Maycember is a full month—end-of-year school parties, dance recitals, field trips, awards banquets, graduations from preschool through graduate school, and everything in between. We spend a lot of time celebrating endings, a metaphorical sunset if you will. Yet every ending also brings a new beginning, a dawning.
This month, we celebrate with several Virginians who graduated from our partner seminaries: John Ng’ang’a, Jon Bishop, Victoria Fitzgerald, and Sarah Kokkiligadda (Baptist House of Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary); Dorian Medeiros and Becky Owen (BSK); and many others who graduated from schools all along the East Coast. Congratulations, graduates!
As they celebrate this significant accomplishment, they are also looking toward what comes next. For some, that means beginning a new ministry position or starting Clinical Pastoral Education. For others, it means continuing to serve faithfully in their current congregations—with perhaps a little more free time than before! For several, it means ordination into gospel ministry. We celebrated with John Ng’ang’a, Jon Bishop, and Meg Rooney as they were ordained on May 24, and Becky Owen and Victoria Fitzgerald are in the ordination process as I write this.
These are gifted ministers and we can’t wait to see how God’s calling on their lives will flourish as they minister to and among God’s creation people. If you are a part of our Virginia community and have recently graduated from seminary or are in the ordination process, please let us know- we would love to celebrate with you!
Part of my own Maycember included attending a retreat for Dawnings Guides, where we spent time considering how best to accompany congregations as they wrestle with two important questions: “Who is God calling us to be now?” and “What is God calling us to do now?” Because prayer is the foundation of every aspect of Dawnings, we began and ended each day together in prayer.
On Thursday morning, before returning to our respective states, we walked a prayer labyrinth surrounded by birds chirping their morning song and the gentle rustling of wind through the trees. As I watched my friends and colleagues make their way along the path—and paid attention to my own steps—I was struck by the beauty and significance of the journey. Each of us was walking individually toward the center of the labyrinth, yet we were also walking together. It felt like a powerful image of the Christian life: seeking the heart of God both personally and as a community.
The graduates we celebrate this month are asking questions and answering God’s call. Congregations participating in Dawnings are asking questions about God’s call. And each of us, in our own way, is asking those same questions. We are all seeking God’s direction and discerning God’s invitation for this season of our lives.
As you consider God’s calling on your individual life and on the life of your congregation, I encourage you to keep an eye out for those whom God may be calling to ministry and theological education. The future of the Church is shaped, in part, by communities that recognize and nurture God’s call in others. Know that CBFVA and CBF have resources available to help you listen, discern, and take faithful next steps.
To find Call Resources: https://cbfva.org/call-resources/
To explore Dawnings: https://cbf.net/congregational-ministries/dawnings/