My work in disaster response and community rebuilding were major factors in my decision to attend seminary. I've felt called to service for as long as I can remember.
Putting myself in direct contact with people that have suffered from environmental disasters was difficult. Beyond the emotional weight of witnessing such destruction, being involved in such work means being a public theologian.
I am sad that I still don't have answers to the questioning and pondering that precede and follow such events -
"Why would God do this?" "Why did we deserve God's wrath?" "God will protect us" "Why didn't God protect us?!"
The heartbreak and hope I felt and witnessed in those days are still very vivid emotions and feelings for me. I cannot begin to imagine how vivid they must be for those preparing for Isaac.
So, today, I can't think about much else. And, as if God were speaking to me again in the storm, just today I discovered a classmate works in the public relations office of FEMA. We haven't had much time to talk about her role but I am excited to join in conversation with her as the semester (and the storm) progress.
The link below is for a Huffington Post article containing interviews with survivors.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/isaac-hurricane-katrina-_n_1834685.html
Have you found any tentative ways to speak of God in the midst of that level of suffering, or does it feel more authentic to speak of God's absence? I'm curious what impact seminary has had on those questions. Maybe none? I'm not looking for a specific "right" answer here, by the way, just wondering about how your deep empathy is finding voice.
ReplyDeleteI've read a few perspectives on faithful response to these questions, and as a result my own responses have just been more confused! I've yet to really sit down and theologically reflect on them individually to the full extent that I should. Its an area that I'd sort of left behind in favor of other things but Hurricane Isaac has brought it to the forefront again. I plan to look deeper into this once this media & religion class is over.
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