This morning at prayer breakfast, we read 1 Peter 5:1-4.  These verses are about leadership, and the conversation quickly turned to mentoring.  And this brought up an interesting question for me, and it’s one that we heard a lot while in seminary: who is it that brought you to a deeper understanding of God in Christ?  And how did they do it?  God the Spirit works in our lives to enlighten and deepen our faith, surely, and often the Spirit works through people in our lives.  Who were these people? 

Two priests come to my mind, though surely there are many others.  These were priests who both served at an Episcopal Church I attended in Athens, Georgia.  At the time, I knew very little about the Episcopal Church, and both were open and patient with my questions.  They never made me feel bad that I didn’t know about something, and they were happy to sit with me as I struggled with my growing understanding of God.  And they were funny!  They laughed a lot, and when I try to picture them in my mind, the first images that come are them smiling and laughing.  Both of them were good priests, and such good, good Christians as well.

Thinking of these two priests, I wanted to ask all of you: who were your mentors?  Who brought you closer to Christ?  Who deepened your faith through their words, actions, or just plain who they were.  And if you feel open to doing so, post a bit about these people below.  I’d love to hear more about them.

~Fr. Tim

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