Yesterday at the end of graduation, I said to one of my professors that I didn't think I would have many more experiences that were that meaningful in my remaining years on the earth. My professor started to protest, and then we looked at each other, and she said, "You're probably right." A graduation ceremony in the national cathedral, a graduation where we were lifted up and affirmed before being sent out into the world to do the work we're called to do--no, it won't get much better than that.
I knew that my graduation would be livestreamed, and I hoped that it would be available as a recording too. Hurrah--it is! You can view it here, and be sure to watch the benediction at the end, at hour 1, minute 58. It was the most passionate benediction that I've ever seen, and I felt so blessed--not in the "Have a blessed day" kind of blessed, but the "I am casting a spell of protection over you as I give you your marching orders" kind of blessed.
We got to the cathedral in plenty of time, and there were still parking places left in the parking garage. I took leave of my family to go wait in the Joseph of Arimathea chapel. We stood in alphabetical order and waited and waited for it to be time to walk to the back of the cathedral.
It was great to have that downtime before graduation, a chance to chat with my fellow students. I reconnected with a student who invited me to go to a Carolyn Forche reading with her in the spring of 2023 (I wrote this blog post about it). We talked about how rewarding it had been to be in classes, instead of learning on our own. Before I went to seminary, I wondered if I couldn't just accomplish a similar amount of learning if I bought a lot of books and read them. Perhaps I could have come up with something similar, but I wouldn't have been able to replicate the insights that came from professors and fellow students.
At first my heart fell a bit when I saw the program; it shouldn't come as a surprise when a seminary graduation is more like a worship service. I was happy that all of the presentations and acceptance speeches and the main speech were so compelling. More than once I reflected on how grateful I am to have been part of a seminary that is so committed to social justice, to diversity, to acceptance, to being a faithful and powerful witness in the heart of the nation's capital.
Soon it was time to get our diplomas. We went to wait our turn, and then, suddenly, there's my name being called, and I made my way across the platform. We got our actual diplomas, and I was happy that my name was correct--no reason that it shouldn't be, but it's more common that some part of my name is misspelled than that various entities get it right.
We got our fiery benediction, and off we went, out into the cloudy afternoon. I was grateful that the rain held off, grateful that I was able to find my family, and so, so grateful that I was in a space where I could be fully present. I didn't have a boss who told me that I couldn't go or who said that I needed to check in. All of my jobs have been at a stopping point, a serendipity that I couldn't have engineered any more perfectly.
We ate dinner at Millie's, which had a synchronicity that delighted me. During my first walk as a seminary resident, I discovered Millie's and came back for an ice cream--that became my occasional treat. My sister and I ate there a few times. The first time I had the steak salad, it was amazing. It hasn't been that wonderful since, but I was happy to have it one last time with my family: salads and wine and a dessert that a fellow student had sent to us. What an expansive generosity yesterday we experienced yesterday!
At the end of the day, my spouse gave me a gift that he picked out at the cathedral gift shop: beautiful blue prayer beads on a bracelet, with a charm that contains a small bit of paper with a Bible verse that reminds me not to worry. I think of how many worries I've had about seminary: could I do the work, would I have enough internet bandwidth, could I maintain all the kinds of balance I want to maintain?
I am glad to have the answers to those questions.
I am happy to have this diploma, this degree completed.