Faith & Reason THE TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY NEWSLETTER • FALL 2013 • VOLUME 17, ISSUE 1
THE CALL TO SERVE OTHERS SHARAYAH ROBINSON, Senior Theology/Business Major In 2010, I returned to Cameroon for my second mission trip with my church. I was ready, as my church’s mission statement says, “to serve God in the service of all God’s people” like we had the year before. However, my pastor, Luther Symons, told us that this trip was going to mean a lot to more than just us and the people in Ngoundéré, Cameroon. The ELCA had recently made its decision to allow openly homosexual pastors to be called into clergy positions. This decision led to a major falling out not only among some of its own churches, but also among much more conservative, international partners like the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) and the Église Évangélique Luthérienne au Cameroun (EELC). While in Cameroon, we faced many questions about the topic. Pastor Luther did most of the talking when it came to this issue, as homosexuality there is a crime and any miscommunication about support or promotion of homosexuality could lead to jail time. Instead, we focused on our work—renovating the outdoor hospital rooms. Pastor Luther agreed to a radio interview and answered the questions he was getting about the issue. While he settled rumors, answered questions and tried to listen to their concerns, he focused more on the EELC and what they needed rather than on the ELCA’s decision. That decision, he pointed out, was the ELCA’s alone. Soon after returning from that trip, the EECMY in Ethiopia had severed
its ties with the ELCA and the EELC announced that it no longer had any intention of similar actions. Our whole group agreed that Pastor Luther had saved the day. He asked us, “Do you not understand that it was all because of you guys?” What? We just painted a couple buildings. He explained to us that what he had said didn’t do much of anything. Sure, it may have calmed the church leaders for a few days, but what made a difference was the people of Cameroon seeing us there working. It was the service that calmed people’s nerves. It was being able to show love and hospitality for people, no matter our beliefs, that opened up the way for this kind of reconciliation. It all suddenly clicked. I understood what he was trying to demonstrate for us. It was made even more clear once we found out that there had been no ELCA presence in Ethiopia around the same time; in fact, it was discouraged by our church leaders. Being present
and serving God in the service of God’s people is what seemed to make the difference in Cameroon. This year I was able to go back for my third trip. On my first two trips, I had realized my call to become a pastor and work in international ministry. In the two years between trips, I had come to question that call and my faith altogether. I wasn’t sure how this trip was going to go. Being there, I relearned all of the things that I had forgotten about myself and why I feel called. I was quickly reminded why people need to serve in places like Cameroon where the culture is so full of life and love, yet faces challenges to life and love everyday. It is this contradiction that makes being there meaningful, exhausting and crucial. Our main project was to help a congregation that had been working on building its church for the past ten years. When we arrived at Burkina, they had rotting benches, no windowpanes, rusting doors and window frames and aging cement walls. We worked with the church members to resurface and paint the interior, to create “stained glass” windows that were sustainable for their community, and to commission and help sand and assemble 80 benches. We saw a church change more in two weeks than it had in ten years. While part of it was the financial support, we saw more enthusiasm from all of the members than we ever expected, and I mean all. At any point in time, we had a minimum of 20 kids from the community coming in the church trying to help paint and sand. The congregation’s pastor would even kick the kids out so they wouldn’t get hurt, and they would continually sneak in
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and start sanding again. Some adults even took off of work to volunteer, which is a huge sacrifice, since many of them barely make enough to eat everyday. They also began resurfacing the outside of the church on their own while we were still there. We had never seen this type of motivation in previous years. While we were there, the changes we saw in the way people treated each other and thought about service was incredible. I do not often feel like we do much when we are there because of how much need there is. However, when I look back on what I witnessed and experienced, I know God has done something…or really, everything. God lets my church group experience an amazing culture, meet amazing people, and grow from the work we do, yet he manages to multiply the impact of the little bit of work we do. We helped a boy, a choir, and a church. Now that boy, choir, and church are focused on helping each other and their community. A man named Eddy is focused on becoming a doctor and has decided to help another, Josepha, in continuing his ministry to orphans. Henry, a local artist, has decided to use his art to tell the story of the oppression, hunger, violence and other trials that people in his community face. Being present and caring about more than what is normally right in front of us is all it took to help reconcile church relationships, to build lasting friendships and to motivate others to serve God in the service of all God’s people.
How TLU Prepares You For a Life of Service VICTORIA HOPPES ’12 In February 2013 I made the move from San Antonio to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to begin a new job 2
working at the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. In my position as associate for youth and campus ministries, I’m responsible for planning and running youth ministry events. I work with our Bishop’s staff to serve a network of 143 Episcopal parishes in the five counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
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In my job, I do many different things. First and foremost, I’m responsible for all Diocesan youth programming. I write the curriculum and plan the events that target a variety of age groups, including middle and high school students. I also handle all registration and publicity. Each year, we offer retreats, overnights and summer camp experiences. This program year alone, I’m planning a trip to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., a youth event held in conjunction with our annual Diocesan Convention, six overnight worship experiences called Nightwatch during Advent, Epiphany and Lent and two weekend retreats: one for middle school students and one for high school students. Another large portion of my job is planning and running our City Camp program where we offer summer daycamp experiences for children
and youth in different inner-city neighborhoods of Philadelphia. In addition to overseeing the day-today operations, I serve as a liaison between the Diocese and the hosting parish, and handle all registration and publicity. During tha past summer we served more than 100 children in kindergarten through sixth grade, from three different neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Our daycamps help parishes connect to their communities and help kids in these neighborhoods find a safe place to go during the summer. This year, our goal is to host five daycamps in different neighborhoods of Philadelphia. When I’m not working for the Diocese, I remain engaged with youth ministry in other ways. I have just signed a contract to write four Sunday school lessons for Spirit and Truth Publishing to be published in the spring and fall of 2014. I’m also a co-leader of this year’s Youth Forum at Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Philadelphia, the parish to which I belong. I’ve also spent time experiencing Philly, trying many a soft pretzel and Philly cheesesteak, and traveling to different parts of the Northeast. Being a theology major at TLU helped prepare me in so many ways for life after college. I’m very grateful I had the opportunity to gain the skills that have helped me in the job I have today.
Spring 2014 Theology Symposium Beyond the Realm: Perspectives on Life After Death
BRANDI MORSE, Junior Theology Major Join Texas Lutheran University’s Theology Department Feb. 4 through 6 for our Spring 2014 Symposium “Beyond the Realm: Different Perspectives on Life After Death. The symposium will consist of three
sessions, each highlighting a different perception of the afterlife. Everyone in existence, whether theist or non-theist, has once considered the question, “What will happen to me after I die?” This year’s symposium will reflect upon this age-old question in multiple ways. One session will explore the concept of Purgatory, including both Roman Catholic and Protestant understandings about the origin and history of the concept. Another sessions, led by a witness of a “heaven-and-back” experience, will ask the question, “Can a person really die, go to Heaven, and come back to tell the story?” With multiple top-selling books on the shelves today, this concept is quickly growing in popularity within our society and deserves to be examined. The third session will be a TLU chapel service, led by a guest speaker relating to this year’s theme, with a discussion of the topic to follow. Although the question of what life after death might look like can be daunting, it is a prevalent one in the life of every human being. We can merely contemplate such a question to which only only God truly knows the answer. However, discussions and explorations such as these allow us to reflect not only on the possibility of eternal life, but the importance of our daily lives on earth.
Get to Know TLU Theology’s Newest Faculty Member: Carl Hughes My name is Carl Hughes, and I joined the Theology Department this fall as its newest Assistant Professor of Theology. I am excited to be at TLU and
have been enjoying my first semester of teaching here. What I’ve liked most so far is the quality and enthusiasm of TLU’s students, especially the theology majors I’ve met. My primary teaching area is historical theology and church history. I love the wide variety of courses I get to teach at TLU. For example, this semester I’m teaching both Life and Writings of Martin Luther and Religion in the United States. Next semester, I’ll be teaching Critics and Defenders of Faith in the Modern Age and Interpreting the Bible: History and Contemporary Practice. I grew up in the Chicago area and have been a Lutheran all my life. As an undergraduate, I attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. majoring in religion, philosophy and French. After graduating, I obtained a license in philosophy from the Université de Paris—Paris IV (Sorbonne) as a Fulbright Scholar. I then earned a M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Theological Studies from Emory University. Before coming to TLU, I held one-year positions at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia and St. Olaf College.
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“Being present and serving God in the service of God’s people is what seemed to make the difference....” –SHARAYAH ROBINSON
FAITH & REASON STAFF EDITOR Ashley R. Buhrts FACULTY ADVISOR Norm Beck Students, Faculty, Staff, and Alumni are invited to offer articles of interest in electronic form to Dr. Norm Beck
[email protected]. Submission of articles and news items does not ensure publication, and Faith & Reason reserves the right to edit for length and content.
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Faculty in the Department of Theology, Philosophy, and Classical Languages during the 2013-2014 academic year include: H. David Baer, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., associate professor of theology & philosophy Norman A. Beck, B.A., B.D., Ph.D., D.D., Poehlmann Professor of Theology & Classical Languages James Bouzard, B.A., M. Div., instructor of theology Jack D. Davidson, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy
Harry G. Foster, III, B.S., M.S., M.Div., instructor of theology Tom Glasoe, B.A., M.Div., instructor of theology Heather Hansen, B.S., M.A., instructor of theology Kristine Hill, B.A., M.Div., instructor of theology Carl Hughes, B.A., M.T.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of theology Phil Ruge-Jones, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D., associate professor of theology, department chair Rachel Walsh, B.S., M.A., instructor of Hebrew and Judaism
