Prior to coming to VTS, I had very little understanding of the Anglican Communion, or what impact it had on my vocation in the church. In the past three years, that has completely changed.
One of my great joys in seminary has been getting to meet people from all around the world and from many different experiences of Anglicanism. Even before I worked for the Center for Anglican Communion Studies (CACS), I would excitedly seek out new faces at the Refectory to share a meal and learn from the incredible guests that find their way to VTS as Dean’s Scholars or Communion Sabbatical visitors. Since joining the team at CACS, my appreciation for the richness and depth of Christian witness that is found in the Anglican Communion has continued to grow. While the Anglican Communion seemed like a far-off intangible governing body when I entered seminary, my experiences with VTS and CACS have turned that intangible network into people, stories, and relationships. My understanding of the world and of the mission of the church has been shaped by the interactions I have had with people from different Anglican contexts than my own.
My first year at VTS, Bishop George Okoth from the Diocese of Mara in Tanzania visited, and I learned from him about the work the Church can do to provide for children who at risk of leaving school. I learned from our recent alumni Rev. Harris Woart about the ways the Church in Liberia can support farmers and bring the life of the church to them in the fields. I learned from Dean Gloria Mapangdol about the challenges and opportunities facing the church in Manila, and about her experience as a woman in ordained leadership in the Church. From Bishop Emily Onyango I heard a powerful witness to the challenge of gender-based violence in Kenya, and how the Church is working to be an agent of change in the culture. From all of these visitors and more, my understanding of the mission of the Church has expanded. The Episcopal Church I knew pre-Seminary felt mostly confined to the people already in the pews. Politics did not mix with the gospel, and the Church wasn’t making the papers. However, through my experiences with the larger Anglican Communion, I have seen what the mission of the Church can truly be – bold, liberating, innovative, life-giving, and life-changing.
My exposure to the variety of the Anglican Communion makes me excited for what lies ahead after graduation. Each story and insight I have heard from leaders around the Communion has been different, each with their own joys and challenges. When I have had the opportunity to travel to churches in Penang, Malaysia, Bangkok, Thailand, and Tokyo, Japan during Seminary, I have loved hearing about what God is calling each community to do in their own context, and in the life of our larger shared Communion. Now no longer a distant idea, the Communion is alive in my understanding of the Church, and makes me hope for the future.