St. James Field Trip

I learned that depending on your position in life and what age you are, you tend to interpret bible readings differently; mainly because you are comparing the readings to your own experiences and events that you can relate to. For instance I personally haven’t lived long enough in order to have felt like the widow in the reading we had, but a lady across from me talked about when she had gotten married and several things happened to her that felt like she was the widow in that situation.

            I learned also that our perspective as teenagers or young adults on priests and deacons are skewed because we tend to have a set attitude and personality. The two priests that I sat next, one that was a priest at Holy Spirit, and the other the priest at St. Luke’s both were very chill and actually very nice and open. They talked to be as if I was an adult and that my opinion on everything was very important and extremely interested in what I had to say.  The other women who were in my group taught me to be thankful for what I have and that your opinion counts more than anything; listen to yourself and follow through.

            This experience makes me want to contribute to my community and become a part of a church community. They made me feel as though anyone was welcome in their church and they’re open to hearing others opinions about life and scripture. It made me want to make an effort to help people in my community who are less fortunate than I, and volunteer with Together Baton Rouge more often than I have. It made me realize that the opinions of religious members in our community aren’t correct and everyone needs to have an open mind about them. Everyone needs to be involved in our community and if everyone could experience what we did at this gathering, everyone would realize that it is important to be involved in our community. I personally loved this experience and it changed my opinion of religious leaders in our community.

Quote du Jour - Cassie Huye

Please read and comment on Cassie's quote and reflections. Make sure your comments reflect good critical thinking. Does this comment make sense? Why or why not? Have you had similar or related thoughts or experiences? Use examples and details.


“When you go into
court you are putting
your fate into the hands
of twelve people who
weren't smart enough
to get out of jury duty.”
- Norm Crosby

Jury Duty- Obligation of a citizen to serve on a

jury when called. One of the

highest duties of citizenship, it

accrues from the constitutional

right to be tried by a panel of one's

peers and involves direct

participation in the administration

of justice. When summoned for a

jury duty, a citizen must appear

before the court or be tried for

contempt of court.

Context:

Jury Duty is supposed to be an
honor and obligation to your
country but many people try manipulation of system to get
out of court. One way is to exaggerate their views:
• Yeah, I believe people
should be euthanized if they
skip a class

Thoughts:

Metaphorical
• We let people judge us who we don’t respect
• We judge people who don’t effect us
• We waste our time worrying about people judging us
• We assimilate not to be judged
• Society is, will always be, inevitably corrupt
• We rather let others poorly do jobs we wish not to

Faith in Action Field Trip

During our trip to St James for the Faith in Action meeting, I learned a lot through discussion of the bible. The step by step method of learning offers a lot of insight into the details of each part. Unfortunately, I felt we lost the meaning of the whole passage after breaking it apart. The other people in my group just all kind of sat around silently, and then when someone would say something everyone else would just nod. There was not a lot of reflection going on. 

I think the Faith in Action meeting we went to is a baby for a very interesting discussion group. For now, it is hard for there to be an impact on the community, seeing as it is only the episcopal. In the future, this could be a very good thing for our community. 

Cassie Huye

Together Baton Rouge Reflection

I truly enjoyed the field trip that our class took down at St. James.  Having met some pretty cool people, I can easily see why this organization is so successful.  By dividing into smaller groups, we had a more intimate atmosphere to think and share ideas about the text.  I learned a great deal more about the text than what I initially thought that I would.  Whenever I saw that we were reading the parable about the poor woman giving all of her money to the church, I wasn't exactly intrigued because I've probably heard the story.  It seemed pretty simple- the rich people would give a lot of money and the poor woman would give barely anything, but the woman gave more in other ways because she had given all that she had.  In our analysis, the group read two different passages of the same story.  In reading the two, our groups were able to notice smaller details that we had not seen before.  A lady named Ms.  Maggie made note of something I wouldn't have thought of. Though the lawmakers were those that were supposed to set a humble example of what giving to the church must be, they did the exact opposite.  This reveals many separations of social classes through the small parables.  It was very enriching for me to talk about how the story relates to our own lives and how we can use it to help the greater good of the community.  I think that this organization really carries out its name.  It puts action to what we learn in our faith, making me think about how I convey my faith to help our society.  It motivated me to not only to become more in tune with my religious side, but to volunteer and make little changes in my routine.  I will definitely try to remember the parable when a situation presents itself, acting more like the widow and less like the lawmakers.

St. James Field Trip

After going on the field trip to St. James I can honestly say that I took a lot from it. One thing main thing that I got from going on this field trip is different ways that people analyze and interpet scripture. It is interesting to see people from different background and life experiences have different interpretations than yourself. Whenever someone does analyze scripture in this way you can see the main idea that is attempting to be shown here. I learned something that actually made me take a figurative step back and think. Mr. London talked about that the only one way to see what you look like is by looking at other people. At first I was puzzled by what he was attempting to say but as he went on it made sense. He discussed that the way people look at you is what you are inside. If you are a caring person it can be seen and other people can let you know that. I am not sure if I made it make sense in this but hopefully I did. This experience did motivate me to contribute to my larger community. It made me want to get involved with people like this. I feel like there is this negative connotation that goes with people that go to bible studies and are all gung ho on religion, but they really aren't that bad. They may be strong willed in what they believe but they are nice, good people. 

Journal Reflection

I enjoyed our trip to St. James and participating in the Faith in Action program. I think by studying the scripture in the way we did, I was able to understand it better and get a deeper meaning of it. The ideas that were pointed out opened my eyes to the passage in ways that I had never thought of. The other people in my group were very intelligent. The ideas that they had were eye opening. They were also very welcoming and talked to me like I was an adult instead of just a high school student. This experience did motivate me to want to contribute to my community. The examples that they gave helped me realize the importance in trying to get involved. 

Quote du Jour - Deacon deGravelles

Comment on Deacon deGravelles blog.
1. Join the blog. You have been invited to join the Ethics Class blog. Follow the instructions you have been emailed to join. 
2. Read Deacon deGravelles "Quote du Jour" report and comment with your own thoughts and ideas. For instance, does this quote make sense? Is it right? Is there another way to think about this idea, something that the original author or Deacon deGravelles has not considered. If I agree with these ideas, why. If I don't agree, why. Use personal examples and thoughtful arguments to make your case.

Quote

”Ideals are like the stars: we never reach them but like the mariners of the sea,  we chart our course by them.” Carl Schurz (1829-1906) U.S. Senator.

Terms

Ideal

• a person or thing conceived as embodying such a conception or conforming to such a standard, and taken as a model for imitation: Thomas Jefferson was his ideal.
• an ultimate object or aim of endeavor, especially one of high or noble character: He refuses to compromise any of his ideals.

Mariner  - One who navigates or helps navigate a ship

Context

• Carl Schurz was an American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War.
• He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.
• Schurz also said: “My country right or wrong: if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."

What this means to me

• The older I’ve gotten, the more I realize how imperfect I am. I strive to do things well. Sometimes I do, sometimes I fall short, but I never reach the perfection I’d like to.
• This quote helps me to understand that we use ideals not as goals in themselves but to help guide us in the right direction. If and when we fail, we can continue to strive for them and mark our progress against them.
• Especially when you wear a clerical collar, people expect perfection. Accepting my faults (for instance, I can be grumpy or lazy at times) helps while continuing to strive to improve.
• It also helps me not to be so judgmental of others, to accept them as they are while helping them to strive to improve.