Greetings from my friend's porch north of Houston, where I write in the company of two basil plants, warm black tea and its soppy tea bag, and a spider in her tiny round web. The highway whirrs in the background, and gray clouds carry moments of summer rain from here to there. The sun, when it shines, is the kind that only lets you stay sitting outside if you don't mind sweating in place.
Today I gladly begin a series of posts on summer months full of what I love: conversations with friends about things that matter, travel to see friends and to learn, and time for writing. I will be reflecting first on the what Christians did and failed to do during the Holocaust, insofar as it speaks to Christian life today. In just over two weeks, I will travel to Europe with thirteen other theology and ministry students of many traditions to delve into this question, which is possible through the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). These peers and I will travel to New York City,
Auschwitz, Krakow, and Berlin for a structured course of study, June 16-27. I look forward to meeting them and learning together! (Learn more on the FASPE website.)
As the trip has drawn nearer, a few moments have stood out as offers of grace in advance of our departure.
- At BC's School of Theology and Ministry, two of my classmates in particular have pointed me toward things to read in advance of the trip.
- A course on the Church this spring informs my thought about what it means to be the Church, including what kinds of relationships that entails for us with the world and with the Kingdom of God.
- In Wilmington, Delaware, I met a friend's high school history teacher who continues to teach a course on genocide. She inspired me.
- By praying and breaking bread with the Community of Sant'Egidio in Washington, DC, I learned that in addition to the Community's witness of friendship and peace building, one of the Community's U.S. leaders, Professor Andrea Bartoli, has just published a chapter on "Preventing Genocide" in Civilians in Modern War (Routledge, 2012).
- A visit to Selma, Alabama, especially the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute and the Edmund Pettus Bridge, reminded that, as during the Holocaust, Christians in the South led efforts to ossify racist social relationships while others actively opposed this injustice. My friend's community, the Society of St. Edmund, gave great support to the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
A thousand thanks to all of these people and for the ten thousand other moments of grace that have slipped past my attention!
My next couple of posts will include the lenses, goals, and hopes I bring to this experience. Logistically, know that I plan to (1) share each post on Facebook and (2) send a weekly email to those I think might be interested in seeing links to the week's posts.
I hope to learn from you, too, through this writing, and so will conclude each post with a question inviting your brilliant responses. I am always glad for your suggestions, questions, and criticisms as well -- thanks in advance!
