Until the world is different
David struck Goliath down on his first try and was celebrated in victory. That’s a nice way for the story to end but it’s important to remember that he took five stones with him. He understood that sometimes your faith has to endure a failure. All his hope can’t go into one stone. He’s going to have to keep throwing them until the world is different.
Alexis Vaughan, 2024 Convocation Address
Service of light. On Monday, December 1, at 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Grail, students held an Advent service of candlelighting, hymns, ensemble music with vocals, keyboard, flute, clarinets, guitar, and double bass, and five brief reflections on the candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and Christ.
Luther Young, Assistant Professor of Religion and Society at Boston University, returned for a forum on November 17. Titled, "Heal Thyself": Lessons to the Church from Black LGBTQ People, his presentation drew from field study and in-depth interviews in Black congregations. An ordained Disciples minister and former moderator of the Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance, he is also on staff at Lighthouse Church of Chicago.
Deck the halls. Students have decorated the Common Room, stairwell, and atrium with both Christmas and Hanukah decorations. Meanwhile, they are also readying themselves for the last week of courses and, following that, finals week. The quarter ends December 12.
Salvage Poetics. Sheila Jelen, Professor of Religion, Literature, and Visual Culture and the History of Judaism, and Director of MA Studies at the Divinity School, spoke on October 20 about ‘Gathering the Fragments’: A Variation on Salvage Poetics, on her recent research on Holocaust testimonies and artifacts and the differing methods used by museums to collect, archive, and display them.
First the desks, and then the students began to arrive as the renovation wrapped up. Entering students arrived in time for new Student Orientation beginning September 21. Returning Scholars and ecumenical residents moved back in time for classes.
