new church life : january / february 2017
one Sunday in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral which happened to include the inauguration of several men into the priesthood . “ I had seen these services before , but this one hit me differently .”
Afterward , he spoke to Rev . Dr . Andy Dibb ( Dean of the Theological School ) a couple of times . “ Andy said something to me that really helped as I was wondering whether I was being called to the priesthood or not . He said that many men have described the calling as being similar to the decision to ask their wives to marry them . This helped greatly because I knew nothing like that had happened to me . But little did I know at the time that a month later it would all change .”
He decided to apply to Theological School on July 21 , 2011 . “ That evening , while saying evening prayers with my wife and children , I heard a verse of scripture in my head ( which I have chosen to keep to myself ). After finishing our prayers , I looked up the verse and its internal sense and was hit with the realization that the Lord was calling me to the priesthood . About a year later I began my studies in Theological School and haven ’ t looked back since !”
Among his key experiences there , he says : “ Pretty much every single class and conversation with Rev . Stephen Cole during Theological School was a key experience . He helped me discover what it means to really see the Heavenly Doctrine as the Second Coming of the Lord .
“ As countercultural as the Heavenly Doctrine is , it is quite easy to see what is written there as limited by the human faults of Emanuel Swedenborg . But what Stephen helped me begin to discover is that the Heavenly Doctrine does not present itself as limited by any human being . In fact , it presents itself as the Lord Himself speaking to us in His Second Coming !
“ Once I made this realization and came to terms with the implications of this understanding , everything changed . I am now tremendously excited about seeing more and more
The Buick family : Left to right , back row : Natalie , Brett , Karla with Nathan , Bennett . Front row : Aven , Anna , Bethany .
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