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I am a long and loud praiser of Meffodiss hymns. Fortunately we have a new organist choir director who knows how good them boys was. In another decade or so the average Catholic may actually know how to sing -- and to sing something other than the kumbaya pap that passed for aggiornamento in the 60's and 70's.

I went to, (inhale deeply) "The Protestant Episcopal Seminary in Virginia" aka VTS, aka, (among the more chauvinistic Virginians), "The Seminary". Escaped with my degree in '76 after I did a year as a hospital chaplain between my 2nd and 3rd years. Got ordained just in time to watch the Episcopal Church crumble around me.

Seminary was not too bad. Lots of Barth, and even if you disagree with him, the guy is good. But I was the only one in my class who had actually read great chunks of Aquinas, Luther, Dante, Calvin, And Kierkgaard (but not much among the Wesley boys) before Seminary. And I'd done some Hegel work so I was all set for Tillich, not to mention Heidegger. (Did you know Hegel wrote some "Christian" works? Not very good. But I've read them.

A brother priest once said to me,"I know what you are: you're a philosophical theologian!" to which if I were allowed to add "ignorant" I'd cop.