“Episcopal priest” was nowhere to be found on my "What do you want to be when you grow up?” list, but we all know that God makes different lists than we do. Although my mom is a deeply influential role model— and was ordained a deacon in 1992— ordained ministry still wasn’t a calling I could discern for my own life in my young adult years. But not only does God make different lists than we do, God can mastermind a calling through roundabout ways and across surprising paths. In Isaiah 55: 8-9 (TLB) we hear God say, “This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours!” Indeed. The twists and turns of life that God accompanied me on led me to Chelsea Square and my first semester at General.

I looked toward my upcoming time at General Seminary as an adventure: What would I discover? What would scare me to the depths of my soul? What would elevate me to joyous heights? What would I risk? What would I sacrifice? How would I encounter pain and heartache? How would I be prepared for priesthood? Who would be my companions along the way? As one of three Black women in my incoming class, I felt joy, pride, and vindication as I signed my name that first semester in the matriculation book which has traditionally been signed by incoming seminarians at General since 1822. I was fully cognizant of the fact that a person of my skin tone and gender would not have been allowed to experience that same joy in the era when the tradition began, or have been permitted at that time to have the constitutional and legal right to be fully recognized as a human being, empowered with fundamental and inherent civil liberties. The act of signing that book was a pivotal, yet bittersweet moment for me in my seminary career; I carry it with me as I continue on in the holy work for justice and equity. 

In addition to the classroom experience on the Close during my three years of study, my seminary education also arrived in different formats. There was the two-month stint of parish ministry in Cape Town, South Africa through a SCOM grant; summer CPE training in Portland, Oregon; a mission trip to Cuba; opportunities to offer ministry at Rikers Island; taking a course through the seminary consortium with The Rev. Dr. James Cone; participating in field education parish placements in NYC; learning how to ring the chapel carillon bells that echoed with the sound of Spirit-filled hymns all around our Chelsea neighborhood. My education on the Close which formed me mightily through chapel life, community life, coursework and camaraderie was complemented by my education out in the city and in the world. General was the catalyst —the foundation—that allowed for me to take part in such well-rounded development and learning opportunities which I bring into my priesthood today. (In fact, I don’t think I would have the confidence to sing the Sursum Corda at a Sunday Eucharist if I had not been a precentor leading the sung grace before meals in the refectory at General!)

General Seminary’s indelible mark upon my priesthood and personhood helped to ground me as a woman in ministry and as a woman of God, and I am thankful that we can celebrate fifty years of the brilliance of women at GTS today. To paraphrase Isaiah, the plan to head to seminary was certainly not what I would have worked out on my own, but I am ever grateful that on God’s list for me, “Episcopal priest” was right near the top of the page.