Friends,

You will begin to see a new face around St. Luke’s!

Sally Lombardo will be with us for this school year as our “seminarian”. If you did not already know, Virginia Theological Seminary is not far away, and it is the largest Anglican Seminary in the world! I thought I would take a moment to describe what Sally is, what she is not, and why I am excited that she is with us.

Sally is:

· An Anglican Studies Student: This is not a common thing. This means that she already has her Master’s Degree in Divinity (MDiv), which is generally considered a prerequisite to ordination, but it was not at an Anglican seminary, so her Bishop is sending her to VTS for one year to learn the ropes that are specific to our corner of Christendom. Not only does she already have her MDiv, but also her DMin (Doctorate in Ministry), is twice published, taught college, was a mid-wife and has five children. Needless to say, I am sure her sermons will be interesting!

· She is a student: She is not an employee, and we will pay her stipend to cover travel costs, but this is not a salary. Sally will be engaged in ministry at St. Luke’s, but her goal is to learn. Over the course of the next two weeks, she and I will draft a learning covenant that will outline her duties and learning goals.

· From Texas: She has been sent here by the Bishop of Texas, and at the conclusion of this school year, we can expect her to return home and fulfill her ministry there.

Sally is not:

· On the “Be” team: George Omohundro, Eunice Theobalds, John Moorman, Atticus Hill, me, and other permanent St. Luke’s members were here before Sally got here and we’ll “be” here after she is gone. We will be very thankful for her time, but we need to keep in mind that her time with us is innately transient.

· Free labor: She is definitely enthusiastic and wants to help, but keep in mind she her goal is to learn at St. Luke’s. If you think you might ask her to do something like moving tables, ask yourself if there is the potential for her to learn and grow, and if not, consider asking someone on the “Be” team.

· Clergy: Sally is on the ordination route, and she will make an incredible priest when she is ordained, but she is not ordained yet. As baptized Christians, we are all ministers in Christ’s Church, but once you get to wear the dog collar, you have a special role in celebrating the sacraments. There’s a whole big process, and it’s long, imperfect and complicated, but it is still there and Sally and I are bound to respect it, so we must wait before she can fulfill certain duties, like celebrate communion.

· A punching bag: I mean really none of us are, but that doesn’t stop some from belittling those who they perceive as being below their own station. I am Sally’s supervisor while she is a seminarian here, but we are exactly as important as the other. I insist that she (and everyone else for that matter) be treated with respect.

My hope is that we will continue to have seminarians serve at St. Luke’s for the foreseeable future. This is the first time I have supervised a seminarian, and I am deeply thankful that Sally is the one I get to learn on, because I feel like I do not know what I am doing. Seminarians can be serious goobers, and I know this, because I was one at VTS 10+ years ago, and so were many of cohorts. Sally is particularly driven, cooperative and called to serve, and I expect that we will both grow quite a bit this coming year.

The biggest reason I am excited about Sally is not her impressive resumé, or the fact that I will be getting some help, but that when she first showed up to feel us out, she went and picked up an upset child when the mom needed some help and held him the entire service. We should not be her task master and give her menial tasks to do, but it is clear that she might step up and help anyway. I don’t care what degrees someone has, or where they’ve worked before; if they don’t know how to step in and help when the need is in front of them, then they may not be called to serve Christ and the Church.

Sally, we are thankful that you will be with us, and we thank God for the ministry in your future!

Blessings,

Nick