Title of Course: TRS 014: What is Your Deep Gladness? Exploring Your Sense of Inner Call

Transcription

1 Date: February 19, 2017 To: Kathy Porter, Chair, Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee (UEPC) From: Brother Chris Patiño, FSC, Brother Michael Avila, FSC, and Gentry-Akin Re: Experimental Approval for a.25% Activity Course Department: Mission and Ministry and Theology and Religious Studies Title of Course: TRS 014: What is Your Deep Gladness? Exploring Your Sense of Inner Call Number and Type of Contact Hours Per Week: 1.5 hours per week, plus a field trip of 5 contact hours, and an overnight retreat consisting of 9 contact hours. Duration of the Course in Weeks: 9 weeks (22.5 contact hours) Amount of Course Credit: 25% Intended Audience: This activity course is for people of faith from the Catholic tradition and other traditions as well who are seeking to discern their vocation, as opposed to their career. Spiritual Traditions understand that a vocation from the Latin, vocare, to call is about asking how God has gifted me, and what God is calling me to do with my gifts. Thus, the focus is on spiritual discernment, rather than career planning and placement. In traditional Catholic terminology, vocation has often been used exclusively in reference to people who might be a discerning a religious vocation to consecrated life and/or priesthood. More recent work in this area, however, has sought to open up usage of the term to make clear that, in Christian terms, everyone has a vocation : to married life, to parenthood, or to a lifestyle in which one remains single. The course will be taught from within a Catholic framework, but all SMC students from any faith tradition will be welcomed. Brief Course Description: Theologian and writer Frederick Buechner wrote that a vocation, a call, is found in the place where your deep gladness and the world s deep hunger meet. Throughout history and in every culture, women and men have embarked on unusual paths in life as a the result of a sense of interior call that they experienced in which they came to believe that they were being invited to embark on a particular path. In some cases, they embraced this path readily, and, in other cases, they resisted the path. We see this in the narratives of the great heroes and heroines of the Hebrew Bible, and especially of the prophets. We see it in the case of Jesus himself, and of many of the martyrs and saints of the Christian tradition. We see in many modern women and men of deep courage, such as Ghandi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. And of course we see it in the life and story of our own founder, John Baptist De La Salle, and in the other men and women who have founded religious orders throughout history. Pope Benedict XVI once wrote, Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed. Each of us is loved. Each of us is necessary. In the Christian tradition, we believe that each person has been dreamed into existence by God from all eternity, and that each person is called to reflect

2 some aspect of God s infinite truth, beauty, and goodness in the world. Learning what one s gift is and finding the right path for expressing one s gift is the essence of vocation. This course will allow students to discern their own vocation by considering biblical figures, encountering the life journeys of historical and present-day women and men, and learning more about religious life and the priesthood as specific ways to live out one's call. Prayer and spiritual direction, and personal accompaniment will be key components of the course. Learning Goals: This course will offer students an opportunity to explore: 1) How does God call? Become familiar with the Christian theology of vocation and the call narratives in scripture and Christian history. 2) What does the world need? Reflect on the stories of contemporary women and men who have responded to the world s needs while considering the present-day needs of our society and world. 3) How is God calling me? Explore your gifts, talents, and passion and what they say about God s call for you while developing basic skills for discernment. 4) What does religious life offer the world? Discover more about religious life and how it continues to respond to the needs of the world. Assessment Methods: This course will be taught on a Pass/Fail Basis. Students will be expected to attend classes and course events with regularity, to show evidence of keeping a journal (which will not be read by the instructors), and to submit a final reflection paper of 3-5 pages elaborating on their learning in the course. Reading List: Bryant, RSC, Kathleen, Vocations Anonymous: A Handbook for Adults Discerning Priesthood and Religious Life De La Salle, Saint John Baptist, Meditations of the Time of Retreat Kreeft, Peter. Discernment (article available on the web) Pope Saint John Paul II, On Vocation (article available on the web) Stepanek, Joel. True North: A Road Map for Discernment Brief Course Rationale: Many students struggle to come to a deeper sense of self-knowledge and to discern their path in life. They feel many pressures from parents, from peers, and from the wider culture to choose a path that will be socially respected and financially rewarding, but they often aren t encouraged to seek wisdom from within. This course is designed to give them a structured space and time for this exercise. Prerequisites: None Number and Type of Students Expected: The course is open to any Saint Mary s student at any year in school. We will cap the course at ten (10) students in order to assure the quality of our interactions and conversation.

3 Tentative Weekly Syllabus: The course will meet on Wednesdays for 90 minutes, from 3:30 to 5 pm. Five faculty and staff members, 2 women and 3 men, will be responsible for guiding the weekly discussions and activities. Theme Week Date Presentation Topic Facilitator Discernment Resource The Inner Journey 1 Mar 1 What is Discernment? Brother Michael Avila, FSC Accompaniment Meetings 2 Mar 8 Biblical Models of Discernment Sister Lisa Laguna, DC Spiritual Direction Introduction God Calls, and Calls Still Next Steps 3 Mar 15 Biblical Models of Discernment and Vocation 4 Mar 22 Founders and Foundresses 5 Apr 5 Contemporary Movements: Ghandi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, and others 6 Apr 19 Religious Life in the 21 st Century 7 Apr 26 Saint Francis De Sales, Finding God s Will for You Sister Sarah Postlethwaite Brother Chris Patino, FSC* Brother Michael Avila, FSC* Sister Lisa Laguna, DC 8 May 3 Peter Kreeft, Discernment Sister Sarah Postlethwaite 9 May 10 From the UEPC Guidelines: Pope John Paul II, On Vocation Journaling Lenten Day of Recollection (Saturday, April 1) Service Experience & Theological Reflection Ignatian Discernment Personal Discernment and Identity Community Life Q&A with Brothers /Sisters Community Eucharistic Adoration A course may be offered on an experimental basis after the following steps have been taken: 1. The experimental course proposal has been presented to the department or program awarding credit. That proposal must include: --Department --Title of course --Number and type of contact hours per week --Duration of the course in weeks --Amount of course credit --Brief course description including learning goals, assessment methods and reading list

4 --Brief course rationale (relation to current department curriculum) --Prerequisites (if any) --Number and type of students expected (majors? minors? fulfilling area requirement? general interest?) II).25 or.5 courses designated as "activity" focus on experiential learning/methodologies and may be sponsored by any established College office or program. They must meet the following criteria to receive approval: a) The course must be taught by a College-appointed faculty or staff person. b) The course requires only regular attendance and minimal if any outside of class work. c) The course meets for a total of hours for.25 credit and hours for.5 credit. A maximum time-commitment must also be specified if it will substantially exceed the guidelines indicated. d) In the rationale for the course, section 2, the nature of the activity proposed, and the benefit to SMC students should be explained. In section 7, either a syllabus or a week-byweek list of topics and assignments may be submitted.

5 TRS 014: What is Your Deep Gladness? Exploring Your Sense of Inner Call Spring 2017 Christian Brothers Alemany Community Room Wednesdays as Indicated on Calendar, 3:30 to 5 pm 25% Credit Activity Course Focus of Course: This activity course is for people of faith from the Catholic tradition and other traditions as well who are seeking to discern their vocation, as opposed to their career. Spiritual Traditions understand that a vocation from the Latin, vocare, to call is about asking how God has gifted me, and what God is calling me to do with my gifts. Thus, the focus is on spiritual discernment, rather than career planning and placement. In traditional Catholic terminology, vocation has often been used exclusively in reference to people who might be a discerning a religious vocation to consecrated life and/or priesthood. More recent work in this area, however, has sought to open up usage of the term to make clear that, in Christian terms, everyone has a vocation : to married life, to parenthood, or to a lifestyle in which one remains single. The course will be taught from within a Catholic framework, but all SMC students from any faith tradition will be welcomed. Brief Course Description: Theologian and writer Frederick Buechner wrote that a vocation, a call, is found in the place where your deep gladness and the world s deep hunger meet. Throughout history and in every culture, women and men have embarked on unusual paths in life as a the result of a sense of interior call that they experienced in which they came to believe that they were being invited to embark on a particular path. In some cases, they embraced this path readily, and, in other cases, they resisted the path. We see this in the narratives of the great heroes and heroines of the Hebrew Bible, and especially of the prophets. We see it in the case of Jesus himself, and of many of the martyrs and saints of the Christian tradition. We see in many modern women and men of deep courage, such as Ghandi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. And of course we see it in the life and story of our own founder, John Baptist De La Salle, and in the other men and women who have founded religious orders throughout history. Pope Benedict XVI once wrote, Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed. Each of us is loved. Each of us is necessary. In the Christian tradition, we believe that each person has been dreamed into existence by God from all eternity, and that each person is called to reflect some aspect of God s infinite truth, beauty, and goodness in the world. Learning what one s gift is and finding the right path for expressing one s gift is the essence of vocation. Many students struggle to come to a deeper sense of self-knowledge and to discern their path in life. They feel many pressures from parents, from peers, and from the wider culture to choose a path that will be socially respected and financially rewarding, but they often aren t encouraged to seek wisdom from within. This course is designed to give them a structured space and time

6 for this exercise. This course will allow students to discern their own vocation by considering biblical figures, encountering the life journeys of historical and present-day women and men, and learning more about religious life and the priesthood as specific ways to live out one's call. Prayer and spiritual direction, and personal accompaniment will be key components of the course. Learning Goals: This course will offer students an opportunity to explore: 1) How does God call? Become familiar with the Christian theology of vocation and the call narratives in scripture and Christian history. 2) What does the world need? Reflect on the stories of contemporary women and men who have responded to the world s needs while considering the present-day needs of our society and world. 3) How is God calling me? Explore your gifts, talents, and passion and what they say about God s call for you while developing basic skills for discernment. 4) What does religious life offer the world? Discover more about religious life and how it continues to respond to the needs of the world. Assessment: This course will be taught on a Pass/Fail Basis. Students will be expected to attend classes and course events with regularity, to show evidence of keeping a journal (which will not be read by the instructors), and to submit a final reflection paper of 3-5 pages elaborating on their learning in the course. Reading List: Bryant, RSC, Kathleen, Vocations Anonymous: A Handbook for Adults Discerning Priesthood and Religious Life De La Salle, Saint John Baptist, Meditations of the Time of Retreat Kreeft, Peter. Discernment (article available on the web) Pope Saint John Paul II, On Vocation (article available on the web) Stepanek, Joel. True North: A Road Map for Discernment Weekly Calendar of Topics and Assignments: The course will meet on Wednesdays for 90 minutes, from 3:30 to 5 pm. Five faculty and staff members, 2 women and 3 men, will be responsible for guiding the weekly discussions and activities. Additionally, students will be expected to attend a one day retreat during the duration of the course. Theme Week Date Presentation Topic Facilitator Discernment Resource The Inner Journey 1 Mar 1 What is Discernment? Brother Michael Avila, FSC Accompaniment Meetings 2 Mar 8 Biblical Models of Discernment Sister Lisa Laguna, DC Spiritual Direction

7 God Calls, and Calls Still Next Steps 3 Mar 15 Biblical Models of Discernment and Vocation 4 Mar 22 Founders and Foundresses 5 Apr 5 Contemporary Movements: Ghandi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, and others 6 Apr 19 Religious Life in the 21 st Century 7 Apr 26 Saint Francis De Sales, Finding God s Will for You Sister Sarah Postlethwaite Brother Chris Patino, FSC* Brother Michael Avila, FSC* Sister Lisa Laguna, DC 8 May 3 Peter Kreeft, Discernment Sister Sarah Postlethwaite 9 May 10 Pope John Paul II, On Vocation Introduction Journaling Lenten Day of Recollection (Saturday, April 1) Service Experience & Theological Reflection Ignatian Discernment Personal Discernment and Identity Community Life Q&A with Brothers /Sisters Community Eucharistic Adoration

8 Hi Kathy, As promised, a note from the dean of SOLA approving our proposal. FD On 2/17/17, 3:39 PM, "Sheila Hughes" <smh21@stmarys-ca.edu> wrote: Hi, I am happy to lend my endorsement to the experimental course proposal for a.25 TRS course on vocational discernment. It looks like a worthwhile addition to our offerings. I understand that it will be offered without any attached faculty workload (i.e. paid resource implications). I do believe the course will need a TRS number attached to it. cheers, Sheila Sheila Hassell Hughes Dean, School of Liberal Arts Saint Mary's College of California At Saint Mary's College, we take the Liberal Arts out of the box! On Thu, Feb 16, 2017 at 6:38 PM, David Gentry <dgentry@stmarys-ca.edu> wrote: Hi Sheila, We have completed departmental consultation and have unqualified support for the discernment course moving forward.

9 I attach the latest draft of the proposal. We will be adjusting the dates since we will be starting a bit later than we had initially hoped, but we will still fulfill all of the requirements for a 25% activity course. If you could send me the endorsement for the UEPC I would be grateful. Thanks. Chair, TRS On 2/8/17, 9:53 AM, "Sheila Hughes" <smh21@stmarys-ca.edu> wrote: Looks good. Thanks. Let me know once you have completed departmental consultation and I'll reply with an of endorsement for the UEPC. cheers, Sheila Sheila Hassell Hughes Dean, School of Liberal Arts Saint Mary's College of California At Saint Mary's College, we take the Liberal Arts out of the box! On Wed, Feb 8, 2017 at 7:29 AM, David Gentry <dgentry@stmarys-ca.edu> wrote: Hi Sheila, Thanks for getting back to me. The proposal is circulating for departmental approval this week. Since there are no personnel, budgetary, or other infrastructure implications, I anticipate that it will be fully supported.

10 The course will be taught from within a Catholic framework, as most courses in TRS are. However, as with all of our courses, every student regardless of faith tradition who has an interest in the topic will be welcomed and accommodated to the fullest extent possible. I drafted a new paragraph titled Intended Audience that clarifies your question. In fact, a number of the authors quoted Frederick Buechner, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr, etc. are not or were not Catholic, so that should signal to anyone reading the proposal that we are seeking to cast a wide net. Please let me know if you have further questions or concerns. Collegially, Chair, TRS On 2/7/17, 2:16 PM, "Sheila Hughes" <smh21@stmarys-ca.edu> wrote: Hi, Thanks for sharing this proposal. It looks interesting and worthwhile, especially in light of the President's recent encouragement that we consider issues of vocation more directly and deliberately. At UD, we had won a Lilly grant in support of such initiatives and saw a number of exciting programs and courses develop out of that. My only questions are whether this course is meant to invite non-catholics as well as Catholics and if vocations other than to vowed religious life will be addressed substantially. I'm fine either way, but it might help to make clearer the audience for the course to help recruit students effectively. I had first thought the scope and audience to be broader, but as I read further in the proposal it seemed more narrowly defined. If I'm not clear, students might not be, either. Just a suggestion. Oh - and there appears to be a word ("is"?) missing from the quotation attributed to Pope Benedict. Finally, I assume this has (a) been discussed by the entire department and (b) is a proposal for experimental status. If I am right on both of these points, then you certainly have my endorsement for the UEPC. If it is not experimental only, then I would need to circulate across SOLA for feedback. cheers, Sheila

11 Sheila Hassell Hughes Dean, School of Liberal Arts Saint Mary's College of California At Saint Mary's College, we take the Liberal Arts out of the box! On Sun, Feb 5, 2017 at 1:31 AM, David Gentry wrote: Hi Sheila, The Brothers and Mission and Ministry and I have been working on the attached proposal for a 25% course. The course has absolutely no budgetary or infrastructure implications and I would be grateful to have a note giving it your approval. The leaders of the course are all contributing their services gratis and any costs incurred for materials, snacks, field trips, etc. will be covered by the Christian Brothers Vocation Ministry budget, or by discretionary funds available to the chair in the TRS budget. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns. Collegially, Chair, TRS