to the Commission on Ministry
19 July 2016
Dear Commissioners,
As you may have heard, mine has thus far been an exciting
summer. The greatest example of that is
my recent pilgrimage to Canterbury, UK, where I spent two weeks in close
community with seminarians and recently ordained clergy from Anglican provinces
all around the globe. As part of the
experience, I got to visit the Anglican Communion Office, which was
particularly eye opening for me, with my interest in the global affairs of the
wider Church. I also was privileged to
take part in a group audience with Archbishop Welby—I even got to ask the ABC a
question myself during the Q & A after his prepared remarks. That was a once in a lifetime moment. The majority of the pilgrimage was spent on
the cathedral grounds, however, worshiping together in both the Quire and the
Crypt and attending morning and afternoon lectures. But by far the most significant aspect of the
experience was time spent together with my brothers and sisters in Christ
outside of the classroom, sharing meals and stories, hopes, fears, and
joys. I came away understanding that the
Church is both much bigger and much smaller than I had realized before. In fact, in the fall I will be taking a class
from Bishop James Tengatenga of Malawi, the bishop who ordained one of my new
international friends, the Rev. David Mpona, the youngest priest in Malawi at
the time of his ordination.
I am deeply indebted to the Diocese of Upper South Carolina
for these experiences. I would not have
known of the program had Bishop Waldo not brought it to my attention, and I
would not have been able to attend, even after being selected to participate
and receiving a UK scholarship for tuition, had the diocese not generously
reimbursed me for the cost of traveling there and back. For this support I am profoundly grateful.
In the meantime, I recently had the opportunity for the
first time to preach on a Sunday morning in my home parish of St. Matthew’s in
Spartanburg. I had served for a number
of years as a lay worship leader for St. Matt’s Wednesday night healing
service, but this was my first chance since beginning seminary to preach as
part of the regular Sunday liturgy. It
was a great honor to be able to serve my family and friends in that way and to
give something back in return for all of their support the past two years.
In other news, Dean Alexander of The School of Theology at
Sewanee recently recommended me for a prestigious scholarship and subsequently
helped me get it. His nomination came as
a bit of a surprise—I had not even known of this particular scholarship until I
received a letter from the dean informing me that he had put my name down for
it.
It has definitely been an exciting time. This coming weekend, my family and I will be
visiting my parents for a little recreation, and then it will be just about
time to get ready for classes. I’m
looking forward to this senior year, though it is difficult to believe I only
have two semesters of seminary left. It
continues to be an amazing journey.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do for the
Commission or anything else you require of me. Again, I am deeply grateful to have the support of The Episcopal Diocese
of Upper South Carolina as I move ever more deeply into this process of
priestly formation. Thank you!
God bless,
Christopher T. Wilkerson
Postulant for Holy Orders
Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
Sewanee SOT, T’17
