senior reflection – Spiritual Life @ Bucknell

A Wide Place – Tabitha Fisher M’20

Posted on February 23, 2020 by kdn004

Psalm 31: 7-8 NKJV:
I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,

For you have considered my trouble;

You have known my soul in adversities

And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;

You have set my feet in a wide place

What I love about Psalm 31 is that it, like many psalms, is a rollercoaster of praise and lament. The verse immediately following our scripture is, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble” (31:9), which seems counterintuitive to the message of the previous verses. Can David be so inconsistent? Why, in praising the Lord, does David not provide a more cohesive image of salvation from suffering?

As I reflect on my experience with Christ and my experience here at Bucknell, the flip-flopping of David’s psalm appears more and more a holistic interpretation of life rather than a fragmented one.

When I arrived at Bucknell in August of 2018, I had been saved for two months. During the summer between my undergraduate graduation and my entrance to Bucknell, my best friend convinced me to work at a Christian summer camp. I was to be a camp counselor. Leading bible study. Never mind the fact that I was terrified of kids and most decidedly agonistic. The fact of the matter was that I was broke, needed part time work, and, contrary to popular opinion, no one would hire me to cashier with an English degree. My options were slim, and the space I had to maneuver was narrow. Camp seemed like my only option, the barest toehold to push myself onto the next stage in life where I would be back to feeling comfortable in academics. I figured that the kids I could get used to, and the religion I could fake.

Come As You Are – Hannah Rickertsen ’19

Posted on April 28, 2019April 28, 2019 by kdn004

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”

Rooke, the Rock – Renee Rouleau ’19

Posted on April 8, 2019April 23, 2019 by kdn004

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”