Why Public Health Care is Better then a System based on Private insurance

As a Canadian, I do have certain level of ignorance when it comes to the current US private insurance based health care system. I will make 3 comments and then conclude by accounting some of my personal experience with the US health care system. Firstly, I will pose a few questions so as to rectify some of my ignorance on the matter of the current US private insurance-based health care system. Secondly, I will offer a critique of US private insurance companies. Thirdly I will provide a synopsis of why I believe public health care is the way to go. Finally, I will conclude with my own experience of the private-insurance based system.

To begin with, I’d like to pose a few questions: If an uninsured person goes to the hospital in the USA, don't they get billed for that hospital visit? And, if uninsured and unable to pay due to low-income, are they not then tagged with whatever debt their visit has incurred, eventually resulting in collection agencies? I really feel for the poor because they barely can meet their own basic needs let alone then having to be stuck with monthly payments and/or debt. I have heard some Americans say that if worse comes to worse, the uninsured can go to the hospital, resulting in them being tagged with debt and yes eventually battle collection agencies but “you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip” so the saying goes, implying that if the person’s poor there’s no way they can pay the debt so no harm to them whether collection agencies come after them or not. My response to such a statement is that a collection agency can certainly make a person's life a living hell and possibly even result in compounding one's health issues (particularly mental and emotional health) due to the stress incurred, and thereby cause a snowballing effect for those uninsured individuals. Thus, one can't squeeze blood from a turnip but one can certainly mash a turnip to pulp and after battling credit collectors, I’m sure that’s exactly how such individuals feel. Like mashed pulp.

I also question the ethical standards of private insurance companies, who are a for-profit industry and not for the common good of the people. Insurance companies are businesses after all; therefore, capitalism is the name of the game and (unfortunately) seeking out people where their diagnoses fall under "pre-existing conditions" clauses seems (from my limited understanding) to be to the benefit of the insurance company since they can then say "we don't cover you". Furthermore, as profit is the game, higher fees may not necessarily mean paying for those of lower-income/ uninsured, so much as taking such higher fees in order to line corporate pockets.

Now reaching my third comment, I must stipulate that I do NOT mean to offend my reader with the following comment. While the Canadian system is certainly imperfect, I adamantly believe the Canadian public health system is far better than then the current private insurance-based system in the USA. I think it is better because I see Canadian public health care as a much more socially-just system, which has an in-built preferential option for the poor as well as presumes and upholds the dignity of the human person. Unlike private insurance companies, the Canadian public health insurance system it is not based on profit but rather on ensuring that all human beings (whether rich or poor, foreign or citizen) have a right to health care and that society has a responsibility to ensure all have access. Those who cannot afford it are not denied access nor rejected due to some sort of pre-existing condition.

Concluding, I would like to share from my experience as a Canadian who had no health coverage for the last 2 yrs I was a student doing my Masters degree in St Louis, MO. I found myself in situations where I needed health care but could not afford to pay for it, as it was over $1000. Even though health insurance was mandated for all students by Saint Louis University but I found a loophole in that, while I was registered as a SLU student, I was registered through being a student at Aquinas Institute where health insurance was not required or at least not specified in any documents that I signed.

Last fall, my financial situation was such that I literally lived for 2 1/2 months in a closet under a staircase, which only fit a single twin mattress on the floor and had a hanging bulb in the ceiling (bonus was it had a cat door, which my little dachshund-yorkie dog loved as it gave her easy bed access;-)). There were also times I had to borrow pay advances from Aquinas Institute in order to make my rent. This was all due to combined factors such as only getting a $3000 CAN student loan to last me a year and not having regular p/t research assistant work due to lack of research assignments from professors.

When I got sick, I thanked the Lord for Saint Louis having one free health clinic in the city that ran out of the basement of a Church every Sat from 9am-12noon. It was the only way I was able to see a dr, like the time I was diagnosed with laryngitis. The sad part is I had to go two Saturdays before I was able to see the doctor because it had a first come first serve policy and even though I arrived before the doors opened at 9am the first Saturday, I could not be seen by a doctor because of the number of people who had arrived there even earlier than me (illustrating the need for more clinics for the poor). It was a very difficult experience, not only because I had to wake up at 6:30am in order to weave my way on the transit system to the other side of Saint Louis and attempt to access this free clinic, but also had to wait out in line in the cold (it was winter) for a long time before then moving inside and waiting 3 hrs only to be told to come back the next week. So I survived another 7 days before coming back even earlier, waiting out in the cold, etc and finally (praise the Lord!) getting to see a doctor, and then finally learning, "You have a bad case of laryngitis and need antibiotics."

I couldn’t afford antibiotics but the free clinic was able to direct me to Schnooks, where I could get the antibiotics for a subsidized cost, so long as I hung out in the store for ½ hr browsing (i.e. the store hoped I’d shop and therefore offered the meds at a low cost so as to draw people… but they’re drawing poor people, so browsing is likely all they would do).

About 2 months before I was due to head back to Canada, I had to cough up $300US for a prescription that only covered 20 doses! Of course I put it on my credit card, since I had no money. But I did so grudgingly because, in Canada, the very prescription (if I actually had to pay for it) would have cost me $90! NOT because of any gov’t subsidy but rather because Canada allows for generic versions of the medication to be sold whereas the US does not, leading to a monopoly in the markets of certain types of medication and therefore driving up its prices, which I’m sure the monopolizing pharmaceutical companies love!

Any thoughts? :-)

Lovin' Academia!

I'm currently tired but VERY happy after a day of learning about the Ukraine and its history, exploring Notre Dame campus and taking artsy photos in the sun, corresponding with Gary Macy and Maxwell Johnson, and going to dinner with Antoine Arjakovsky! All in all, an eventful and amazing day! I meet with Maxwell Johnson tomorrow to discuss PhD programs at ND and hope to get a pic with him, as I'm a bit of a fan ;-).

Yesterday I had a long meeting with Arjakovsky to discuss all about the opportunity working as the Director of the Long Distance MA program in Ecumenical Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University. I'm very excited about the opportunity. It may take some time for all the specifics to be worked out; however, we've both agreed that I will work with the university for two years.

Gary Macy and I were shooting a few emails back and forth today. I guess he had Dr. Terrance Tilly (the theology chair from Fordham University) and his wife Maureen (a scholar on Augustine and North Africa) over for dinner at his place the other night and Gary started telling them about my thesis and my PhD thesis ideas regarding the demise of the female diaconate. Dr. Tilly supposedly got really excited and wanted to read my work + thought I'd be a good fit for Fordham, but Gary stressed how much he wants to be my advisor. So they started bantering about what school I'd end up studying at and such. Gives me hope that I may get a good scholarship for my PhD!

Speaking of PhD programs, any thoughts on Berkley, the Graduate Theological Union, and Fordham? I spoke with a close friend + mentor of mine from my undergrad university about the GTU + Berkley and he said if I went there he'd "worry" about me "like a Jewish mother" because he understands the institutes to be "very liberal". Myself, I don't like categorizing and my experience at Aquinas Institute has led me to be open to perspectives that may be completely contrary to my own as well as be open to the reality that my position on an issue may be completely wrong. What I mean to say is, even if the GTU and Berkley are "liberal" and even if I don't agree with positions held by scholars there, I feel I am open.

I have really enjoyed my communications with Gary Macy and have to admit that I am incredibly flattered by how much he wants to be my PhD advisor. Today even, when I mentioned that I emailed my thesis and such to Dr. Tilly and inquired about Fordham's distance ed PhD program, Gary Macy replied stating, "ask Terry Tilley if it would be possible for me to help out with a thesis at Fordham." :-) It's always nice to feel wanted :-D

I'm hoping to get a picture with Maxwell Johnson when I meet with him tomorrow. It's getting late here and I need to get up early in order to head off to the next Ecumenism and Peace Seminar run by Prof. Arjakovsky.

I just checked my email while writing this and Johnson replied and, discussing our meeting tomorrow, he added, "yes, you can take a photo."

I can't believe how fast all this is happening. I feel wisked into the world of academia and am absolutely basking in it + loving it + feeling so alive! God how I love embarking on my career vocation <3.

Getting to the Ecumenism and Peace Seminars at the University of Notre Dame

Just a quick note, as I'm quite tired from all the traveling I've been doing, as I flew from BC down to Detriot, MI then stayed in Ann Arbor over night and then drove to Notre Dame, IN this morning.

The trip has been going good so far. I really enjoyed my short yet sweet visit with Ish yesterday. We got his car all ready for my trip down here and it's working great. It's a 1997 Geo Metro, which is a lot like mom's fire fly but in relatively new condition with very low miles. We had a lot of fun trying to get the license plate on the back of the car, as there were no bolts and the first set of bolts we bought did not fit so we exchanged them for a set where one is supposed to reach up behind the bumper and stick the nuts on the bolts but there was no access to where the bolts came out. Only way we could get it to KINDA work was by prying a piece of plastic forward far enough so I could squeeze the bolt through then maneuver it with one finger out the hole (without dropping it, mind you, into some odd random space that one cannot access from the back part). So yes, it took a good hour for us to get the license plate on. We eventually had the help of 2 of these automotive part clerks but even they couldn't get the bolts and nuts to fully screw on because of the odd set up. We're hoping that the bolts don't gyrate loose, as we couldn't tighten it much.

So today I drove down to Notre Dame for the first of 5 Ecumenism and Peace seminars. I showed up late to the first seminar, after getting totally lost for a good 1/2hr due to really bad directions around Notre Dame from Google maps. After the Google directions took me the wrong way, I decided to follow these signs that said "ND Visitor Parking" but eventually realized it was taking me farther and farther away from ND campus. I then realized the signs were for people who were coming to weekend football games and not visitors to the campus! After quite a bit of driving around, I eventually found the campus.

I caught the end of the first Ecumenism and Peace Seminar, got a free bag lunch (which I will be eating for dinner here shortly) and had a brief talk with Dr. Antoine Arjakovsky, who I will be having dinner with tomorrow and discussing the job opportunity in L'viv, Ukraine.

On a sad note, I threw my back out today at ND, believe it or not. Random! I was walking in my new knee-high winter boots, wearing that dress and leggings.... tripped over my own feet and landed on my wrist and side! Dress up in the air and everything! At least it didn't go over my head... at least not that I'm aware of! Only one guy saw it and we basically laughed about it together. My ribs were hurting earlier, but now it's moved into the back. I'm going to do a bunch of stretches and hopefully get some of the knots out.

On the plus side, I found an on-campus, free parking area that few people know about. Just happened to run into an off-duty ND police officer who was parking his car in the free parking area. It doesn't say free parking but he told me it was - except on Saturdays, which it seems is when they have ND football.



I'm going on a tour of the campus tomorrow. I went to the visitor's centre today and made sure to write a comment card full of suggestions so as to help make things easier for other visitors who come to the campus. For example, their online map needs to be updated (some of the new buildings aren't on it and the printing quality of the map sucks) and even the one handed out on campus could be improved if they used a "A-B-C, 1-2-3" map grid system combined with their building number system. There are just so many buildings and offices that it's nearly impossible to find the numbers one is looking for amidst the jumble of other numbers.


I spent $50 and 2 hrs at the ND book store. I really shouldn't have bought anything but I couldn't help myself. I also checked out all the books written by ND professors and was happy to learn of a few professors that I didn't know taught here, whose books I've read and studied in various undergrad and grad courses I've taken. I was also happy to see that a few of Sergius Bulgakov's books (the scholar who I wrote on for my thesis) are used in one of the theology courses here. I'm going to see if I can meet the professor who teaches the course, as he might be interested in reading my thesis. I'm also going to see if I can book an appointment with someone from the theology department and the history department, and maybe even the European Studies department, while I'm here. I really should have done it before I came here, when I was organizing all my travel plans; however, it completely slipped my mind.

Adventures!

Biggest news on my end would be about a job that's been offered to me. Only issue is it doesn't start till June 2010 but it's a HUGE phenominal opportunity. You see, I've been internet stalking and collecting the contact information for some really big scholars and theologians + sending them my thesis + academic resume. Antoine Arjakovsky, who is an expert on the Russian Orthodox theologian I compared with JPII, not only read my thesis but loved it and immediately wrote me + asked if I would be interested in working as the Director of the Long Distance MA program in Ecumenical Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv Ukraine (just 5 hrs drive from Krakow Poland!). He wants a committment of at least 2 years working in the Ukraine. He's coming to give lectures for 10 days at Notre Dame University in Indiana at the end of October and wants me to come down to meet him face to face. I am also hoping to attend his lectures, which are part of a course on Ecumenism and Peace, so have been in contact with the Dean of European Studies at Notre Dame, and he wants to speak with me + get to know me because I think he wants to see what has Arjakovsky so interested in me. So very exciting!!!

Re: Cold Lake - interviews aren't being scheduled till the very end of Sept or beginning of Oct so I hope to hear from them soon and will keep you updated.

Other big news is that, right now I'm writing from Michigan, visiting a gentleman named Ishmael, who is a PhD student in Interdisciplinary studies at the University of Michigan. His degree is like getting a triple PhD in a way as he specializes in anthropology, visual arts (he makes a lot of fantastic documentaries), and natural science. His undergrad's in Linguistics (he speaks 7 or more languages) and his Masters is in Anthropology as well as another in Education. Ishmael is a very intelligent, caring, and wonderful guy. I've been enjoying getting to know him more.

We spent Sunday touring the zoo in Detroit. It's not as nice as the Saint Louis Zoo, but it was still a good time. I enjoyed their Butterfly and Hummingbird interpretive centre the most. When we arrived in Ann Arbor, where he lives, we went and took out some documentaries from the library and I was able to learn all sorts of filming techniques and such from Ish, which was very insightful and led to much discussion. The majority of the visit has been very laid back, which is good because I didn't have any plans besides just hanging out and for us to be able to get to know each other more.

Ish has shown me around the university he goes to and hopes that I consider it for my PhD studies. He's been trying to convince me of going more into the areas of education and the environment, as he knows these areas are passions of mine and thinks I would enjoy studying them immensely. At the same time, I have a very well-known Medieval Studies professor (Gary Macy) who is trying to convince me to come and get my PhD in History in a program through the Graduate Theological Union and Berkley University, down in San Francisco. We'll see how things play out.

Ishmael and I get along great. We share lots of great conversations and are never bored even when things are quiet and we are just enjoying each other's presence. He tells me how wonderful and beautiful I am about 100 times a day. He's very focused on spoiling me, never wanting me to do the dishes, always making me breakfast and leaving notes if I am asleep when he has to run off to school. After I first arrived I went to his Zulu class with him and learned my name in Zulu as well as how to introduce myself, where I come from and tell someone what I like to do all the time + ask them "how about you?" I've also attended his Actor-Network Theory class and his Linguistic Anthropology class. I think I liked the Linguistic class the most :-)

I've been using this little blue banana seat bike to pedal around to his school and to the store. I've almost crashed twice, just because the balance on the bike is quite different, as it is not like a normal mountain bike. But it's been a lot of fun.

Ish introduced me to a few of his friends and we went out last Friday and attended an Ocktober Fest that was happening in the area. Had brats, sourcraught, pretzels and beer for dinner. Ish was absolutely exhausted as he had drank this energy drink earlier in the day and it seemed to negatively affect his system. Instead of giving him energy, it seemed to absolutely exhaust him. We had a few videos to return to the movie library at campus so decided to leave the festival after dinner and drop the videos off. I figured the walk may wake him up a bit but it didn't. I wanted to get him home so he could have some rest; however, he was determined that I enjoy myself so we went for ice cream and then a drink at a new restaurant, where we met up with his friends again before finally going back to his place, where Ish passed right out and was dead to the world.

One morning during my visit, Ish and I were sitting out on his house's porch. We had just finished lunch and were watching the squirrels bury their nuts in the lawn and reveling in the songs of the twittering birds. Ish and his housemate planted a nice little vegetable garden beside the fence in the front yard as well as the garage in the back yard. The garden in the front yard ends right near the sidewalk, adding some green foliage to the front of the property. So we were sitting their observing the world around us. A lady with a dog was walking along on the sidewalk. Her dog popped a squat right IN the vegetable garden and peed for a good 15 secs (must've had a pretty full bladder!). Ish was in shock that the lady (who had obviously seen us watching) allowed her dog to pee right in the veggie garden. Ish was shocked speechless. After the lady had already left, he determined he would make a sign for the vegetable garden that would read, "Do not let your evil, evil dog pee here!" The way he said it, it was so funny! Later that afternoon I warned Ish's housemate that if he was going to eat veggies from the front yard, he might want to give them a thorough washing first! Break out the antibacterial soap! No wonder some of the swiss chard leaves were turning yellow!

Lastly, I want to share a Youtube video that is pure art in motion! Enjoy!

G.I. Janes: Why Women Soldiers Should be allowed to Participate and Lead Combat Missions

Right now I'm still waiting to schedule that interview with the Canadian Forces for the job working as a Chapel Life Coordinator / Unit Chaplain at the biggest air force base in Canada. I've offered to drive there so as to have a face-to-face interview instead of over the phone. I think this offer will illustrate to them my committment and will also give me an enjoyable car trip, albeit a long one.

A friend of mine forwarded me an article about women US military officers being actively involved in planned combat missions. I would encourage readers of this blog entry to also read the article I was forwarded, titled, "A Quiet Circumvention of Morality -- Women in Combat," by Albert Mohler.

My friend and I had a discussion a few years back whereby I expressed my support and pride for the Canadian Forces, particularly in how they permit women soldiers to hold active roles in front line combat as well as in leading combat missions. My friend disagreed with me, siding with the US military's mandate that women soldiers not be placed in planned combat missions nor in the front lines of war. He offered many arguments, which were persuasive but still failed to convince me that women soldiers should not be allowed to participate in and even lead combat missions.

So my friend sent me the article and asked for my opinion. I want to share with you my response.

I found the first half of the article you shared to be very telling of the situation. US military women are performing front line duties even though it goes against the US military's regulations. At the same time, I vehemently disagree with the author's statement that - by agreeing that women should be allowed to join combat situations - "the American people are demonstrating their disregard for the moral wisdom of the ages." Certainly, men and women have been created with distinct gifts and strengths. Whether or not they are married and have children, women still are endowed with a maternal, caring nature. Furthermore, they are principally peacemakers by nature, exhibited by how statistics show women are found to commit less violent crimes than men.

That being said, women will also stand against injustice and defend their family and their nation, even if it means resorting to combat and knowing that such combat may mean death. As such, I believe women soldiers have every right to enter into combat missions. Furthermore, I understand my position as being biblically based. For example, there is the Judge Deborah who journeyed into battle along side Barak (cf. Judges 4-5). She is the one who proclaims God's word to journey forth into war. Then there is also Jael, who goes on what appears to be her own commando mission and kills the fleeing Siscera with the use of nothing more then a tent peg (cf. Judges 4: 17-21). There is also the woman from Thebez that uses a rock to kill the up-coming King Abimelech, who was beseiging her town (cf. Judges 9:50-57).

Of course there is also the story of Judith. The vengence and wrath of Nebuchadnezzar upon the ancient near eastern world is described in great detail for the first three chapters, as if to further impress the gravity of the situation facing the Israelites, who were one of the nations he swore to conquer. Upon hearing the stories of destruction of surrounding nations, the Israelite people prostrate themselves before the Lord and beg for mercy. Did God raise up a male army to defeat Nebuchadnezzar? No. Instead, the Lord raised up a widow who was a strong "God-fearing woman" to enact judgment and save Israel.

Just as a mother bear will defend her cub, a mother will defend her child... is it so different for a woman to want to defend her family and her country? Or are we expected to just sit at home and be good wifey's? That's what some would like to believe as having happened during WWI and WWII; however, those women who did remain home were left with a great burden of responsibilities. Many had to be their family's and their nation's providers, as women were not only dealing with their domestic responsibilities but they were also the ones who ran the factories and tilled the fields in the absence of the men fighting over seas.

Overall, I do believe women should be allowed into the front lines and yet I also recognize that combat is meant as a last resort (hence why I also strictly opposed Bush's supposed 'preemptive strike' policy, but that's another matter). I agree with the author Albert Mohler that war and combat is certainly a messy business. At times it involves trickery and tretchery. Even in the above biblical stories of courageous women who went to war and put themselves in harms way in order to save their nation... even some of these saintly women resorted to trickery, using their intellect and pragmatism to enact their mission and ensure victory over Israel's enemy.

I have yet to hear or read an argument to convince me that women should not be allowed to fight for their country and their family in the front lines. I encourage discussion on the matter and am certainly open minded to being proved wrong on this issue, so feel free to respond with your two cents. ;-)

Cold Lake, Interpretation, Three-Toes, Child Vandals, and more!

My eyes are shutting but I feel like I owe a post on my blog. I'm waiting to hear from Cold Lake Alberta, as they said they are very backlogged and that it'd be awhile before they could schedule interviews.

An important thing to note: I spoke with the Captain in charge of recruiting people to military chaplaincy and he assured me that lay Catholic women CAN BE AND ARE military chaplains.

I haven't applied to many jobs since then; however, I hope to contact the Vancouver Archdiocese and talk to the guy in charge of the religious education department, as well as a contact I received from a professor friend regarding a guy who's in charge for hiring Catholic elementary and high school religious education teachers.

My job in Manning is going great but the end is quickly approaching, as my last week is the beginning of September :-(. I've been having such a great time with the kids and families. A lot of laughs and God has spoken to me through them so much! For example, I could not stop laughing for a good 5 minutes last week when I had closed and locked the amphitheater door. I turned and was looking down at the stage in front of the door.... and there I saw that some little kid had used a rock to scribble a message into the painted stage. It read, "HI ANGELA!" I laughed really hard, particulary because a lot of thought must've gone into it, as the kid strategically placed the message in the exact place where I would see it after shutting the door and turning around! It spoke to me because I felt like it was God greeting me through an innocent child... an innocent child who just wanted to make some form of contact with me, without realizing they were vandalizing the amphitheatre in the process ;-)

In the last week and 1/2 I've seen 2 three-toed woodpeckers, which are a species at risk and which I've never seen in Manning (although I have seen the signs of them being around) over the 4 years I've worked there. A real treat! They're the tiniest woodpecker found in Manning, unique from other woodpeckers because they only have 3 toes, whereas most woodpeckers have 4 (two in the front and two in the back).

I have some pictures of the first three-toed I saw; however, it may be awhile before I get to post them. So I'll just put a pic I found off google here so you get to know what one looks like. Their numbers are going up in Manning because of the many bark beetles we have there. Gives them lots of food and they seem to be thriving, as I find lots of their sign throughout the forest. Such a blessing to see them at work though, at to see two in just over one week!

I've been using my spare time in between programs to go fishing and kayaking. My pooch Siska came with my on Monday when I went kayaking. She's not afraid of the boat but is oblivious to the fact that balance must be maintained in the boat... particularly since it's a 2 person kayak and I was sitting in the back seat! Silly dog decided to go and stand on the nose of the boat! I eventually realized she just wanted a drink of water. Our fishing excursion was successful, as I caught a nice sized trout that was incredibly tasty. Brought it home and fried it up after my amphitheatre show. It was a deeelish snack!

Bed calls. A new week of interpretation begins tomorrow. Hope to go kayaking and fishing again too. Maybe will catch more than one snack this time ;-)

Busy, Busy... And Bunch of Great News

Things have been very busy for me lately. I basically wake up early in the morning and have two hours to do some errands around the house, pack lunch + get ready. Then I head out to the park and right when I get there I head up to the alpine to do a meadow walk. Then head back down the mountain, do a bunch of administration work. Have a late lunch. Head out to the campground and walk around roving, inviting people to the amphitheatre show, then run the show, pack up, go back to the office and grab my dog Siska, then drive back to Hope in the dark, have a late dinner, then pass out. While all this was going on, an added element was that the powers at be made the decision that my co-worker was to be let go. So that meant I had to come up with new posters, have them distributed, etc. It also means I will be doing 2 programs a day, 5 days a week. So the busy-ness will not slow down for the rest of August.

In the few morning hours that I've had to do things around the house before heading up to the park, I decided to do some research and track down the contact information for some of the most prominent historical and theological scholars that came to my mind. I emailed each scholar and sent a copy of my thesis, my cirriculum vitae (academic resume), as well as a research paper I did, involving examining the state of the question surrounding the Western demise of the deaconess, titled, "An Evaluation of Contemporary Thought on the Demise of the Deaconess in the Western Church from the 6th to 13th centuries."

I described my two different doctoral thesis ideas, the first one being that I could continue with my comparison between JPII and Bulgakov, particularly as I would enjoy comparing JPII's understanding of catholicity with Bulgakov's understanding of sobornost. My other thesis idea involves a historical-theological comparison between the positions of the Eastern and Western Christianity from the 6th to 13th centuries surrounding whether the female diaconate was understood as ordained within its own historical context as well as explore what led to its eventual demise. I have examined the state of the question on this matter and found that a comparison is required on whether an analysis of the female diaconate within the Byzantine Church can help clarify or elucidate anything regarding the Western female ordination issue and deaconess' demise, and vice versa.

In my email to each scholar, I explained that I was looking into different universities for my doctoral studies and asked them if they could give me any suggestions, considering my potential thesis ideas.

I wrote three prominent scholars:

(1.) Boris Jakim, the key translator of all of Sergius Bulgakov's Russian works;

(2.) Fr. Aidan Nichols, who has written a plethora of works on Bulgakov as well as John Paul II and is a very well known scholar and a visiting lecturer at Oxford University;

and (3.) Dr. Gary Macy, professor at Santa Clara University and author of the controversial book The Hidden History of Woman's Ordination.

In the 36 hours since sending off my emails, I HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED RESPONSES FROM ALL OF THEM!!! Let me put this in perspective for my readers. Imagine you are a musician who wants to make it big and somehow manage to get in touch with some of the leaders of the biggest bands out there, send them some of your song samples and ask them for their feedback + suggestions regarding how to forward your career. Now imagine that all these rock stars not only get back to you super fast but also really like your music and provide great suggestions about how you can go forward!! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!

Jakim, Aidan and Macy are like my three academic rock stars! And to receive responses from them makes me giddy! Jakim and Macy suggest that I pursue the historical-theological East-West comparison regarding woman's ordination and the demise of the female diaconate. Fr. Aidan had more suggestions regarding the continuation of a comparison between Bulgakov and JPII.

Fr. Aidan suggested the following:
" About your further studies: have you considered the new Catholic University at Lviv? It has on its staff an Orthodox who is a great expert on Bulgakov and the Paris school: Antoine Arjakovsky. The University uses English a good deal, I believe, and Antoine is bilingual in French and Russian, and I daresay has some English. Of course there must be people there who are strong on the Slavic Pope. Otherwise, I thought of Fr John Saward at Oxford, who, I happen to know,has co-supervised a thesis on Bulgakov and written a book on Pope JPII. He can be contacted via Blackfriars Oxford (postcode OX1 3LY) where he is a Fellow. On the women deacons question I can't think of an obvious place to do that: perhaps the Institut Catholique in Paris, or the Augustinianum in Rome,or the Catholic University of America in Washington, but I don't have names to suggest."

Jakim gave me the contact information for Fr. John McGuckin at Union Theological Seminary in New York and told me Fr. John would make an excellent thesis advisor, as he has a well-rounded understanding of my topic and is an eminent historian of Orthodox theology and director of the St. Sophia Institute at the Union Theological Seminary.

Macy's email really surprised me! Not only did he get back to me in under 24 hours, but he also had read all the papers I sent him, including my critical review of his The Hidden History book and my paper on the state of the question surrounding the deaconess' demise in Medieval times. This is his area of expertise and I was incredibly flattered to receive his feedback that my papers were "very well done" and that he looks forward to having "longer discussions" over both papers, and agrees with my conclusions! He also sent me one of his papers that is being published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Religion and Society. I feel incredibly honoured to be given this sneak peak of his paper. Furthermore, Macy said he will be sending me another paper soon that he wrote after giving a speech to the Catholic Theological Society of America. Macy also advised me that I consider going to the Graduate Theological School at Berkley. This is what he wrote:

The Graduate School of Theology at Berkeley does offer the doctorate, and SCU has a connection the GTU. The largest of the members of the GTU consortium, the Jesuit School of Theology (JST) in Berkeley has just recently become a college of Santa Clara University. Our faculty teach for JST and so can direct theses and teach doctoral courses for GTU.


That said, the GTU is a great place to do doctoral work. I suggest you look over their website carefully:

http://www.gtu.edu/

The GTU library is one of the best theological libraries in the States if not in the world. UC Berkeley's libraries are literally three blocks from the GTU library (I know; I work there a lot). Joint degrees are possible with UC Berkeley. The Bay area includes not only the Berkeley schools, but Stanford and the University of San Francisco (among others). One of the Centers at GTU is the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute which, I imagine, would be of great help to you in your work on deaconesses in the Eastern Church. I would think that GTU and JST would be worth serious consideration for your work. Of course, then there is San Francisco and the Bay area itself as a draw. Great weather, good food from all over the world and, of course, terrific wine (if such things are of interest).

He concluded his email to me stating, "Well, that's an introduction. I look forward to reading your Master's thesis and to continuing our discussion."

ISN'T THAT AWESOME???!?? From the sounds of things, he'd be interested in being my thesis advisor if I went to Berkley. And I know that Berkley is a great school, amazing school in fact.

Union Theological Seminary in New York is also a very interesting option for my doctorate. I looked through some of their course offerings and got really excited. It's very inter-faith oriented and encourages dialogue between the different traditions as well as offer more hands-on, ministry courses where students work in areas of NY on various humanitarian projects. And having the St. Sophia seminary there would allow me to gain a deeper understanding of the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

One more highly exciting thing is I've been contacted by the Canadian Forces regarding my civilian application for the Chaplain Coordinator position!!!! I'm moving on to the 2nd phase of the application process!! AND THE BASE THAT THEY'RE CONSIDERING ME FOR IS COLD LAKE ALBERTA!! THEE BIGGEST AIR BASE IN CANADA!!!! I LOVE THE AIR FORCE!!!!!! My mom's also ecstatic about this, as me working in Cold Lake would just give her another excuse to come visit. Actually, my mom's been gone for over a week now because she went for a air show up in Cold Lake! So I responded to the Canadian Forces and told them, YES OF COURSE I AM STILL INTERESTED!!!! WOOT WOOT!! Please pray for me as I really really want this job!