Angela Denise Davis
Luscious,
fat rain drops
Inclusion
is a challenge No room for them all
Deluge
of water
To
belong is to be seenBefore the flood comes
Us
Rainbows
without gray
Fossilized
footprints reveal Beauty swept away
It
is said that theology is a form of poetry. Perhaps, this is why I have always
had such a love for theology. I started writing poetry when I was nine years old,
and recognized a call to ministry when I was six. (That is a post for another
blog.)
This
past week, I attended the 2012 Summer Institute on Theology and
Disability in Chicago, Illinois. The gathering was hosted by the Catholic
Theological Union, and was Sponsored by the Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on
Developmental Disabilities and the Bethesda Institute. The Institute faculty
and mentors included Hans Reinders, John Swinton, Tom Reynolds, Erik Carter,
Deborah Creamer and Bill Gaventa.
The closing meditation for the first day was to write a haiku the
reflected on the key learning points we had experienced. I chose to write a
poem that used the story of Noah and the collection of animals as a way of
talking about inclusion and disability. I am sure that I will come back to this
exercise, and to this series of haiku that I quickly wrote.
The story of Noah is found in the Hebrew Bible, or what Christians call
the Old Testament. It lends itself to a variety of interpretations, but I chose
to think of it as a way of highlighting who is and who is not at the table of
power and policy.
Theologically speaking, we are all called into the shelter of grace and
human compassion, but we do not all extend hospitality in support of this
calling. I think this was the greatest impression made upon me all week. Words
like hospitality, re-membering, “beyond inclusion,” and limits will drift
through my head for the next few days. I want to sit with them and continue to
be in reflection.
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