Working at the Seminary

Classes at the Seminary started a couple weeks ago and since that time I have been very busy. I am beginning to get a better understanding of my job and its expectations as I continue to figure out what my role is here.

I have to admit when I found out that I would be doing most of my work at the seminary I was a little disappointed for various reasons. Probably the most significant reason is that I was really unsure if this is the work I am prepared for and meant to be doing.

After my trip to Sudan about five years ago, I knew that I wanted to work with poverty issues. I left behind any lingering thoughts of having a “normal” life and realized that I wanted to dedicate myself to fighting poverty, to finding peace in a world that at times seems plagued with violence, to stop corruption and greed and work to have governments that serve all their people. I wanted to be living in community with the poorest of the poor helping them to earn money and to learn, while at the same time learning from the beauty of their spirit. It was after this trip to Sudan that I decided to study issues of poverty and development in college and in Uganda and hoped to begin to gain an understanding of all these issues, so that when I finished college I would be able to jump into working and do my part to save the world (as corny as that sounds)

So when I decided to join the Young Adult Service Corps, I thought that this would be my opportunity to finally do all those things that my trip to Sudan had inspired in me. And then I found out that I would be teaching seminarians and working to develop the seminary. Talk about a bubble bursting. It seemed to me like another year that I would have to wait before I was able to do the work that I think I am meant to doing. The work that keeps me up at night wondering about what can be done…

But these past 2 weeks working at the seminary have helped me to better understand the work that I am doing here. That this is not a year of waiting but rather that this can be a year of action. That helping the seminarians is helping Haiti. These seminarians are not just future priests but future leaders of the church and they are future leaders of their country. The church plays a significant role in Haiti. For example in the Diocese of Haiti there are 250 schools that are run by the priests. These seminarians have the opportunity to reach out to the most vulnerable in their society, not just by sharing the word of God with them, but showing them the word of God and turning God’s word into action.

For the past couple weeks, in English class, the students have been working on Advent Devotionals. It is through their reflections that you can get a glimpse of Haiti, its strengths and its problems and see the potential these seminarians have to make a difference in their communities.

I am hoping to share the completed devotional with you, so please let me know if you are interested in receiving a copy. The main goal of the devotional is to raise awareness about the work of the seminary, and to allow people back home to learn about Haiti from Haitians. It is also a hope of mine that we may be able to raise some funds to help support the seminary. So please let me know if you are interested.

Just so you know the pictures in this blog were taken at the opening service for the seminary in the Chapel. And in case you can't tell the seminarians are the ones in the robes with the black belts. There are 17 this year...10 first years and 7 who are 3rd or 4th years.