Now that I am completing my senior year at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and am reflecting on where I am about to go, it is important for me to spend some time reflecting on where I have been. I am an Episcopalian and have found my experiences in the church to be a continual stream of positive ones whose memories have inspired me to continue service in the church as a profession. Growing in spiritual knowledge under two charismatic priests, I have spent my youth learning to respect the church as a place of peace and spiritual education, and my years as a college undergraduate seeking more opportunities for both my personal and professional growth within the church.

When I arrived at St. Mary’s College, I was aware that there was an Episcopal church on the border of the campus, perhaps best known to students for the historic markers, ancient graveyard, nearby garden and riverfront beach beyond that it owned. Trinity, St. Mary’s, and its chapel of ease, St. Mary’s, Ridge, was very much like my home parish, St. Philip’s, Quantico. I learned many fascinating things about this particular church, and the most important was that it was just as remarkable a place of worship as the one I had been attending closer to my home in Salisbury.

Father John Ball seemed familiar to me even when we first met, because he seemed every inch the Episcopal priest I had expected, since my image of one was based on the only one I had ever known before him: affable, witty and wise. Between the two services I attended weekly, I began to feel as though I was re-experiencing the factors I loved best about St. Philip’s. The 10:30 a.m. service, boasting a full church of perhaps 70 people, was mostly attended by residents of historic St. Mary’s City, including professors at the college. Hymns on the organ, and sermons given with occasional questions but mostly introspective philosophy offered for all to consider, reminded me of the style of the services around the sermons which “the priest and the church write together” back on the Eastern Shore, and the added population allowed a choir to also be present. The 6 p.m. service boasted few people and only rarely had music, but always there was the priest, at least one seminarian, a handful of faithful locals and a smattering of students who would eagerly offer opinions on the day’s readings. I may have seen Fr. Ball twice as much as my fellow students who attended one service or the other, but these were not the only times I saw him. He became a good friend as well as a teacher of spirituality. He kept in touch with my family and was always happy to give advice if I ever approached him in need. A special memory was when he offered to take me to Washington National Cathedral to see our friend Christopher Wilkins ordained a deacon, and six months later as a priest. My being legally blind, Fr. Ball was very accommodating in helping me acquire rides into town when I needed them. More than ever I became determined to pursue my studies in theology, and was met with encouragement and wonderful advice to do so. Welcoming young people, particularly members of the neighboring college, was something I always witnessed at Trinity.

During my three years attending Trinity, St. Mary’s, many changes have evolved. We began to pick up what has become an evening-service tradition of chanting Bible verses and prayers at the opening of services and before the sermon, or songs of different languages before communion. The service was moved an hour forward to encourage more students to join us. Still, two things remained constant: the open manner in which the heads of the church did their job for those who greeted them, no matter how few, and the wish to let more come and enjoy their time together.

Whenever I am home over a weekend or summer break, I am eager to return to St. Philip’s since a comforting familiar atmosphere still lingers within. I have noticed very few changes, but am pleased with this, for the changeless challenge for us to think outside the box, and the genuine hearty hellos are what makes this place so special. Acceptance, even for someone so young and having a major physical obstacle, has meant the world to me, and has offered strength as far as my being able to see what it is possible for the church to be, and how I can be involved in it and in the lives of others.

Marshall is a senior at St. Mary's College of Maryland and will graduate this month with a degree in English. She is from Salisbury, the Diocese of Easton, and is legally blind.