What is a normal state? What is a state of recovery? In what way is it a routine?
Perhaps in a world that seems to have returned to its original state with the passing of the pandemic, the former features have become blurred. As pandemic, aspects including society, and technology have undergo changes, revolutions, and transformations, the world we now live in seems to have put on make-up; Beautiful outwardly, but worn out at heart. The city is filled with confusion, trauma, disorientation, and disintegration. Options abound for young people to explore, but how do we choose?
What is God’s unchanging “state” in the midst of a variety of paths, and in a world where facts and illusions are becoming blurred? How does the daily routine we hold in our hands, put in our hearts, believe in and practice look like? This summer, more than ten current DSE students have embarked on this journey of seeking “the state” with God from the three perspectives of ” Inclusion”, “Faith Community”, and “Theology and Discernment”, in order to allow faith be once again the guiding pointer of every path and journey, and let God’s heart participate in shaping our routines.
Following are reflections of the students as they encountered and participated in different groups and ways of practicing their faith:
Life and Inclusion: Manna and Service
//After visiting the elderly and getting to know Manna last week, I realized that even though we are young, we can still do a lot for this society. Because the stability and progress of a society depends on the efforts of different stakeholders, and I hope that we can contribute something to this society.
Catrice
Faith. Community: Deaf Fellowship
Could interaction with others be close and dear? We spent time with the hearing impaired, interacted with each other, participated in worship, and they were so willing and wanting to connect with us. On the contrary, we who can hear are always reluctant to communicate with others, and we hide our secrets and thoughts. Can we really interact with each other in a genuine and sincere manner? Besides, the church we visited was able to be inclusive of different groups of people, allowing those who could hear and those who could not to participate in worship together. Back to our own church, can we also embrace different groups to commune, get along, and praise God together?
Joshua
Inclusion: LGBT-awareness
The phrase “listening is the most fundamental serving” has always stuck in my mind. When we share the gospel, we often focus too much on ourselves, “stuffing” the gospel for the sake of evangelism, and ultimately forgetting the “need to listen” itself. Therefore, before all serving, may I not forget to “listen. Back to the basics, LGBT people, like everyone else, don’t need special care, they don’t need labels, they don’t need charity from the top down, they just need a peer, a peer who’s willing to really listen.
Kevin
Theology and Discernment: Media and Faith in Daily Life
Some of the news has been verified, while some of the reports have been published without paying any attention to the truth, but it seems that we have accepted everything without thinking it through and taken it as it is. I think we should take the news seriously, to find the truth among the falsehoods, and to find the right way among the many voices.
Joshua
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