December 2024

We journeyed through the waiting period of Advent and now we celebrate and honor the season of Christmas. Last year I preached on Epiphany weekend and I started my sermon by gauging when folks take down their Christmas decorations --- in my family, we keep using Christmas dishes and keep all of the Christmas decorations out until we celebrate Epiphany. I'm not sure how common this is. Perhaps we follow the church calendar for our family's tradition because my dad is a minister?! Whatever the reason, it's a tradition that my husband and I carry on. So we're still enjoying our Christmas lights, nativity scene, my favorite 80 year old singing Christmas tree (it was my Grandmother's when she was a child), and our friends' and families' holiday greeting cards which hang in the kitchen.

This time of year is one that is typically slow for students. There's a break from classes and deadlines. But this year, I'm not taking much of a break. I worked as a PRN Chaplain at VCU Hospital on Christmas Eve and am doing that a couple more times during break. I worked at my internship 3/5 days of the first week of my holiday break. And our Christmas plans included the day-trip to DC to see family, which is always well worth it, but also an exhausting day because of traffic. I'm also in job-applying mode, which takes a lot of time and energy. But it's an exciting time to discern and learn where God might be calling me!

We hosted family for the first time for Christmas, which was a lot of fun. Charles' Mom came to town on Christmas Eve, we ate dinner, then went to Ginter Park Presbyterian Church's 9pm worship service. We stayed in our pajamas all of Christmas day as we talked with each of our families in England, Grenada, Nigeria, Oregon, Texas, Florida, and DC and enjoyed my mother-in-law's cooking. On the 26th we drove into the DC area and spent the day with Charles' Dad and his siblings. We're grateful for the love of family and friends always, and especially during the holiday season. I know that the holiday season is a particularly difficult time for some folks, especially those who are hospitalized, so we hold them close to our hearts. 

Here are a few photos from December:

Christmas Eve worship service

My first day back on duty at VCU Hospital since August!

After a delicious Ethiopian dinner with Charles and Dr. Lemma, who is a mentor, tutor, and friend of mine from UPSem.

We had a busy December 22nd with baking and preparing to host.

Celebrating the end of our third fall semester of seminary.

At the Board of Trustees meeting in November we had professional headshots taken for the website. I'm impressed with mine and it looks nice (if I do say so myself!) on my updated LinkedIn profile as I apply for calls/jobs.

November 2024

What a joy it was to be in TX twice in November! The first time around I got to attend St. Andrew's Men's Breakfast on Wednesday (thanks for having me!) and Super Wednesday where chicken fried chicken was the meal --- yum. It's always a gift to see the St. Andrew community. I also got to participate in my CPM Final Assessment where they voted for me to be "Certified Ready for a Call." I'm thankful for the support of my liaison, Julie, who was at my side during the assessment, and for my CPM liaison who supported me in many ways including that day. We celebrated with my mom, dad, Lisa, and my grandmother with lunch at Mazatlan after the final assessment. 

Now that I'm "Certified Ready," my Personal Discernment Profile (PDP) is almost ready to be posted in the Church Leadership Connection (CLC) System. Once I post it, I'll be able to apply for church calls. I'm excited to see where God is calling me and to learn about various churches as I go through the process.

My second trip to TX was for Thanksgiving with my husband. Our whole immediate family gathered at my parents' house and I also got to see some of my extended Langford and Culp family, too.

The Charlotte Student Representative and the Richmond Student Representative (me!) for Union Presbyterian Seminary's Board of Trustees. This is on UPSem Richmond's campus. Behind us is the chapel where Charles and I were married last year (Watts Chapel).

Post-CPM Final Assessment with my liaison extraordinaire, Julie

Sun shining brightly in our eyes as we concluded our volunteer shift. UPSem students (and spouses, hi Charles!) partnered with Ginter Park Presbyterian Church to run a water stop at the Richmond Half-Marathon and Marathon. Charles and I volunteered last year, too, and it's a lot of fun.

Day trip to Washington DC for the University of Iowa vs. University of Maryland football game in College Park, MD. I surprised Charles with tickets to the game for his birthday. We saw his siblings, his mom, his aunt, and some friends while we were in town for the day.

Thanksgiving in TX with our whole immediate family and some extended family throughout the week.

Blessings to you and yours as the holiday season begins. Thanks for the continued prayers and support.

Love, Caitlin

 

October 2024

What a joy it is to update y'all with my monthly blog posts. Below are some photos with updates about how October is going.

I started the month by attending the Presbytery of the James' Women's Retreat at Camp Hanover. Our theme was "water," which was timely with the hurricanes having just hit NC, FL, and TN.

I've dreamt of a "potato party" for a long time and decided that my birthday would be a great time to bring my dream to life! John and Cate, two seminary friends, have birthdays within days of mine so I threw a "potato party potluck" birthday party for us. We invited everyone on the Richmond campus. We had potatoes galore and played an epic, 12 person game of Skip Bo! What a joy it is to celebrate birthdays with seminary friends.

We traveled to Hartsville, SC during Reading Week for the wedding of Cate, a seminary friend.

Then we drove to Mt. Pleasant, SC to see the George-Edwards family for more Reading Week fun. We celebrated Charles' birthday there and went to a middle school orchestra concert, which was impressive!

It was during a run with Charles in Mt. Pleasant that I got an email notification and decided to open it as we ran--- I received the news that I passed the Theology Ordination Exam! I was shocked and thrilled. That day I began the preparation for my final assessment with Grace Presbytery, which is November 14th.

To close out Reading Week, we drove back to Richmond. Then we went to MD for the day to support my sister-in-law in her Senior Day for marching band. 

After Reading Week I got back to the grind of school, internship, and I continued my final assessment preparation. Over the weekend we went to a Telugu Indian Food Festival that our seminary friends hosted. The event raised funds for their new Telugu ministry that's forming with the support of a Richmond church.

After the food festival, we went to campus for Fall Festival, which was hosted by Richmond Student Government Association (RSGA). I am the Final Level Representative this year so I stayed for most of the event and helped clean up.

Last Sunday I preached at Gregory Memorial Presbyterian Church, which is about 40 minutes away from campus. Charles and I came home, we ate lunch, I took a nap, I edited my sermon, and then I headed to my internship site where I preached for their Sunday Vespers service. It's a privilege to have the opportunity to preach and to flex that sermon-preparation muscle, which needs to be flexed (I spend HOURS on sermon preparation and it can feel really hard!).

This week I'm spending the bulk of my time working on final assessment preparation. For my final assessment with Grace Presbytery, I do the following: write an exegetical paper based on the week's lectionary text, write a sermon based on the exegetical paper, preach the sermon to the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM), complete my Personal Discernment Profile (PDP) which is like a job application that I'll put online for church calls and it includes 5 essay questions, complete a basic form, write a 3000 word Statement of Faith, and write an original Prayers of the People. 

Outside of preparation for the final assessment, I'm also spending time preparing for Union Presbyterian Seminary's Board of Trustees meeting, which is 3 days of next week. I am the Richmond Student Representative on the Board. Yesterday I co-hosted a listening session for students online and today I'm hosting a listening session for students in-person after our Wednesday Chapel service on campus.

Thanks for the continued love, prayers, support, and encouragement. I'll be in Denton twice in November (for my final assessment and then for Thanksgiving) so I hope to see you when I'm there. Unfortunately I won't be there for a Sunday service because of flight costs and having a Monday morning class. But I'll be at Super Wednesday on the 13th so hopefully I'll catch up with many St. Andrew folks then.

Blessings,

Caitlin

September 2024

Before I started seminary, I was interested in doing an internship at a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) like Good Samaritan in Denton. I thought I'd do Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at a CCRC and loved that UPSem had a relationship with a CCRC where I could do CPE. This was one of the pros in the UPSem column of my seminary research. I couldn't wait to go to UPSem and do CPE at a CCRC.

Well, even the best laid plans and ideas sometimes don't work out! Grace Presbytery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) suggested that I do CPE in a hospital where I could experience the full range of life. I took their suggestion (and am so glad that I did!) and did CPE at VCU's hospital, as y'all already know. So I'd completed my church internship, my CPE internship, and then had a dream to do a "for fun" internship at a CCRC. I wasn't sure how this would happen or when I'd do this "for fun" internship. But I still had this dream.

Thanks to a connection from a member of my church internship site, I connected with the Director of Spiritual Care at a local CCRC. The Director was about to retire but said he'd connect me with his successor. The new Director of Spiritual Care reached out to me in June 2024. I explained that I'd be doing CPE over the summer and that I'd love to meet with her in August. We met in August, I expressed interest in preaching at the CCRC's weekly Vespers service, and of volunteering. After our meeting, I was offered a monthly pulpit supply gig in addition to a Chaplaincy Internship at this CCRC. Wow!

Since the moment I felt called to attend seminary, I've had detailed ideas and plans. This summer and fall are a reminder to me of how God is present in my life and in all our lives. Plans are good. I love plans. AND...God's plan is not always my plan. God's plan isn't always our plan.

I need this reminder! 

In addition to interning and preaching monthly at the CCRC this school year, I'll also work as a PRN Chaplain at VCU's hospital. I'm thrilled to practice spiritual care in two different settings and to flex my preaching and worship planning muscles, too. I'm grateful for these opportunities and the ways that God continues to work through me. I'm also thankful for the many folks in my life who serve as connections, mentors, supporters, challengers, and encouragers.

God's plan is not always my plan. 

Here are some photos from September:

Classic "first day of school" photo --- it's the third and final year for me!

Live jazz music at Byrd Park with seminary friends

Some of the UPSem gals celebrating an upcoming wedding. 

This was a marathon day for Charles and me --- we drove to Arlington at 7am, met our friend's baby and spent time loving on her, went to a baby shower in Alexandria, VA, and then drove back to Chesterfield, VA for this wedding party. What a gift it is to have friends.

Charles and I had a day-date to Sweet Wynns where we tasted ice-cream and each made our own pint! This was a gift from my parents for Christmas last year and we had tons of fun.

Friday, September 27th arrived which means it was time to take the Theology Ordination Exam. I'm grateful for my sweet and funny husband who got us breakfast and then carried all of my exam materials to and from campus.

In my third and final year, Master of Divinity students are able to have reserved library carrels! How exciting. This is mine all set up for the Theology Ordination Exam. The exam was a long 9 hours and I have a feeling that I'll be taking the exam again in January. But I'm glad I gave it a try before I have even taken Theology class (I'm currently in week 5/24 of theology class at seminary).

Another UPSem outing --- this time to a concert by Flamy Grant and their openers.

Thanks for the continued prayers and support. 

Blessings from Richmond,

Caitlin

August 2024

I ended my summer by spending 10 days in Texas with my family and the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church community.

- What a gift to help with the preparation of the worship service, lead Sunday School, co-lead during worship, and preach a sermon on Psalm 84 at St. Andrew. I am grateful for the support and encouragement of St. Andrew and especially for the opportunity to teach there for my third time and preach there for my second time! I'm incredibly thankful.

- Another gift that August in Texas brings: I have a built-in Theology Ordination Exam "study buddy" in my dad who is on sabbatical. We've made it through almost 4 past exams together and I love to learn from him.

- A final gift of August in Texas is my family. My niece entered the world just in time for my visit to Texas and she's already bringing so much light into our lives --- and I'm trying to carry that with me into the world! I can't wait to see all the light she'll continue to bring to our world. My Mom and I have enjoyed spending time with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece. Because this trip to Texas was longer than most, I was able to see my Grandmother and my Nana in addition to my other sister, brother-in-law, and some of my extended family, too. Also, I had the privilege of a long breakfast with my Session liaison, Julie. I'm grateful!

The last Fall semester of my seminary career begins on September 2nd. I'm enrolled in Theology and a Christian Education course. What I thought would be a relaxed final year seems like it will be busy, but filled with good things and great experiences. I'm taking my final ordination exam, Theology, at the end of September. So I spend a lot of time studying right now!

I'm excited to continue to see how God is at work in my life and discern where God might be calling me after seminary.

Blessings,

Caitlin

I attended a Centering Prayer group in Richmond, VA. As we concluded 20mins of quiet prayer time, I looked up and saw this. It was a "God moment" because I was in the middle of preparing a sermon on Psalm 84 and I was struggling with how to put it all together. God said "aha!"

Sunday morning at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. Thanks to Lisa for allowing me to borrow her black robe. Ginter Park Presbyterian Church bought the white alb (garment) for me, which I wore throughout my internship and will continue to wear. But it was nice to try out a black robe!

July 2024

Where to even begin?!

Do I begin with the ways I've felt God working within me? How I've seen God in patients? How I've witnessed God's Spirit at work in the trauma bay and in patient rooms? Or perhaps I begin with how I've gotten to know myself more deeply through the CPE class? Or how I've seen hospital staff show up for patients in beautiful ways? Maybe I could begin with naming the simultaneous anxiety, joy, and pain I feel after long hours in a Level I Trauma hospital?

I could begin in a number of ways, but the way I'll choose to begin is by naming the privilege I've been given to be in this space, at this time, and in this place; for the gift it is to be present alongside folks during the most vulnerable, traumatic, difficult, and sometimes euphoric moments of their lives.

When I tell people about CPE and the stories of the last 7 weeks, I emphasize my biggest learning so far. Every moment we're on this Earth is a gift and I want to remind myself of that as often as possible. At the hospital we see people who, just a few hours ago, were doing a mundane thing like cooking, barbecuing, boiling water, driving, walking home from work, etc. Then within an instant, their life goes  from "normal" to unimaginable. At first this made me fear everything. But then our CPE Educator challenged me to think about my theology of suffering. Where is God in our suffering? What does suffering say about God? I reflected on this for a while. I'm still marinating on this. But what I've concluded so far is that while I don't understand suffering, I do understand that God is always present with us. This was a "lightbulb moment" for me that began to shift everything. God is present with us. God is alongside us.

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As a Spiritual Care provider/Chaplain, I'm still identifying how I view our role but this is what I think about the job so far:

- We ensure that folks know that they are not alone.

- We support folks with identifying what grounds and connects them. This is the work of Spiritual Care, I think. For some, this looks like offering prayer. For others, it looks like being present in silence. The work of Spiritual Care is unique to each person and situation.

- We consistently reminds staff, patients, and families that we are here for them. When I walk up to someone in the trauma bay right before they're taken to get a CT scan, I bend down and look into their eyes (they normally have a neck collar on so in order for them to see me, I need to get close to their head). I say something like this (which I've made my own after shadowing other Chaplains) "I'm Caitlin, I'm a member of the Spiritual Care Team. I imagine this isn't where you expected to be tonight! I just want you to know that we're here for you. We're here for you."

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I don't know about you, but I find deep connection and power in knowing that someone is alongside me, that someone is there for me. As Chaplains/Spiritual Care Providers, we have a responsibility to show up and be alongside folks. That work never ends. And we can't do that work unless we care for ourselves. That part right there --- the one about caring for myself --- that's one of my takeaways from this summer -- when I was assigned to the NICU, I panicked. All I could think about was what I would get wrong, what I would say that wasn't helpful, and what I would do when I didn't know what to do. I was nervous about this for all parts of the hospital, but especially in the NICU where we're working with families and newborn babies. What I've learned, though, is that while there are "wrong" things that I can say, there isn't one "right" thing to say. There's a gray area. And y'all, I don't love gray areas! But what a life lesson this is for me. We can't always get it right. But we can show up. We can show up authentically, compassionately, thoughtfully, and intentionally. And often that's all that people need from the Spiritual Care Providers/Chaplains.

God shows up for us. God works in mysterious ways. And like my colleague, Basem, likes to say, God has our backs. God isn't looking for us to do the one "right" thing. God just wants us to be with people in their joy, their grief, their disbelief, their lament, in all the ways, because God meets us in all those places. So this is part of my growth in CPE.

As my Spiritual Director stated a few weeks ago, I'm cultivating my spiritual rhythm. And that spiritual rhythm is where I enable myself to feel God's Spirit working through me. My spiritual rhythm is where I invite myself to feel God's presence --- to feel God in the midst of every moment, in every place, and most especially in those gray areas where I seem to call on God the most these days. When I open myself to God's presence, I notice where and how God shows up for me and how God shows up for everyone in the hospital. 

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Peace and blessings to each of you. And for my St. Andrew family, I'm excited to see y'all at the end of August when I am the guest preacher 💗

Ethiopian food with my favorite Biblical languages scholar after CPE class one day.

Post-12hr shift with Basem. We've worked together twice on Saturdays from 8am-8pm. Our energy as a team is unmatchable. I am grateful for Basem's encouragement, support, and all the ways that I've learned from him and from our other colleagues. It's such a gift to DYAD alongside my cohort members (this is when we work 12hr shifts on duty throughout the entire hospital and we take turns leading visits and managing the duty pager).

Post-12hr overnight shift with my fellow Women's Health teammate! I am grateful for her calm and steady presence.

I worked my first overnight shift on a Thursday at 9pm-Friday at 8am to cover the shift for a staff chaplain who was on vacation. Again, what a gift it is to DYAD with colleagues and learn from each other.

In June, Papa visited during his Sabbatical. We hiked in the Shenandoah Valley and visited the resting place of so many of our ancestors in Culpeper, VA. I love hearing family stories, reminiscing together, and being connected to our family's history. We loved showing Charles around, too...he got to hear a lot about our ancestors at the cemetery!

We also got to catch a Richmond Ivy FC game, which is Richmond's new women's soccer team.

And of course I had to bring Papa to the hospital to see our office. He and Elizabeth Smith-Bartlett also got to to see each other for the first time in over 5 years. St. Andrew's connections live on!

June 2024

Monday, June 17th at 7:30am - Today marks the start of week 3 of my CPE internship. CPE stands for Clinical Pastoral Education and is a training program that prepares theological students (or other folks who feel called to chaplaincy) for providing spiritual care. Spiritual care is similar to pastoral care except that it is more expansive; spiritual care empowers chaplains and patients to recall what spirituality means to them, what brings them hope, peace, joy, and meaning. Of course my faith and my beliefs are rooted in my PCUSA, Christian theology, and that informs how I provide spiritual. But as a chaplain in a public setting, I provide spiritual care to/for/with people across the spirituality spectrum. My CPE preceptor's (which seems to be the medical-setting word for "supervisor") goal for CPE interns is that we discern what "spirituality" means to us. My preceptor believes that by knowing what "spirituality" means to us, we'll be able to serve with and alongside anyone --- to help them uncover and unpack what spirituality looks like for them.

Often, CPE is conducted in healthcare settings like hospitals, which is where my CPE program takes place. Over 10 weeks, I will complete 300 clinical hours (in the hospital), attend 12 hours of class per week, and read and write quite a bit as I complete homework for two classes. At my CPE program, we are assigned a unit where we will spend 220 out of our 300 hours over the summer. My assigned unit is the Neonatology ICU (NICU) and the Birther-Infant unit, which is for both people who are on bedrest before giving birth and for postpartum care. For the other 80 clinical hours, I will be on duty (which is like being on-call except it's 12 hour shifts at the hospital where you are awake and actively working) throughout the entire hospital. At VCU Health, my CPE site, the Spiritual Care Team (chaplains) responds to all traumas (we're a Trauma Level 1 hospital), all deaths, all code blues, and are available 24/7 by request. We engage in spiritual care with patients, families, and all hospital staff. 

For my St. Andrew Presbyterian family, you'll probably find this fact about my CPE program to be the neatest of all --- Every day at CPE, I work alongside Elizabeth Smith-Bartlett, who grew up at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. Elizabeth is not my preceptor so I don't spend a ton of time with her, but I see her almost daily. It's a joy to have a connection to St. Andrew and to work alongside someone who knows my home church so well. Just last week Elizabeth and I had lunch and I asked if I could adopt her as a Mentor. What a gift!

The time is 8:00am so I am headed to class at the College of Health Professions, which is just a 10 minute walk from the hospital. We have class on Mondays and Wednesdays and do clinicals on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and weekends. I have more to say about where I've seen God at the hospital (which is everywhere!) and all that I've already learned. So I'll work on another blog post soon. 

For now, let this be your reminder that you are beloved. CPE is teaching me a ton. One thing that keeps coming up is the reminder that each day on this Earth is a gift from God. Thank y'all for the unconditional love and support. I appreciate your prayers always, but especially for me during this emotionally, mentally, and physically intense summer of my CPE internship, and for all the folks at the hospital.

Blessings,

Caitlin

As chaplains, we can wear scrubs or business clothing. I'm choosing to wear scrubs because it's great to have so many pockets and they're comfortable for long hours (plus I can wear my tennis shoes!). It has been fun to wear hand-me-down scrubs from my mom, too. Scrubs also help signal to patients and families that chaplains at VCU Health are considered part of a patient's Care Team. My favorite part of scrub and badge-wearing is that everyone has a badge so I can always see people's names and their roles.

This is our CPE cohort for Summer 2024. 6 of us are students at UPSem and 2 of us are students at Episcopalian seminaries.