Army Chaplain Morsan McSweeney (MDiv ’11) was drawn to Fuller for entirely practical reasons—she was studying at a Baptist seminary when she decided she wanted to be ordained in the Presbyterian church—but ended up finding everything
that she wanted and needed at Fuller for her career as a military chaplain.

McSweeney credits Fuller’s ecumenical diversity for giving her a “well-rounded education,” while at the same time  acknowledging that being able to remain Presbyterian, instead of becoming a nondenominational minister, was “more useful to the Army and more beneficial for my military career.” Further, McSweeney appreciates the opportunities she had at Fuller to take Presbyterian courses where she learned about the practical matters of presiding over communion or funerals, as
these are “extremely important tasks that all ministers and chaplains are required to do.”

Additionally, McSweeney found her supervised internships through Fuller to be especially valuable. “These were amazing opportunities that gave me the hands-on experience that I needed,” she recalls. While completing her chaplain practicum with
the Army every summer, McSweeney was pleased to find that by taking intensive courses and through Fuller Online, she could still maintain her course load. “I was even able to access Fuller’s library database from where I was,” she says, “so I could
obtain all the journal articles I needed to write my papers.”

But McSweeney was thankful for the many classes she took in person, because when she came to Fuller she desired to build relationships for her career both in and out of the Army. In classes and quarterly meetings with military chaplains, she met
other students with a similar calling to hers, so they could “explore and develop their callings” together.

“My call to military chaplaincy has been a lengthy process,” shares McSweeney, who served in the Army Reserves as a chaplain candidate for five years and was recently promoted to captain and chaplain. “But it’s been an amazing one!”