Kairos

Kairos student group

Seminary students host social justice program with Jane Spahr and Katie Morrison as speakers [2-16-02]

A Word From South of the Mason-Dixon

By Kate Van Brocklin, student at Union Theological Seminary/PSCE, Richmond, VA.

My phone rang the afternoon of January 22nd, it was my best friend from New York checking in to see what I was up to. "Not too much, just hanging out with Janie Spahr and Katie Morrison, talking about the church, no big deal." Needless to say that I had bounced out of bed that morning as if it were my birthday. Months of hard work and organizing was about to come to fruition and I could hard sit still through class that morning. I am one of the founding members of the newly organized Recognized Campus Organization, Kairos, on the Union-PSCE campus. We were created in April of 2001 for the purpose of bringing education and awareness of the social justice issues affecting the Church we are called to serve. I had been introduced to Janie and Katie at General Assembly in Louisville, where I was representing Union-PSCE as the MDiv TSAD. We had been discussing the ordination issues within the PC (USA) as well other concerns and I asked if they would be willing to come to campus to lecture on what we had discussed and they both graciously accepted. Then the fun began. As a group, we had no idea how to make this event happen on campus, but we were excited and determined it would be a success.

In September we nailed down the date of their visit for January 22-24th, 2002. We then began the process of trying to do a new thing in an institution with an administration that we needed to consult with in order to make their visit a campus-wide event. The administration was patient with us and we were patient with them with just a few bumps along the way and at the end of all of the conversations and meetings- Janie Spahr and Katie Morrison would be lecturing the evening of January 22nd on the social justice issues facing the Presbyterian Church, USA as well as meeting with students and faculty on the 23rd and attending the annual Sprunt Lectures on campus that would be taking place simultaneously.

The evening of the 22nd, I was exceptionally nervous and a touch obsessive on the subject of "what if no one comes?" To our great delight, the chapel was bursting at the seams with members of the Union-PSCE campus as well members from the surrounding community. Each of those attending had an opportunity to ask Janie and Katie one burning question that they had which would in turn shape the lecture by addressing them. We discussed issues both denominational and personal, emphasizing love for the church and a genuine desire for the church to be relevant to those whom it is called to serve. The issues of inequality in social institutions we are a part of and the imbalance of power within the church was also at the forefront of the conversation. It was noted that we are not in a time of dialogue as some may think, because those who the church must reconcile itself to are the very ones whose voices are silenced in the forums where concerns are to be heard and forced to the margins of the church. After an hour and a half of sharing their lives and their passion for the church being authentic to it's call to serve God's creation, the event that brought energy and laughter into a normally solemn place came to an end.

The following day, Janie and Katie met with students and faculty in a more informal manner speaking specifically to the work that they do in the denomination as evangelists for justice. Katie also addressed her concerns for students in the candidacy process, knowing herself how difficult and frustrating that process can be. More Light has created a support system for Candidates for Ordination through e-mail which can keep seminarians in touch with other students with regard to their experiences and can offer assistance and care. That evening we attended the Sprunt Lectures that were being given by Union alum Patrick Miller.

January 24th brought an end to the whirlwind that had been the previous seven months. I am still processing all that had taken place during Janie and Katie's time with us. They served as symbols of strength and genuine love for this church which is evident in the work that they do. The response from the members of the community who met and listened to Katie and Janie were stirred by all that took place. We don't have many opportunities to come out of the hollowed rooms of Watts Hall and the library and check in on what is going on in the church that we will be serving in a short time. Reality is that there is much work to do in the denomination to reconcile itself to the world it has been called to serve. We were all created in God's image and although there is God in each of us, sometimes that is hard to see. Janie and Katie taught us to search for the God in each of us and to respect and honor that and from that mutuality of respect can we be in conversation regarding the relevancy of the church in contemporary society and how to best serve God's creation.