Student Molly Bookhammer shares her musical talent during worship. |
At a Glance
Theme:
The Spirit-Born Church: Seeing Clearly and Acting Differently
Faculty Speaker:
Dr. Amy Laura Hall, Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics
Lectionary Texts:
Ezekial 37:1-14; Psalm 104 [1a, 19-35]; Acts 2; John 11:1-28
Evening Worship:
The last student-led worship service focused on Pentecost as the birth of the church. We learned several new songs and heard a dramatic reading of Acts 2. The students demonstrated the scenario by speaking the words “God is Holy” in many different languages. All students of the group leading worship wore red stoles to symbolize the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the service we were all given the opportunity to light a candle in symbolism of a commitment to future service. Rev. Edgardo Colon-Emeric preached and led us in the Eucharist. He encouraged a Pentecostal atmosphere by speaking some of the Eucharistic liturgy in Spanish and English.
Reflections on the Lecture
Theological Jargon of the Day: ecclesiology and doxological
Dr. Amy Laura Hall began her lecture with a prayer from St. Augustine’s Confessions and encouraged us to read that work. She explained some of Augustine’s background and helped us to understand, that, just like us, he was torn by the disparities between what the world calls us to and what God is calling us to. Like many adolescents today, Augustine found himself empty.
Dr. Hall then helped us better understand how our society reached the point where people are measured by economic worth. She showed us archived pages of Parents’ Magazine and similar publications that perpetuate the idea that there are ‘children of the promise’ and those who have no worth. Our consumer-driven culture tells us that we matter only if we look the right way or have the right stuff.
But when we are grafted into the story of God, that changes. Every person suddenly has infinite worth because we are made in the image of God. She showed us advertisements from various media sources promoting “the designer baby.” We are caused to think that those babies are more important than “the Wal-Mart baby.” We came to realize that the hope of the human race ultimately lies with a baby who was born, not as a designer baby, but in the lowliest of circumstances—in a manger.
We hear much about how the future depends on us, the adolescents of today. We feel the need to achieve so that we may have worth through our earning power. Dr. Hall assured us that we are not the future—Jesus Christ is the future. She encouraged us to put away desires of being economically successful and place our hope in the baby born in Bethlehem. A life of faithfulness is much more pleasing to God than a life of what the world calls “success.”
Quotable Quotes from the Plenary Lecture
“Our freedom in Christ dissolves within the waters of baptism the divisions the world creates between ‘children of the promise’ and those who have no economic or social worth.”
“The child upon whom our hope ultimately depends has already been born and become our brother. He is our Savior.” –quoting Karl Barth
“If you want to be powerful with your body, use it to feed those who cannot feed themselves. Anybody can show cleavage these days!”
“You are not the future. Jesus Christ is the future.”
Overheard in the halls of the divinity school...
Student: “Do you believe in predestination?”
Dr. Hall: “It’s my prayer that we’re all predestined for glory.”
What’s ahead...
Tomorrow will be our last full day at DYA! We look forward to it with much excitement and sadness.
Dr. Fred Edie, Faculty Director of the Duke Youth Academy, will give the last plenary lecture about “Claiming our Baptismal Vocation.” After lunch we’ll have some free time to enjoy one another’s company a little while longer and to get ready to depart Saturday morning.
Our beloved Elizabeth Ingram Schindler, Assistant Director of the Duke Youth Academy, will preach for our last worship service tomorrow night, and Dr. Edie will celebrate the Eucharist with us.
After our last meeting with our mentor groups, we will have a “Pie-O-Rama” celebration before heading off to bed for our last night here.
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