Blog Archives
The Legacy of Spirit and Service: Reflection on the 2011 Baccalaureate Mass and Leadership Recognition Ceremony
With Hattie Bertschausen at Awards Ceremony
Yesterday was a very spiritual and powerful day for me, as it was the last day I would see many people whom I have spent the last four years with at DePaul University. This weekend is about being with family and those who have supported us along our way to graduation. Tomorrow is about celebrating the hard work of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Class of 2011. I look forward to this day now more than ever because of the events that took place yesterday and the effects they had on my heart and spirit as I approach graduation.
The two events were the Baccalaureate Mass and the Leadership Recognition Ceremony. Both of these events had distinct purposes, aesthetics, and meanings to the students who attended them. For me they represented two parts of my extra-curricular career at DePaul University (and outside throughout these years), namely spirituality and leadership work. Each have been and will continue to be integral to my formation as a Unitarian Universalist minister, but also as a global citizen of this world. Read the rest of this entry
Interfaith and Higher Education (Part 4): The Better Together Movement
“This article was originally published on the DePaul Interfaith website on May 15th, 2011″
The Better Together Campaign is not about feeding or clothing homeless people; it’s not about raising money to help Haiti or other developing countries; it is and always will be a method of igniting the spirit of humanity, awakening our minds to the deep and limitless potential we share, if and when we choose to recognize it, come together, and work to spread justice and peace throughout the world.
This three steps process is purposefully chronological and it is journeyed with patience. After a year leading the Better Together Campaign at DePaul University, I reflect with greater understanding about the importance of patience and process when mobilizing students and other segments of a higher educational institution. Laying out the nuances of my three step understanding of the campaign will help shed light into where I stand today looking back at this year. Read the rest of this entry
Interfaith and Higher Education (Part 2): Socially Responsible Leadership
“This article was originally published on the DePaul Interfaith website on April 27th, 2011″
Last Thursday, students gathered in room 220 of the Lincoln Park Student Center for very important occasion. They came as they are: Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, Unitarian Universalists, and more; there were people who fit snug into a religious tradition and others who were exploring the borders of several. But, we all came for one reason. This reason was to celebrate the interfaith movement that is growing across this world and blossoming greatly at DePaul University.
This event was a celebration of not just the hard we have been doing to make interfaith cooperation a social norm at DePaul, but also a moment for recognizing the legacy of interfaith work that has existed throughout the world for millennia and continuing to this day. We began with food and conversation, enjoying each others’ company, and proceeded into a more formal program of speakers that ranged from discussions of socially responsible leadership and ways to get involved on campus with interfaith social action to testimonies by interfaith leaders about why this work has been fulfilling in their spiritual development. Read the rest of this entry
