I met Kate Wilson seven years ago when she was referred to me for spiritual direction. At our first meeting, she came into my office, sat down and looked at me for a long time. Finally she said, “I’m here because I want you to tell me I’m not going crazy.” She paused for a moment, then said, “I think I’m supposed to be a priest.” As she spoke, I felt the tingle deep in my bones that tells me the Holy Spirit is stirring around in someone’s life. “Really,” I said. “Tell me more.” Kate looked terrified, and I thought she might just get up and leave. That’s because I didn’t know Kate. Instead of leaving, she took a deep breath and told me about an experience of call to priesthood that was simple, straightforward, and completely out of the blue. The experience had happened some time before, and I asked what had happened since then. That’s when I began to learn about the reasoned and courageous approach Kate brings to the events of her life.
The first thing she did after that experience was go to a therapist. She was concerned about her mental health. After she got that process started, she thought it might be a good idea to see what would happen if she actually went to a church. So she gathered her courage, visited St. Tim’s and was immediately drawn into the community. She became involved in a covenant group, she went to Bible study, she explored all the avenues of faith that were open to her, becoming more and more integrated into St. Tim’s community and loving every minute of it. Along the way, she wondered if this whole priesthood thing was just about these terrific outfits we get to wear, so she even joined the choir to see if wearing those robes would do the trick. It didn’t.
That’s about the time Kate and I met. Since that day, first as spiritual director, then as colleague, it has been my great privilege to be among the many people to witness the work of the Holy Spirit in Kate’s life. As is the case with all people seeking ordination in the Episcopal Church, the discernment of Kate’s call to ministry has been a shared venture. Her life has been open to the care and scrutiny of a list of people and groups that goes on and on: clergy, including Bishop Romero, the people of her sponsoring parish, St. Tim’s in Mountain View, the diocesan Commission on Ministry and Standing Committee, her seminary community at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, the people of her field education parish, St. James in Milpitas, the students, supervisors and patients she encountered during her clinical pastoral education at Packard Children’s Hospital and the people of St. Mark’s where she has served as pastoral associate for the past thirteen months. A lot of people have been watching Kate since she began the discernment of her ministry. No one has watched as closely as Kate herself has done. Nowhere has the Holy Spirit has been more at work than in her watching. At every step in her journey toward this day—from the moment when she first heard her call—Kate has continually questioned if ordination is the direction her ministry should take. At every step, she has sought the counsel of the people around her—her partner Arlene, her family, the members of all her communities, and those who have authority in the ordination process. At every step, she has sought to God’s will through prayer and study. At every step, at every turning in her life, in the times of greatest difficulty and in the times of greatest joy, Kate has asked where God is in all that’s going on in her life. The answer has always been that, as Paul said, God is very near.
As this journey has proceeded, God’s nearness has become more and more deeply embedded in Kate’s awareness, and that’s a very good thing for all the rest of us. The role of the ordained priest in Christ’s church has precious little to do with the individual herself and everything to do with community in which she lives. The role of the ordained priest serves as a lens to help every person—each and every one of us—live into the priesthood we all share—the priesthood of all God’s children—given by God in our birth and interpreted by our baptism. The actions that flow from Kate’s deep knowledge of God’s nearness serve as a reminder to all of us that the Holy is as close as our next breath. The wisdom, compassion and honesty embodied in her pastoral care reflect her experience of God’s love in her own life and stand as a beacon of God’s love for each of us. As Kate shares the sacraments with us, she will remind us through the stuff of our everyday lives—words, touch, water, oil, bread and wine— that each of us can touch and be touched by the Holy as easily as we stretch out our hands.
It’s no accident that all of us—including Kate—will have the opportunity to renew our baptismal vows before she makes her ordination vows this morning. Before she is a priest, Kate is a baptized member of the Body of Christ, bound by Christ’s commandment to love one another as he has loved us. Our baptismal vows—our covenant with God—are the expression of our commitment to keep that commandment. Kate, as a person set apart in ordained, sacramental priesthood, will stand with us to share in the struggle to live into our promises, to comfort and challenge us with her pastoral care, to strengthen us through the sacraments and to assure us of God’s forgiveness whenever we miss the mark. We are and will be blessed by her ministry with us.
Kate, please stand.
Christ said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” It’s been a long road to this morning, but you have trusted in God’s word to you. Your obedience to God’s call in each step of this journey has brought you to a depth of faith that is a gift to us all. Be among us as a marker of God’s faithfulness and help us grow our own faith. Be among us as a reminder that God calls each of us to ministry and help us know that we are each chosen by God. Be among us as one who is wounded, and help us walk into our healing. Be among us as a symbol of the transforming power of the Spirit and help us to love each other as Christ loves us. And always, always, always keep us mindful of the one who is always with us and teach us to say in all times: Thanks be to God!