On the Sabbath

September 29, 2012 at 7:51 pm

During our clergy ethics training, Soren (our internship advisor) asked the interns a number of questions, the goal being to realize that if we answered “no” to most/all of these questions, we needed to reevaluate the ways we allocate our time. I answered yes to most of them (Do you have significant outside activities? Yes! The Theatre. Do you have people you can talk to outside the ministry setting? Yes! In the Theatre.) and no to only a few (Do you have an exercise routine? Um…working on it). The only question that truly made me pause was one about taking a day off every week for yourself. I could not honestly say that I did, and that was exemplified by the fact that the next day, I was off on a student leadership retreat on Saturday, and then my Marsh Chapel duties on Sunday. I fell seriously behind on work, and I told myself I would complete everything the following weekend, but oh wait, I had planned a trip to New York to see a four hour, fifteen minute avant garde opera (more about how I found God in that during a later blog post). So basically, in addition to my blogging falling behind (sorry guys), I was a week and a half behind in reading and homework for a few other classes as well.

I have been aware that taking time for myself has been an issue since 8th grade when I was the “yearbook editor” and spent every single recess cooped up in the computer lab organizing photos of my friends who were outside building friendships without me. In high school, I at least learned how to be social within the confines of the mountain of responsibilities I put on myself, and this year, for the first time, in college, I finally learned how to say no to an activity. However, I still find myself falling into the trap of using my one day off, Saturdays, for “work”. I miss the days over the summer when I truly did have time to read a book or go to the beach.

Speaking about books I haven’t had time to read, Abraham Joshua Heschel’s book The Sabbath (see what I did there?). I picked it up because I thought I would be motivated to get to Marsh Chapel early enough for the book club, but let’s be honest: during the week, I start class every day at 8 a.m. except for Thursdays, which start at 9:30 a.m., so the extra hour on Sunday mornings really means a lot to me in a purely selfish, superficial way. I read the introduction, and it sounds like a great book, and it relates to my struggle to find a significant amount of time every week to just let me relax in God’s presence. So I am using this blog as a contract to myself that I will read The Sabbath and finish it by Thanksgiving. It is not a huge read, so I am also hoping I can get it done by the end of October. And one I am done, I will, in a blog post, explore my relationship with my day off.

My habit for scheduling out my Saturdays to the millisecond with “fun” activities has made me lose touch with a number of things, namely the joy that I used to experience in being spontaneous. And although I never want to be one of those people who schedules spontaneity into their day, I need to follow my impulses more and take a greater risk every once in a while. I believe that this is what the Sabbath can mean for me personally as I intentionally explore what it means to take time for God, and thus take time for myself.

 

By lucchesi | Posted in Robby | Comments (0)

Before We Eat

September 26, 2012 at 1:33 pm

Saying grace--in other words, praying before a meal--is an important ritual in my family's mealtimes. As children, we would always dread the moment, because my father would call on me or my brother or my sister to say the blessing. There is no pressure--especially at larger family gatherings with generation upon generation of family members gathered--greater than standing in a circle, holding hands, all eyes closed, the room still with expectation, everyone waiting for you to say something meaningful to God.

Then I came to college. College, where mealtime means gathering with your friends in the dining hall. No one stops to say a prayer before downing their burrito or pizza, and if you stop and bow your head, you are going to get weird looks. Not that I was embraced to say grace. Instead, in the rush and excitement of college, it pretty much just slipped my mind.

Then, second semester of my freshman year, I took a class in Buddhism. We read Thicht Naht Hanh's Peace is Every Step. It's a beautiful book, and one of the things that hit me as I read it was in the passage where he talked about food. An important practice of his, he wrote, was to pause before eating and meditate on the food in front of him--where it came from, how it grew, who worked to grow it.

This was a beautiful thought for me. Too often, we are in a rush or too busy socializing to consider the miracle that our food is. Every plant somehow came to life from a tiny seed, and transformed the power of sunlight into energy to grow. Every animal grew and breathed air and was utterly alive, seeing and feeling and existing. Every time we eat, we are becoming a part of that cyclical process.

So whether you believe that it was God who created this world and the food before you or not, try to take the time to pause before eating. Give thanks to the Divine, to the earth, or just to photosynthesis. Value the fact that you have food to eat. Fully appreciate how lucky you are, and what a gift life is. It doesn't have to involve saying words or holding hands. Just a simple pause will do.

In our busy, social world, it is important to remember all we have.

By aclauhs | Posted in Abigail | Comments (1)

Talking About Tomorrow

September 24, 2012 at 4:53 pm

Yesterday, during our weekly group meeting, Jen, Robby and I talked a bit about our futures.  This internship is, after all, about vocation, and trying to decipher and discover what ours might be.

After an exceptional experience as a FYSOP staff member in the Public Health Awareness issue area, I couldn't help but feel that public health--global heath, even--is what I've wanted to do all along; I just didn't know what it was called.  I suppose I always thought that "public health" was a clinical, medical thing, and my academic strengths and passions have never been in any field that has the word "science" involved.  However, FYSOP made me realize that public health is really about the community's health, which has so many different aspects and influences.  Suddenly, I felt called to go into public health.

And yet, I couldn't forget how fascinated and stimulated I felt studying conflict resolution this summer in Geneva and London through a BU study abroad program.  I'd even spent long hours after the program ended (I was missing it dearly) trolling the internet searching for the world's strongest programs in peace and conflict studies.  This summer made me want to work in a place affected by conflict, trying to help resolve or rebuild.  Just what I thought I'd do there, however, I wasn't quite sure.

Sometimes, things just click.  Why not do public health work in an area affected by conflict?  Say, northern Kenya or western Democratic Republic of the Congo?  As these ideas were swirling around in my head, I sat down for our group meeting.  Did you know, Jen asked, that you can do dual masters programs at many universities, including the one you're studying at?  I did not, I replied.  We talked about the strength of BU's School of Public Health and the university's research on global health.  Jen reminded me of a program in the School of Theology on conflict transformation that she and Soren had told me about several months ago.  How interesting, I thought.  And how well those two might go together.

Starting out on my junior year of college, I've started to develop a pretty good idea of the kind of thing I'd like to do with my life, and I look forward to seeing how this internship will help me continue that path of discerning my vocation in life.

By Emma | Posted in Emma | Comments (1)

Conversations Over (Kosher) Cookies

September 19, 2012 at 10:08 pm

Last night, I was at Marsh Chapel for around four hours.

No, don't worry. We haven't instituted some Puritanical four-hour-long Tuesday night service (though extra-long services would be in the New England tradition...).

I was there for the Boston University Interfaith Council's kickoff event.

The Interfaith Council is the group I run (technically, my title is "Undergraduate Chair"). Between setting up the room for the event (which included raiding the chapel office for a plant to use as a centerpiece), and getting all the food ready (thank you, kosher section of Shaw's)--then actually running the event, and cleaning up afterwards, I was there for quite a long time.

And yes, it's time I could have spent doing homework (or, I suppose, socializing, but you see where my perfectionist personality preferences lie). And yes, that is a good chunk of time. But honestly--steel yourself for the cliche--there is nowhere else I would rather have been.

Members showed up early to help set up. New friends stayed after to Tupperware leftovers with me. When we went around the table to introduce ourselves, we had Christians, atheists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and more. We lingered for far longer than the event was supposed to go on for, having conversations that ran from the delights of Jewish food (Rosh Hashanah honey cake, anyone?), to meditation practices, to the afterlife. In all of this--in every single moment--I felt the warmth of a community.

This is what builds understanding: being able to see each other as fellow human beings, regardless of our differences. Being able to talk about dessert and breathing and funerals. If it takes four hours--or twenty, or a thousand--I want nothing more than to continue building communities like this.

By aclauhs | Posted in Abigail | Comments (0)

#WarrenWednesdays

September 18, 2012 at 11:20 am

Between our ministry team meeting last week and yesterday, myself, Abigail and Robby have taken charge of "dinner with a chaplain" on Wednesday nights in Warren towers.  Take this blog post as a public service announcement and open invitation to the entire BU community to join us.

What is dinner with a chaplain, you ask?  Well, first of all, be warned that the three of us are not officially "chaplains."  We are, however, representatives of different facets of religious life on campus, especially Marsh Chapel, and we are all pretty religious individuals ourselves.  We are also all undergraduates, and while I can't speak for Abigail and Robby, I know that I am still learning how to navigate all of my opportunities, commitments and responsibilities in college.  I consider myself pretty well-versed in extracurriculars, internships, jobs, and more, and am always willing to share my experience with other students who may be struggling with time management or figuring out how to get involved on campus.

Like I said before, I certainly consider myself a religious individual.  Sometimes on college campuses or in cities like Boston, religious people are associated with those who wear robes, swing incense around, or annoyingly hand out literature on end times while you are just trying to get to the Sox game (why, I don't know...they're just an embarrassment right now).

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that personally--and I think my colleagues will agree--is that our 5:30 dinners on Wednesday nights in Warren are supposed to be an opportunity for us, as representatives not only of Marsh Chapel but also of the student body as well, to meet more students around campus.  To just say hello, to share a meal, to chat about whatever might be on someone's mind that day.

As my colleagues will probably tell you, I'm (exhaustingly) excited about this #WarrenWednesdays (a hashtag coined by @BUDiningService, who has been awesome in helping us get the word out!).  I'm always excited to meet new people on campus, and I sincerely hope that you all will feel welcome to come visit us at our usual table, just inside the entrance in Warren.

In addition to our #WarrenWednesdays, keep an eye out for other members of the ministry team at dining halls across campus during lunch and dinner all days of the week--we are all there for the same purpose, and would enjoy your company and conversation for as much time as you can spare.

 

Blessings,

Emma

By Emma | Posted in Emma | Comments (0)

Time Well Spent

September 12, 2012 at 6:07 pm

In the last few weeks, I’ve started asking myself why I spend my time in the ways that I do.   Why do I spend hours on Newbury Street and come back feeling broke and guilty?  Why do I go to Red Sox game after Red Sox game, only to be disappointed again and again?  Why do I spend hours on Facebook when I ought to be studying?

Our time is of such value, and I know that in my life it often feels wasted or misspent.  A couple weeks ago, however, I spent gave just a bit of my time to one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

During the week of FYSOP (the First Year Student Outreach Program—learn more at www.bu.edu/csc ) I spent five hours a day at the Living and Recovery Community (LARC), which is housed in the Lemuel Shattuck state hospital in Jamaica Plain.  For those five hours a day, myself, my co-staff, and our 12 first year volunteers cleaned, socialized, ate, and talked with the HIV-positive recovering drug and alcohol addicts who live at LARC.  We heard their life stories, their hopes, about their children, their fears.  I know more about some of those people than I know about my closest friends, after spending a mere 15 hours with them.  By the end of the week, they felt like family, and much sobbing ensued as we left.  I could see the difference in our group of volunteers—we were deeply impacted by the experience—but also in the people we’d grown so close to.  We hadn’t given them money or things; we had only given them our time.  Yet that, to them, was the world.  We had simply taken the time to get to know them, to open our hearts and minds and become friends.

How can I continue to use my time in such a way that I will feel so fulfilled and blessed as I did during FYSOP?  I have a lot of things going on here at BU—five classes this semester, a job, an internship, a sorority, a dance group, I have friends I want to hang out with, books I want to read.  I love the things that I do here on campus, but sometimes I’m left feeling happy, not entirely fulfilled.  How can I find a way to use my time to bring fulfillment and joy to myself, and to those around me?  I don’t think it has to be at LARC.  I can listen to my friends, peers, colleagues, even the girl sitting next to me in lecture.  I can set aside time in my week to do something for someone else, with no interest for myself.

I hope that this year I will be more conscientious about how I use my time, and that I will learn lessons which will be of use later in life as well.

 

By Emma | Posted in Emma | Comments (0)

Big Questions: In Which Abigail Uses an Over-Extended Metaphor

September 12, 2012 at 12:18 pm

This week, we are supposed to write about the big questions.

No pressure.

Just some little queries like: Why am I here? What is driving me? You know, the kind of existentialist things that philosophers have been stroking their beards about since the beginning of time.

Ok, I'm being snarky. Self examination is important. And scary. Terrifying, sometimes, in fact. When I start to think that the decisions I make now (majors, internships, connections with people) are deciding the current and direction of the rest of my life, that is more than a little unnerving.

Here are some things I know for sure:

  1. I want to serve people, especially the people who are forgotten or ignored by society--the people whose voices are not heard.
  2. I want my faith to be a part of what I do, a life informed by the 7 Principles of Unitarian Universalism.
  3. I want to engage with people of other religions (or no religion) in my work.

Which is not a neat, tidy answer. It's no "I'm pre-med" or "I'm going to be an engineer." Instead, it's a big, tangled mess of emotions and dreams and idealism all balled up into a hazy knot called "my future."

So I guess that answers the question, in a way, of why I am here, working at Marsh Chapel. I am here to untangle that knot. To find a loose end and pull at it. To (continuing this metaphor far further than it should have been taken) unravel the threads and begin to weave a tapestry of the future with them.

Something with a clear image. The place I someday want to be.

 

By aclauhs | Posted in Abigail | Comments (0)

Intersections: an Introduction

September 11, 2012 at 9:23 pm

My name is Robert Lucchesi (although once you get to know me you can call me Robby), and I am one of the Marsh Associate Interns for the 2012-2013 academic year! I am honored and humbled to be working with the Chapel at the literal center of Boston University. I am a Theatre Arts major in the College of Fine Arts and a Religion minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. When I got to college, I was quite sure that I wanted to pursue a life in the Theatre, but after a tumultuous freshman year, I began to doubt that theatre was truly what God was calling me to do. By sophomore year, I began to discern what my next step would be at BU; I knew transferring or changing majors was an option, but theatre was still my creative passion. I am incredibly blessed in the School of Theatre to have an immense amount of flexibility in my schedule, so at the beginning of this most recent summer, I decided to stay in CFA and pursue ministry through my Religion minor and outside activities. After I graduate, I want to volunteer for a year or two and then pursue a Masters of Divinity degree.

My interests in religion are twofold: academic and ministerial. From an academic standpoint, I enjoy studying the intersections of Art and Architecture History and Religion. I see the creative impulses of artists as expressions of God’s grace and presence in our lives, and art, whether it is visual or performing, has always been a tool for me to explore my personal relationship with what I see as the ultimate creator. From a more practical and ministerial perspective, I focus on ministry towards the LGBTQ community. Queer people of faith face unique challenges in both the LGBTQ community and religious communities worldwide, and I hope to help empower us, especially youth and young adults, to challenge the perception that religion and sexuality always have to be at odds. I will be the student leader for OUTLook, the LGBTQ ministry group at Marsh Chapel, and I hope to facilitate dialogue and fellowship that strengthens our community of believers.

So if you interested in having a conversation, email me!: lucchesi@bu.edu. Also, I am blogging (under the username roblucchesi) for another blog for my Dramaturgy class, and I plan to discuss a lot more religion and art over there (not to mention, you can read other posts written by my brilliant classmates!).

God Bless

Robert

By lucchesi | Posted in Robby | Comments (0)

Crash Course in Ministry

September 10, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Greetings!  My name is Emma Rehard, and I am a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in international relations with a religion minor in CAS and a public health minor in Sargent College.  As a junior, I’m starting to think seriously about what I am called to do after graduation, and it is my hope that working at Marsh Chapel this year will provide some guidance in that discernment.

This week, I became a Marsh Associate.  There are a lot of associates and interns and chaplains around Marsh and BU, so let me explain a little bit about what I’m going to be doing at the Chapel.  I’ve chosen to work specifically with the Marsh Chapel Choir, and Dr. Jarrett, the choir’s director, has been so generous as to welcome a musically passionate but arguably less talented individual such as myself to sing with the amazing group of singers that comprise the Chapel choir.  The music at Marsh has been bringing me joy as an on and off member of the congregation for the last two years, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them.  This semester I will be helping to organize social and community service events for the choir, and seeking to learn from them and become a part of their community.

I’m also very excited to be on the ministry team at Marsh, which is brimming with talented, thoughtful, fascinating individuals.  I look forward to the opportunity to get to know Marsh and its people better as I become a part of this team!

 

By Emma | Posted in Emma | Comments (1)

Not Quite Salsa Dancing

September 9, 2012 at 3:19 pm

By: Abigail Clauhs

When I came to BU, I knew that I wanted to join the literary magazine. Or maybe the Quidditch team. Possibly even the salsa dancing club. (Granted, most of those activities require more coordination than I have ever possessed).

If you had told someone who knew me—or, let's be honest, if you had told me—that I would be working a Marsh Chapel as a junior, it would likely have been met with a snort of derision.

But that was back when I was an English major. It was back before I'd figured out (through an internship of slogging through unsolicited manuscripts and writing rejection letters) that a publishing career was not for me. Back before I discovered Unitarian Universalism and finally found the spark there that rekindled my passion for spirituality. Back before I took a class in Buddhism and then suddenly declared my new religion major.

In other words, back before I was the interfaith-loving person I am now (a person whose favorite hashtag to use on Twitter is #religionmajorproblems). At BU, I was transformed (and am still transforming). I discovered (through that same ill-fated publishing internship) Unitarian Universalism and the new interfaith movement. And I wanted to be a part of it.

That is what brought me on the staff of Marsh Chapel, and why I am still here this year as a Marsh Associate. I started running the BU Interfaith Council last year, building the program and holding everything from discussions to service events. I also began to research the possibility of working in faith-based organizations for a career.

What makes me come alive (I hope you all caught that Howard Thurman reference) is helping others. That is, for me, the purest manifestation of my faith. For a career, I hope to do humanitarian work in an interfaith and faith-based context. And yes, I know, that's pretty vague. Especially compared to an answer like, "I want to be a lawyer/doctor/insert-stable-career-option-here."

Which is why, in my time here at Marsh, I hope to discover how to make that goal a reality. How to live my faith. And I invited you to tag along, through these blog posts. It may not be as action-packed as blogging about what could have been my Quidditch sporting injuries or my salsa dancing mishaps, but perhaps you will find it a little more compelling.

By aclauhs | Posted in Abigail | Comments (1)