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Another Step in the Journey by Kate Lewis
It was six and a half years ago that I "went public." That's when I told you about my growing sense of call to the priesthood and began a formal process of discernment here at St. Augustine's. Thanks to my wonderful lay discernment committee, this journey got off on the right foot. For more than a year, Joel McLafferty, Sara Prejean, Henry Etta Waters, Shirley Webb and I met together to discern and share our various calls to ministry. We challenged each other to be honest, to listen carefully, and to respond faithfully. Our discernment group is a treasure I will always hold close.
Three years ago I stood up before you again. I said goodbye and handed over my keys. That was a powerful event for me. Keys are important-for one thing, they are necessary tools, and for another, they are symbols of belonging and ownership. When I gave up all of my keys to St. A's, I said goodbye to a very happy season in my life. I loved being a parishioner here, I loved working and praying and playing with all of you. But I couldn't stay. My call was to move out and move on-to serve the wider church as an ordained leader.
In just a few weeks I'll return and once more we'll share a step in this process-my ordination to the diaconate. Every diocese does it differently, but here in L.A. we are ordained to the transitional diaconate individually at our home parishes and then are ordained to the priesthood all together at a diocesan celebration in January. I'm glad we do it this way. It will mean so much to me to take my first vows here, in this place, among all of you.
In your presence I will promise to seek and serve Christ in all others, to be faithful in worship and study, to pattern my life in accordance with the teachings of Christ, and in all things to seek the glory of the Lord Christ. I look forward to hearing in return your promise to uphold and support me in all of this. As I've moved through this part of the journey of my life, I have been buoyed by the support of this parish. It would be impossible to overstate how important this has been to me - thank you.
Copyright © 2002 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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