it needs some work but will be cool when it is finished) and it is in a great location - 29th Street b/t 5th Ave and Madison Ave. That means Heather's commute will still be nice and we get to keep on living in the greatest city on earth!
Got a favor to ask you.
Would you be willing to check out two web sites real quick? The first is the Welcome Center for the Episcopal Church's web site. The second is a survey about the first site.
My friend Bowie works with the Episcopal Church site and she would like to get some feedback on it. I completed the survey today and it only took about 5 minutes. Real easy!
If you are interested go to the following sites:
Welcome Center for the Episcopal Church's web siteSurvey
