A Note on My Discernment

Over the past year, many of you have walked with me as I’ve been discerning a call to ordained ministry in the Church. Some of you know that I initially understood this as a call to the diaconate, rooted in service, justice, and the Church’s presence in the world.

That discernment was real, and it remains an important part of who I am becoming. But over time, through prayer, study, and conversation, something deeper has taken shape, not a different call, but a fuller one, one that has continued to press on my heart with quiet persistence.

I now understand this as a call to the priesthood.

What has become clear to me is that this is not a call to step away from my work or from the world, but to be present within it in a different way. I feel called to a priesthood that is lived in the world, in institutions, in relationships, in the ordinary and often complicated spaces where people carry both hope and burden. It is a call to accompany rather than control, to listen rather than resolve, and to remain present even when there are no easy answers.

My work continues to be an essential part of that calling. Each day, I find myself in places where decisions shape people’s lives, where questions of dignity, access, and justice are not abstract but immediate. The promises of the Baptismal Covenant, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to respect the dignity of every human being, and to strive for justice and peace, have taken on a deeper and more urgent meaning for me. I am learning that vocation is not about escaping the world, but about loving it more truthfully, and serving it more faithfully.

I don’t yet know exactly what this priesthood will look like in practice. I do know that it will require continued formation, including Clinical Pastoral Education in the coming years, and ongoing discernment within the life of the Church. For now, I am trying to remain attentive, to listen carefully, to stay grounded, and to respond as faithfully as I can to the call that continues to unfold.

I share this not as a final answer, but as an honest account of where I am.

I am grateful for the many ways people have supported and encouraged me along the way. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to discern what it means to live this calling with integrity, humility, and a commitment to justice. And if this raises questions for you, I welcome those conversations.

Here I am.