I have been really bad at entering anything into this blog. I have been so busy with internship, a couple major speaking engagements, and caring for my mother. I am now at a point in candidacy where I have to get back to completing the "Alternate Residency Formation Plan" I am required to complete by my candidacy committee. In order to be ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) I have to prove to the candidacy committee I would be a good Lutheran pastor. Parallel to my seminary journey, I have had to satisfy the requirements of candidacy. The first step was to fill out numerous documents about my life. Actually, the application for candidacy wasn't as in-depth as the application I filled out for the Department of Corrections and the Adams County Sheriff's Office. Anyway, I had to undergo a psychological evaluation, background check, and a few interviews. The last interview as with four individuals from the candidacy committee. They reported back to the full 12 person committee and was granted entrance early in 2013. I could then apply to Luther Seminary. The next candidacy step was for an endorsement interview. I had to write a 10 page paper about how I have grown in faith and where I need to grow. Another interview and I was endorsed. I am now close to the end of my seminary journey. I will "walk" at commencement at Luther Seminary on May 20, 2018. I won't officially graduate until I complete my last sermon at my internship site on May 27th. I should get my graduation certificate in the mail a month later. All three of my final evaluations for internship are done and submitted with signed copies emailed to the synod office. My approval essay was written and submitted a month ago. The next big interview is in August 2018 with the candidacy committee where they will decide if I will be approved for ordination. The last major hurdle is to complete the "Alternate Residency Formation Plan". Because I have not completed my seminary education in a "traditional" manner (2 years living on campus, 1 year of internship, final semester on campus) I have to complete an alternate residency plan. The committee defines formation as: "To give a broader sense of the ELCA to candidates through church experience, understanding ELCA polity, and connecting with future colleagues."
This blog was created to create a place where I am to log my activity for the candidacy committee. I would go on more now, but I have to get to an assisting ministers meeting. I must go and do my internship job right now.
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