I attended the lecture called “Rethinking
Service” by Rev. Canon Dr. Samuel Wells. Dr. Wells is a priest of St.
Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. He is such an inspiring
priest and also a distinguished writer. He wrote and edited seventeen books.
Some of the names of his books are God’s
Companions, Power and Passion
(the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book in 2007), and, his most current work,
What Anglicans Believe, and Be Not Afraid, which is an additional
book of sermons. He started his career as
a priest’s assistant at St. Luke’s, Wallsend in 1991 where he accomplished
research for his Ph.D. in Christian Ethics at Durham University. He received a
B.D. in Systematic Theology from Edinburgh University and got an M.A. in Modern
History from Merton College, Oxford.
When Wells lived in England he
helped start a community-led advancement trust and a charity organization for
underprivileged children. Dr.Wells was also was the dean of Duke University
Chapel since 2005. He was said to offer his great ability to lead and personal
guidance while the church adopts global and local complications. He is the
research instructor of Christian beliefs at the Duke Divinity School.
In his lecture today he discussed
one very important question. This question was what do we do when we come
across some problem in our daily lives that we are not able to solve. He gave
examples of many problems that we face today such as the economy, poverty, and
health care. These are all big problems of this century that we still are
trying to find an answer to today. Though we all know that it is just a matter
of time that we will be able to solve these problems.
This question of uncertainty really
made me think about what I would do if I came across a problem that I was not
able to solve. It even really troubled me because I think for most of us just
like myself it is frustrating and even exhausting trying to solve a problem
that there is no answer to. It really can make a person actually go to somewhat
of an extent crazy. I don’t think I would actually be able to handle knowing a
problem of injustice in today’s world and not knowing the answer to it.
Dr. Wells even went into the
morality of this question and stated that actually morality is not always the
right way to go. It is not always the solution to certain problems. There is
actually something much further that we need to have knowledge of. We are
missing the key part of the answer to this question.
This again made me inquire to a
great extent. This is because growing up I have always went to catholic school
and was always taught to some degree that morality was important. They stressed
that it is present in my entire life. Every situation that I encounter I
learned to use morality to understand and find the solution to. This really
made me question was I not always answering the daily question life presented
me with the correct way for my entire life. This was kind of scare to a great
degree to me.
I have to say though that this
lecture really made me question and evaluate my life and my decisions I have
made over my entire life. I think that I have learned a new way of look at all
the problems that life throws at me and a new solution to them.
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