Dear alumni/ae and friends,
In September, I had the opportunity to teach for the Covenant Sunday School class at Westminster Presbyterian Church, here in Nashville. Just two weeks ago, I was blessed to teach for the Graham Inquirers and Covenant Sunday School classes at Belmont United Methodist, also here in Nashville. What I discovered at both these congregations is important: full parking lots; lots of young children and families; a warm and welcoming spirit; and people hungry and eager to talk about scripture, community, and faith.
As someone who spends her Sundays either in my own worship community or visiting others, I want to refute the “decline narrative” that is so pervasive throughout much of this nation. The “decline narrative” says that people have abandoned faith and houses of worship; this narrative points to demographics to suggest that churches and synagogues and mosques are all dying and that people are increasingly turning away from religion.
Even if these numbers are correct, I am surrounded by those who are deeply interested in matters of faith and spirituality. Both at Vanderbilt Divinity School and outside these walls, people are engaging in moral, ethical, and religious conversations. People are looking for answers and meaning within their faith traditions; people are teaching and raising their children in these traditions; and people are practicing and living their faith every day.
I write this word of encouragement to remind myself and others that God is still moving in the world. The moral and philosophical questions that make us human are still being discussed and studied. Communities are still leaning on their faith in times of both crisis and celebration. Instead of a “decline narrative,” may we embrace a “transformation narrative,” about our faith communities, a narrative which recognizes that a new thing is being done before our very eyes.
Best,
Yolanda Pierce, Ph.D.
Dean
Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair
Professor of Religion & Literature
