Director of Congregational Learning
August 08, 2012
In light of the deaths of six devout Sikhs, gathered for worship in the
sanctity of their gurdwara when they were brutally murdered on Sunday in
Oak Creek, Wisconsin, this story from the days immediately following
9/11 has taken on new meaning for me. These latest victims are not
alone. Hate crimes against Muslims and those imagined to be Muslim rose
1,600% after 9/11. The number of devout, peace-loving, non-violent
people who have been profiled, beaten, stabbed and shot over the past
decade have been legion. But this time the whole country was watching.
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Undergraduate Fellow ('12)
Centenary College of Louisiana
July 05, 2012
As day two of the FTE Conference comes to a close I find myself
spiritually exhausted. If you've ever preached a sermon you know what I
am talking about. Spiritual exhaustion is that moment when you have
given or received your limit of spiritual food for the day. I mean we
all get "full" when we eat right? It's the same concept. Currently I am
suffering from a severe case of spiritual "fullness."
Today was our first day to dive right in and explore the in's and out's
of The Beloved Community - a radical vision inspired by Dr. Martin
Luther King. It was a vision grounded in
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Undergraduate Fellow ('12)
Boston University
July 02, 2012
It was not until this week that I learned how many Jack Daniel’s ads
there are in the Nashville airport or how many people wear cowboy boots
here. I had never been in Nashville before Tuesday, when I got here for
the Fund for Theological Education‘s
2012 Leaders in Ministry conference (I was lucky enough to be nominated
and accepted to come here as an Undergraduate Fellow). The conference,
convened at the lovely Scarritt-Bennett Center
(with a Gothic chapel and a cafeteria that serves up fried green
tomatoes and grits), has gathered together a diverse group of young
Americans interested in careers in religion.
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FTE Undergraduate Fellow ('12)
Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids
June 26, 2012
Blogging from the 2012 FTE Leaders in Ministry Conference
I am currently at the FTE Leaders in Ministry Conference in Nashville. It has been quite the colorful rainbow of experiences complete with all the related emotions. My fellows have taught me so much. Not just about themselves and their own faiths. But also about myself. And my faith. We closed out our “round table” group discussions tonight. In my own group, one of the gentlemen did the closing prayer. I am so grateful that when we have prayed here during this conference, we all seem to do it in the same language. We all seem to use the universal language of...
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Doctoral Fellow ('12)
Vanderbilt University
June 14, 2012
This is a poem that was written to inaugurate our sacred space
in the chapel on the final morning of the 2012 FTE Leaders in the Academy
Conference. It is, in so many ways, a distillation of the
ineffable love shared and multiplied in those moments, a manifested
‘yes’ to the calling that
resides just above our heads in the realm of the spiritual. I
offer these words as homage to the boldness and brilliance of the staff,
faculty, and
fellows of FTE. I am humbled and blessed to be among them, then
and now. Amen and Ashé.
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Doctoral Fellow ('12)
Graduate Theological Union
June 13, 2012
The 2012 FTE Leaders in the Academy Conference
allowed me to consider how I define my vocation as an African American
scholar. Vincent Harding’s article,
“IBW and the Vocation of the Black Scholar” brought forth some questions
and concerns that I have about the place of the black scholar in the
academy.
Harding argues that the calling of the black scholar is to fully
incorporate the black experience into his/her research. The work of a
black scholar
should serve as an effective tool that strengthens and empowers the
voices and experiences of African Americans. Harding’s article was
written in 1974,
where social and political issues differed from our current situations
in 2012. However, I have reflected on how his claims are being applied
in
today’s academic setting.
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Doctoral Fellow ('12)
Garret-Evangelical Theological Seminary
June 11, 2012
Live Blogging from the 2012 FTE Leaders in the Academy Conference
As a first year FTE fellow, I have found myself reflecting deeply on the theme of this year’s conference “Building Community at the Crossroads.”
In both a
literal and figurative sense, the image of crossroads points to notions
of choice and reflect a point in time in which persons are moved to
choose a path
in which to continue on their journey. Yet, as a burgeoning, young,
Christian theologian, I am struck by the theological richness of the
symbol. For
crossroads can, and perhaps must, be conceived as crossroads,
reflective of a question which faces all FTE fellows as we exercise our
human agency
on this journey toward becoming religious and theological scholars. The
question we must ask is, “what type of scholar will I become?”
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