God-sized Dreams: Advice for College Students
Nathan Swedberg graduated in 2012 with a B.A. and an M.A. from UVa’s Batten School of Leadership School and Policy. He then was part of the World Race, a discipleship and missionary program by Adventures in Missions. For one year he and his team travelled to 11 countries and four continents, serving a number of different ministries—and serving the physical and spiritual needs of the people they meet. (Read Nathan’s blog!)We emailed Nathan to ask him share advice to you incoming college students. Here’s what he sent us:
Sorry about the delay!!! Just got out of Swaziland with no internet access...
Hmmm a few thoughts as I get internet quickly:
College is an amazing time to approach "identity." What are you going to identify yourself with? Who are you going to identify yourself with? What hard choices are you going to make? It's not something that's supposed to feel condemning, and you don't want to live under excessive pressure, but the decisions you make during your college years (and then on during your twenties) will have huge ramifications for your life. But that should come as no surprise-- habits you form today will determine what you're doing tomorrow, the character you form, and the destiny you walk into.
Having said that, college is a great time to make mistakes-- don't avoid them. I did too much of that. Take classes you wouldn't normally think to take. Hang out with many diverse groups. Become friends with people you wouldn't gravitate to first. Live adventurously. Do enough preparation to allow yourself sweet spontaneity.
Know that you will have an amazing time at this great institution, but life doesn't end there, and in fact there is much more "living the dream" to be had afterwards. Let UVa be a launching pad. Let God god-size your dreams.
Vintage Saints & Sinners Podcast: Bonus Episode
Season 1 of the Vintage Saints and Sinners Podcast ends with a bang of a bonus episode!
Author Carey Wallace joins host Karen Wright Marsh to talk about her fabulous new book, Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace and Courage.
They slew dragons, led armies, and talked with animals. From martyrs and healers to scholars and shepherds, Carey Wallace tells the riveting stories of seventy best-loved saints in her children’s book that appeals to all ages, with splendid illustrations that bring saints both familiar and obscure to life. Karen and Carey explore the difference between fairy tales, myths and hagiography, talk about what kids truly want in a story, and trade favorite tales. Take a sneak listen below..then listen to the entire episode.
Celebrating Our Fourth Year Fellows!
Our Horizons & Perkins Fellows journey together over the course of a year exploring themes around vocational discernment by walking alongside community mentors. Through these Fellows Programs, we seek to help shape the next generation to love God and love our neighbor amidst a broken and divided world.
Want to hear more from our graduating Perkins and Horizons Fellows?
Click on their image to read their blog entries on the Theological Horizons Blog!
We are so proud of all of these amazing students, and we are so grateful to have known them during their time as undergraduates at the University of Virginia!
Billy Graham with Bob Marsh | Virtual Vintage: Summer Stories
He was known the world over as a compelling evangelist, called “America’s Pastor.” What does the life and work of Billy Graham look like from today’s vantage point? Watch the video or listen to the audio of our Virtual Vintage gathering as we hear from Special Guest Dr. Bob Marsh. Then explore all of our Virtual Vintage gatherings!
Triumph in defeat. Gain in loss. Love in hate. A Prayer from Howard Thurman
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
The quietness in Your temple of silence again and again rebuffs us:
For some there is no discipline to hold them steady in the waiting,
And the minds reject the noiseless invasion of Your spirit.
For some there is no will to offer what is central in the thoughts—
The confusion is so manifest, there is no starting place to take hold.
For some the evils of the world tear down all concentrations
And scatter the focus of the high resolves.
We do not know how to do what we know to do.
We do not know how to be what we know to be.
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
Pour out upon us whatever our spirits need of shock, of life, of release
That we may find strength for these days—
Courage and hope for tomorrow.
In confidence we rest in Your sustaining grace
Which makes possible triumph in defeat, gain in loss, and love in hate.
We rejoice this day to say:
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
Howard Washington Thurman (1899–1981), American preacher, philosopher, thought-leader, played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century. He was one of the principal architects of the modern, nonviolent civil rights movement and a key mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"This morning my oldest son asked me why folks were protesting": by Dean Shaka Sydnor
Shaka J. Sydnor, Assistant Dean of Students, University of Virginia
This morning my oldest son asked me why folks were protesting. I told him that the police killed another Black man and people were protesting police brutality against Black people and that protesting is a way for people to feel like their voices are heard. We talked about how throughout history White people have often discredited Black narratives on this. Then he asked me why people wouldn’t believe black people when they tell them their stories.
I thought about the time Corey Fraction and I were pulled over and harassed by the police. One officer circled the car and another questioned us for 45 minutes. They told us the car was registered to someone in Germany, repeatedly asked us where the drugs and guns were (bazookas to be exact). They kept us there looking for something and egging us on hoping that we would act out or give them a reason. We did not.
I thought about the time I was spotlighted and “pulled over” for running across the street at UAH and unfortunately got Adam Foss looped in and sat on the curb for 20 min while the officers tried to belittle us.
I thought about the time Alex Mohammed, Twon Dosa, Corey Fraction and I got pulled over in Pittsburgh and the officer kept asking Mo if he was a terrorist and kept trying to piss Twon off by mocking his ID photo.
Most importantly though I thought about the time when I was pulled over late one night in my hometown when I was moving back from college one summer. An officer pulled me over on a side street downtown around 11:30 at night, I had all my stuff from school in the back of my car. He asked me where I was from, why I was out so late and why I had so much stuff in the car. I told him I was coming back from college and he asked to see my college ID. Then he used his flashlight to look at every item in the back of my car and made me explain what every item was and the reason it was in my car. He never gave me a reason why he pulled me over but we all know. I was raised in a family of law enforcement officers and they knew enough to raise me to know that a lot of police will try to exert their power/authority over Black bodies.
I told my son that I don’t know why white folks don’t believe us when we tell them about our lived experiences. I didn’t tell him that I’ve told these same stories and people have told me to my face that “it couldn’t have happened like that” or “Black people are so dramatic” or “well you probably did something to get pulled over”. Instead I told him “Baby boy the folks protesting today, and even the folks rioting, are doing it in order to make it so that hopefully you’ll grow up in a world that’s just a little bit better and where folks will believe you.”
To my Black brothers and sisters, it pains me that we’re here again, but we’re resilient and will find a way to persevere as we always do.
To my white friends and family. If you are moved to action in this particular moment in time I welcome you to the conversation. But recognize you’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Ask questions to learn, not to be affirmed or vindicated. Wrestle with the parts that make you uncomfortable.
But most importantly learn to listen to and believe Black people. And please don’t do it for me. I’m hip to the game. Do it for these three boys who deserve to grow up in a world where their words are trusted and a world where it is evident that their lives matter.
-SJS
This reflection was originally posted on Shaka Sydnor’s Facebook Page. We thank Dean Sydnor for generously allowing us to share it here!
"Praying all the way to the bank" by Philip Yancey
Philip Yancey is an award-winning writer who addresses tough questions and explores central issues of the Christian faith. Watch his Theological Horizons Capps Lecture at the University of Virginia, “Two Themes That Haunt Me: Suffering & Grace” at vimeo.com/123200164.
As the statistics on illness and death due to COVID-19 keep rising, the economic statistics keep falling. In March the stock market lost more than $11 trillion in value, and has been yo-yoing ever since. While the more fortunate are mourning their dwindling retirement plans, the truly desperate have joined the 36 million Americans applying for unemployment benefits. How will they pay the rent or feed their families?
While watching the news one day, I flashed back to another time of financial crisis, the Great Recession of 2008. I had just written a book on prayer, and got an unexpected call from a New York journalist. “Any advice on how a person should pray during a time like this?” he asked. “Does prayer do any good in a financial crash?”
In the course of the conversation we came up with a three-stage approach to prayer.
The first stage is simple, an instinctive cry for “Help!” For someone who faces a job cut or health crisis, prayer offers a way to give voice to fear and anxiety. I’ve learned to resist the tendency to edit my prayers so that they’ll sound sophisticated and mature. I believe God wants us to come exactly as we are, no matter how childlike we may feel. A God aware of every sparrow that falls surely knows the impact of scary financial times on frail human beings.
For someone who faces a job cut or health crisis, prayer offers a way to give voice to fear and anxiety.
Indeed, prayer provides the best possible place to take our fears. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” wrote the apostle Peter. As a template for prayers in crisis times, I look at Jesus’ night of prayer in Gethsemane. He threw himself on the ground three times, sweat falling from his body like drops of blood, and felt “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” During that time of anguish, however, his prayer changed from “Take this cup from me…” to “…may your will be done.” In the trial scenes that followed, Jesus was the calmest character present. His season of prayer had relieved him of anxiety, reaffirmed his trust in a loving Father, and emboldened him to face the horror that awaited him.
If I pray with the aim of listening as well as talking, I can enter into a second stage, that of meditation and reflection. Okay, my life savings has virtually disappeared. What can I learn from this seeming catastrophe? In the midst of the crisis, a Sunday School song ran through my mind:
The wise man built his house upon the rock …
And the wise man’s house stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand …
Oh, the rains came down and the floods came up …
A time of crisis presents a good opportunity to identify the foundation on which I construct my life. If I place my ultimate trust in financial security, or in the government’s ability to solve my problems, I will surely watch the basement flood and the walls crumble. As the song says, “And the foolish man’s house went splat!”
A friend from Chicago, Bill Leslie, used to say that the Bible asks three main questions about money:
How did you get it? (Legally and justly, or exploitatively?);
What are you doing with it? (Indulging in needless luxuries, or helping the needy?);
What is it doing to you?
Some of Jesus’ most trenchant parables and sayings go straight to the heart of that last question.
A financial crisis forces us to examine how money affects us. Am I stuck with debts I accumulated by buying goods that were more luxuries than necessities? Do I want to cling to the money I have when I know of people around me in dire need? Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and we know that heaven will include no homeless, destitute, or starving people.
As the stock market dove to uncharted depths, I couldn’t help thinking of private colleges, mission agencies, and other nonprofits, which depend heavily on the largesse of donors. The IRS has dramatically loosened the rules that limit charitable deductions for 2020, hoping to encourage more giving – am I giving serious attention to the urgent appeals that fill my mailbox this year?
Which leads me to the third and most difficult stage of prayer in crisis times: I need God’s help in taking my eyes off my own problems in order to look with compassion on the truly desperate. In the Beatitudes, Jesus described a kind of upside-down kingdom that elevates the poor, those who mourn, the justice-makers and peace-makers, and those who show mercy.
The novel coronavirus has temporarily accomplished that societal reversal. In airports, janitors who clean the banisters and wipe the seats of airplanes are now as crucial to safety as the pilots who fly the jets. Each night, people in major cities honk horns, howl, or shout their appreciation for the health care workers who keep us alive.
We’ve learned we can get along without the sports industry that pays top athletes $10 million per year to chase a ball; meanwhile, harried parents of young children have new appreciation for the teachers who earn less than 1 percent of that amount. Last month Time magazine put some of the real heroes on their cover: cafeteria workers who serve up food to needy children. They could just as easily have profiled hospital orderlies or paramedics.
The question is, will we use this crisis time to re-evaluate what kind of society we want, or will we return as soon as possible to a society that idolizes the wealthiest, the most coordinated, the smartest, the most beautiful, and the most entertaining? A just, compassionate society builds on a more solid foundation.
The Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the Beatitudes, ends with Jesus’ analogy of the house on the rock: “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
In the days of a collapsing Roman empire, Christians stood out because they cared for the poor, because they stayed behind to nurse plague victims rather than flee afflicted villages, and because platoons of wet nurses would gather up the babies abandoned along the roadside by Romans in their most cruel form of birth control.
What a testimony it would be if Christians resolved to increase their giving in 2020 in order to build houses for the poor, combat other deadly diseases, and proclaim kingdom values to a celebrity-driven culture.
Such a response defies all logic and common sense. Unless, of course, we take seriously the moral of Jesus’ simple tale about building houses on a sure foundation.
Reprinted from the National Christian Foundation’s newsletter, 5/23/20
Cafe Nights for students & young alumni! Every Wednesday at 8pm
Cafe Nights was created to provide a space, specifically for students and young alumni, to come together once a week and engage in conversation and community together while learning from a speaker. Envision the atmosphere you may find at your favorite coffee shop or local hangout (grit coffee or the tea bazaar in our beloved Charlottesville perhaps?) - we want to capture that energy to bring people together even as we are still physically distant.
Specifically Cafe Nights will take place on Wednesday nights from 8-9 pm - we will come together to share a drink (if you want!) and engage in a short but meaningful conversation together. Each week we'll have a special guest speaker who does interesting and impactful work in the world. We will also have a fun “show and tell” where we hear from a student and friend once a week.
So Cafe Nights will be social, conversational, summery, fun.
Join us any Wednesday at 8pm at our Zoom space - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439384716
Let the Doubters Doubt: A Reflection on Wrestling with God and Walking away Wounded and Blessed | Sarah Woodard '20
First, a confession: whatever book I’m currently reading inevitably has a great influence on what I write, and that will certainly hold true for this post. Right now I’m in the middle of Rachel Held Evans’ Inspired, a book about the late author’s wrestling with Biblical doubt, imagining, difficult experiences in the church, and ultimately, about loving and being loved by God in the midst of it. As it turns out, this book came at a good time for me.
Last week, I turned in my last collegiate papers and exams, and this Saturday, I will attend virtual graduation and officially garner my new title as graduate and alumnus. Honestly, I’m not sure how to feel, especially about the virtual part. While I’m still processing these emotions, one emotion that keeps coming back to me—and that I’ve heard echoed by my friends and fellow class of 2020 graduates—is gratitude. Despite the disappointment of watching our highly anticipated graduation ceremony on our little screens and spread out all over the state, country, and even world, the word I have heard from the most people to describe their UVA experience since quarantine began is grateful. That is not to say that the gratitude we feel eliminates the sadness, anxiety, and uncertainty we feel. We hold our thankfulness and our sorrow at once.
So in the spirit of the collective gratitude that I believe helps sustain us in the grief, I want to add my own piece. Reading Inspired has reminded me of an unexpected source of gratitude: today, I am grateful for these last four years of what will surely be a lifetime of spiritual wrestling. I am grateful for the spiritual doubt, questions, and uncertainties that I acquired during my time at UVA. Mainly, I am grateful for the university—its classmates, students, and assigned readings—that introduced me to issues that made me doubt, and to the communities who welcomed me in my doubt and helped me process it without pretending to have all the answers. Spiritual growth is not possible without struggle and inquiry, so I am grateful to the communities that poked and prodded at my faith and unknowingly tested it in the fire. I am also grateful to the communities who watered and revived my faith when it began to dry out. Sometimes these communities were one in the same.
My classroom experiences went hand in hand with those in religious organizations. Questions that arose in the classrooms, conversations, and books I was reading for school—questions like, “Why has so much of the injustice and violence in our world been carried out in God’s name?” “Why am I just now learning about this particular moment of racial strife in America?” “What do I, as a follower of Christ, think about [insert political issue]?— were questions I was often able to wrestle with in religious organizations like Theological Horizons where I could consider them in light of God’s Word and other believers past and present.
Or, vice versa. Often, Christian organizations and friends raised new questions without attempting to answer them. Sometimes, I found my answers, or the beginnings to them, in so-called “secular” books or classes. The lines between the “secular” and “spiritual” are not so rigid as I once thought. That is one of lessons I’m thankful I learned here.
This question raising and doubting is sacred work. It is also human work. To doubt, to struggle, to ask questions about the world around us – this is how we better understand each other and God, broaden our horizons, and develop empathy. This work is not only what makes us essentially human, but also what makes us fundamentally humane. Journalist and civil rights activist Eugene Patterson said, “We don’t become more spiritual by becoming less human.” What I learned in my classrooms helped me cultivate and develop my humanity in a way that made me dive deeper spiritually.
In the last four years at UVA, I’ve asked and doubted, and I’ll doubt and ask some more. It is risky to ask questions. I can’t expect to wrestle with God and walk away unscathed. Jacob certainly didn’t; he limped the rest of his life from the wounds he acquired in his fight with God. I may just lose my faith if I keep pressing to understand why certain Biblical stories make God seem just fine with the Israelites annihilating entire indigenous tribes in Canaan, for example. But I will certainly lose my faith, even if quietly and without fanfare, if I silence and ignore my qualms and questions.
Evans argues that the “hardest part of religious doubt” is not feeling isolated from God but from your community. What a revelation, and one that has given me overwhelming cause for gratitude.
Thank you to the mentors, friends, and communities that gave me the freedom, encouragement, and courage to doubt my faith. Thank you for not isolating me when I asked, “but why?” when I demanded more, when I insisted, like doubting Thomas, on touching Jesus’ hands for the nail marks, for pressing my hand to His side to feel the wound left by the soldier who pierced him.
They could have isolated me—told me my doubts were dangerous—but they welcomed my doubting self with grace and humility instead. The graceful spirit of these people and organizations watered my soul when it thirsted and showed me the light when I was enveloped in darkness. They helped me to grow. Because of this posture of openness, because of the communities and individuals who allowed me to brashly and unabashedly spit my questions in God’s face, I have come out of college exclaiming, like the father of the boy Jesus healed of an impure spirit, “I do believe; help me with my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Like Sarah, I have laughed at God when he told me the improbable, and then fallen to my knees in awe when he saw it through (Genesis 18). When I was in the wilderness, I have asked God, like King David, “Why have you forgotten me?”; I have been able to “pour out my soul” and “praise” Him even as my bones shake in agony within me, “saying to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42).
And I want to continue to do so. In the words of Evans, “I’m still wrestling, and like Jacob, I will wrestle until I am blessed. God hasn’t let go of me yet.” And neither has my community let go of me yet.
A Coronavirus Prayer
Jesus Christ,
you travelled through towns and villages,
“curing every disease and illness.”
At your command, the sick were made well.
Jesus Christ, healer of all,
stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.
Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus,
that we may experience your healing love.
Heal those who are sick with the virus.
May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care.
Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together
and neighbors from helping one another.
Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability
to a disease that knows no borders.
Be with the families of those who are sick or have died.
As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair.
May they know your peace.
Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals
who seek to heal and help those affected
and who put themselves at risk in the process.
May they know your protection and peace.
Be with the leaders of all nations.
Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern
for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve.
Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions
that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks.
May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.
Whether we are home or abroad,
surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few,
Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn,
persist and prepare.
In place of our anxiety, give us your peace.
Jesus Christ, heal us.
Matching Gift Challenge 2020!
In daily reports of distress and disruption, the voice of fear speaks.
Fear gnaws away at all the ties that bind us to God and to others. Hell rejoices as we sink into ourselves, helpless and despairing, persuaded that we are alone.
At Theological Horizons, we declare a deeper, hope-filled truth:
we proclaim the One who overcame fear, who nailed it to the cross. "We name the One who is the shout of victory of humankind redeemed from the fear of death: Jesus Christ, the Crucified and Living One." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
our Theological Horizons board & staff (not pictured: Taylor Harris)
Now more than ever, Theological Horizons is an "essential service",
delivering God's Word of promise each day. God speaks Truth to us and through us as we minister in fresh, creative ways.
All together now! Let us speak up and speak out.
God is faithful. God provides. God blesses. God empowers.
Now we choose to serve. We choose to trust. We choose to love.
We choose to be generous.
Together in body then. Together in spirit now!
I invite you to answer the call of our generous Challenge Donors,
friends who promise to match each and every dollar you give through May 31.
Each prayer you offer, each financial gift you make, strengthens the Theological Horizons community and allows us to speak more boldly.
Through this Matching Gift Campaign, may YOU experience confidence in Christ's victory over fear. **Respond now by clicking one of the links below!**
All together now! Thank you!
-Steve Scoper
T.H. Board Chair
All together now! With Dr. John M. Perkins at the Perkins House in February
on Anxiety: Virtual Vintage with New City Counseling
Theological Horizons' Virtual Vintage welcomes New City Counseling's Ellen Foster and Tim Jones for an hour of insight and conversation about anxiety. We begin with the questions: What do we do with the feelings that arise from our anxieties? How do we explore the origins of our anxieties? Tim and Ellen discuss anxiety in light of a Biblical framework, our bodies and our stories.
Now you can watch the video or listen to the audio of their presentation — and listen in on the question and answer conversation that follows. For more Virtual Vintage archives, go here: https://www.theologicalhorizons.org/vintage
Tim Jones is the director of New City Counseling here in Charlottesville and is also a counselor there. He has 12 years of clinical experience as a nationally board certified counselor and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Tim lives in Charlottesville with his wife and six children and also serves on the staff of Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Ellen Foster is the assistant director and a counselor at New City Counseling. She holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary. She enjoys hiking, running and cooking—all activities she’s been able to continue during this time of distancing!
Click HERE to listen to the audio
(Click on the titles below for details.)
From Tim and Ellen:
To Be Told, a book by Dan B. Allender
Be Not Afraid: Facing Fear with Faith, a book by Samuel Wells
“Inflammation of the Heart”, an article by Curt Thompson
“A Body of Work”, an article by Curt Thompson
A Charlottesville Counseling Resource List from New City Counseling
And other resources:
“Words of Hope for Today”, an interview with Dan Allender
“On Anxiety, Calm + Over/Under Functioning”, podast with Brene Brown
“Jesus and Your Brain”, Curt Thompson at the Bonhoeffer House
Legitimate Longings on the Road to “Adulthood” | By Temi Akinola '20
As a child, I can remember listening to the sounds of a zealous Nigerian pastor while she or he would fervently proclaim behind the podium, “to live is CHRIST and to DIE is gain”. This would usually be followed by something along the lines of “If you’re not ready to suffer for the Lord, you are simply not doing it right” or better yet, “we did NOT come here to have fun, we came here to do the work of the Jesus Christ!”
As I grew older and later developed a personal relationship with the Lord, I began to realize that phrases such as these became embedded in my outlook towards obedience and vocational calling. In my view, God not only favored the stoic suffering of those who made noble sacrifices, but he also placed a hierarchy on the kinds of work that we do. In Nigerian and other west African households, there is a common joke amongst children that we each have three career options: either being a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. Why these three, you might ask? These three not only guaranteed the most “stability,” but they also ensured that we’d make the best use of our resources without playing around with our God-given talents. As my dad would often say, “it’s not about what you want, it’s about what is best”. So, in the same way that those late-night prayer services were not about having fun, or about whether I wanted to be there, I envisioned that my calling was less about my joy and more about effect. God had called me to take the road less traveled by and for that reason, I was not allowed to choose what I loved but instead I was required to do whatever would leave the most profound impact.
Last fall, during a “fellows” retreat, a group discussion leader pulled out a picture of what he termed the “Discernment Daisy”. In the top left corner of the photo, there was a Sun that contained the description “Presence of God-without which nothing grows” written directly in the center. Beneath this sun, there was a six-petalled flower each of which represented a specific element in our life that could help us decipher what comes next.
One of these petals stated “desire”. In James K.A Smith’s You are What You Love he writes “Jesus is a teacher who doesn’t just inform our intellect but forms our very loves”. He then goes on to say “what if you are defined not by what you know but by what you desire”. For me, this statement was revolutionary. I realized that what I want will become what is best, when I allow my longings to be fashioned by the Lord. These words reminded me, that in the presence of God, my desires are His. My loves, my cares, my passion, my calling are all His. Whether those desires include sitting still and enjoying a cup of hot green tea while I listen to my friend talk about her post-grad struggles, traveling to a country outside of the western hemisphere, being the future president (LOL), going to grad school, HAVING FUN or ALL of those things- at once. They are all legitimate desires, and they don’t exist in spite of God’s calling, nor should they be ranked as more legitimate or more noble simply because one involves a more standard conception of sacrifice or “getting down to business”. They exist, and for that reason, they are all together blessed.
Reflections on the Pandemic | Fellow Brendan Berkel, '20
This virus pandemic sucks. A lot. I (nor has my fam) haven’t been directly affected by the virus, but it pains me to see the world getting damaged by it. Due to a lack of ventilators and other resources, many doctors in Italy, if they have survived the virus, eventually decide who gets to live or not (depending on age, status, etc…) which isn’t fair. Many people within our very country will probably be infected, and may even die, without any access to reasonable healthcare. The list goes on and on.
For the past few weeks, the greater Christian community has been discussing Lament, and what it looks like practically to lament during this time. But I, personally, have experienced more anger than sadness. At the root of it, I guess I am angry at the fact that I never really had control of anything to begin with. But I am upset at the fact that many things people have been working on will seem to never come to fruition. Maybe you were lifting and working out in preparation for warm weather days on the beach, which might not happen this year. Maybe you were grinding the first 3 years of college, and now you don’t get to experience that ‘easy 4th Year spring semester’. Or maybe jobs / internships you once had are no longer secured. Or maybe you have been striving to get your family back on their feet, just to experience unemployment once again. I’ve often found myself checking the corona numbers every other hour of the day, disappointed every time. And I will sometimes even convince myself that this will be over sooner than expected. I guess I am just upset with the way things are right now.
One good thing I have seen come out of quarantine (for me at least) is getting to spend time with family. Next year, 3 of the 4 siblings will be in college, and it is not often that all 6 of us are under the same roof for an extended period of time. My youngest sister will be an ‘only child’ for all of middle and high school, so us spending quarantine time with her will be very formative, I hope. This also seems like a ‘reset’ for a lot of people; I have never seen parks, walkways, and sidewalks more crowded with people walking and exercising. And that is much needed, especially during a time where TV’s and cell phones govern our lives. I understand that some homes are not the same as mine, and some families don’t quite function well when everyone is cooped up in a house for an extended amount of time.
My pastor at home said that the Lord may be using this time to expose us to our sins which we have buried in our busyness. I have had a lot of time to reflect on my life and my past decisions, and it’s sometimes scary to rediscover the things I have said and done. But the Lord does not expose us to shame us or call us out; He is simply reminding us of our need for Him. Even in the midst of my anger over lack of control, He has called me to lean into Him, and trust Him. I think about the future daily, and I love to plan for the weeks and months to come. I also find myself thinking about the past, and the many things I could have done differently. But it is important to recognize that the Lord is calling us to live in THIS moment, NOT to worry about the past (Philippians 3), and NOT to worry about the future (Luke 12).
To conclude, I am thankful for our Lord and Savior. I pray that His will be done, regardless of our suggestions or requests. I pray that we utilize and make use of the bread He gives us day to day. I pray that we, in the midst of this pandemic, continue to forgive wrongdoers, and I pray that we are reminded that Christ continues to forgive us. I pray that He leads us away from the temptations of our previous and current sins, and I pray that He delivers us this pandemic, from this evil product of sin. Ultimately, in all that we do during this time, to God be the glory.
Video! Micah Iverson on dreams, prayer & time in "Across the Horizons" conversation
Catch up with Micah at home in Atlanta, and find out the gifts he's discovering during this time of quarantine. Another video in our "Across the Horizons" interviews with friends far and near!
Living Intentionally - Reflections by Fellow Celine Opoku '20
From someone who has moved a few times during my life, the concept of staying somewhere for more than six or seven years seemed a bit intriguing to me. I always held the notion that we weren't meant to stay in one place but to venture to others. Yet, during a recent Fellow gathering, we discussed what it meant to intentionally live in an area. This comprises genuinely getting to know your neighbors, giving back to the community around you, and living out life in a way that most individuals don't.
If you asked me the name of my next-door neighbor who lives in the house next to mine, I wouldn't be able to tell you. This is the case, despite seeing them occasionally and saying the usual, "Hello, how are you?" Our neighbor to the right of us knows us because he mows our lawn as a relaxing past time. Sadly, I cannot even tell you this man's name or his family's. Yet, when he sees me coming back from school, he'll ask me how school is going and how my family is doing.
This relation between my neighbors is indicative of how our society has become. We have become very individualistic and don't take the time or effort to get to know those who surround us. Even though they may not be in our closest circles, it's a relationship that should still be forged. The two speakers who spoke that night in February were community leaders who graduated from UVa and settled in Charlottesville permanently. They intentionally decided to live in neighborhoods that were below their income levels. That amazed me because it's unheard of for people to live in a place well below their budget. It's a bit radical, but in the proper sense of the word.
Hearing their experiences made me really think about what I saw as truly living. I always considered myself a shaker. I never imagined myself to be like Wendell Berry, who had a farm out in nature and lived his life free from the materiality and the restlessness of the world. Therefore, it really put things into perspective for me.
As I go into the next phase of life, I will always consider and be intentional about forming relationships with the individuals around me. This starts with where I live now. A community isn't merely made up of believers, but in those who live in the cul-de-sac of your subdivision, just like mine. Who knows? Your neighbors may be believers, or you can draw them to Christ, and we can encourage establishing a community with one another.
Caring for one another: our commitment to community
Dear friends of Theological Horizons:
As we continue to receive news of our world's health crisis and its fallout, each of us surely experiences a myriad of responses. If we weren't already keenly aware of our own vulnerability, or that of our family and communities, we are surely feeling it now. The Gospel message speaks most saliently to those who are most fragile. Jesus Christ offers an unflinching hope to all who are in the grip of fear, loneliness and despair. How might we live into this hope together?
At Theological Horizons, our mission is to support Christians and seekers by providing a welcoming community for engaging faith, thought and life. During this unusual time, our work of support and community continues in new and creative ways.
Today we invite you into our renewed virtual community --- to both expose places of fear and receive God's indomitable love. Join us virtually to deepen our connections to one another; we need not fear isolation. Theological Horizons is moving all of our regular programs online in a variety of ways. Here are a few:
*Karen will lead Vintage Lunch teachings via an online platform (Zoom or Facebook live).
*Lenten e-devotionals will arrive in your email inbox each week.
*The Vintage Saints and Sinners Podcast is archived for streaming and we'll highlight one episode with extra resources each week.
*We are offering small group conversations and prayer gatherings for students via online platforms.
*We are be available for personal, one on one support via phone and FaceTime.
*We will feature "Best of Theological Horizons" video and audio lectures and workshops on our website.
Find all of this and more at theologicalhorizos.org.
Most importantly, we offer one another the powerful ministry of prayer. Join us in prayers of protection, especially for our elderly friends and healthcare providers on the frontlines. Lift up prayers for wisdom, especially for our those tasked with deciding our next steps as communities.
Know you are not alone and know you are loved by the great God of the Universe.
In faith, hope and love
Karen Marsh
P.S. We share a poem below (with thanks to All Souls Charlottesville)
Pandemic by Lynn Ungar
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love—
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
Lent: Unexpected Gifts in Difficult Times
Patrick (385-461)
From Patrick’s Confession
(Our favorite version of this text is translated by John Skinner with a foreword by John O’Donohue)
My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. At that time, I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity in Ireland, along with thousands of others. We deserved this, because we had gone away from God, and did not keep his commandments. We would not listen to our priests, who advised us about how we could be saved. The Lord brought his strong anger upon us, and scattered us among many nations even to the ends of the earth.
It was among foreigners that it was seen how little I was. It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognized my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance. He guarded me before I knew him, and before I came to wisdom and could distinguish between good and evil. He protected me and consoled me as a father does for his son. That is why I cannot be silent – nor would it be good to do so – about such great blessings and such a gift that the Lord so kindly bestowed in the land of my captivity. This is how we can repay such blessings, when our lives change and we come to know God, to praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven…. He said through the prophet: ‘Call on me in the day of your distress, and I will set you free, and you will glorify me.’ Again he said: ‘It is a matter of honour to reveal and tell forth the works of God.’ Although I am imperfect in many ways, I want my brothers and relations to know what I’m really like, so that they can see what it is that inspires my life….
So I am first of all a simple country person, a refugee, and unlearned. I do not know how to provide for the future. But this I know for certain, that before I was brought low, I was like a stone lying deep in the mud. Then he who is powerful came and in his mercy pulled me out, and lifted me up and placed me on the very top of the wall. That is why I must shout aloud in return to the Lord for such great good deeds of his, here and now and forever, which the human mind cannot measure. So be amazed, all you people great and small who fear God! You well-educated people in authority, listen and examine this carefully. Who was it who called one as foolish as I am from the middle of those who are seen to be wise and experienced in law and powerful in speech and in everything? If I am most looked down upon, yet he inspired me, before others, so that I would faithfully serve the nations with awe and reverence and without blame: the nations to whom the love of Christ brought me. His gift was that I would spend my life, if I were worthy of it, to serving them in truth and with humility to the end.
In the knowledge of this faith in the Trinity, and without letting the dangers prevent it, it is right to make known the gift of God and his eternal consolation. It is right to spread abroad the name of God faithfully and without fear, so that even after my death I may leave something of value to the many thousands of my brothers and sisters – the children whom I baptised in the Lord. I didn’t deserve at all that the Lord would grant such great grace, after hardships and troubles, after captivity, and after so many years among that people. It was something which, when I was young, I never hoped for or even thought of.
After I arrived in Ireland, I tended sheep every day, and I prayed frequently during the day. More and more the love of God increased, and my sense of awe before God. Faith grew, and my spirit was moved, so that in one day I would pray up to one hundred times, and at night perhaps the same. I even remained in the woods and on the mountain, and I would rise to pray before dawn in snow and ice and rain. I never felt the worse for it, and I never felt lazy – as I realise now, the spirit was burning in me at that time. It was there one night in my sleep that I heard a voice saying to me: “You have fasted well. Very soon you will return to your native country.” Again after a short while, I heard a someone saying to me: “Look – your ship is ready.” It was not nearby, but a good two hundred miles away. I had never been to the place, nor did I know anyone there. So I ran away then, and left the man with whom I had been for six years. It was in the strength of God that I went – God who turned the direction of my life to good; I feared nothing while I was on the journey to that ship…..
A few years later I was again with my parents in Britain. They welcomed me as a son, and they pleaded with me that, after all the many tribulations I had undergone, I should never leave them again. It was while I was there that I saw, in a vision in the night, a man whose name was Victoricus coming as it were from Ireland with so many letters they could not be counted. He gave me one of these, and I read the beginning of the letter, the voice of the Irish people. While I was reading out the beginning of the letter, I thought I heard at that moment the voice of those who were beside the wood of Voclut, near the western sea. They called out as it were with one voice: “We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk again among us.” This touched my heart deeply, and I could not read any further; I woke up then. Thanks be to God, after many years the Lord granted them what they were calling for. Another night – I do not know, God knows, whether it was within me or beside me – I heard authoritative words which I could hear but not understand, until at the end of the speech it became clear: “The one who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks in you”; and I awoke full of joy…..
So I’ll never stop giving thanks to my God, who kept me faithful in the time of my temptation. I can today with confidence offer my soul to Christ my Lord as a living victim. He is the one who defended me in all my difficulties. I can say: Who am I, Lord, or what is my calling, that you have worked with me with such divine presence? This is how I come to praise and magnify your name among the nations all the time, wherever I am, not only in good times but in the difficult times too. Whatever comes about for me, good or bad, I ought to accept them equally and give thanks to God. He has shown me that I can put my faith in him without wavering and without end. However ignorant I am, he has heard me, so that in these late days I can dare to undertake such a holy and wonderful work. In this way I can imitate somewhat those whom the Lord foretold would announce his gospel in witness to all nations before the end of the world. This is what we see has been fulfilled. Look at us: we are witnesses that the gospel has been preached right out to where there is nobody else there!
Breastplate prayer of Saint Patrick
Christ to protect me today against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so that there may come abundance of reward. Christ is with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me. Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
Lenten Resources
Here are some of my favorite resources for Lent. Share your own in the comment area!
ONLINE
Sacred Space Scripture and Daily Prayer to read online
You can get the print version of Sacred Space book for Lent on amazon. It's only 3.95!
Pray as you go daily Scripture and music podcast. Download the app, too.
Wonderful collection of poetry for Lent and Easter
Common Pray for Ordinary Radicals online -- you can get the hard copy of the book, too
Painted Prayer Book -- Jan Richardson is a painter and writer with some wonderful reflections, images poems...
The Lenten Project - Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts Biola University
BOOKS
Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion Through Ten Objects by Jill Duffield
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter my favorite Lent and Easter book ever
Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days by Trevor Hudson
Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent by Richard Rohr
Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings by Henri Nouwen