Sorting

I’m fascinated by the various houses in the Harry Potter series. How each one is unique, each one has its own special character and style. Brave Gryffindor, hardworking, Hufflepuff, intelligent Ravenclaw, and of course slimy Slytherin. Students are placed into houses by the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat is a magical hat that can read a student’s character. There is some question of nature vs. nurture, but imagine Ron in Ravenclaw or Neville in Slytherin, it just doesn’t fit. The Sorting Hat knows the sort of environment that will support the young witch or wizard best, and places them accordingly. It’s a pretty great system.

It’s sorting season at LSTC right now. Juniors are starting to hear back from CPE placements, starting to visit MIC sites. Middlers are deep into internship interviews. And for the seniors, next week is regional assignments, where we get some notion as to where our first calls might be. It’s a crazy time. Sometimes I wish LSTC had a Sorting Hat, that I could put on and it could look into my mind and determine just the place where I would grow the most. And if it got stuck, I could discuss with it, like Harry did, “Not Slytherin, not Slytherin,” and it would change its mind.

We don't have a Sorting Hat, but we do have the Holy Spirit. Who blows through the various processes of assigning and interviewing and sorting and makes sure things turn out right. Not always as we wanted, but right. It’s hard to trust the Spirit sometimes; she’s not solid, like a hat. She doesn’t sing me a song before she presents her decision. But she blows through the process anyway. And better than the Sorting Hat, she keeps working long after the placement is made, molding and shaping us and our future congregations into our combined mission. Let the sorting begin.


Image from: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/File:Sorting_hat.jpg