This has been a significant year of growth and change. Also, there are many things for which I am grateful. My fifth grandchild is due in late July, My four adult children are employed and on their own. I have meaningful work to do every day. Currently, I am completing a summer internship in pastoral ministry in my home church in Greenville, SC.
The major personal event of 2013 was my having a major life-threatening cardiac event last spring, complete with a near-death experience, requiring EMS, defibrillation, hospitalization, catheterization, electrophysiologic mapping, and an implanted defibrillator as insurance against another episode of ventricular tachycardia. This life event has sharpened my appreciation for the mundane and routine events of life and added significant grist to the theological discussions I’ve engaged in, and the papers that I have written, during my second year at Princeton Theological Seminary.
I often reflect on how close I came to an Ivy education while at Deerfield, and how well- prepared I was for the academic rigors of college after my experience as a post-grad.
I have one more year to enjoy the life of an academic in Princeton, NJ, as I return for my final year and complete my Master of Divinity degree. I’m looking forward to serving the Presbyterian Church (USA) in some capacity as I pursue ordination as a Teaching Elder (pastor), hopefully back in the Carolinas!
Stan Reid
Class of 1971