It's an interesting time to be a seminary student in a time of intensifying conflict between Israel and Gaza. I am a bit removed, since I live in North Carolina and take classes from a distance. My seminary campus in Washington, D.C. is beside the American University campus which has seen graffiti of both the antisemitic and anti-Palestinian types. Our dean sent out an e-mail letter earlier this week which referenced those events and the larger world.
Her letter ended this way: "Friends, your calling matters. Working toward shalom is working toward a world where everyone enjoys the blessings of abundant life that God intended for all God’s creation, a place where everyone thrives. There are many ways to support peace efforts, to love our neighbors, to lament, to care for the vulnerable, and to pray unceasingly. If you are at a loss for words, pray anyway. Remember that the Spirit intercedes for us when we do not know what to pray (see Romans 8:26-27). Our chapel remains open for prayer. To echo Martin Luther King, Jr., there are many ways to let the light of God’s love shine into the darkness. Let's stand together for shalom."
I am so grateful to have an academic dean who sends a letter of deep pastoral care. I have wondered if I should be offering the same level of care to my students, but my face to face students seem even further removed from the Israel-Gaza conflict, both literally and emotionally, than I am. We had a brief conversation when I brought in some poems, but it was more about who is making money from weapons sales and less about geopolitical issues.
On Monday, in my seminary Ethics class, we had a visitor, the religion writer for The Washington Post. She wanted to see how future spiritual leaders are discussing the conflict. At first we were somewhat guarded, or at least, I was. The conversation revolved around the work we'd read for the class, but at the end, the reporter asked if she could ask us questions. We had good ground rules--she won't quote us without our permission, and we didn't have to say a word if we didn't want to.
I was surprised at how open my fellow students were, and it was quickly clear we come from a variety of positions. I was happy to see that we could present our positions and not attack each other. It's what I expect from seminary classes, but these are fraught times.
My only contribution; I mentioned that I was concerned with the war becoming wider, and that I tend to look back at history to try to understand where we are now. But is it 1939 or 1973 or something else altogether? Heads nodded--and of course, we don't have any answers. We won't know for years and probably not even in our lifetime.
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