Tucker Foundation | Tucker Points

Faith & Service Explored

by Susan Barbour '00

On January 31st, the Tucker Foundation held its first Faith and Service Retreat. Dartmouth students, Tucker staff, faculty, and members of the community gathered at Pierce's Inn to discuss how issues of faith and service are interrelated. The cozy cottage atmosphere of the Inn and the warmth and enthusiasm of everyone present provided a refreshing respite from busy schedules; and afforded an opportunity to contemplate some of life's bigger questions. The retreat was designed in part to foster a dialogue and strengthen the bond between two components of the Tucker Foundation: the Chaplaincy and Dartmouth Community Services (DCS). It also presented an opportunity for dialogue among members of the Foundation staff, clergy, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and community service organizations.

The students, including Dartmouth undergraduates and one medical student, came from a variety of religious backgrounds and had participated in many forms of service. Tucker staff included Reverend Gwendolyn King, Interim Rabbi Philip Posner, and Associate Dean Jan-Roberta Tarjan. Special guests at the retreat were: the Reverend Nancy Vogele '85, the first Tucker Volunteer Coordinator, Hildegarde Ojibway, the Director of the LISTEN Center from 1987-1997 and Professor of English, Donald Sheehan. Each guest was given an opportunity to share how issues of faith were related to their experiences with service.

Rabbi Posner shared his philosophy, which he borrows from Rabbi Tarphon, a first century sage: "It is not up to you to finish any task all by yourself, but neither are you so free that you may desist from trying." In this view, the "service" aspect of the call to act is that we all have the responsibility to not ignore the society at large. The "faith" aspect is reflected in the conviction that in partnership with God we can make a difference.

At the base of these ideas on faith and service were fundamental questions such as "who is my neighbor?" and "how do I define community?". Nancy Vogele '85, now an ordained Episcopal Priest, spoke about her mission service in Zaire and her observation that our identity is defined by our interactions with others. Nancy quoted Desmond Tutu, who said, "a person is a person because of other people."

Professor Sheehan shared how his service to others has been deeply influenced by his Eastern Orthodox Christian faith. "I was very moved by the retreat," he said, "The paths into service--into, that is, really responding to Christ's immense question, 'What have you done for the least of my people?' -- are all paths whereby we ceaselessly and actively love the very persons God has placed right before us. That day, we all seemed really to sense something of what this path means."

The Faith and Service Retreat seemed to reveal that service is essentially faith in action. Something remarkable happens when a person steps out of his or her comfort zone to help another. The introspection and interaction which occurred at the retreat certainly inspired the hearts of everyone present and proved that faith inspires service as much as service inspires faith.

Retreats enabling reflection and discussion focused on the exploration of moral and spiritual values in our individual lives, our community and in society are sponsored regularly by the Tucker Foundation. The Foundation is able to provide these unique opportunities for exploration and reflection in part, through the Milton P. Maxwell 1968 Endowment.