Faith
and Institutional Purpose
Sally
Jackson, Ph.D.
Associate
Professor
Occupational
Therapy
Spring,
2002
…We come to see the significance and coherence of our lives as a gift, as something not of our own heroic creation, but as something that must be told to us, something we would not have known without the community of faith.
(Hauerwas
and Willimon, 1987, 55.)
In our discussions of faith and institutional purpose, we have begun to explore where Lenoir-Rhyne College might be located in Benne’s typology of church-related colleges, and how “darkening trends” might be countered and even overcome at LRC. In this paper, I raise some questions for our college in the domains of vision, ethos and persons, and discuss some relationships between the discipline of occupational therapy and Christian faith. Finally, the question of ethos is revisited. Appendices give examples of occupational therapy assignments and discussion questions linking faith and learning.
Benne asserts that, in a church-related college, Christian theology should provide an articulated account of life that is comprehensive, unsurpassable, and central. He believes that the theology department should be the bearer of the biblical vision for the institution (2001: 110, 122), although he admits the possibility of the theological faculty being “a partner in the dialogue with various fields of learning,” helping to construct a Christian curricular vision that reinforces the religious ethos of the institution (2001, 142).
Continuing
Dialogue
Ongoing discussion is needed to address the following questions:
The College mission
statement says, “wholeness of personality, true vocation, and the most useful
service to God and the world are best discerned from the perspective of the Christian
faith.” Do the various schools and
divisions have mission statements which reflect this vision? It seems
reasonable that such statements should be developed/amended/implemented.
While the
Aquinas-Luther Conference and other presentations are open to faculty, and
recent initiatives (including the present project) provide welcome
opportunities for discussion, a truly “comprehensive, unsurpassable, and
central” vision of Christian faith and learning requires a much more fully
developed ethos of collegiality than is presently evident throughout LRC. Our vision is often more evident in what we
do and fail to do, than in the statements we affirm on paper.
According to Benne,
the ethos/way of life which embodies a college vision is variously expressed
through worship, patterns of moral action, and the exercise of virtues (or
their absence), narrative and communal memory, organizations, and management of
the in loco parentis role (or its absence). Some of these issues will be addressed in the papers of
participants with direct responsibility for worship and student life. As a faculty member, two of the most vital
questions for me are:
·
Does the
ethos of Lenoir-Rhyne College encourage integration of faith and learning?
·
Does the
college ethos promote the practice of Christian virtues?
Formation
Activities
The potential is here but, in my view, priority should be given to critical reflection on the interaction of faith and action, through regular and ongoing formation activities for faculty, staff, and students.
Benne bases much of his analysis on proportions of persons of “the parent heritage” occupying the student body, faculty, administration, and boards of church-related schools. His suggestions for the proportionate composition of a “critical mass” school make sense; achieving this balance would be a worthwhile and reasonable project.
Critical
Mass and Christian Practice
I am concerned, however, that some may equate being a communicant in the sponsoring tradition with the practice of Christian virtues and disciplines. Again, ongoing dialogue and formation activities will strengthen Christian identity in the College.
Occupational Therapy
It is tempting to provide a comprehensive overview of occupational therapy for those who are unfamiliar with this discipline. I will spare you all but a brief orientation.
Occupational therapy is most simply defined as “the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important to them despite impairment, disability, or handicap” (Neistadt and Crepeau, 1998, 5). Basic professional education integrates liberal arts with occupational therapy theory and practice; postgraduate specialization is the norm. Occupational therapists work as clinicians, consultants, managers, educators, and researchers in various settings; one therapist may be a consultant for community mental health programs; another may conduct research in sensory integration and pediatrics; a third may provide adult physical rehabilitation services.
However, all occupational therapy practice is based on two priorities:
· healing use of activities, and
· healing participation in therapeutic relationships.
Occupational therapists “use activities…to bring about change and restore meaning to life” (Burkhardt, 2000, 130). Restoration of meaning requires that the therapist listen to the despair, hope, moral constructs, and spiritual concerns of each individual (Precin, 2002). Therapeutic relationships must be characterized an understanding of, for example, Buber’s formulations of relation as characterized by both reciprocity and distance (Schwartzberg, 2002, 5).
Occupational therapists are continually involved with people whose lives have changed from expectations, following illness, injury, or disability. A phenomenological perspective is essential to practice, because these changes are “not only a change in action, in capacity for doing. [They also involve] changes in recognition and understanding of oneself.” (Citing the work of Schutz, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty, Mattingly points to the central place of action in self-understanding.
This role of the person as actor in constituting his or her life-world is of particular importance to a profession like occupational therapy. This is both because of the importance of activity as a treatment intervention and because of the frequent recognition by the therapists of how disabled patients, who have become limited in their actions, experience the world in a very different way.
(Mattingly, 1994, 65).
Further, the experience of temporary or chronic disability can generate the experience of liminality---being always between statuses, “not sick, not well, neither dead, nor fully alive” (Beer, 1998, 35). The person constructs explanatory models and disability narratives to account for what has happened.
It is the task of the occupational therapist to help the client generate a new prospective story, in which illness and treatment fit in with a larger life story which is meaningful for the individual (Mattingly, 1994, 242-247). Occupational therapists believe that this “new story” is created through the client’s participation in healing activity and relationships.
Benne notes that for “many religious traditions the practice of vocation is central; all humans are called by God to exercise their gifts in service of others” (2001, 7). Since I am a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and thus grounded in the Reformed tradition, this sense of vocation and calling is certainly central for me. Based on my experience at Howard University and here, it is generally true for people who work in health sciences. There is, for most, a shared belief that “healing is an indispensable part of the coming wholeness that God intends for all creation. This means that the practice of healing is a central part of the reconciling activity of God in the world.” We also understand that “it is as embodied beings that we must begin to find wholeness for ourselves and our societies” (Koenig, 1997, 150).
Given this background, what is one to make of Benne’s assertion that the incorporation of professional and preprofessional programs
moves schools away from a liberal arts focus and thereby diminishes cohesion as academic communities…. Each of these professional endeavors brings to the school a fairly autonomous and secular understanding of its particular field. Teachers and students…are expected to drop their religious identities and see any religious thought patterns as irrelevant as they become immersed in the field. And it becomes increasingly unlikely that colleges will advertise themselves as seriously religious if they are trying to attract students to these sorts of programs (p. 22-23).
Almost nothing in my thirty years of teaching experience supports this statement; and nothing in my understanding of Christianity supports this attitude. The existence of professional programs alongside liberal arts curricula can, of course, be used as a vehicle for mean-spirited divisiveness on all sides; but surely this is a darkening trend in itself, and should be resisted through the mutual practice of civility and hospitality.
Occupational therapy can be strongly grounded in the Christian vision through the sense of vocation which most students and faculty bring to their work; the commitment to healing through respectful attention to relationships between meaning and activity; and understanding of health as developed through all dimensions of human life – physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual.
The discipline can also be vulnerable to influences of secularism through three pathways – scientific determinism, works righteousness, and individualism. “Scientific” premises and procedures in neuroscience or in psychiatry can, for example, preclude willingness to see the operation of the Spirit in healing, or even the possibility of healing for some. Overemphasis on engagement in activity can slip into judgments of worth based on achievement. And placing high value on client independence in daily activities can lead to neglect of mutuality, interdependence, and community. I have appended some working notes for assignments in my classes, based on some of these concerns.
While Lenoir-Rhyne College has many elements of vision, ethos, and persons which are hospitable to Christian formation, it seems to me that the College is most perniciously influenced by “secularizing” trends in three ways: a laissez-faire approach toward students; lack of mutual respect and dialogue among faculties of different schools; and, for some, an attitude of withdrawal and insularity rather than confident engagement with the world outside of the college.
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you fulfill the Law of
Christ. Galatians 6:2 (NRSV)
As Hauerwas and Willimon have pointed out, “true freedom arises, not in our individual independence, but in our being linked to a true story which enables us to say yes and no.” (1989,67). Encouraging standards of scholarship and the practice of Christian virtues cannot be accomplished by the student life staff alone, or through faculty lamentations about the quality and preparation of students.
Perhaps we should learn to think of ourselves as a family of faith, practicing mutual responsibility and reciprocal sharing of burdens. One way of developing this ethos would be shared faculty-student study of Practicing Our Faith (Bass, 1997). Edited by the director of the Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith at Valparaiso University, this book addresses the Christian virtues of honoring the body, hospitality, saying yes and saying no, keeping Sabbath, testimony, discernment, shaping communities, forgiveness, and healing, among others. Establishing Bible study in academic Schools and Divisions would strengthen our community, as would increasing the frequency of chapel services and holding them at St. Andrew’s or even in some of the larger classrooms.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are
varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good. 1 Corinthians
12:4-7 (NRSV)
The question of respect for one another’s gifts goes to the heart of the problem: do we acknowledge each other as human beings made in God’s image, or do we demean each other directly or through innuendo? Do we truly work together for the common good, and to the glory of God, or do we compete with other, and even engage in “malice, guile, insincerity, envy, and … slander” (1 Peter 2:1)?
The practice of hospitality is surely a moral imperative in the Biblical tradition.
To welcome the stranger is to acknowledge him as a human being made in God’s image; it is to treat her as one of equal worth with ourselves – indeed, as one who may teach us something out of the richness of experiences different from our own (Pineda, 1997, 38).
The present Faith and Institutional Purpose discussions exemplify the kinds of dialogue we need to develop, so that we may learn to understand and respect one another. The inclusion of staff is important; we need to look at our governance, at how we regulate our life together, to ensure that all have a place and a voice at the table. Luther affirmed the priesthood of all believers; surely we are bound to do the same.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16. (NRSV)
It seems to me that this passage draws us beyond the issue of denominational ties, to the very Christian identity we hope to maintain and to strengthen. In the Barmen Declaration, Barth wrote that
Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.
Either we believe this or we do not. If we believe this, there is no need to be defensive or apologetic as we live in the world; we are truly free to seek first the kingdom of God.
Appendix: Working Notes for Occupational Therapy Assignments
Student Examination Responses
I usually assign several short essays in my classes, and encourage discussion of ethics, faith, and action. This fall, I plan essay assignments and discussions incorporating questions with explicit reference to Christian doctrines.
Human beings. “The sciences understand what it means to be human without reference to God. Christians believe that in entering into human life and history, God revealed not only who God is but also who we are” (Guthrie, 1994, 194).
We believe we are creatures in the image of God. How does this belief affect our understanding of, and actions toward:
· A young woman with anorexia or other eating disorder?
· A colleague whose behavior transgresses professional ethical standards of beneficence, justice, or autonomy?
· A nursing home administrator who is tacitly permitting neglect of residents?
Incarnation. Believing that Jesus is both a true human being and truly God, we turn to the biblical account of his obedience, suffering, and service to discern God’s guidance for our lives.
As people called to a healing profession, consider
· How is healing understood in the Bible? Read Koenig’s essay on the Christian practice of healing, with particular attention to the distinction between cure and wholeness.
· What is our responsibility to “the least of these,” to the underinsured or uninsured, or to those without access to health care? How can we serve these people?
Providence and the problem of evil. How do we understand suffering and death, and the reality of evil in the world? How might this understanding inform our work with:
· A child born with irreversible birth defects, and that child’s parents?
· An older adult suffering from Alzheimer’s dementia, and the family of that adult?
· An adolescent who sustained severe brain damage from a drive-by shooting?
· A young adult diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or with bipolar disorder?
· Children suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder in refugee camps or in New York City?
Justification. In occupational therapy, with our emphasis an activity and independence, we can fall prey to “works righteousness,” judging others and ourselves with reference to achievements and independence, yet
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24 (NRSV)
How do we try to justify others and ourselves by the works they or we perform? How might our understanding of justification by faith affect:
· Our attitudes toward, and work with hospice patients?
· A person with a C5-C6 spinal cord injury, who wants to be as independent as possible?
· A severely mentally retarded child or adult?
Sanctification. God promises to be at work in us, and we are called to obedience, mindful of the “cheap grace” that Bonhoeffer warned against. Paul wrote to the Christian community at Philippi,
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13 (NRSV).
· How do we see God at work in ourselves, our colleagues, and our patients, in our classrooms and clinics?
· How do we evaluate decisions about our use of time, methods of treatment, and therapeutic relationships in light of our belief that we work for the good pleasure of God?
The
following unnumbered pages are student answers to a final examination.
OCC 351
Spring 2002 Final Examination
This two-part examination must be typed and turned in on __________________ by noon.
Part 1. Personal Reflection.
The following passage of scripture suggests a way of understanding aging.
For it is the God who said, “ Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.
2 Corinthians 4:6-11 NRSV
Write a two to three page essay discussing the meaning of this passage in relation to aging.
Correlation and
Reflection on Aging as Viewed in
2 Corinthians
4:6-11
If a
person is the sum of his total experiences, them it is the elderly who can
clearly demonstrate the human condition and its inevitable effects. No other age group comprehends or
understands the mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual sufferings that prove
the importance of human dignity or integrity (2 Cor. 4: 6). They have gained knowledge and insight
through their sufferings and realize that attitude and faith are significant in
grasping the realizations of the greater tests to come.
Just
as a clay jar is molded and shaped into its form, an elderly person has been
shaped and influenced by his choices, environment, genetic make-up, hopes, and
fears. This clay jar is an earthen pot,
which is a metaphor for an aging person’s life. For when the pot is dropped, it shatters. This symbolizes the shattered
disillusionment of some older individuals with their life: unfulfilled goals,
dreams, or accomplishments. Yet, even
though the pieces of the shattered jar are broken, they are not destroyed
completely. This, too, indicates an
aging person because often the mind lacks its mental astuteness as well as the
body’s physical attributes (e.g., appearance, sight, and hearing) are often
diminished with age. The person,
however, is not destroyed only weak and frail (2 Cor. 4: 7).
Even
though the elderly are afflicted with a variety of physical infirmities and
thus viewed by many as weak and frail, their strength rests in having survived
a myriad of experiences. These
experiences have given them strength of character that allows them to exhibit
an attitude and spirituality that searches for a better life to come (2 Cor. 4:
8). This strength of character attests
to the living conditions and environment in which many again adults exist. From age discrimination (persecuted),
elderly abuse (stuck), and inadequate care (forsaken), these adults must draw
courage and patience from their hearts in order to rejoice and allay their
fears and anxieties about the present and the future (2 Cor. 4 : 9).
This
demonstrates the ability of the elderly to persevere through the inevitable
passage of old age: the hardships, heartaches, and limitations. Even thought they are often depicted as the
weaker vessel, the elderly are enlightened their experiences, having proven
their integrity through courage, patience, and perseverance. Furthermore, they assimilate one of life’s
foremost contradictions that death works through the individual as well as to
convey light and knowledge to those living around them thus completing the
cycle of life (2 Cor. 4: 9-10).
Some
people view aging as bad, a “dark” time.
Even in this darkness though, light can shine through. If we find the light in the darkness, aging
can be seen as a wonderful part of life and a stop closer to God.
It
is said, that during biblical time people stored their valuables in clay jars,
so that no one would be suspicious. An
aging person may feel as though they are a clay pot compared to a priceless
vase, but the treasure is within. God
chose to store his treasure in that clay pot, not something fancy or
superficial. This is for everyone, not
just for those who are at their ending years.
Throughout the whole Bible, it is continually saying that God calls the
ordinary man to do great things. Many times
we think we have to do something special in order to come to God, but we are
only supposed to come to God as we are and He will then use us however he
wants. Though the flesh may be dying,
and the bodily functions diminishing, God can still sue the person, and he uses
everyone in a different way. An aging
person may not be able to travel to the depths of the jungle to preach the
word, but they can pray, donate time and money, and support those who do go. Without that contribution no one would be
able to go. From a young persons stand
point, I look up to and treasure the knowledge and presence of the
elderly. They do have so much to teach
us, because they have gone through more than we have. They have had the treasure stored in them for many years.
The
soul and spirit of the person goes on no matter what. Who we truly are will never fade. Things may come against us, we are afflicted, struck down, and
perplexed, but God never leaves us and we are not destroyed. Hair may turn gray and fall out, teeth may
be gone, skin wrinkled, a cane may be needed, even a pace maker, but God is
still in control, and we still have a mission that God wants us to
accomplish. He knows when this is done,
and when it is time to be with Him. So
as the again process carries its way out, God is out strength and He has the
power.
While
we face the fact that we may die, we need to know that Jesus should be visible
in us. If we lived forever, being
immortal we would not have meaning in the death of Jesus, in the power of God. We go through many trials in order to stand
for Jesus and sacrifice ourselves.
Some
people face aging thinking that life is almost over, but Jesus should be
visible in us. If this is so, then we
are passing something on to the next generation that will live. In that fact, apart of who we are will go on
forever, in the message that we told and live out.
Hopefully
as I age, I will remember this and hold fast to the work of God. If we try to do things on our own power, we
end up confused and hurt. We will
always let ourselves down, but God will never let us down. Aging should never be thought of as a dark
time, because the light is always there.
We are always getting closer to the time where we will be with God
forever, if only we choose to believe and follow Him.
Selected References
Bass, D. C. ed. 1997. Practicing our faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Beer, D. W. 1998. The illness and disability experience from an individual perspective. In Neistadt and Crepeau, Eds., Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy (ninth edition). Philadelphia: Lippincott, 32-42.
Benne, R. 2001. Quality with soul: How six premier colleges and universities keep faith with their religious traditions. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Burkhardt, A. 2000. The application of activities to practice. In J. Hinojosa and N. Blount, Eds. The texture of life: Purposeful activities in occupational therapy. Bethesda, Maryland: The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. 129-158.
Guthrie, S. C. 1994. Christian doctrine (revised edition). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press.
Hauerwas, S. and W. H. Willimon. 1989. Resident aliens: Life in the Christian colony. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
Koenig, J. 1997. Healing. In D. C. Bass, Ed. 149-162.
Mattingly, C. and M.W. Fleming. 1994. Clinical reasoning: Forms of inquiry in therapeutic practice. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.
Pineda, A. M. 1997. Hospitality. In D. C. Bass, Ed. 29-42.
Precin, P. 2002. Client-centered reasoning: Narratives of people with mental illness. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Schwartzberg, S. 2002. Interactive reasoning in the practice of occupational therapy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.