Bethany Theological Seminary and Earlham School of Religion's Seminaries Librarian Jane Pinzino delivered the following message in ESR worship on Tuesday, February 3, 2015:
Early one Friday evening, when I was a graduate
student living in Philadelphia, I was walking home from the pub with Lana, a
classmate in the program. As we strolled across the Walnut Street bridge, I was
discussing in detail my views about a class in medieval paleography that Lana
and were enrolled in. I was verbally processing the work of the week now done, continuing
the trajectory from our Happy Hour conversation. As daylight waned Lana became more and more
quiet, apparently distracted, and finally visibly concerned. Lana turned
to me and politely asked whether we might move along more quickly, and I often
remember her explanation, “The sun is going down and when it does, I put down
my backpack.” I looked at her backpack and I looked at the sinking sun, and we picked up the pace.
We proceeded in silence while I digested this
unexpected information about Lana’s way of life. Lana then shared with me, “And
this is why I don’t normally go to Happy Hour on Friday with all our friends in
the program; it’s not because I don’t want to be with all of you; it’s because
I celebrate the Sabbath.” Lana rested at home from sundown on Friday to sundown
on Saturday. In a bit confusion on that Friday, I offered to Lana that I
would carry her backpack myself, but that idea was unrealistic since I was also
carrying a backpack heavy with books. And in fact, Lana preferred carrying her
own load, she simply wanted to reach home to put her own backpack down in her
place, and begin the Sabbath celebration, lighting candles and enjoying rest at
the end of the school week. As we now walked along Walnut more briskly,
Lana went on to describe how she observed the Sabbath in her home by refraining
from schoolwork and spending a day that celebrated, received and reflected.
Lana loved graduate school and the creative processes that she engaged in all
week long through her writing, presenting, discussing, organizing, teaching;
all of which she lay down every Friday evening for a full 24 hour period. My
walk home with Lana that day started my own journey of claiming Sabbath rest as
a vital part of a productive, industrious, full and rich life.
