A Message from Furman’s Associate Chaplain

A Message from Furman’s Associate Chaplain

During my first year as Furman’s Associate Chaplain, I met many new people and learned about the incredible campus community and opportunities offered here. I am grateful for the gift of journeying alongside students as they write their senior theses, navigate deep grief, and wrestle with what life beyond Furman may look like.

As an only child who was adventurous and interested in collecting new experiences, I spent a great deal of time doing these things in solitude. I enjoyed working alone on projects throughout my childhood. As a college student, I became enchanted by opportunities to do life in a community where friends lived, learned, dined, and played together. The seeds of vocation were planted as I reveled in what it meant to experience spiritual flourishing in community.

Conversations that Change Us

 Kaycie and I met weekly during the spring semester to discuss The Land Is Not Empty by Sarah Augustine (Herald Press, 2021). Kaycie Blankenship, a double-major in philosophy and earth and environmental science, wanted to explore elements of her senior research (the thesis title that emerged was, “Reclaiming Eden: The Role of Ecotheology in Reorienting U.S. Societal Values Toward Environmental Justice.” We spent our Thursday mornings discussing the effects of colonization, gentrification, and food insecurity. We learned a great deal about the environmental injustices facing the Wayana people of Suriname. We contemplated our values and the allegiances that we have made to systems and institutions that were not in alignment with who we desire to be in the world.

In her book, Augustine writes:

The dominant culture in our country is highly individualistic. We have been socialized to see problems as individual ones, and so our interventions are often individualistic: recycling, buying an electric car, giving money to famine relief, providing money so an Indigenous child in Suriname can attend a boarding school in the city. When faced with a social issue, our first inclination is often to ask, “What can I do? What individual action can I take to help?”

While it is often important to take these individual-level actions—they do relieve some suffering—our most vexing social issues are not going to be solved by individual actions…we are ensnared in sinful global systems that cause great suffering, suffering that is completely hidden to most of us most of the time.”[1]

Questions that Call Us to Connection

Augustine does not discourage individuals from doing good deeds that really do impact the greater good. However, she points readers towards the reality that individually seeking to solve important problems is often less effectual. It should not take natural disasters, tragic events, or widespread devastation to bond with our neighbors and elicit compassion, but it often does. When we have strong ties and commitments to our community, it can not only solve problems, but it can prevent some of them. Systems that do societal harm often improve through collective and consistent efforts. We truly are better when we read, dialogue, learn, pray, and serve together.

How do we heighten our awareness of the connectedness of creation and the necessity of interdependence for flourishing?

My Thursday mornings with Kaycie moved me to think deeper about what it means to live and lead in ways that remind us of our need for one another in the face of policies and systems that aim to oppress and divide us. Reading coursework material alongside that which is stirring in our souls teaches us to unlearn and relearn how we might be more faithful humans. Spending time with Kaycie was one of many instances when I experienced the importance of connecting with people who have different backgrounds, perspectives, and academic disciplines. There is power in mutuality to transform us and

The next time we think, “What can I do? What individual action can I take to help?” Let us consider, “Who can I join with? What collective actions can we take to make a difference?”

Answers that Awaken Kinship

 I have been thinking about these questions as the fall semester began. In September, the Exploration of Vocation and Ministry group welcomed twelve new members. This diverse and dynamic group is enthusiastic to engage in interreligious dialogue, examine their beliefs and values; explore connections between spirituality/religion and classroom learning; and deepen their understanding of vocation through internships in the future. Our fall retreat focused on getting to know each other and launching this year’s theme of kinship.

We in the Office of Spiritual Life are asking, “How can we cultivate community to make us more aware of our need for connection with one another and our Creator?”

We look forward to sharing stories about how we are answering this question here on this blog.

I have the pleasure of sharing joys, sorrows, lattes, and transformative experiences with many in the Furman community.  I am delighted by the privilege of hearing and holding space for many inspirational and heartbreaking stories of faith, formation, pain, and hope.  Many of these stories are not mine to share. Nevertheless, there are students, campus ministers, interns and Office of Spiritual Life partners who have experiences to recount and reflect upon.

May you find goodness and grace for your journey within these writings.

“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”   -Lila Watson

[1] Sarah Augustine, The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus In Dismantling The Doctrine of Discovery, (Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2021), 211-212.

-Chaplain Alexis Carter Thomas