Seminary: First Week

First Week of Seminary - August 31 - September 6, 2025

The sun was beginning to set on campus as I arrived. The seminary was designed after a German castle, with the stone coming from a quarry on the property when when the initial building was constructed over 100 years ago.

I retrieved the key from the lockbox and dropped my suitcase in my small, modest room in the residence hall, and wandered off to explore the Castle. It immediately reminded me of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from Harry Potter films, especially the dinning hall with the hanging flags from each of the countries the seminary had partnerships with. Few lights were on in the buildings and it made it even more mysterious and magical with the setting sun coming through the stained glass of the windows.

I hadn’t asked prior to my arrival, but I wondered if there was a gym. I had doubted it, until I ran into two second-year students who told me there was a gym in the “tunnels’ of the castle, and the tunnels run throughout the complex. They told with a laugh it wasn't much and just some donated equipment down there.

Pointing me in the direction of an interior staircase, I went down to the basement to find it. To my surprise, the gym exceeded my expectations but definitely needed some love and care. It had a sign that said “Use the gym equipment at your own risk”.

There was a treadmill, stationary bike, jump rope, rowing machine, and some free weights. The gym equipment was in disarray and the floors and mats looked like they hadn’t been swept or mopped in years. There were also a shelf full of old trophies from what looked like the 1970s and 1980s from sports like bowling and racquet ball. There was also plenty of dust and debris, and some mold coming out of the baseboards.

I went back to my room, changed into workout clothes, and came back to the gym. In between my workout sets, I began to organize the weights and equipment, and pick up trash from around the room. Everyday i worked out during the week, I would also clean up between sets, organizing the equipment, and throwing more and more of the garbage and broken equipment away.

During my first week of seminary, we were taught worship was the foundation of our seminary’s daily rhythm which all things were grounded. As I worked out that week, I reflected that physical training is also a ritual which can bring people together and center them. Working out and worshipping are both habits that can be built, where the activity becomes internally in us, and we hunger for it if missed.

The night before I flew back home, I went down to the gym for my last workout and to vacuum the floor. To my surprise, someone had picked up where I left off and placed and organized the remaining equipment into the shelves. When I saw this, I had a rush of emotion, feeling deeply connected to this unknown person or people who had helped clean the gym, and the community of all the seminarians. I am always reminded the important lesson that you can't take care of others if you don't care for yourself. Even seminarians!

Thank you visiting this site and God Bless!