Angelus

The honeymoon between seminary and me ended this past week. A bunch of frustrations and doubts all hit at once and I felt very low about the whole enterprise. I wrote a very crabby blog that I've decided to sit on a little more, to see if I really mean it.

I'm climbing back out, I think, or at least climbing up a bit. I've been helped again by the bell (see earlier blog). A few weeks back in my class on Anglicanism we were studying the Anglican and Episcopal Church in Africa. The Episcopal Church had a strong mission presence in Liberia. This reminded me that my grandfather, the Rev. Fred Seddon (who I called Granddaddy), had been a lay missionary in Liberia before he was ordained a priest. The class got me interested in my grandfather's experience and I've spent a couple of weekends with my Dad (his son), looking at old photos, newsletters, etc., from Granddaddy's mission experience in Liberia.

This weekend, I read an old mission newsletter where one of his companions described a typical day at the mission station. I noticed that days at the mission were punctuated by ringing the angelus bell. Three rings -pray- three rings -pray- three rings -pray- nine rings. That's the bell that rings throughout the day here at CDSP. I've been cheered somewhat by that connection to my grandfather. There, across the decades is that darn angelus bell. It keeps ringing, calling, whether or not I feel up to answering at any given moment.