cpe: day 1

today was the first time i wore my clerical collar (is it called a cleric?  a clerical?  or a clerical collar?), because it was the first day of cpe (clinical pastoral education - i am like a chaplain plus i get to do something along the lines of group therapy).  a clerical collar is the either white tab or white collar that clergy wear.  let me tell you, things were most certainly different when i was wearing the collar.

i went to starbucks to get some coffee and use the internet and while i was there two things happened.  first, i met the intern (vicar) at trinity lutheran church of manhattan (where i'll be worshiping this summer)!  she saw my collar and introduced herself and then i told her i knew trinity and then she realized i was "emily" (apparently my name is more unique at trinity than elsewhere in the us).  it was great (and felt completely random) to meet her!  the other thing was that the guy that went to the bathroom before me told me that he made sure it was clean for me (thanks...i think?).

throughout the day i definitely received a few looks (both checking out the whole outfit...i had my chacos on most of the day and just changed when i actually had to look nice), and a few comments "hello, sister" and "hey! how ya doin', sister?" among them...though one was my a police officer outside a catholic school and the other was about a block or two away as i entered the subway at 96th street.

the other unique thing was that as i was checking out at whole foods (having purchased enough food to last me until i leave to visit granny tomorrow afternoon), the woman at the checkout counter asked if i was really a pastor and i said that i was studying to be one and she congratulated me!

i have to say, it is definitely going to take some getting used to, this whole wearing a collar thing.  when i was wearing it, i felt all of this additional pressure to smile at everyone and greet them and not do anything wrong.  wearing the collar automatically identifies me as christian, that means that if i mess up or do something bad, it no longer just reflects on me, it reflects on christianity as a whole.  it's weird.

anyway, those are my thoughts, we start visiting ships next week, so we'll see how that goes!