Month: April 2019

Come As You Are – Hannah Rickertsen ’19

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Come As You Are
Galatians 3: 26-29

Good Morning everyone! My name is Hannah Rickertsen, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I am a senior geology major and Posse Scholar originally from North Hollywood, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. I’ve been singing with the Rooke Chapel Vocal Ensemble off and on for a total of 5 semesters out of the 8 that it has existed. In addition to Vocal Ensemble, I also work as assistant general manager at Uptown, where I’ve worked since spring 2017, and undergraduate research student with Dr. Rob Jacob in the geology department since last May, and as the geophysics TA for this spring. Past jobs I’ve had on campus include an Admissions Ambassador (a fancy way of saying tour guide) for the past two summers, a summer RA in 2017, and as a Junior Fellow for the Discovery Residential College in the summer and fall of 2015. Also during the summer of 2015 I worked at the camp organization, Lutheran Retreats, Camps, and Conferences, where I had previously worked in high school. These camp experiences, both as a camper and as a staff member, were really where I connected with my faith. Yeah, my grandfather was a Lutheran pastor, and we all went to church every Sunday, but it was camp which made faith real for me.

One of the reasons I loved camp, and still do, is because of one of the major themes: “come as you are”. The way our camp teaches kids ages 6-12 is what we jokingly call “theology lite”: we don’t get into all the heavy nuanced details, but we do teach the main themes, like the 10 Commandments, the Golden Rule, and “Jesus loves you and everyone, regardless”. For the 12-18 year olds, we do go into some more details and touch on some theological debate, but we teach love first and foremost. We tell them about how God meets everyone where they are, just as they are. They don’t have to dye their hair, or get contacts, have perfectly clear skin, get rid of their braces, or anything like that. They just simply have to be, simply exist, and however they exist, is enough for God. Continue reading “Come As You Are – Hannah Rickertsen ’19”

6 Words.

Posted on by kdn004

Easter Sunday. Rooke Chapel. 4/21/19
Luke 24: 1-12

Christ is Risen!

We gather this morning to proclaim and celebrate the resurrection.
And we gather with our eyes open.
There is no Resurrection without death in our tradition
and there is no celebration without mourning in our lives.
Most notably this morning,
with the people of Sri Lanka in the wake of violence there.
We gather unable and unwilling to turn our eyes from such tragedies,
and our hearts break,
as they should.
and yet we are unwilling to allow them to be the last word.
We gather to proclaim life and love,
amidst the reality of violence and death
This is the story of Easter,
and it is alive and well in our midst,
and as needed as ever.
And it is good to be together.
Let us open our ears afresh to the story.

There’s an apocryphal story out there,
About Ernest Hemmingway,
Sitting at a bar with a bunch of his writing buddies.
And he bets them
that he could write an excellent story,
in fewer than 10 words.
foolishly, they take the bet,
And he wrote, on a cocktail napkin:
“For sale, baby shoes, never used.”
And he went home with the 10 dollars.

Continue reading “6 Words.”

Another Way

Posted on by kdn004

Rooke Chapel Congregation
4.14.19
Luke 19: 29-44

Rick Szuecs vos, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/april-web-only/jonathan-merritt-palm-sunday-gift-disillusionment.html?fbclid=IwAR0pztfrMFUPxAszQTQJ6I6Nlxluavy5y5auxBHdB9F-wfQ5RV9SayF9h8s

Some of you, like me,
Probably went to a church that read the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday.
[indeed, that might be the tradition here]
As Maundy Thursday and Good Friday become less popular,
It’s important to take time,
To mark and honor the story of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and death.
So we’ve stuck it on the Sunday before easter.
That Jesus died,
Is rather important to the story.
And reading that story together,
Reading ourselves into that story
d shouting “crucify him!”
Is certainly meaningful.

But I want us to linger here, this morning.
On the so-called “triumphal entry.”
Because it has much for us.
Surrounded as we are,
By empire and evil and injustice.
Which mostly just wants us to give up,
To despair.
This morning wave our little palms and say, simply,
We’re part of a different story,
And eager to see it unfold and participate in its telling.
We are headed another way.

There were really two processions into Jerusalem that day, Continue reading “Another Way”

Rooke, the Rock – Renee Rouleau ’19

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The first of a new tradition of senior reflections, to be offered by members of the graduating class.

Rooke, the Rock
Renee Rouleau ‘19
Rooke Chapel, 4/7/2019

Matthew 7: 24-27

For those of you who don’t know me, hi, I’m Ren, I’m a senior neuroscience major, and a Leo. For those of you who do know me, welcome back, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not a freshman anymore. I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m still a Leo. For both groups, I’m glad that I get to open you all up a little into my life.

When I came to Bucknell as a first year, which feels like forever ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I did so well in high school, I thought I was prepared for college. I thought that my major would be a piece of cake, because I knew so much (I was wrong about that on SO many levels). I thought that who I was going into college would be who I was coming out. Actually, it never really dawned on me that I would be graduating, until this spring. And that thought still makes me a bit nauseous. I went through orientation feeling okay about myself, okay about Bucknell, even though I was surrounded by a completely different atmosphere and a completely different group of people. I think the first part of being on edge was when my birthday came around during orientation, and my family not being there, and my friends certainly not being there. I had the people on my hall, but they didn’t know who I was as a person, they just knew that it was their hallmate’s birthday. That was when I first started searching for stability, and that was my first of a very ongoing conversation I had with God. At first, it was sort of a “why me?” attitude. Continue reading “Rooke, the Rock – Renee Rouleau ’19”

Lost and Found

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Lost and Found
Luke 15: 1-10
3/31/19

As we wade deeper into the season of Lent,
A season set apart for reflection and repentance,
The lectionary puts before us the story of the Prodigal Son –
Which we will save, annually, for parent’s weekend,
For obvious reasons.
And instead ponder those two little parables
About lost sheep and coins,
That pave the prodigal’s way.

I don’t know a lot about shepherding,
I’ll admit.
but it seems to me a poor shepherding choice to abandon 99 sheep,
for the sake of one who was lost.
That’s just bad math.
“Which one of you?”
Jesus’ asked, “wouldn’t do the same?”
None. No one.
Who does that?
His audience probably thought.

I think these parables are meant to make us laugh a little bit.
To ponder to the absurd,
To poke funny at the stodgy Pharisees and scribes.
The lay and professional religious leaders of his day.
as we ponder the ridiculous possibility,
of an all-forgiving God,
an actual all-loving, all-forgiving God.

This pair of parables is but a prelude,
to perhaps Jesus’ most famous –
the story of the Prodigal Son,

Charles Dickens called it the “best short story ever told.”

And so naturally, most weeks,
We skim over the sheep
And the coins.
In favor of those insufferable sons,
With whom it’s a bit more palatable to identify. Continue reading “Lost and Found”

Ash Wednesday

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Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Service, March 6, 2019
Rooke Chapel, Bucknell University. Kurt Nelson

It’s quite rare,
in a position such as mine,
to speak from a place of certainty.

No doubt you can call to mind,
those unfortunate few religious leaders,
who speak nothing but certainty,
even when it’s clear to the rest of us,
that they’ve little wisdom to impart.

But in actuality, mine is a profession of humility,
of mystery,
and of wondering.
Rife with big questions,
with few easy answers.

But, new as I am to this community,
I’ve come to two conclusions for today,
about which I’m fairly confident. Continue reading “Ash Wednesday”