We are early in the new year, both in the calendar and liturgically. With Epiphany, we conclude the Christmas season in which we celebrated the birth of Jesus, the arrival of Emmanuel, the Incarnation of God. The divine force that creates, includes, and transcends all of creation, all of the universe, became human, with all […]
Desire. This may seem like a strange place to start a blog post designed to address the categories of compassion and empathy, but in order to join this conversation in a meaningful way, I believe desire is where the conversation must begin and end. In my recent post on self-care, I referenced the purpose of […]
When the pandemic reached our shores in early 2020, promises of time spent at home and opportunities for self-betterment were prevalent. Diets, home workouts, meditation protocols, and Bible verses were forwarded and then forwarded again. Fast forward 6+ months and the tenor of conversations have shifted. Disaster models now predict high levels of anxiety, depression, […]
One of our alumnae, Lisa Etter-Carlson (MATC ‘11), is the co-founder of Aurora Commons, a “neighborhood living room” (day shelter) in Seattle. Here, she calls us to see how the COVID-19 pandemic exposes systemic racism, poverty, and the criminalization of poverty—particularly among the unhoused. As this Pandemic has spread, it has exposed and exploited the […]
When I was in college, a speaker at a conference showed a clip from the movie Instinct as an illustration for her talk. The visceral impact of that scene has stayed with me across the years and keeps coming to mind whenever I feel a lack of control in the midst of pandemic. In the […]
On June 25, Andrea Sielaff, MAC, Researcher for Resilient Leaders Project, hosted a conversation on the need for practices that can help cultivate practical resilience for ministry leaders. This was the final installment of the “Resilience in Crisis” webinar series, created to support, resource, and encourage leaders and practitioners through the pandemic crisis. Andrea interviewed […]
As a participant in the Certificate in Resilient Service, we were encouraged to make our own Way of Life. A Way of Life is a guide to help incorporate practices that point you towards your values. When the shelter-in-place order started, I began to recognize little parts of my day that brought me joy. It […]
As a way of processing the losses and challenges brought about by the pandemic, students at The Seattle School began to create—through painting, poetry, photography, and many other mediums. Art is a tactile way to express the grief, pain, and longing, moving these emotions out of one’s body into the open. Here, we share a […]
On May 7, Kate Rae Davis, Director of Resilient Leaders Project and Dr. J. Derek McNeil, President and Provost of The Seattle School, talked about the ways crisis can accelerate transformation and their hopes for positive change in our lives, city, and world. This was the second installment of the “Resilience in Crisis” webinar series, […]
“The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. Oh wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night….pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.” ~Lamentations 2:18-19 These words of the prophet Jeremiah situate themselves in a devastating part of Judah’s history—the […]