“Fiction is rooted in an act of faith: a presumption of an inherent significance in human activity that makes daily life worth dramatizing and particularizing.” – John Updike, speaking on religion and literature, 1994 I have this photo on my phone that I flip to often, probably more than I am comfortable admitting. It’s a […]
At seven years old, I experienced a mind-bending crisis of identity. There I sat, watching the LA Olympics on a small black and white TV, as boxers from the United States and South Korea took the ring and began pounding one another senseless in mutual pursuit of gold and glory. The official result of that […]
Can I be honest? The nativity story has grown a little stale for me. Those of us raised in the Church, at least, have heard the story multiple times each December for every December of our lives. For evidence that the store is tired is easily found at many Christmas services: it seems every year […]
For the past several years, I have been imagining what it would look like to use surfing as a platform for community engagement in a rural village along the Indian Ocean coastline of South Africa. Toward this goal, I formed a partnership in 2010 with a Denver-based nonprofit named Empowering Communities to Transcend Adversity. ETCA […]
Should all go according to plan, I will graduate next summer with a Master’s degree in Theology & Culture (MATC). When asked about my studies, the question that most often follows is what I’m going to do with such a degree. Unlike the other two programs at The Seattle School, the Master of Divinity (MDiv) […]
I used to be a violinist. I had wanted to play professionally with orchestras and small ensembles, perhaps doing movie soundtracks. Those are always the best pieces – the narrative lays the groundwork, but it’s the music that really conjures emotions in the audience. Requiem for a Dream and Schindler’s List both rely on the intensity of a […]
To highlight our newest certificate program – Leadership in the New Parish – we conducted an interview with people who are doing the work of understanding the mission of the church through their neighborhoods. First interview is with Lisa Carlson, one of the creators of Aurora Commons and graduate of the MATC program. The mission of […]
Recently, a group of MHGS students creatively responded to the pain and brokenness of their neighborhood through an artistic expression. Blaine Hogan, an MHGS grad from the Christian Studies program, wrote a thoughtful response on his own blog about the project (reposted here). What does it look like to respond creatively to the needs of […]