Dear friends,

It has been a great joy for me to have the seminarians of the Archdiocese hanging out around St. Andrew this summer. With Michael in the rectory, Matthew getting ready to head out, and Kyle accompanying at the evening Mass on Sunday for a few weeks, we had quite a few seminarians passing through with them as well. With the summer coming to a close, that means our seminarians will be heading back to school. Michael will be staying on at the rectory for a few more weeks as he does not head back to Rome until September, so you may still see him around here and there. Matthew and his family will be headed down to Mount Angel to get him set up at the seminary as he begins his orientation this week and classes next week. He will be home for holidays, God willing, and so we will be able to catch up with him soon.

Reminiscing, I remember the Sunday that I left for seminary at Mount Angel. With the help of my family, I loaded up my Volkswagen Jetta with all my stuff and began the journey south all by myself. I had no clue what to expect when I arrived or what God had in store for me. Arriving, they got me set up in my room which was in a double wide modular with walls so thin I could hear my neighbor typing. Shortly after arriving, there were a few nights that I woke up and didn’t know where I was. Disoriented, I had to shake off the weariness and look around to remember I was at seminary. I had never been to catholic school before and it was like I was thrown into the deep end. I was immersed in the Catholic milieu and I loved it. One of the hardest things for me to get used to though was that there were no girls in my classes. I had to go to class with the same ugly guys day in and day out. I soon got used to it. The first year was one of great growth and discovery for me as I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I knew that God was calling me to serve him. I was receiving spiritual direction and getting to know God and myself. I was also receiving formation and my formation director, Fr. John Cihak was a great help to me in getting to know who God was calling me to be. He was a young priest, having only been ordained two years, and was good friends with a Seattle priest who he had been at seminary with in Rome, Fr. Derek Lappe. Fr. Cihak is now Monsignor Cihak, as he works in Rome for the Congregation of Bishops and is a papal MC. Just last week as I was out visiting Fr. Lappe, Msgr. Cihak rang on the Skype and I got to say hi. Currently, he is accompanying Pope Francis on his journey to South Korea.

We never know what God has in store for us. If we cooperate with His plan, He has plans for us beyond our imagining. That first year of seminary laid the foundation for the succeeding years as I learned to trust in God’s plan for me.

Along with Matthew Lontz, we have another parishioner that grew up at St. Andrew and is entering seminary this year. Josh Schaan is also entering seminary for the Diocese of Bismark in North Dakota. He was born and baptized back there and then after his family had moved out here, he went back there for college. Josh worked for St. Charles in Tacoma for a while a couple of years back. He was a great help to us on numerous occasions with our youth group and retreats. This last year he was in Massachusetts at Martha’s Vineyard serving as the youth director and felt the call to enter seminary. He will be headed to seminary in Saint Louis at Kenrick Seminary. If you would like to send him a letter of encouragement you can send it there and I am sure it will get to him. Like myself, he will be headed there all by himself in his Volkswagen Jetta to begin classes shortly.

Please keep Josh, Matthew, and all of our seminarians in your prayers. How wonderful it is to see how God is working in the lives of those who are open to His call.

Fr. Jack D. Shrum