Aid Andrew's Path to Priesthood

Dear brothers and sisters,

My name is Andrew, and, God willing, I will be attending St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Fall 2025 with the goal of being ordained a priest.

After working as a paramedic for nearly 20 years, I now wish to be obedient to God's call. This prospect comes with significant life changes that I am humbly requesting your support for.

Pursuing the Holy Priesthood comes with the requirement of committing to full-time, residential study to obtain an MDiv degree while training for service within the church.

The decision to embark on this journey comes with the necessity of leaving my job, which is a significant sacrifice because of my responsibilities as sole provider to my family, husband, and father to four, soon to be five, wonderful children.

Our diocese and local parish are able to help with tuition, but there are multiple expenses like rent, utilities, books, gas, insurance, diapers, etc. That fall on us.

My family relies on my income, and without it, we will face considerable financial difficulties covering these and any other living expenses.

I would like to minimize the amount of student loans I may need to take on, as I want to ensure that my family is not burdened with debt in the future.

I created this gofundme campaign to help bridge this gap by seeking financial support to cover our living expenses during my time in seminary.

Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a significant difference in our lives and allow me to focus on my studies without the constant worry of financial strain, as I will be unable to work, even part-time while pursuing this vocation.

I know that times are tough for many, and I truly appreciate any assistance you can provide. Any money donated will go towards living expenses over the course of my time in seminary. The amount I'm asking for is an estimate based off of foreseeable expenses listed by the seminary and our parish priest who is an alumnus of St. Vladimir's. I am also including the estimated cost of what the homeschooling curriculum we are using with our eldest child would be for all our school-age children during my time in seminary. Should our goal be exceeded, the excess will go to things such as moving expenses and saving for unforeseen expenses.

If you are unable to contribute financially, praying, and sharing this link with others who might be able to help would also mean a great deal to us.

Thank you so much!

In Christ,

Andrew Collard and family