One of the best comments came from a young woman who said, "“I bristle at someone saying ‘I’ve got this thing (religion) you are missing.’ as if I’m lacking.” Another persistent theme was the perception that the Church wasn't comfortable with theological questions and doubts. They held the floor for an hour and a half and told the delegates things that they probably didn't want to hear.
They invited a group of "nones" (religiously unaffiliated) to tell their stories. The ELCA's Northeastern Synod did something bold and daring at this year's convention. And that means being open to critique and even repenting for the ways in which we have fallen short of the wide welcome of God's love. But in order to truly welcome those who are not part of the Church we have to lead by example. We want to critique everything with the theological lens we spent so much time obtaining.Īnd I'm not saying that there isn't a time or place for such critique. I'll admit it's hard especially for us clergy types who have lots of theological training. What's the most important thing the Church can do for young adults? Who knows.maybe knowing our mortality is the best way to live a better life? He says "“Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.” I can't wait for another year of listening with students to our lives and what they are telling us about who we are. One of my favorite quotes about vocation comes from Parker Palmer's book "Let Your Life Speak".
And yet if we don't it's even harder to choose the things that matter. It's hard to step back and listen for who we really are when you're worried about finding a job and living the American dream. There are so many voices competing for attention in our lives, both those of others and our own. If I could give one piece of advice to all our incoming students (and to myself) it would be to uly listen.to the person God created you to be. I don't know that we ever get over the fear of death, but having fewer regrets seems to be a good place to start. I'm also glad for that conversation because these students are thinking about big questions even before officially starting College.
Moments like that remind me why I do what I do. I'm so glad that I had that conversation with our new students. Nothing terribly surprising but I was intrigued by how many regrets had to do with going along with the expectations of others rather than living the lives we are meant to lead. Today I came across this article from a Hospice Nurse who shares the top five regrets of the dying patients she's worked with over the years. We had a great talk about why we fear death, the hope of the Gospel, and fear of the unknown. All of the students I hoped to one day take the course, and one young woman even admitted that she's terrified of dying.
Eventually we got on the topic of their own hopes and fears and I was absolutely blown away by their honesty and insightfulness.Īt one point we were talking about a great class that my colleague Pastor Ramona teaches called "Living with Death". We were sitting around at a welcome event hosted by Spiritual Life and Campus Ministry and they started asking me the most amazing questions about why I became a Pastor and what such a life is like. I had a really interesting conversation last night with an incredible group of incoming Wartburg students.
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