Welcome Perkins Fellows class of '23!
Introducing the Perkins Fellows, 2022-2023
We are thrilled to welcome our new class of Perkins Fellows! Perkins Fellows explore vocation through weekly community engagement. Named after the great Christian community development leader John M. & Vera Mae Perkins, this program builds bridges between the University and the community through mutually-beneficial partnerships. Perkins Fellows are placed with a community partner to connect their learning through service and theological reflection. Fellows receive mentoring and training in cross-cultural engagement and community development, with an eye towards vocational discernment in these fields of work.
Ashley Prillerman
Ashley is a third year from Southern California, born and raised. She double majors in Anthropology with a Concentration in Medical Anthropology and Archaeology. She participates in some clubs and organizations called Chi Alpha, BRIDGE -- Bringing Race into Dialogue through Group Engagement, and OAAA Peer Advisor. In her free time, you can probably find her napping, but if not she likes to hike, crotchet, cook, and read. She gets the wonderful opportunity to serve with Kindness Cafe. Kindness Cafe is a cafe located in the YMCA that hires and supports adults with cognitive disabilities. She is super excited to serve with a staff whose main focus is to love and support others and to get to know and love the staff members she will be working with.
Grace Jackson
Grace is a second year from Falls Church, Virginia hoping to major in Global Studies, Batten, and/or a social science. She loves to be outside, be creative, and have good conversations. She is learning what it means to love "the least of these" like Jesus did and will be serving with Abundant Life Ministries.
Porter Brown
Porter is a 3rd year from Greenville, South Carolina majoring in Architectural History and Spanish. He loves anything outdoors, especially skiing and fly fishing whenever he gets the chance! His community partner is Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/ Albemarle (LVCA). He has worked with LVCA in the past, and is excited to continue English and citizenship tutoring this year. He decided to work with LVCA to use his Spanish ability to assist others working towards English proficiency, which has also allowed him to practice my Spanish along the way!
Megnot Abebe
Megnot is a second year from Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. She’s planning to major in Commerce and Global Studies and enjoys having long conversations with people, spending time with friends and painting. She will be working with Abundant Life, who she chose to partner with “because of their holistic approach to serving community. They do not only offer opportunities of support, but engage community members by becoming one of them.”
Ava Flory
Ava is a second year at UVA planning to major in Commerce with a minor in Studio Art. She is from Falls Church, VA where she lived with her loving family and fluffy dog. When she’s not planning game nights or redesigning her room, you can find her sketching on the lawn, trying new foods, or exploring Charlottesville with friends. She has always been interested in how art can be coupled with business to enhance communities. Ava was very excited when she discovered IX Art Park and how they empower community through creativity. She looks forward to her year of volunteering with them and how she can grow through the process.
Baillie McNitt
Baillie is a third year studying Public Policy and Leadership and History. She hails from Annapolis, MD on the Chesapeake Bay, but loves her second home in Charlottesville. Although she loves VA hiking, her favorite place is the beach where she likes to surf and sail as well as enjoy a lovely beach read. She’ll be serving with The Haven, a day shelter serving folks struggling with homelessness.
September Prayers | Walking your prayers
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.”
Dear friends.
This summer, I had the chance to walk a prayer labyrinth at a retreat center I had visited 20 years previous. It’s called Rivendell and it fits its Narnian-name - nestled high on a little mountain, overlooking Snug Harbor cove, on a small island just north of Vancouver where my husband and I attended seminary. Prayer walking and labyrinths are ancient expressions of embodied prayer that help take us out of our heads and into our lived experience. Perhaps you can find one this month or create your own meditative route.
- Christy
Labyrinth; A Poem
I walk the labyrinth to you.
Catching sight of your smile,
as though across a room.
I make my way but
my feet are slow,
tied to the ground.
While you are there, I realise I am far,
and the labyrinth that I walk
turns me away,
that I must cast
a look behind,
to see your face.
And I must go back
to where I begin,
again.
But you’re still there,
your gaze a beacon of light
in which I’m held.
And as I walk,
I realise both in shadow
and in sun,
this path is a spiral
leading on,
though I might appear to retrace my route.
And my heart all the while
is safe in yours,
in this grace which surrounds.
And I see how
this centre I’m seeking,
this face I love
is my own looking back
in the bosom
of your love.
-Ana Lisa de Jong
How does Gen Z use faith to cope with anxiety?
How does Gen Z use faith to cope with anxiety?
Reposted from: Springtide July 11, 2022
It’s no secret that everyone deals with stress, yet Gen Zers may be especially susceptible to stress and the anxiety and uncertainty that comes along with it. Data gathered in our report Belonging: Reconnecting America’s Loneliest Generation, show more than half the young people we surveyed experience multiple stressors. Two-thirds of young people feel like they don’t have enough time to get everything done, and 56 percent say they have a hard time relaxing.
Yet, for some young people, engaging with religion and spirituality helps them soothe the stresses of life. Hear from young people who have shared their experiences as part of our research efforts about how religious and spiritual beliefs and practices can turn anxiety into peace and calm.
Just having it as something that I can talk to or pray to and know that there's something bigger than what's going on in my life. And just knowing that there's a plan for me and just kind of trusting and whatever's happening is happening for a reason. And just having that play in to my mental health being like, if I'm not doing the best and I go and talk to someone, I can also have my faith to talk to and rely on and like pray to, to kind of figure out what's going on.
—Lana, 22
Back then, since I really didn't have spirituality to lean on, it kind of made every situation worse for me, but now that I have that to lean on I still experience anxiety, but it doesn't necessarily make me feel as worried or as anxious if I were to go through something because I have something else to rely on, which is spirituality. And so, it's like knowing I have crystals in my pocket any time or go meditate any time. Knowing that I can do that and do those things, it really gives me like a sense of security if I were to go through something traumatic because I know I'll get through it because I've already gone through so much, but this time I have like a side kick, like the universe has my back and my spirituality is like my sidekick. So like, I'm like, yeah, we can, we can get through it.
—Parker, 21
When I used to be a Christian, I viewed everything that happened to me was because of God's ordination. Like every single thing, every single person that you meet, every, basically every single thing that happens around you, it has a purpose. And it's a good idea to just rely on God and to trust God, to trust his plan and what he has prepared for you every day. So even if negative things happen, like I would view it as like a lesson to be learned or perhaps like, it's like a message.
—Darren, 19
If I'm really sad, sometimes I’ll just like sit and pray and then it almost like makes me feel better ‘cause I know if I'm not ready to talk to like a person in real life about my problems, I can just like explain them to God for me personally. And that's almost like a weight off my shoulders. And then even if I just go to church typically in church, I'm not thinking about my other problems. And so it's almost just like an hour of escape for your mind, to me.
—Misty, 17
A Blessing for a New Position - John O'Donohue
As we welcome our new colleague Erin Verham, and as so many of you begin new jobs, receive this blessing from the wise poet, John O’Donohue:
“Blessings for a New Position,” To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
May your new work excite your heart,
Kindle in your mind creativity
To journey beyond the old limits
Of all that has become wearisome.May this work challenge you toward
New frontiers that will emerge
As you begin to approach them,
Calling forth from you the full force
And depth of your undiscovered gifts.May the work fit the rhythms of your soul,
Enabling you to draw from the invisible
New ideas and a vision that will inspire.Remember to be kind
To those who work for you,
Endeavor to remain aware
Of the quiet world
That lives behind each face.Be fair in your expectations,
Compassionate in your criticism.
May you have the grace of encouragement
To awaken the gift in the other’s heart,
Building in them the confidence
To follow the call of the gift.May you come to know that work
Which emerges from the mind of love
Will have beauty and form.May this new work be worthy
Of the energy of your heart
And the light of your thought.May your work assume
A proper space in your life;
Instead of owning or using you,
May it challenge and refine you,
Bringing you every day further
Into the wonder of your heart.- John O’Donohue, “Blessings for a New Position,” To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings (2008)
Meet our New Engagement & Communications Manager
We are thrilled to welcome Erin Haas Verham (UVa ‘16 & ‘17) to join us in a new, full time role to champion, organize and communicate the expanding work of Theological Horizons. Meet Erin!
Tell us a bit about your background.
I’m from Chesterfield, Virginia. I majored in Spanish Literature and Culture and got my Master’s in Teaching at UVa. I have family from Charlottesville, and we’d come to town for holidays, birthday parties, and sleepovers with my cousins. Charlottesville has always felt like a second hometown, so when I graduated, I decided to stick around. I’ve lived here for ten years now, and I love it!
What drew you to Theological Horizons?
Before TH, I hadn’t had much exposure to Christianity beyond the denomination of my upbringing, so I loved that TH introduced me to so many different strains of Christian thought and practice. At Vintage lunches, Karen read stories about people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Henri Nouwen, and John Perkins, among others, which left a lasting impression on me as I sought to understand how a good God could be present in such an unjust world. The Bonhoeffer House was a safe environment for asking difficult questions alongside others who welcomed the discourse, and this was very meaningful to me as a student.
I went straight into teaching after college, and five years later, I found myself burned out and hopeful for a change. When I saw the job listing for this position, I jumped at the chance to transition careers, especially with an organization that I held so dear. One thing led to another, and here I am!
What's your role at TH, and what are some hopes you have within it?
My title is the Engagement and Communications manager. I’ll have a role in a little bit of everything, keeping tabs on everyone so that things run smoothly. I’ll oversee the financials, tracking donations and managing the budget, in addition to filling some HR functions and coordinating staff and board meetings. I’m excited to get to know students at Vintage and through our intern partnerships. I hope to see ways in which my background in education will lend itself to my new responsibilities here.
What was the best class you took at UVa?
Definitely Introduction to Theater. We learned about different genres of theater and our assignments were performing our own interpretations of famous plays for the class. Our final exam was to create an original play from start to finish and then perform it for the class. The class gave me the opportunity to attend some really unforgettable plays and take an improv workshop taught by a troupe of clowns!
I often tried to incorporate what I learned from this class into my teaching; I loved using backdrops, costumes, props, sound effects, and actors to bring Spanish literature alive for my students. I’m also obsessed with Bravo reality shows, especially Real Housewives of New York and New Jersey, so for my 27th birthday, I wrote a Real Housewives-inspired play that I made my friends all dress up and perform together. I made a theme song complete with our faces morphed onto real video footage from the show, photoshopped my friends and I onto Housewives’ cast photos, created virtual backdrops with scenes from cast members’ real homes, etc. My friends even put together a Housewives-themed menu… we all went totally overboard, and it was the best. I loved the drama of it all. So of all the great classes I got to take at UVa, I’d say Intro to Theater has had the most lasting impact, hands down.
Join us for the Deeper Dialogues Facilitator Training!
Join us for the Deeper Dialogues Facilitator Training on August 27th from 10am-4:30pm. See our flyer here!
A Prayer of Peace and Strength
Saturate me in your presence,
safe from the lies of the enemy.
Saturate me in your Spirit,
casting all fear, anxiety, and doubt from my heart and mind.
Saturate me in your love, Lord God,
And keep me as the apple of your eye.
When I am tempted to fear, give me strength.
When I am tempted to anxious thoughts, give me peace.
When I am tempted to doubt, strengthen my faith with your very own.
- Kari Kristina Reeves
July Prayers | Look up!
Wherever you are, take a moment to look up and breath deeply God’s creational glory.
GREETINGS, FRIENDS.
July hopefully finds you with lingering moments to enjoy this breathtakingly beautiful world we indwell, in solitude or surrounded by people you love. Wherever you are, take a moment to look up and breath deeply God’s creational glory. Seventeenth-century rabbi, Yechiel Michel Halevi Epstein, recommended we gaze up at the sky daily to remind ourselves of the sacredness of all Creation. He wrote:
“When you get up, look out your window at the sky and the earth and recall the verse, 'Lift up your eyes on high and see -- who created all this?' (Isaiah 40:26). And think, 'How many are your works, YHVH, with wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your creations' (Psalm 104:24). Think of how wonderful Creation is, the sky and the earth and all that is in them — plants, animals, humans, creatures great and wonderful.”
Please savor selections from Psalm 104 below as well as a poem by Luci Shaw written amidst the pandemic, inviting us to “look up” and be reminded of the loving kindness of the Lord.
-Christy Yates, Associate Director
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved…
How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the Lord.-selections from Psalm 104, NIV
How? - Poem by Luci Shaw
How shall we sing the Lord’s songs
in a strange land? The old rhythms,
the melodies of praise, strangle
in our throats and the words
fall to the ground like leaves in autumn.
The air thickens with suspicion and doubt
and who’s to say anymore, what
is true enough to last, to prevail?
Isolation feels like a punishment
for offenses we never performed.
Let us trust, now, the ground under
our feet—that which has proven steady
for generations. Look up. The heavens
are still there, unclouded, beatific.
We breathe, even though masks clothe
our faces. Prayer surrounds us, close
as our skin, weaving for us garments of
trust and solace. Even in our isolation
we are joined in love, never alone.
photo credit: Ashley Brooks, Essex, MA
Join us for the PhotoVoice Dialogue Series!
We at Theological Horizons are seeking 6 people to participate in a virtual 6 week dialogue series called PhotoVoice, an arts-based approach to interpersonal understanding that has participant photography at its core. PhotoVoice is a fresh expression of dialogue that goes beyond words to engage the very images that make up our lives.
Our friends and mentors at Essential Partners have selected Theological Horizons to pilot their new innovative project, which is an iteration of the powerful Reflective Structured Dialogue technique we’ve used to guide our recent Deeper Dialogues @ UVA.
We warmly invite YOU to join the first PhotoVoice cohort, made up of adults of varied ages and stages who will share photographs based on community-oriented prompts.
There is no cost for this six week summer series.
No photography skills or special equipment are needed, beyond a simple method for taking photos (smart phone or camera) and the capacity to join a virtual gathering.
INTERESTED? Email mary-dryden@theologicalhorizons.org by July 7, 2022.
Meet our new Leadership Associate! | Mary-Dryden Maio '23
My name is Mary-Dryden (MD for short) Maio and I’m excited to be TH’s Leadership Associate for 2022/23! I’m a fourth year student at UVA double majoring in Spanish Language and Latin American Studies. I’m passionate about international justice, especially concerning the continued negative effects of U.S. power in Latin America. I hope to be a high school Spanish teacher in the future to teach students about this history that I didn’t learn about until taking a gap year in the region before beginning at UVA.
TH, and Vintage Lunch especially, has provided a great place for me to stay connected with the faith during my time at UVA while in a deep period of doubt and questioning. I never found a home within a more traditional student fellowship, and have instead been nurtured by Karen Marsh, who is, as all who know her will tell you, a source of great hope and inspiration. Co-leading the Deeper Dialogues initiative has been especially formative in learning how to bridge justice and faith.
What do I plan on doing after I graduate? Well, you’re the first one to ask me that! I’ve decided I will tell each person something different about my post-college plans, each one slightly less believable than the last; perhaps I will get my M.Ed. in Spanish, return to the mission where I was during my gap year, volunteer with the Peace Corps, go to the moon…I guess we’ll all have to wait and see!
June Prayers | Lament
GREETINGS, FRIENDS.
We enter the month of June with heavy hearts surrounding our nation’s horrific displays of gun violence in the past month.
Lament, anger, rage. All of these emotions are available to those who try to walk the Kingdom way. Perhaps these psalmist’s words and a liturgy from Every Moment Holy can make their way into your prayers this month.
-Christy
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.psalm 13. ESV.
Liturgy for Grieving a National Tragedy - Doug McKelvey
Leader: O God who gathers what has been scattered,
People: Shelter us now in the shadow of your wings.
O Christ who binds our wounds,
Be our great healer.
O Spirit who enters our every grief,
Intercede now for this hurting people, in this broken land.
Be present in the midst of this far-reaching pain,
O Lord, for we are reeling again, at news of another loss of life
that touches us all; news of flourishing diminished; of individuals harmed;
of pain imposed, not only upon victims and their families who bear now the
immediate brunt of it—but also upon our nation.
For we are connected as a people, and this hurt, this grief, touches us all.
Engage our imaginations and move our hearts to compassion, O Lord,
that we would interact with these casualties, not as news stories or statistics,
but as our own sisters and brothers, flesh and blood, divine image-bearers,
irreplaceable individuals whose losses will leave gaping holes in homes, friendships,
workplaces, churches, schools, organizations, and neighborhoods.
Be merciful to those now wounded.
Be present with those now bereaved.
You do not run from our brokenness, O God.
You move ever toward those in need.
Your heart is always inclined toward those who suffer.
Now let your mercies be active through the hands, the words,
and the compassionate care of those who willingly enter this
sadness to console and to serve.
Be with all who move toward this need:
the helpers, the counselors, the first responders,
those who offer aid and protection, the pastors and intercessors,
those who meet immediate practical needs,
those who seek to heal physical wounds, and those who come after to carry on the
long, hard work of rebuilding families and hearts and lives and community.
Grant each of them wisdom, courage, vision, sympathy,
and strength to serve effectively in their various capacities.
Even in the shadow of such tragedy, let us not lose hope.
Give us eyes to see the rapid movements of mercy rushing to
fill these newly wounded spaces.
Let us see in this the echoes of your own mercy and compassion—
a foretaste of your kingdom coming to earth.
And move our own hearts also, equipping us to intercede,
to act, and to respond however we are able.
Move, O Holy Spirit, in the midst and in the aftermath
of this tragedy, in the wake of our wounding,
in the shock and the sorrow.
Arrest the hearts and stay the hands of any who even now
might be plotting further evil and violence against others, O Christ.
Turn them from hatred. Turn their hearts to you.
You once brooded over the formless chaos
of ancient waters and brought forth
the order and flourishing of creation.
Do so again, O Spirit of God.
From the chaos of this tragedy call forth
new life and order and flourishing.
Take even what our adversary might
have meant for evil, and from it
bring forth eternal good.
You alone have strength to carry this people.
Carry us now, O Lord.
You alone have wisdom and power to heal the wounds of a nation.
Heal us, O Lord.
You alone have compassion enough to enter our widespread grief, and turn it to hope.
Be merciful, O Christ!
Amen.
Click here to download this liturgy at EveryMomentHoly.com/liturgies.
Horizons Fellows '22
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
— Annie Dillard
Horizons Fellows explore vocational discernment through relational discipleship, guided by mentors from varied careers, with a focus on developing a theologically rich understanding of personal calling to be pursued in all arenas of work and life.
Through a fall retreat, monthly discussions as a cohort of Fellows, individual meetings with mentors, and large group lectures and workshops, we guide them to sense the horizon where the limitless sky and the concrete earth meet.
Congratulations to the Horizons Fellows class of ‘22!
Thank you for a year of engaging with big questions together!
2021-22 Horizons Fellows
LaNija Brown (mentor: Diamond Walton)
Genevieve Charles (mentor: Nadine Michel)
Devan Coombes (mentor: Holly Slon)
Victoria Van Dixhorn (mentor: Jane Grizzle)
Thomas Hamilton (mentor: Jerry King)
Harmony LaJeunesse (mentor: Danielle Hill)
Dorothy Li (mentor: Brittany Fan)
Ava Sansovich (mentor: Shannon Campanelli)
Anne Stewart (mentor: Kathryn Mutter)
Haley Stocks (mentor: Christy Scott)
Katherine Zain (mentor: Danielle Wilcox)
Together we rise | 2022 Matching gift campaign underway! Enjoy this brief video.
In the theme of community and in the spirit of welcome, our 2022 Matching Gift Campaign reminds us that we can only do this good work together, with God’s help. Enjoy this brief video for our community with a cameo by 2022 Scoper Lecturer Kate Bowler!
We're hiring! Full Time Engagement & Communications Manager
Vision and Mission
Theological Horizons is a campus and community nonprofit centered at the University of Virginia that supports Christians and seekers locally and virtually across the globe by providing a welcoming community for engaging faith, thought and life.
Position Overview
Theological Horizons seeks a dynamic, passionate full time Engagement and Communications Manager to join our small, collaborative, growing nonprofit ministry team serving a worldwide sphere of participants and supporters.
This Manager will work closely with the Executive Director and Fundraising/Marketing Strategy Leads to meaningfully engage a wide range of partners, participants, stakeholders, and friends across the Theological Horizons community in order to equip and financially sustain both our local impact and expand our global reach.
As a key player in our continued growth and the touchpoint to our most valued constituents, the Engagement and Communications Manager will have a heart for pastoral care, a keen desire to learn and grow with us and a deep affinity for relational engagement, robust development and shared success.
Letter to a recent graduate | Parents Celeste & Kurt Zuch
"Stand at the crossroads and look: ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16
'Tis the season for graduations. I have been feverishly purchasing, monogramming, and delivering gifts for high school and college graduates. I have attended luncheons and dinners honoring my daughter and her friends who are graduating from high school this year. And I have spent hours going through photographs to make a very special graduation video that captures her last 18 years in 8 minutes.
Just the word "Graduation" invokes thoughts of fresh starts, new beginnings, and a plethora of opportunities. This can be exciting, but a little scary too. When I asked my daughter if she is excited or nervous to go away to college she responded "a little bit of both".
The Israelites were given a totally fresh start when the Lord led them into the Promised Land. It was a graduation of sorts from slavery in Egypt and from 40 years of wandering in the desert. Imagine how excited, yet nervous, they were. At that point, they had 2 choices: 1) continue to follow the Lord who had been faithful to them or 2) rely on themselves and serve false idols. Over time the wrong choice was made.
In Jeremiah 6:16 the prophet Jeremiah urged the people to "stand at the crossroads and look: ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Unfortunately, that verse ends by saying "But you said we will not walk in it".
That “crossroads decision” brought about terrible consequences. God took his hand of protection off the people, and their beloved Jerusalem was destroyed. Then they were taken captive in Babylon for 70 years. Their lives were never the same. If only they had listened to Jeremiah.
Graduation is surely a time for a fresh start, but actually every brand new day brings new opportunities. Remember, when standing at the crossroads, call on God's wisdom. He is more than happy to point us in the right direction through the Holy Spirit. We can all use rest for our souls.
Thoughts to Ponder:
1. If you have expressed faith in Jesus Christ then the Holy Spirit lives within you. This means that a part of God is always with you! Isn’t that comforting – especially if you are going out on your own for the first time? The Holy Spirit desperately wants to provide wisdom and direction, but you have to call on the Holy Spirit through prayer and then be quiet and listen: “Be still and know I am God” Psalm 46:10
2. Think back to some “crossroads” that you have encountered thus far. What decision did you make? How did it turn out? Was God a part of the decision or not? How could you make God a part of your decisions in the future?
In Christ,
Celeste and Kurt
Kurt and Celeste Zuch live in Dallas, Texas with their 4 teenage children. They have several years of experience leading Bible studies for both adults and teens. Their three biggest passions are Faith, Family and Education. That’s why they enjoy supporting organizations like Theological Horizons. Celeste is a UVA graduate (COMM ’91) and a die-hard Wahoo fan!
(Note: Updated for the Theological Horizons’ website from May, 2019)
Perkins Fellows '22
If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together.
- Lilla Watson, Aboriginal activist
Perkins Fellows explore vocation through weekly community engagement. Named after the great Christian community development leaders John M. & Vera Mae Perkins, this program builds bridges between the University and the community through mutually-beneficial partnerships. Perkins Fellows are placed with a community partner to connect their learning through service and theological reflection. Fellows receive mentoring and training in cross-cultural engagement and community development, with an eye towards vocational discernment in these fields of work.
Congratulations to the Perkins Fellows class of ‘22!
Thank you for a year of learning and serving together.
Perkins Fellows & Community Partners:
Top left to right: Karen Cortez ‘22 (The Haven), Arjanae Avula ‘24 (Boys & Girls Club), Malia Sample ‘22 (Abundant Life Ministries)
Bottom left to right: Cece Joseph ‘22 (VISAS), Teniya Pearson (10th & Page Neighborhood Association), John Krause-Steinrauf ‘22 (Kindness Cafe).
Final Send Offs! | Saying Goodbye to our Students
This past week we've been saying goodbye to our students as they head off to exams, summer and beyond - through our annual Reading Day Lunch as well as our final Perkins & Horizons Fellows gatherings. Enjoy seeing photos and a send off prayer that we read over our Fellows:
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
-Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero
Where is God in my hardship? Reflection by Harmony LaJeunesse '22
A question I often ask myself is “Where is God in my hardship?” This question often leads me to more questions like, “Does God ordain suffering and pain?... Or is hardship a result of the brokenness of our world?... Can it be that suffering is a result of sin but God uses our suffering to draw us closer to Him?”
At our Easter week Vintage Lunch a few weeks ago I was struck by the idea that God grew the very tree on which Jesus was crucified.
God knew that that tree would bear the burden of his one and only son’s death yet he allowed that tree to grow. He knew full-well what would happen but he still orchestrated it. This made me grapple with the reality that it was always in God’s plan for Christ to suffer. But that suffering was holy. It was necessary. It was good. I’d never before considered how suffering could be good. God allowed that tree to grow because even though he knew it would bring suffering, that suffering was necessary to achieve His greater purpose of redemption.
Sometimes I feel like that tree. I wonder, why is God allowing painful things to happen to me? While I’m still trying to wrestle with this thought, what I’ve learned so far is that God allows me to endure hardship, not because he wants me to endure pain, but because it is a crucial element of His redemptive story for my life.
A verse I have clung to recently is Psalm 37:23 - 24.
“A person’s steps are established by the Lord, and takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord supports him with his hand.”
The phrasing “though he falls” is oddly comforting for it implies that it is inevitable that we will fall. We will all fall, no matter how strong we think we are. This psalm validates our hardship and suffering; it confirms that our faith does not rid us of pain on their earth. It validates our sorrow and lament and encourages us to view it as an opportunity to lean on God even MORE for dependence on him. It is an opportunity to focus more fully on Him and not on our circumstances.
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pastures. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37: 3-4)
To dwell. What does that mean? I think it means to rest. To let go. To just be.
Suffering is an opportunity to dwell in Him. Not in his blessings nor his gifts, just Him. In His character that stays the same no matter what I’m feeling, experiencing, doubting, processing, or fearing. His goodness is not shaken even when I am.
I am learning to dwell; to not run away from Jesus in my sorrow, questions, and confusion but rather cling to Him for He knows suffering more than anyone else and he is gentle and lowly (Matthew 11:29). I am learning to trust that God knows what I need more than I ever will.
I am learning to float.
To lay there, with my face towards the clouds, in awe of God’s beauty and goodness, with palms open wide to His plan, allowing myself to drift and sway into whatever is in store for me because no matter what comes my way, Jesus is right there by my side, holding my hand.
May Prayers | At the end of the Academic Year
"Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, ‘The LORD has helped us all the way’ --and he named it 'Stone of Help.'”
1 Samuel 7:12
Good News Translation
GREETINGS, FRIENDS.
This month we say goodbye to many beloved students and celebrate the important milestone that is graduation. These rituals for both endings and beginnings and the in between times are so vital to a life of faith. What milestones or memories of God's faithfulness can you pause and celebrate this month?
-Christy Yates, Associate Director
At The End Of The Year
As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.
The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.
Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.
The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.
The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.
Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.
We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.
(c) John O’Donohue To Bless The Space Between
2 days before the breakthrough: A semester in testing my faith by LaNija Brown '22
At the beginning of this semester, I was refreshed and ready to follow God to discern my vocation and next steps after graduation. I was motivated to apply to every job under the sun, network, spend time with God and do everything I wanted with my suddenly freed up schedule ( I mean, 14 credit hours down to 7?! A dream come true). However I had this deep feeling in my spirit that I was gonna be tested in my faith and that maybe it wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows..
Six tangible job rejections and countless unanswered applications later, here I am. Mere weeks away from graduation with my only instruction being to “trust Me” (God). Have I tried to add to this word myself? Yes. Have I tried to negotiate these terms? Yes. Have I tried to intentionally misinterpret what God told me? Of course. Does it ever work? Not at all.
I continue to recall all the flowery testimonies about when a person was stuck in a situation that seemed hopeless and God delivered them and it was okay. I feel like I am 2 metaphorical days before the breakthrough. Where the fervor from the beginning has died down the struggle of putting it all in front of God has fully set in.
It’s not all bad though. Even though God hasn’t come through in the way I have been expecting, He has also shown me new components of His character through this period of intentional stillness. I feel like the time spent with Him over stressing about the next step has paid off tremendously in terms of my relationship with God and myself. I’m actually seeing the fruit of the Spirit grow within me ( especially patience) as I navigate this time.
Most importantly, I have learned that my walk with God, my time in this season, the answers to my questions about vocation and what to do next… None of it is fueled by the comparison I had become accustomed to. That God’s timing in my life was never, and never will be determined by what the next person has. That was the hardest thing to let go of, especially being surrounded by other future graduates who seem to have it all figured out.
So whether these two days translate to two actual days or weeks or months (I'm still scared to say years so I won’t), God will do what He does regardless of my expectations.