Out of the frying pan...

...and into field education. I had my first Sunday as a seminary intern yesterday, at the larger of my two field ed parishes. This is a high church parish: "smells and bells" and chanted gospel. I think I genuflected more yesterday than I have done in the last ten years (Dave, you'd be reveling in this). Two services in the morning, including a baptism, and then solemn evensong and benediction in the evening, followed by their annual Epiphany dinner upstairs in a sizeable parish hall.

Of course, "sizeable" is a good description all around. It's an enormous old building (once upon a time the parish was obviously more affluent than at present), with three floors, mysterious hallways that lead all over everywhere, and a rectory apartment large enough for a family built right into the place. In addition to outside doors, you can get to the apartment from the small chapel, which itself may be accessed through one (!) of the rector's offices via a paneled door beside the altar. I felt as though I was wandering inside the setting for a gothic mystery novel. I'm going to spend an awful lot of time simply finding my way around this place.

Today was my first weekday, and was about what I expected and then some. We had a staff meeting to start the day, and then my supervisor spent some time doing some ecclesial orientation and technogeek connectivity stuff (including giving me the password for his wifi!). After a getting-to-know-you lunch at a nearby deli, we had a meeting with a parishioner about some evangelism ideas he wanted to discuss (yes, this is a parishioner in an Episcopal church, trying to stir things up! Huzzah!). Then we read evening prayer together before I came home.

I'm going to like working with Eugene. Differences in piety aside, he has a strong and practical pastoral sense; there's a lot in him from which to learn, and he is both gentle and generous with the teaching.