This last week I went to the Ann Hamilton exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery (at the University of Washington). Hamilton has become one of my favorite living artists. She does not soothe my soul, but she does deepen it.
This particular exhibit, the common sense, explores the boundaries between life and death, cataloging and knowing, playing and feeling, children's stories and life, cosy afternoons and blankets, light and air. After seeing/experiencing this exhibit I'm a bit in awe yet bewildered. I need to go back. I want to go back. There was too much. There was enough that I began to ask new questions and wonder about life, collecting, reading, saying, proclaiming, precision of language, images, the evoking of the soul, weariness at the end of a long term....
One of the themes was that of collecting. I love that you can take quotes and images away (well, only one image, but lots of quotes). People have submitted quotes to be used, and those are scattered around the gallery. One can wander and collect for hours, if one is so inclined as I am.
My grandmother was a collector of quotes and poems and puzzles. She had a little book with her favorite quotes in it (well, a collection of notebooks). I used these books as I organized and planned her funeral when I was in my late 20's. Until this exhibit, I had forgotten her books. Her love of quirky and moralistic verse, of fanciful images of heaven, of awful puns. I am her granddaughter in so many ways. My visit to Ann Hamilton's wide ranging and evocative exhibit made me miss her in ways that I didn't know I should miss her. Her inner life was hidden away in her books. I realize now that my scavenging through her collections of "common sense" was immature. I didn't know what she was offering to me. I wonder where those books have gone...
Before I end, I should say a few things. Students get in free, so go. Even if you are not a student, it is not that expensive, so go. I'm going to go at least once a month until it closes in April... I always appreciate company...
AND make it all the way downstairs. It is worth the walk...........
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
In Honor of P. D. James
OK, I will admit it, I am addicted to murder mysteries. I love all varieties of these stories, but find the british to be foremost at this craft. Agatha Christy, Dorothy Sayers, John le Carré, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellis Peters, etc. I read the books and watch the adaptations. I can't seem to get enough.
When I lived in the UK I discovered the joys of P. D. James's intricate plots, delightful prose, and complicated detectives. The first of her novels that I read was about Detective Cordelia Gray in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. I enjoyed how James detailed the inner life of this young woman who finds herself as the sole owner of a detective agency after her boss kills himself. I read this while I was working on my PhD dissertation, and found a good friend in Cordelia Gray. She was highly competent, but in her inner life, she revealed that she didn't believe that she was up to the task at hand. This so mirrored my own inner life at the time that I found myself drawn to this strong, intelligent, and vulnerable detective. A similar complexity is found in James's favorite detective, Adam Dalgliesh, who is a poet and a detective inspector for Scotland Yard. All in all, her novels draw one deep into the human story through the eyes of intuitive and pensive detectives.
Sadly, P. D. James died on November 27, 2014 at the age of 94. It is times like these that I realize that we need to stop and give thanks for such amazing talent in telling stories that capture the imagination. In a strange sort of way, she helped me finish my dissertation. Everyone needs stories that pull us out of ourselves while simultaneously helping us to understand our inner lives.
Masterpiece Theater on PBS online is currently re-running a two-part adaptation of James's final novel, Death Comes to Pemberley. The book was an indulgence for me as it combined my love of Pride and Prejudice with an intricate murder mystery, and I really enjoyed the adaptation. I highly recommend watching this in honor of P. D. James.
P. D. James, thank you so much for sharing your stories with the world.
Obituaries:
BBC News
NPR
New York Times
The Economist
Sadly, P. D. James died on November 27, 2014 at the age of 94. It is times like these that I realize that we need to stop and give thanks for such amazing talent in telling stories that capture the imagination. In a strange sort of way, she helped me finish my dissertation. Everyone needs stories that pull us out of ourselves while simultaneously helping us to understand our inner lives.
Masterpiece Theater on PBS online is currently re-running a two-part adaptation of James's final novel, Death Comes to Pemberley. The book was an indulgence for me as it combined my love of Pride and Prejudice with an intricate murder mystery, and I really enjoyed the adaptation. I highly recommend watching this in honor of P. D. James.
P. D. James, thank you so much for sharing your stories with the world.
Obituaries:
BBC News
NPR
New York Times
The Economist
Friday, August 8, 2014
Reading Pod Descriptions ...
As the new school year is beginning soon, and a few of you may blunder on to this blog, I thought I would start you out with a list of links to some descriptions about the various Reading Pods for Theology I.
You may be wondering why there are so many choices for the Reading Pods. I know that it feels complicated or unnecessary, but there is a method to my madness.
A few years ago, Dr. Hollins and I attended an Association of Theological Schools (ATS) conference on Race and Ethnicity in Theological Education. ATS is looking ahead to 2040 when it is projected that white Americans will become a minority in the US. They are concerned that Seminaries are not prepared for this major change in American culture. Are the pastors of the future prepared for such diversity in churches, or will Sunday morning continue to be the most segregated morning of the week? Their assertion is that we won't know until we experience this reality, but for now, we can practice what it means to listen more broadly in our theological explorations.
After I came back from this conference, I decided to change up my reading lists for The Theological Mosaic class. I wanted students to read more broadly, yet find one space where they read more deeply. My hope is that this diversity with spill into discussions and dialogue both in and outside of class. Theology is a mixture of seeking out the least inadequate language through which to talk about God (Colin Gunton) and how that reality intersects and forms our views of culture, humanity, and the sacred in every day life.
The complication is that we live constantly with great mystery - e.g., God, trees, cabbages, the person sitting next to you on the bus, etc. Mystery is sometimes thought to be those things that you cannot know. I disagree. Mystery is not an unknowing or an ignorance. Instead, mystery is a pressing into what we can only know in part. British theologian, Sarah Coakley, encourages us to press into the task of doing theology, to learn the discipline, read, think, and discern. It is only at this point, when we push the boundaries of our knowing, that we can understand the boundlessness of the mystery of God and of one another.
With this in mind, I'll leave you with a quote from the Swiss theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Every time I read this quote, I realize that this articulation of mystery and prayer are foundational for how I do theology. So, I invite you to come and dive into the abyss with me...
You may be wondering why there are so many choices for the Reading Pods. I know that it feels complicated or unnecessary, but there is a method to my madness.
A few years ago, Dr. Hollins and I attended an Association of Theological Schools (ATS) conference on Race and Ethnicity in Theological Education. ATS is looking ahead to 2040 when it is projected that white Americans will become a minority in the US. They are concerned that Seminaries are not prepared for this major change in American culture. Are the pastors of the future prepared for such diversity in churches, or will Sunday morning continue to be the most segregated morning of the week? Their assertion is that we won't know until we experience this reality, but for now, we can practice what it means to listen more broadly in our theological explorations.
After I came back from this conference, I decided to change up my reading lists for The Theological Mosaic class. I wanted students to read more broadly, yet find one space where they read more deeply. My hope is that this diversity with spill into discussions and dialogue both in and outside of class. Theology is a mixture of seeking out the least inadequate language through which to talk about God (Colin Gunton) and how that reality intersects and forms our views of culture, humanity, and the sacred in every day life.
The complication is that we live constantly with great mystery - e.g., God, trees, cabbages, the person sitting next to you on the bus, etc. Mystery is sometimes thought to be those things that you cannot know. I disagree. Mystery is not an unknowing or an ignorance. Instead, mystery is a pressing into what we can only know in part. British theologian, Sarah Coakley, encourages us to press into the task of doing theology, to learn the discipline, read, think, and discern. It is only at this point, when we push the boundaries of our knowing, that we can understand the boundlessness of the mystery of God and of one another.
With this in mind, I'll leave you with a quote from the Swiss theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Every time I read this quote, I realize that this articulation of mystery and prayer are foundational for how I do theology. So, I invite you to come and dive into the abyss with me...
Contemplation starts at the point where the believing mind begins to perceive a dawning light in the abyss of the mystery, where the mystery begins to reveal itself in all its vast proportions. Not in the sense of doubt, of loosening the tautness of the dogmatic affirmation, but in an astonishment which reaches to the very roots of our being (Balthasar, Hans Urs von, Prayer, Tr. By Graham Harrison, San Francisco: Igantius Press, 1986, 158.).Here links to all of the Reading Pod choices:
- Reading Pod choices
- African American Liberation Theology
- Anabaptist Theology
- Stan Grenz
- Church Fathers
- Eastern Orthodox Theology
- Feminist Theology
- Womanist/Mujerista/Postcolonial Theologies
- South and Central American Liberation Theology
- Jurgen Moltmann
- Colin Gunton
- Kathryn Tanner
Friday, March 7, 2014
Bishop Melissa Skelton
This past Saturday I had the privilege of witnessing the Consecration and Installation of Melissa Skelton as the 9th Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster. The ceremony was joyful and at times a bit raucous (well, for a group of Anglicans!). It was heartening to experience Melissa's welcome into her new ecclesial home. If we at St. Paul's have to say goodbye to Melissa, then it is good to know that she will be well loved in her new home.
Bishop Melissa has such warmth and depth of vision for the church, I'm hopeful for the possibilities of healing and wholeness for the Anglican Church in B.C., and perhaps in the whole of the communion. Over the past 5 years as one of her flock, I have witnessed her ability to maintain the integrity of the liturgy and the Gospel while encouraging and establishing a welcoming and hospitable space in the church. I think it is rare that an Anglo-Catholic priest can sing and preside over the service so well and then immediately after have children run up for big hugs and conversation. That is Melissa. Formal and welcoming. Poetry and prose. Gospel preaching and progressive. Orthodox and hospitable. Incense and warm pecan pie!
If she is symbolic of the Bishopric to come, then there is truly hope for the unity and the healing of the Anglican communion. A Bishop that truly believes in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us to the be the body of Jesus Christ in the world. She truly believes in the Resurrection and the power of Jesus to redeem and save us. As she quoted in a sermon recently:
Melissa is convinced that our broken and crumbling parts can be transformed into beautiful and generative characteristics and abilities, if only we would allow the Spirit to work in our lives. As Melissa begins her new role as Bishop, I pray that healing may come in the unexpected and unwatched for places... Come Holy Spirit...
Getting to know Bishop Melissa:
Here is a blog post that introduces her a bit more: "Cascadia Evokes 'Wildness of God'"
Here is her "New Jersey candidacy" video. Make it to the end of this one, it is beautiful:
Here is an inspiring video interview with Bishop Melissa after her election. I love how she talks about the Sacraments:
Here is the video link from the Vancouver Sun's coverage of the event:
The Ceremony
Videos about the meaning of all the ceremonial elements that Bishop Melissa was given during the ceremony:
The Mitre (That Great Hat!) - A symbol of the tongues of fire that anoint the Bishop
Meaning of the Ring - The "seal" of the Bishop
The Bishop's Staff (Crozier) - A symbol of the Bishop's role as the shepard(ess) of the Diocese
The Pectoral (meaning "near your heart") Cross - A symbol of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Chalice and Paten - Symbols of the Eucharist
 |
| Bishop Melissa presiding over the fire during the Easter Vigil |
If she is symbolic of the Bishopric to come, then there is truly hope for the unity and the healing of the Anglican communion. A Bishop that truly believes in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us to the be the body of Jesus Christ in the world. She truly believes in the Resurrection and the power of Jesus to redeem and save us. As she quoted in a sermon recently:
Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error!— that I had a beehive here inside my heart. And the golden bees were making white combs and sweet honey from my old failures.
(from “Last Night As I Lay Sleeping” by Antonio Machado)
Melissa is convinced that our broken and crumbling parts can be transformed into beautiful and generative characteristics and abilities, if only we would allow the Spirit to work in our lives. As Melissa begins her new role as Bishop, I pray that healing may come in the unexpected and unwatched for places... Come Holy Spirit...
Getting to know Bishop Melissa:
Here is a blog post that introduces her a bit more: "Cascadia Evokes 'Wildness of God'"
Here is her "New Jersey candidacy" video. Make it to the end of this one, it is beautiful:
Here is an inspiring video interview with Bishop Melissa after her election. I love how she talks about the Sacraments:
Here is the video link from the Vancouver Sun's coverage of the event:
The Ceremony
Videos about the meaning of all the ceremonial elements that Bishop Melissa was given during the ceremony:
The Mitre (That Great Hat!) - A symbol of the tongues of fire that anoint the Bishop
Meaning of the Ring - The "seal" of the Bishop
The Bishop's Staff (Crozier) - A symbol of the Bishop's role as the shepard(ess) of the Diocese
The Pectoral (meaning "near your heart") Cross - A symbol of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Chalice and Paten - Symbols of the Eucharist
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)