Dear alumni/ae and friends,

Some of the good things that we would like to see happen are beyond our belief. We may hope for them, but our hope is tinged with skepticism and we seriously doubt the possibility of the very things we most want.  We find ways to sell ourselves short, to deem others less than, and we can  give up on living a life of justice and mercy—a life awash with the magnificent trifecta of mind, body, and spirit—because, after all, we are only human. For all that we dream about, we find ourselves content to live out the weary drama of an unrelenting nightmare at times.  We accept the grim is-ness of our lives as the magnificent ought and find ways to short circuit the hope found in possibilities and daring to reach beyond what we ever thought ourselves capable of.

We can lose sight of the fact that our lives may be the only chapter of scripture somebody reads and the miracle of God working in us is that God takes our brokenness, the threads of our lives, and weaves masterpieces—if we dare to let God.

And so we say, both overtly and covertly that true justice and equality will never be a part of the fabric of living in our lifetimes, that we will always have the poor with us, that there is only one way we can be as living and breathing and thinking and worshipping and loving people of faith, that some of us are just destined to be wealthy and successful and others of us will naturally fall by the wayside into despair and hopelessness—and what can I really do when I'm only one person?

We are afraid to live out our hopes.

Hope, that which scares us and yet prepares us to take the challenge that hope gives us—the joy along with the disappointment—and work with one another until our lives begin to pulse with the drumbeat of righteousness and unconditional love.  We are not being called to be the poster children for the status quo of every single phobia our inhumanity can summon up and then impose on one another nor are we being called to practice an over-religified, alpine of half-step fidelity surrounded by the chants of inept kumbayas and sashaying alleluias while starring in a weary drama of an outdated carousel of momentary ecstasies.

In these trying times, let’s open our eyes, hearts, souls, and spirits to proclaim love, faith, justice, and hope with sass and swag as we build spaces of healing and cathedrals of resistance that are rooted in vision and joy and acceptance.

Best,

Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Welch (MA’77, PhD’82) and Dr. James A. Sanders, (BA’48, BD’51), who have been named honoreers of the Graduate Department of Religion distinguished alumni award and Divinity School distinguished alumni award, respectively.

Learn about this year's recipients of the award, here.

The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice is supported by a $1.25 million gift from Barbara Cook Wendland, who spearheads the Joe B. and Louise P. Cook Foundation. The Program will examine economic and ecological justice through the lens of theological and religious reflection.

The program builds on the Vanderbilt Divinity School’s commitment to a long tradition of reflection, dialogue and activism in race, gender and sexual justice.  >">Learn more >>

The Millenial Narrative is written for pastoral leaders who want to welcome millennials, both inside and outside their congregation. The book draws on the wisdom of the prophetic Book of Joel as a narrative worth living into.

In addition, pastoral leaders will receive a sermon outline and material for adult education. >">Learn more >>. Also available: a participant guide.