"By God's grace, we've completed two years at St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, NY and are entering our third and final year. It's been a joy and a challenge; one of our favorite tag-lines as seminarians is, "You will meet the most amazing people here in your fellow students...you just won't have any time to hang out with them." In many ways, seminary is a marathon and not a sprint. The concerns of everyday life (spending time with family, meeting the monthly budget, maintaining a private prayer rule, etc.) continue, but with the added stresses of chapel attendance (12 services a week, not including feast days!), class assignments, and the various other curricular requirements of the M.Div program. During the second year for example, a seminarian is required to spend 100 hours in hospital ministry under the supervision of a hospital chaplain. For many of us, it's our first experience with this sort of ministry and a place where much of our "book knowledge" doesn't directly apply. Learning in that kind of setting is an ever-continuing work in progress, but the fruits of those experience have transferred over into my relationships with my own friends and family. 

In the third year, we're required to spend another 100 hours under the tutelage of an area Orthodox priest in a parish setting. This year, I'm assigned to Christ the Savior (OCA) in Paramus, NJ under the rectorship of Fr. David Vernak. We've only been there for one Sunday so far, but I'm already assigned the task of teaching the 8th-9th-10th grade Church school. I'll also have to preach some sermons, accompany Fr. David on some pastoral visits, conduct the choir, and do whatever else the parish sees fit to have a seminarian do. Our family looks forward to being in a real parish setting again.

As we plan ahead for the future, I've begun the busy process of applying and preparing for further graduate work in medieval history. The future remains uncertain until we receive acceptance letters and funding for one of the four schools at which we've applied. We covet your prayers in that regard.

Malene continues to work at Mount Sinai hospital in Manhattan. After five years of experience in labor and delivery she decided this last spring to move into a surgical intensive care unit. The contrast has been striking, but one that she's greatly enjoyed. She also continues to work, part-time, on a master's degree in nursing education or family nurse practitioner (she can't decide which she'd like more yet), and thankfully that's gone well for her too.

Aidan (now three - he'll be four in November) and Zoe (just turned two in July - the photos are from her birthday party) continue to grow and surprise us. Aidan begins preschool this year and Zoe loves "reading" her books and playing with her dolls.  They've enjoyed the friends they've made in the other children at SVS as well (and they seem to have more time to play with them!). 

We miss St. Herman's dearly and hope to return before too long. Until then we remain humbly yours in Christ."