Marilynne Robinson's Writing: "Home," etc.

I recently finished reading Home by Marilynne Robinson. This novel is also loosely tied to her Pulitzer-winning book, Gilead. I think I valued Gilead a bit more in that there's non-stop wisdom and heartache pouring from the protagonist's thought process. But Home created the better character interactions as showcased here between central-figure, Glory, and her tormented brother, Jack.

"She said, 'I don't care if you were in prison,' but the words cost her a little effort, and he heard it and smiled at her for a moment, studying her to be sure that she meant them.
He said, 'You're a good kid'" (p. 290).

I had a chance to see Robinson in a Q&A format at a conference last year and while I was a little lost on the content of the session (having not read any of her books at the time), I was struck with her sense of calm and patience. Regardless of the style and despite the lack of excitement factor, Robinson provides the kind of writing that contains a level of wisdom that's worth every minute of reading it.

Silence

Wow, what a full week of incredible experiences. I’m not going to try to recap the whole of my experience on the Civil Rights Tour but I would like to post one final thought.

I noticed a theme from a few of the people with whom we had the opportunity to interact. Ms. Lisa McNair, sister of one of the victims of the 16th Street Bombing, spoke about what it was like to grow up in a home that had a missing member. The family recognized their daughter’s death but it was rarely ever spoken of, it was simply the way things were. We also heard from Ms. Phyllis Brown, sister of one of the Little Rock Nine who integrated Central High School. In describing the Nine’s reunions decades later, many of them would share stories that none of the others had known about. Again, there was a sense of silence.

I find a quiet beauty in this. Many of the people that we met with were simply trying to live their lives well. I believe there’s room for the Lord to speak within silence, moving people in ways our words cannot. But I am also so very thankful for the many incredibly moving words we heard this past week. I am thankful for people that are committed to sharing their story, giving others a small glimpse of one of our nation’s most important eras. Personally, I hope to allow room for the Lord to speak while also giving voice to what I have experienced.

A Few Questions: Two Days In

The Civil Rights Tour continues! A lot has been jam packed into the first few days, visiting Greensboro, NC and Atlanta, GA. In addition to a lot of sites visited, I've done a good chunk of reading and documentary-watching on the forever long bus rides.   

When any serious time is given to really experiencing and learning about the Civil Rights Movement, it's hard not to quickly be confronted with the thought, "How could people be so hateful, so blind, so stubborn?" The inhumane words, actions, and systems were horrifying. 

After that initial question, a couple other series of questions quickly follow.

The first is this: "What kind of life would I have lead if I were transported to the 50's/60's? If I was a white student growing up in the Midwest, would I have been compelled to act? How about if I was an African-American in the South, would I have had the courage to fight the system, and to do so non-violently?" 

I'm ashamed when I think about the honest answers.

The second question, and perhaps the more haunting, is this: "What systems do I turn a blind eye towards in order to live the life I do today?" 

Dr. Eskew (a GSU professor we heard from today) elaborated on the economic and political context of Birmingham leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. In many ways, segregation and poor worker treatment was utilized to make the city successful at producing iron. It was at that point that Dr. Eskew asked what unjust systems are we a part of today, where are our iPhones or Nike shoes produced? (Hint: probably not in some local, worker-friendly environment.)

It's difficult dealing with internal prejudices that effect those in my closer community. When I start to think about the systems that I belong to that inhumanely disregard others across the globe, it starts to become a little overwhelming. Yet I think this is an appropriate emotional response. And I remain hopeful, surrounded by beautiful examples within the Civil Rights Movement where both personal and systematic injustices were overcome.

Here's Hoping: A Civil Rights Tour Prologue

I’m thrilled to come together with colleagues and students from both Messiah and Geneva in order to witness, discuss, experience, and process the Civil Rights Movement on an eight day tour all over the South. There'll be lots of hotels, charter buses, museums, and interesting conversations.

As in any educational context, the hope is that the knowledge doesn’t just go in one ear and out the other. Working in residence life, my hope with my RAs and residents isn’t that they just survive dorm-life or stay out of trouble. Rather, I hope that my students encounter a transformational learning experience, stumbling upon the inherent value in committing to one another or carrying conversations from the classroom/chapel over into the lounges (or a plethora of other things).

Likewise with this trip, I hope to be changed. I hope to learn a lot about the movement but I also want to be renewed in my sense of understanding of what’s come before me on issues of diversity and reconciliation and what that looks like today. I hope to recognize subtle (and blatant?) forms of prejudice in myself and work against those. I hope to discover new ways to challenge the students I work with to be courageous and inclusive. I have a lot of hopes…

Summer: A New Season

Summer has arrived. Well, for an RD, summer sorta comes on graduation weekend. Then, after another few weeks of office-y work, summer really comes. And then there's two sweet, sweet months of absolutely nothing. (Followed by two months of non-stop work... but we're not going there mentally quite yet.)

Back to the two months of nothing. I lied.

Jorje and I are going on a mini-vaca, belated anniversary trip. A night in Annapolis. A night in Lancaster. We live in PA. We're going to see what there is to see. This part is total chilling out, maxing, relaxing or coolin' or shooting some b-ball outside of school.

But then I head out on a Messiah sponsored, eight day Civil Rights Tour, tromping all over the South, meeting some legit figures from the movement and seeing, in person, the places (and subsequent museums) of some of the major events of the time. There'll be plenty more blogging on that subject.

All that to say. Busy first two weeks of summer.

On to the real point of summer (this blog). I feel lucky to be in a position where I can really (like, really) relax. I have plenty on the Netflix queue (House of Cards, Louie, Arrested Development, a few documentaries, etc.) and a slightly unrealistic reading list (the next few: Boyd's Repenting of Religion, MLK Jr.'s Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community, Robinson's Home) that I'm thankful I'll have some time in which to soak.

As I'll be gone three strewn weeks of the total summer eight, I didn't try to land a job. So I also hope to work on some project-y things and futilely do for Jorje as much as she does for me throughout the rest of the year. The hope is that we'll also have space to lounge and take day trips and go for walks on a normal basis.

And then there's the coming of the fall. I want to go into year number two a little more thoughtfully. I no longer have the "it's my first year" excuse when it comes to thrown-together-staff-times, etc.. But the hope is that some of the reading/watching/reflecting will eventually be beneficial for not only myself, but for the students with whom I work.

There you have it. The spring ended well (albeit, "busy"-feeling) and I'm so very grateful to be where I'm at. Apologies on the purely "update-blog" but I thought I'd mark the start of this season with my general feeling.

Here's to the cyclical nature of higher ed.

Coffee Shop Crawl (#springbreak2013)

Since my spring break plans to visit alma mater Taylor U. didn't pan out as planned, I tried to make the most of the week doing what I do best: relaxing, reading, listening to music. What better place to so than a local coffee shop? So I thought I'd tack on a tour of the local coffee shops, most of which I had yet to visit.

What follows are one sentence reviews of the six places I visited in the last week.

LITTLE AMPS || harrisburg, uptown || website || best overall
This being the one shop that I had been to before, I knew I was going to experience an expertly made drink (a pour-over) in a minimalistic, friendly environment with vinyl playing in the background.

YELLOW BIRD || harrisburg, midtown || website || best food, cutest

This newly opened shop is really a bakery and soup/sandwich place (that serves Little Amps coffee) but it made this list due to its charming interior, crazy good fresh bread, and laid back coffee shop vibe.

THE CRIMSON FROG || camp hill || website || biggest, most hippies
I enjoyed my iced coffee while sitting on a comfortable duct-taped couch, next to a large plant, with the faint smell of smoke wafting through the air.

JUICE & JAVA || mechanicsburg || website || best use of space

While the Steve Harvey talk show inexplicably blasted on their overly large TV, I enjoyed the ambiance otherwise, my French roast coffee was mediocre, and I'm excited to return for one of their many smoothies.

SQUARE BEAN || dillsburg || website || friendliest, most small-town
I wondered into this coffee shop (originally mistaking it for a residential house) and was pleasantly greeted with warm service (not too overbearing), a good iced coffee and a simple sitting area inhabited by groups of elderly folks and well-meaning high school students.

OLDE TOWNE BOOKS & BREW || mechanicsburg || website || saddest

Located in downtown Mechanicsburg, this place had potential for having the most character yet I walked into the shop to find some not so pretty book shelves, a weird tasting vanilla latte, and an announcement of their closing in a week.

Faith and Jazz

"... I live with the tension - that I am called to tell others that they are called, yet I don't know precisely what my calling is. A jazz-shaped faith needs to be content with tension and paradox, even when it is close to home."

Robert Gelinas visited Taylor University a little while ago. After seeing a number of Taylor Tweets and hearing a recommendation from StAustin on his credibility, I thought I'd check out his book, Finding the Groove. I really loved Gelinas' analogy for our faith, helping to frame the way we can approach our faith akin to jazz. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the analogy is the commitment to being highly skilled (read: practiced, experienced, dedicated) Christians who also have the freedom to improvise.

The book read quickly, covered a variety of jazz and faith aspects, and used jazz and civil rights heroes effectively in communicating its message. Check Robert Gelinas out on his blog or give his book a read.

A Quote from Bully

"If it was up to me. If I was the king of the United States, I'd make it to where there was no popularity. Everyone was equal. Cause that's how it should be." -Trey Wallace

It's Spring Break and I'm reading and watching movies. The latest being the appropriately titled documentary, Bully. A fantastic collection of stories of youths who have experienced bullying. Trey, quoted above, lost his 11-year old best friend to suicide after being bullied. It wasn't exactly an uplifting movie, but it was honest. And touching. Check out the website or you should be able to find it at a Redbox.

Break-up Movies

Yesterday's post referred to the New Sincerity, a description of culture's current typology, focusing more on authenticity than the cynicism of yesteryear. I think this is, at the very least, a partially accurate depiction. And I think this has also opened the door for a number of break-up movies made in the last 5 or so years. These movies showcase a love that doesn't work and, sometimes, people survive. I don't think this idea would have made it into the movies 10 years ago. I watched two such movies this weekend and was compelled to make a quick list.

Celeste & Jesse Forever
Rashida Jones' Celeste & Jesse Forever has been in my sights ever since I saw the super-slick trailer a few months ago. Ethereal soundtrack, great script well executed, beautiful visuals, great chemistry between Jones and Samberg, great cast. My only qualm was how obvious it is that you can't be besties with your ex (luckily, the movie progressed past that).

Take this Waltz (trailer)
Jorje and I watched this little indie guy last night and were pretty underwhelmed. It wallowed in indie world, pandering to following one's desires. Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan were solid but I just wasn't buying the self-discovery involved.

Blue Valentine (trailer)
Again, Michelle Williams. And Ryan Gosling. Beautifully acted. Perfect use of the Grizzly Bear's album, Veckatimist for its soundtrack. It's a slow one, and devastating.

(500) Days of Summer (trailer)
Sometimes I forget that this quirky, little indie-gem is a breakup movie. Zooey is Zooey and Levitt is Levitt. If you buy into them two... and everything else that the indie world brings, how can you not love this movie? It moves along quickly, it made me give The Smiths a listen, and the soundtrack is perfect.

Other suggestions?

The New Sincerity

I'm not going to say too much about this one but I recently read Jonathan D. Fitzgerald's book, Not Your Mother's Morals. Fitzgerald is the editor of Patrolmag.com, writes for a bunch of other well known publications, and commonly spurs my thought process along.

His book highlights the New Sincerity found in today's pop culture; a progression from a few decades marked more by cynicism. He charts the progression of culture a little bit, gives a brief rundown of his personal engagement with culture while growing up within conservative Christianity, and finishes with a call to embrace this form of authenticity.

A quote in the second half of the book sums things up nicely:

Today, at this unique moment, writers, actors, musicians, and artists elevate authentic expression over manufactured image. This means that they reach back through the decades and choose from a wide array of values, selecting those that most often align with who we are and what we believe at our core. They understand that some situations are inherently better than others, and they're not embarrassed to suggest that we pursue those. This process puts morality front and center; the New Sincerity compels us to consider not just what we want, but also what is right.

Perhaps my favorite example that Fitzgerald uses is Conan O'Brien's charge to his (young) watchers to not be cynical.


It's certainly not perfect, but this little EP of a book is worth the read. Former church-mate and avid blogger, Amy Peterson, gives a much better analysis of the book on her blog or you can just read the book in an hour or two on your Kindle (currently $3.99 on Amazon).