Lay All Your Troubles Before the Lord

The Reverend Sarah Bronos

My last year of seminary was spent at Nashotah House in Wisconsin.  I went there knowing that there would be quite a few seminarians from dioceses that did not acknowledge women’s ordination.  I did not go with the intention of changing their minds.  I went because I believed this was where God was calling me to go, and also because of the training I knew they offered.  The call to the priesthood had been affirmed within the parish community and God had already reduced many apparent obstacles in my path to rubble.  However, after a little over a month at “The House” 

I started to question whether I truly was where God wanted me to be, and indeed whether I was on the right path.  It was difficult day after day to be confronted with classmates, who although very gracious, nonetheless felt very strongly that women should not be priests.  I spent some time in prayer one evening asking the Lord to reveal to me whether I should continue on this track towards ordination to the priesthood, or whether the training to date was for another purpose.  

The following morning I attended Morning Prayer and then went to breakfast.  As I was leaving the refectory, a man I did not know (he was one of the distance learners who had come for their residential component) came up to me and introduced himself as Jim.  I shook his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Sarah.”  He said: “Yes, I know who you are … and I don’t normally do this … but in my quiet time the Lord told me to tell you … you are completely on track and you are exactly where you are supposed to be … Does this make any sense to you?”  It was not until later on that I was composed enough to let him know just how much “sense” his words did mean to me!