Diocese Summer Internship - 7/25/11 – 8/28/11
This past Friday marked the last official day of my Diocesan Pre-Seminary Program: DPSP. (I just made that up). It was the first of its kind, and in my opinion, it was extremely beneficial and productive. My expectations were more than exceeded, as I not only learned what I was assigned, but I also built relationships that will last beyond this summer, and took part in conversations relevant to the current state of the Armenian Church.
Since my last journal entry, I was able to deliver my lecture on Baptism, and my journey to the Armenian Orthodox Church at two more St. Nersess Seminary Conferences; High School Session B, and the Post-High School Session. Also during the Post-High School Session, I attended a first-of-its-kind event held at St. Nersess on August 14th; an Oriental Orthodox gathering with our sister Churches to commemorate the Mother of God. This event included fellowship, a Bible study, and prayer, followed by the Blessing of the Grapes ceremony.
At the Diocese, I was given a “goodbye party” the day prior to my last day, which was very humbling, as each one of my mentors complimented and encouraged me in my pursuits. I was also presented with gifts, and am very grateful to my mentors for these gifts, as well as their kind words, but I am also very grateful to everyone at the Diocese for everything they have blessed me with, intentionally and unintentionally. I look forward to seeing everyone again as the Lord permits.
Since my last journal entry, I received even more wisdom from those around me, and I was able to reflect on even more ideas related to the Church, about which I will share in a separate post.
Although I will miss living in Manhattan, I am looking forward to the serene environment of St. Nersess Seminary. I was unable to move this weekend due to Hurricane Irene, but it has since passed, and fortunately I never lost power. Thankfully, there was minimal damage to the Murray Hill area.
My very first semester at St. Nersess begins this week, and so I will be leaving NYC very shortly. My classes are as follows:
- Modern Armenian
- Introduction to Liturgy
- Sacred Music Practicum – Matins and Vespers
- Ritual Practicum
- Voice Training
- Preaching
More cool things I did in NYC:
- Dined at Katz’s Deli
- Went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where among many things, I saw two Armenian khatchkars.
1 comments:
Many blessing to you in your pursuit! It's really neat to be able not only to read about your journey, but to be exposed to parts of the church I don't know about. What a full, rich body of Believers we are. Have a good semester, cousin!
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