For my second Pathways project, I chose to work within the confines of Fred Aquino’s Christian Ethics class (BIBD 686), which I took in the fall semester of 2011. Though there were few assignments in the class, the major paper for the semester was laid out in the syllabus in the following way:
Each student is required to write a paper that spells out his or her approach to ethics (5 pages), unpacks his or her understanding of the relationship between religion and the broader contexts of public life (10 pages), and unearths the implications of his or her position for developing a theology of public life within a pluralistic context (5 pages).
This assignment, informed greatly by course readings and discussion during our class meetings, seemed to offer an ideal opportunity to spend time in focused reflection on my own community’s ethical beliefs and practices, so with little modification, the assignment was used to fulfill my Pathways requirement for a Pathways project of type b), which is meant to enhance my contextual experience.
Unfortunately, I was not able to give the paper the attention I felt it deserved, and for that reason I am not completely satisfied with the results. I ran up against limitations of knowledge, of time, and of energy. Over the course of the fall semester, the St. Ann Community was going through some internal turmoil, so writing a paper in the midst of that about our unified approach to public life proved challenging. Somehow, though, I also struggled to hold myself to the 20 page limit that Fred enforced; there was much more to be said and no space in which to say it. Overall, however, the paper was (as Fred noted in his comments) a good beginning attempt to articulate a theology of public life for the St. Ann Community, the community to which God has called me in ministry. As such, I believe it is also a good beginning attempt at indicating outcomes 3abcde, 4abcd, 6bce, and 10abc.
The St. Ann Community in College Heights: A Theology of Public Life
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