Kilted Clergy Question

[pipesndrumsnun]

Congrats, Matt! When do you finish?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Congrats, Matt! When do you finish?

Should finish up with the summer semester of this year (i.e. one class after the one I'm currently taking).

When I enrolled in the program it required 30 hours plus a thesis. Since then they have changed the requirements to 36 hours with thesis optional (for those going on to higher degrees). I finished my 30 hours over a year ago and had been persuing a thesis, but that process was just taking a whole heckuvalot longer than I anticipated. I was given the option to graduate under either the old or new system, and since all I needed to fill my requirements for the new system were two more 3 hour classes, that's what I went with.

I was enjoying researching my thesis, but I just really felt the need to have an "end date" to move on to other things. I'm currently enrolled in a diocesan Lay Ministry class that meets monthly (I'm in year 2 of that), and after that have hopes of enrolling in the permanant diaconate formation program, which will be a four year journey. So I really wanted my Masters completed before getting too involved in that.

In case anyone is wondering what I'm doing with all this theological training, I teach adult religious ed at my parish, and also do some apologetical and catechetical writing and presentation. I've had a few articles run in This Rock (a magazine published by Catholic Answers), and Envoy. I'd really like to branch out and get into some other publications once I can find the time to do more writing. I've recently become a regular monthly guest on "Searching the Word," a radio program on Relevant Radio, broadcast out of Green Bay, WI (I call in, obviously).

In fact, I'm heading off in just a few minutes to give a talk to a group of high school Catholics on retreat up here from Atlanta, on different types of prayer.

Now you know what I keep busy doing when I'm not sewing kilts!