Ginny Wilder
Hello and greetings from the Holy Hill here in Alexandria, Virginia- also known as Virginia Theological Seminary. I can’t believe it was two months ago that I left the beauty of Asheville and the wonderful joy found at All Souls Cathedral. Time sure is moving fast these days. I cannot believe this is my senior year.
Stepping into the role of Student Body President has been challenging and wonderful at the same time. I sometimes feel more of a staff member of VTS rather than a student but every experience is adding to my overall education. After spending time as in an intern at All Souls this past summer, I learned that time management and planning are key to meeting needs both of a congregation (or a student body) and oneself.
I travelled to London in September to represent VTS at the Compass Rose Society. The Compass Rose Society is a group of folks from across the globe coming together to support goals the Archbishop of Canterbury establishes centered on global mission and building relationships across the Anglican Communion. During the two day conference we heard from Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem and a presentation about the nature and prevalence of gender-based violence in the Congo, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. These two moving discussions led to many deeper conversations later that evening over supper. The jam-packed two days left little time to do any sightseeing but I did get to go to Lambeth Palace and have worship and dinner with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. That is an experience I will never, ever forget. I am still in awe of him.
October finds me preparing to deliver a workshop for the class of 2012 called “Competition and Community: How We Can Have Both.” This topic came up late in the school year last year as a group of friends gathered on the patio outside our dorm. The class of 2012 has been through quite a bit in the short time we have been in seminary and as we enter into the major rite of passage called the job search, we were talking about how were we going to continue to be in community when we began competing for jobs. As a result I put on my old Human Resources cap and will lead a workshop that focuses on not only resume writing and interviewing skills, but also on establishing community norms to live into once we begin to interview for jobs. The planning team and presenters have put quite a bit of love and effort into this project and it is our prayer that at the end of the day on October 15th we will be an even more connected community.
I look forward to returning to North Carolina and our Diocesan Convention at Kanuga later in November. Your love, prayers and support continue to sustain me, feed me and give me encouragement every day as we, my classmates and I, continue in this journey. I hope to see many of you while I am home. Please continue to hold me in your thoughts and prayers and I will do the same for you.
In peace,
Ginny Wilder