Dear Reformation,
What a joy it has been to be with you for the past four months. It seems like just yesterday that I arrived in Media after driving from Burlington, Iowa to immediately join you in the time of reflection and celebration that is Holy Week. In my short time here, it has been wonderful to learn with you and from you during my internship as I completed this final part of my seminary journey. Over the next few weeks there will be opportunities to participate in the final sessions of my book studies and a mini-retreat after worship on August 3 to study, reflect, and pray about the ways that Reformation can expand its welcome for people with disabilities by caring for all of creation.
Some of you may be wondering what is next for me along the path ahead as I move towards ordination as a deacon. First, I will submit ten essays answering questions about my experiences during internship and the ways in which it has formed and prepared me to be a deacon. Then in September, I will sit down with my academic advisor and one other faculty member for my faculty approval interview. This conversation will be an opportunity for me to describe the specific ways in which I feel called to serve the church and all of creation and the ways that Lutheran theology has framed that calling for me. After that interview, they will present me to the entire Wartburg faculty for an approval vote.
Finally in October, I will travel back to Pennsylvania for my approval interview before the joint candidacy committee of the Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia Synods. I will then be released to the Southeastern Iowa Synod and approved to seek a call. By the call of the Holy Spirit I hope to receive a call to serve the church and the world as a deacon who walks alongside congregations as they care for creation and welcome all people in the places and spaces where they worship and serve their neighbors.
Blessings,
Vicar Bruce Pollock AIA