The past week was a difficult one on the long voyage. Some hurdles need to be cleared before I can move along with any plans to attend seminary. One of the prime difficulties is the requirement of a vicarage year. During a vicarage year I would serve essentially as an intern in a church congregation somewhere - anywhere they send me. Unfortunately this vicarage year is typically the third of four seminary years. That means I would have to leave my teaching post to attend a vicarage and then would have a year back in the classroom without the teaching job I'm used to. The seminary catalog does talk about exceptions being made occasionally, but only for those who have been in the LCMS for at least four years prior to registering for the seminary. This may push plans back by a couple of years. I think I have a relatively compelling case for an adjustment to the vicarage year. But I need to make sure I've qualified in every way so they will consider my case.
This could be a blessing in disguise. It would force me to exercise patience. It would mean we would be significantly closer to doing away with our mortgage prior to spending a whole lot of money on seminary courses.
I was personally feeling kind of discouraged until I heard Pastor Bentrup's sermon on Sunday - see the post a couple of posts down. Odd, how the timing of things we see and hear seems to work out as if it is orchestrated in a way we don't understand. It's almost like the readings in the lectionary from Job. Job doesn't understand what's going on. Yet he waits and eventually finds out.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at
http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and
http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com 
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