Beloved,
It is so good to be home for Christmas and to ring in the new year with you at St. Mark’s! I am looking forward to hearing how your holidays have been and working together on all that is to unfold in this season of transition. I am especially grateful to your vestry and staff team who have led faithfully and effectively during my training. Many of you stepped forward for key roles and projects for our holiday celebrations. You have been in my daily prayers throughout this time!
These past couple of months of training have been rigorous and challenging, if also fun and fulfilling. We started our days at 0430, ate meals in under 10 minutes, and learned the fundamentals and discipline of drill and marching. Later in the course, we took part in leadership experiences, overcame different obstacle courses, and went out in the field for a simulated deployment exercise. My fellow trainees hailed from all over the country and even beyond with a few right here from the bay area.
There were so many different stories of how they came to be at Officer Training School and how they planned to serve afterwards. It reminded me how this is true for us at church and it is something I love about our welcoming and diverse community. My motto for my time at OTS was “struggling, striving, thriving as one,” and I was really proud to be a part of this next class of officers in our Air Force. I have some additional training specific to chaplaincy during this year that will be a shorter duration, but for now, I am happy to be home and proud to be a part of your lives.
I hope to see you this Sunday as we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany!
Pax,
Nick
