PHILADELPHIA -- Did you "harvest" a big candy corn crop for your sweet tooth this fall? How about those little chocolatey mints? Or perhaps you have a yen for colorful gumballs or those gummy little bears that challenge your fillings.

If so, chances are that over the years you’ve eaten candy to which seminarian Stephen Brisson has applied a kind of finishing touch. Brisson, a 37-year-old chemist by trade, spent years working to perfect candy coating glazes that improve the appearance and help maintain the freshness of all kinds of candy snacks. (The glaze coatings also make medicinal pills easier to swallow and less bitter to the taste. Various coating thicknesses on the tiny beads in time-release capsules govern how quickly the medicine dissolves in your system.)

During his food science career he traveled to such household-recognized candy manufacturing sites as Mars, Hershey and Cadbury. There, he’d tout the products of his employer, Mantrose-Haeuser of Attleboro, MA, which specializes in the manufacture of candy and pharmaceutical coatings, all approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. His research and sales travels took him all over the world -- Canada, England, Spain, Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, France, Germany and Australia.

But beginning this fall, he’s traveling in a different direction as a resident-commuter at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Each Sunday he points his pickup truck toward Philadelphia for four days of classes and studies preparing him for a career as a parish pastor. It will take him four years to achieve his goal.

Are Seminary studies a far leap from a scientific world of improving the quality, efficiency and appearance of candy coatings in favor of thoughts of more spiritual sustenance?

In some ways Brisson doesn’t think so. His wife, Sarah, and son, Neil, have, in fact, been close to the church for many years. "My wife and I are best friends," Brisson says. "We’ve enjoyed teaching Sunday school together. The pastors at my home church (St. Mark, Woonsocket, RI) have all been good teachers. They’ve played a role in deepening my faith. And I’ve felt some real stirrings in recent years. I recognize that just as the pastors I’ve known have been able to teach me, I believe I have the same ability to make the message of the Gospel clear to others." He gives special credit to his pastor, the Rev. Thaddius Platt, for being a spiritual mentor to him.

Brisson says he first brought the idea of seeking ordination to his wife in 1994. "She wasn’t surprised," he said. "Because we had taught Sunday school together, she knew of my feelings."

But the decision to attend Seminary has been a major commitment on several fronts. First, Brisson had to sacrifice a successful career. Now, his wife, a contract administrator for a company that makes machines used in the manufacturing of paper, makes the family’s only income. Son, Neil, 17, is getting ready to enter college next year.

Brisson also spends a significant period of time each week away from his family. "That’s difficult," he says. Each week he drives 600 miles round-trip from his Attleboro home in a 1989 vintage truck with 100,000 miles on the speedometer. "But Sarah and I are excited that next year, when Neil is in college, we’ll be able to be together here in Philadelphia."

The scientist admits he was nervous about coming back to school to study topics like church history and writing theology compositions. "After thinking like a scientist for so many years I wondered, would I be able to think differently? Would it be possible for me to write in a different way? So far, everything just feels right, and my studies are giving me a new perspective on my background. I’m enjoying it."

Clearly, while studying Bible and theology, Brisson hasn’t lost his taste for candy. As he leaves an interview, he reaches on the table for a mint morsel he’s been describing earlier in scientific terms. "Just one of these," he says with a grin, popping it into his mouth.

Steve Brisson may be interviewed by calling him Monday through Wednesday at 215/248-7339