![]() ![]() Whether you’re a student or not, this is also the place to include reflections on any formation-y stuff you’re doing at the moment: field education, CPE, anti-racism training, Toastmasters classes, whatever.ģa. If you are a student right now, this is the place to list the classes you are taking, and maybe mention which one you like the best, one interesting thing you read or discussed in that class, and why it mattered to you. Formation updates (including, but not limited to, your academic work) Also, if you’re working part-time as a children’s minister, and a church in your diocese will soon have an opening for a curate with experience in children’s ministry, why not give the bishop a reason to have you in mind?ģ. They will show the bishop how you are already leading in the church, and give her a sense of where your heart is. Ministry updates (how you are involved in your church or other faith communities)Īre you preaching once a month at your field education site? Leading a student group on your seminary campus? Contributing devotionals to (you should!)? All these things are part of your life in ministry, not just a lengthy prelude to your ordination. Unless your bishop is a real dirtbag, she is truly at least a little bit interested in who you are as a person, and she will want to know about your life. It is also nice to share the small stuff - a hobby you’re into lately, something cute your kid just learned how to do, how your parents are, what your spouse or partner is doing these days and how they’re liking it. Don’t let gossip and hearsay tell the story first. If you have failed a class, been asked to leave your field education site, or been arrested for a DUI, your bishop WILL eventually find out - the church is an incredibly small place - and, trust me, you want to bear that bad news yourself. That last part is doubly true for the bad stuff. ![]() Major and minor life updates (how you and your family are doing)Īre you getting serious with someone you’re dating? Newly engaged? Newly pregnant? Thinking about applying for a PhD? Taking a semester off from seminary to care for a new baby or follow your spouse abroad for work? These are all things your bishop will want to know about, and you want her to hear about them from you. Okay, so what should you write in it? Here’s what I would want to read about if I were your bishop, which, thankfully, I am not.ġ. On the practical side, they are a chance to demonstrate both your spiritual maturity and your writing ability to your bishop, who will surely be sharing her impressions of you with your future employers. From a spiritual standpoint, they are a chance to pause and reflect on how God is working in your life. Nonetheless, for both spiritual and practical reasons, Ember Day letters are worth taking seriously. If you are seeking ordination as a deacon, you are expected to reflect on your “academic, diaconal, human, spiritual, and practical development” if a priest, just your “academic experience and personal and spiritual development.” I guess practical matters are a lower priority in the priesthood. What should this letter say? The canons, so eager to make you write it, don’t really help you out with that part. Pentecost Sunday (late spring/early summer)ĭuring the Ember Days, your bishop will pray for you, or at least pretend to, and you will return the favor by writing her a letter.Ash Wednesday (late winter/early spring).The Ember Days roll around four times a year, on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following: I will just go ahead and tell you when they are, because as far as I am concerned there is no earthly way you could guess. Nope! Instead, they are a chance for you to do a little extra work.īy canon law, if you are in the ordination process as a postulant (step 1) or candidate (step 2), you are required to “report” to your bishop four times a year - during, you got it, the Ember Days. ![]() If you yourself are preparing for a life in ministry, and by chance you have picked the ordained kind, Ember Days seem like they should be a chance for everyone to dote on you. Congratulations! Time to get to work brainstorming your first Ember Day letter.Įmber Days are special occasions when the church is invited to pray for all those preparing for a life in ministry. So you’ve been admitted to postulancy for Holy Orders.
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