Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash
These times will be remembered. Books will be written about these times.
These times are filled with revelation. They are teaching us much about ourselves, our lives, our limits, our beliefs, and our priorities. We are learning who we are, what we stand for, and who we stand with.
During the summer of 2020 five Master of Divinity students at Union Theological Seminary met weekly with me over Zoom for a guided reading and writing class titled Spiritual Care in a Time of Pandemic, to ponder our place in this world at this time. As their professor and spiritual director for the class, I was heartened and humbled by the seriousness, compassion and courage they displayed. I am someone who likes the depths, and these students dove deep.
Each week we read selected chapters from Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, shared reflections, and used a modified “Examen of Consciousness” as the foundation for a contemplative journal. The students were encouraged to write using journal prompts such as, what surprised me today, where did I find goodness and compassion, and where did I encounter fear?
Over the course of the class, the students shared wisdom gleaned by the contemplative practices of deep listening (to self and spirit), noticing, journaling and discerning. These reflections were personal in nature, yet one of the goals of the class was to use the new insight in our relationship with others. In recent conversations with two students who are graduating this May, I shared how glad I am that our hurting world will be ministered to by them and their classmates.
In this time of loss and grief, of fear and injustice-laid-bare, I was honored to work with these students who brought their souls to the work we did together in class. One of my favorite wisdom sayings comes from the Sufi mystic, Rumi, who teaches us that part of God’s conversation with Moses included this instruction, “Wherever you stand, be the soul of that place.” These students were the “souls of that place” and I will be forever enriched by the privilege of knowing them. I look forward to their work being shared by Union on Medium and I hope that readers of their reflections will find the same blessing.