Date: July 28, 2022
Over the summer, SPIRIT (Spouses and Partners Involved in Really Interesting Things) has been working diligently to prepare for another year of supporting spouses, partners, and families at VTS.
Each year we welcome families to campus with baskets full of small practical items to help their transition onto campus — laundry detergent, a shower liner, and drink cards to the Flamingo. We also include a “Seminary Survival Guide” with recommendations for animal care, mechanics, food & drink, activities and local attractions, shopping on a seminary budget, clergy wear and vestments, dry cleaners, and public transit.
We are also planning events for spouses/partners and their families, and wider mixers so they can get to know the whole campus. From picnics on the National Mall to co-hosted socials with PRISM, we try to help spouses and partners build relationships on campus and in our community.
In August, we’ll begin our twice-a-month “Saturday Pause” where spouses and partners gather together to pause and reflect on God, our challenges, and encourage one another.
SPIRIT helps each of us build communities of care as we love and support our seminarians; We are grateful for the support VTS gives SPIRIT, in making our community home for all of us.
Mitchell Atencio
Student Spouse and Co-coordinator of SPIRIT