Greetings! It is hard to believe how quickly another month has flown by!! Thankfully, this past week was the first that it felt as a rhythm had started. I thought I’d share with you a bit of what daily life is like here at VTS. I won’t bore you with all of the details of my day, but share a bit about the framework of our day.
8:15 AM Morning Prayer. This is a slice of home for me. We gather together in the same way that we do at Grace. The chapel is larger and there are more people present, but the flow of the service is like a warm blanket by its familiarity to prayers in Christ the King Chapel. Beforehand, on Tuesday mornings, I text Paul Aparicio and on Fridays, Deacon Michele just to let them know that while I’m not there to pray with them, I am here praying with them. (I can’t say enough about Morning Prayer service at Grace! It provides nourishment in so many ways. Check it out. Tell ‘em “Bobbi sent you.”)
After Morning Prayer. we head off to a variety of places on campus. Usually, I’ve made a pitstop in the Welcome Center for a fill up of my travel mug. The Welcome Center is open 8AM-8PM weekdays and is home to our mailboxes and unlimited, free, fresh coffee or supplies for tea or cocoa. (As you can imagine, it is bustling, casual gathering point on campus!) Most mornings, I have at least one class. (Church History and/or New Testament depending on the day.) Tuesdays, though, we have Formation Group in the home of an instructor we were assigned to in small groups at the start of the year. Mornings are a busy time!
12:00 PM Eucharist. The service can vary from day to day. We use the Spanish Liturgy on Tuesdays, a healing service is included on Thursdays, and Fridays the homily is provided by one of the seniors. Wednesdays the seminary choir, of which I’m part of the tenor section, provides an anthem.
Lunch: After Eucharist we ALL gather in the Refectory for lunch. It is mandatory that all students and staff gather together for this meal of the day. Other times of the day we are scattered about. It is such a blessing to gather in fellowship and, as you can imagine, the conversations that accompany our fellowship over the meal are abundant and diverse.
Afternoons, we head out again. Depending on the day, you’ll find me in Hebrew, Choir, Liturgical Music, Church History Discussion group, or (the all important) Oral Interpretation. Despite the roles we may have filled at our sending parishes, all juniors are required to take this class before being able to fill roles on chapel teams for Morning Prayer or Eucharist. Though many balk at this, I love the intentionality of ensuring we have “proper” instruction since we come from various backgrounds AND because it is creating a hunger to serve in each of us. Which leads me to…
5:15 PM Evening Prayer. This service is not a part of the “formal” day and is student organized. That also means that any of us can play a role whether we’ve been through Oral Interp class or not! Mondays are “common”, Tuesdays are “Evensong” (including incense on the first Tuesday of the month), Wednesdays are a service of prayers for the Anglican Communion, Thursdays include a praise band, and Fridays use Common Worship from the UK. I was identified early on as having come from a “high,” AngloCatholic parish and asked to function in a variety of roles for Evensong on Tuesdays. The service is lovingly reminiscent of Grace’s Evensong and Compline services where the chant is capable of washing the cares of the day away and sending those present away refreshed.
Good thing too. At this point of the day, usually find me running to my apartment for something to eat and then heading back to the campus library to read my texts, research for papers and exegesis assignments, and get caught up on homework. Since I use the moped for transportation and prefer cutting through the Episcopal High School campus in order to get home (drivers out here are CRAZY!), I typically have to leave campus by 10:00 PM when the gate I use to access the high school gate is locked.
The days are long. The reading and writing extensive. The campus a bee hive of activity! During the coming weeks, it will be even more so as we prepare for the Consecration of our new chapel. We will joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, our Presiding Bishop, our Presiding Bishop-elect, and even our very own Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac…along with over a 1000 other visitors! This busy place is about to get even busier! As always, your prayers are appreciated. I pray for and give thanks for my Grace family regularly. God meets us each of us throughout our daily lives!!
By His Love,
Bobbi
"Krafting" a Bridge 