New Student Introduction

We're excited to introduce to you some of our new students that will be joining us for the 2012-13 school year. Today's featured student is Chris Kight, who is a new Access student from Syracuse, New York.


Hi there!

I'm Chris Kight. I am Director of Information Technology for a hotel management company headquartered out of Syracuse, NY. Before that I spent my working years in the U.S. Navy, mostly involved with computers. I've lived along both American coasts, as well as in Italy and Japan.

I grew up Baptist, and spent some time with a Buddhist congregation while in Tokyo, but have been involved with Unitarian Universalists and Quakers for more than twenty years now. As a child, my favorite part of the Bible was Genesis-Exodus and the other "Histories"; then it was the Gospels and Epistles; now it's the "Wisdom" books - I'm wondering when the Prophets will capture my attention.

A few of the movies I enjoyed most this past year include: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; Hugo; and Crazy, Stupid, Love. My favorite reads have included: The Magician King; Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter; The Difference Engine. I'm currently reading Kierkegaard's Spiritual Writings and Silence, by Endo. My favorite listens are all over the map: The Carolina Chocolate Drops; The Welcome Wagon; Jack White; The Black Keys; Zoe Keating; and Buke and Gass. I would feel very accomplished if I took the time to learn to play blues on the Ukelele. Interesting local groups I enjoy hanging out with include those for Gaelic Football, Roller Derby, and Community Shakespeare.

I have two dogs, both rescues: a greyhound and a beagle/puggle mix. My second of three sons just graduated high school and is moving to Seattle for a year. The oldest leaves in December for the Peace Corps. The youngest lives in Florida with his mother. After years of trying to make all sorts of very bad relationships "work", I'm now engaged to the best friend I've ever had, ever. 

Finally, being able to formally study at the Earlham School of Religion is pretty much the icing on the cake that this past year of my life has been. I am thrilled to be in the M.A. Access program and look forward to taking classes with each of you.

In Friendship,

Chris

Welcome Chris! We'll be sharing more new student profiles in upcoming posts. 

Epistle from North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative) annual sessions

A note from Valerie: Andrew Wright, an ESR Access student and member of North Carolina YM (Conservative) attended yearly meeting.  I asked Andrew if he could share his reflections on the annual sessions, and he asked if we could share the epistle, feeling that to be a good reflection of the annual sessions.  Micah Bales also shared his thoughts on attending this yearly meeting a few weeks ago.  I found these words to be lovely and poetic, and (with the permission of Andrew and the Clerk of the meeting) am glad to share them here.

 

To Friends Everywhere –

How can we become the blessed community that we aspire to be? In these 314^th Yearly Meeting sessions we have lived into some of the answers to this question which has been our theme.  In our query responses, state of the meeting reports, and times of worship we  have shared experiences of all the facets and phases of life. We have held each other as we have mourned, struggled, and grieved together. We have celebrated new life, rejoiced in success, renewed old friendships and discovered ever growing love among us.  We have found ourselves held in the hands of God, protecting us, healing us, and knitting us together into the blessed community. 

 

We have learned from our children as they are tender with each other, as they enjoy and play well with each other. We watch as our children rejoice in the mystery and wonder of the present moment. Playing at the beach with Young Friends is like swimming in an ocean of light. One Friend noticed that even the salt in the water works to lift us up together. The elements have conspired, along with the laughter and play of our children, to lead us toward the blessed community.

 

We are aware of our dependence upon God’s support, because we see evil around and within us. We are mired in it up to our ears. We have witnessed decades of war, and we see violence in our communities – and we feel the effects of both in our own lives. We watch with sadness as our way of producing, consuming, and working destroys the life giving capacity of our earth. Our economy is driving greater and greater inequality between the richest and poorest people of our world community. These things stand against our deeply held beliefs, and yet we find them both within us and infused in our way of living.  What little we do to change the world often seems small and ineffectual, and we sometimes feel paralyzed by discouragement. We recognize that this discouragement itself is a symptom and part of the evil we oppose. At times the effort to sustain our belief in God’s power for good is the largest part of our struggle.  Yet God is with us, even in these troubled times. We remember that Friends in our history faced systems of enslavement and an economy of radical inequality that seemed just as intractable as our present systems of domination.  In their simple and peaceful ways, these Friends found new ways of being in the world that moved beyond what seemed impossible.

In our Bible studies this week we have been reminded that there is still good soil for God’s seed, and that seed can yield a hundred-fold harvest.  God is very much with us, caring for our welfare and intervening on behalf of the widow, orphan and alien in a strange land.  The women of the Exodus story – Shiphrah and Puah, Moses’ mother and sister, and even Pharaoh’s daughter – model for us the courage to risk faithful acts in dark times.  Over and over, we see that God gives us the tools, the strength, and the courage, at the right time, to do what must be done to advance the Kingdom of God in the face of the evil that opposes it.  And so we send you, dear Friends, a message of hope in these dark times. The Kingdom is here – already here among us.

 

On behalf of the yearly meeting,
Richard Miller, Clerk

North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

Greetings from SAYMA by Sandy Tracy

Friends from across the Southeast held their 40th yearly meeting in the shadows of the Smoky Mountains where Warren Wilson College nestles into the hill just outside of Asheville, North Carolina at SAYMA.  This beautiful liberal arts college, along the banks of the Swannanoa River, is known for its programs in environmental sciences and sustainable agriculture as well as its celebrated MFA program.  


Weather relief: Although storms raged across the US and tornados and floods in the southeast this year, Friends enjoyed cool, beautiful weather during the SAYMA weekend. SAYMA’s daily activities included Meeting for Worship, Worship Sharing with specific Queries, choices of workshops ranging from Interplay (dance) to piano playing. Attendees also enjoyed plenary sessions on FWCC and Quaker Quest, a Talent Show and a Folk Dance. SAYMA Business Meetings were also held daily as well as excellent children’s programs.  


ESR, Earlham and SAYMA: I met two or three folks who had graduated from Earlham and ESR and many were quite interested in hearing about the Access Program. Most Quakers are involved in social justice programs now, but a growing number of Quakers are interested in taking social justice into the workplace.

Blessings and Light,   
Sandy Tracy

Sandy Tracy is in the ESR Access M.Div. program with focuses on pastoral care and spirituality and prayer. She is currently working with women and the homeless during her Supervised Ministry year. Sandy is sexton of the Burial Committee and member of the Religious Education Committee at West Knoxville Friends Meeting, and member of the Outreach Committee for SAYMA. She works full-time in Home Care.

Voices from the ESR Access Community (Part 2)

By Valerie Hurwitz

A follow-up to my post from last Monday--two more videos of ESR Access students discussing their January Intensive classes.  View Part 1 here.  Any tips from Access Students about travel or taking classes in the two-week intensive format?  Who plans to take a May intensive?  What class?

Rob Pierson (Albuquerque, NM)

Tandy Scheffler (Oak Ridge, TN)

Valerie Hurwitz is Director of Recruitment and Admissions at Earlham School of Religion. She lives in Richmond, Indiana and serves as choir director at West Richmond Friends Meeting.

Voices from the ESR Access Community (Part 1)

 

By Valerie Hurwitz

 

In January, I asked some of our Access students attending the January intensive courses to talk about their classes. The results were illuminating, as people talked about how their classes challenged them and open their eyes to new ways of looking at things.  The May intensive is coming up, May 16-27. For Access students or residential students who attend intensives, do you have any tips for taking intensive courses, travel, or comments on the videos? Anyone planning on coming to the May intensive? What class do you plan on taking?

 

Angelina Carpenter (Knoxville, TN)

 

 

Kevin Ring (Lynchburg, VA)

 

 

Patty Willis (Amado, Arizona)

 

Valerie Hurwitz is Director of Recruitment and Admissions at Earlham School of Religion. She lives in Richmond, Indiana and serves as choir director at West Richmond Friends Meeting.