The Deacon's Bench
Some big news from him today that you might even call a blockbuster:
Next week I will be going back to graduate school—back to seminary, in fact—to pursue diaconal studies in preparation for ordination to the permanent diaconate in the Archdiocese of Newark. (I currently hold an MA in religious studies from St. Charles Borromeo in Overbrook, Pennsylvania. As of this year, my archdiocese requires diaconal candidates to earn an MA in theology, so…back to school I go.)
I’ve been discerning this vocation for a long time—to one extent or another, ever since I was received into the Catholic Church. In our archdiocese, the diaconal program is limited to a single class at a time, so the program only opens once every several years. The last time I looked into it, the program was closed. When it re-opened last year, my pastor sponsored me for the program, I began the year of discernment…and here I am.
Obviously this means significant adjustments in my other activities for the time being, most notably my movie reviewing. For those of you who follow my work, here’s what this means.
First, I’m not leaving film criticism or going on total hiatus.
For a few years, though, I’ll be doing quite a bit less of it, at least through the academic year. In the summers I hope to be back at something like full strength.
The rest of the time, I’ll still be writing reviews for the Register and Decent Films every few weeks or so. I’ll try to make sure I hit at least one notable movie each month, hopefully by or before opening day as usual. I’ll also continue to appear monthly(ish) in Catholic Digest. (If you’re a paying subscriber to either or both of those publications, bless you. You help keep the lights on at Huis Greydanus.) I also hope to continue with “Reel Faith” in the summers—something I find very rewarding, and which also helps keep the lights on—assuming NET keeps bringing us back. (If you’ve enjoyed the show, let the studio know!)
This will be the modus operandi for the next few years, until, God willing, I reach ordination. At that point, I hope to come back to reviewing movies with renewed vigor as Deacon Steven Greydanus…and, in a weird way, all those people over the years who’ve mistyped my initials as “DSG” will be retroactively right.
Good luck, Steven (now there’s a good deacon-y name!) and know that my prayers are with you!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In