I'm Back

The previous two posts should indicate that I am back from San Francisco. I was there for five days to help grade ordination exams for the Presbyterian Church. I was part of the San Francisco Reading Group of the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations.

For four days, we read exams on Worship and Sacraments, and we read biblical exegesis exams on Hosea 5:15-6:6 (for Hebrew) and Luke 4:1-13 (for Greek). It was an exhausting, but enjoyable experience. I hope to do it again next year.

We stayed at Mercy Center, a Catholic in Burlingame. It was a fantastic facility. Unfortunately, it is only a few miles from the San Francisco airport, which makes it convenient for those flying in, but it is not the quiet, idyllic place one usually associates with retreat centers.

I came across this post while Googling, and it describes some of the ordination exam process. There are some pictures of the Mercy Center, and if any Presbyterian students read this post, there is some really, really, really, really good advice on taking the ords on Ariel's blog.

Reading the papers was difficult, especially the ones that were not up to par. Each exam (and we had 460+ for about 45 readers, you do the math) is read twice. If there is a discrepancy in the grade (one pass, one fail), the exam is read a third time. The two concurring grades are kept, the minority opinion is tossed. I found it hard to be as discerning as I would like to be. I also found it hard to fail someone. Sitting in judgment on someone else's exam (read: future!), was spiritually draining. And yet, there were some simply awesome papers.

And I met some new friends while there, John was a soccer referee from Minnesota, and Terry is a pastor in Arizona. Glenn was there from our presbytery, and I got reacquainted with some folks I used to know in San Jose, including Bob, who was on my CPM when I was under care, lo these many years ago.

Overall, a tiring, but rewarding experience.