My faith has drastically changed as I entered high school, and I believe the unique emphasis DSHA has on faith development has allowed for my faith to grow; I do not think that my faith would have changed as it did if I attended another school. Coming into high school, my faith life was almost nonexistent. But the different retreats, mass services, faith friday’s, and other activities have shown me that faith is a meaningful thing to experience. The most significant retreat I have experienced was senior retreat. Contrary to the popular sophomore retreat being the most impactful for most of my peers, senior retreat allowed me to get close and comfortable to my classmates. For some reason I participated more in the small discussion and was genuinely
Faith plays a pivotal role in our construction of religion. The work of Dr. Sharon Parks analyzes faith development throughout one’s life span but pays special attention to emerging adulthood. Dr. Parks has an extensive academic career which incorporates her attendance of Princeton University’s theological seminary. As well as her attendance of Harvard University’s divinity school where she obtained her doctorate. Through her extensive research in areas such as “developmental psychology, religion, theology, leadership and ethics” (Service Resources, 2014) Parks is able to focus her work on faith development. Her work is influenced by theorists such as Erickson, Piaget, Perry and Levinson but primarily it is based off of Fowlers work in faith development. Her background in teaching and counseling has allowed her close access to seeing students during this important portion of their lives.
I remember attending St. Mary’s open house when I was in fifth grade and instantly knew that it was something special. Unlike most people, I have the unique perspective of going to both a public school and a Catholic school. St. Mary is very different from my old school. Looking back at my time here, I realize that St.Mary is a much better fit for me. It is a better fit socially, academically, and spiritually.
On February 14th I spent a day doing something I never thought I would do in a million years, I went to hospice. I always thought I would hate hospice, but I actually didn’t mind it too much, it isn’t a job I see myself doing in the future but it is a job that I understand why people do it and why they enjoy it. During this observation I was touched by how much these nurses really seem to care for each of the patients that they have.
Fifth grade will go down in history as my worst year in school, but definitely the most beneficial. From sixth grade on, I receive nearly all A’s in my course. The occasional high B haunted me on rare occasions, but for the most part I worked to the best of my ability to achieve my goals. Throughout the years after middle school I began to realize that school was not what defined me. I had leaned so heavily on the praise I received from getting A’s that I began to think it was my doing and not the Lord’s. As a follower of Christ, I find that I cannot succeed in what God wants me to without utilizing the strength He has given me. When I do decide to walk a different path, I am constantly reminded of the incredibly weak and depressing sinner I am without Christ. While Mrs. Sera is the one who pushed me to want to reach my full academic potential, Christ is the One I utilize in achieving this. Of course there are days where I am tired, busy, and just plain lazy, but my God is stronger, more attentive, and more active than I will ever be. With a passion to become a fully-devoted Spirit-empowered Christ follower, I know that Christ can and will achieve the academic success He desires for
The AA meeting I attended took place at a church. The church that holds the meeting has a beginner AA meeting that meets Monday nights at 7 pm. However, I decided to go to the regularly meeting which takes place an hour later at 8 pm. I felt as though I would get more out of the regular meetings and get a sense of what regular AA members talk about. Before arriving at the meeting, I was a little anxious because I felt like as though I would be out of place, and I would be intruding on the members who come to the meetings for support. Also before attending, for some unknown reason, I imagined the meeting would to be similar to AA meeting featured in movies. Contrary to what I thought, the meeting was completely different. When I arrived at
California school with about 1,000 students) I learned a lot about how religion is taught and how religious issues are handled. Raised in a Christian home, having my father teaching at the same school I attended, and practicing Christianity my entire life, I watched carefully throughout my high school education to see how my teachers would deal with the world and U.S. religions that play an enormous role in the history of our world and country.
In conclusion, it is important to study religion off campus as Smart (1994) has said one must “walk a mile in [the] moccasins [of religious people]” in order to gain a real understanding of how belief has an impact on people and how it motivates people to live their lives, this cannot be obtained through textbooks or media reports. It is how Harvey (2013) suggests that belief has to be learnt and is enacted by others through witnessing, speaking, reading, ritualising, congregation and acceptance. Studying off campus does not mean challenging the traditional understanding of religion. Historical and textual books should still be used to provide foundation knowledge but one must go beyond this and engage with living religions in order to obtain a rich first-hand experience.
Group therapy is considered one of the most resourceful forms of therapy. The benefits to group therapy can be both cost-effective and a great means of support (Corey, Corey & Corey, 2014). The process of experiencing ideas and viewpoints expressed by your peers allows group members to become more susceptible to the counseling procedure. Group counseling also helps individuals to feel a sense of belonging due to similar situations and experiences shared by the group. The sense of support from group members can be an excellent means towards developing long-lasting relationships and developing communication skills needed to move forward during the counseling phase. In this paper, I will discuss my experiences throughout the group-counseling phase.
Therapy Analysis The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficacy of my work as a co-therapist during the fifth session with the simulated couple Katy and Michelle. I will discuss our therapy agenda and the goals we hope to attain during the session. It is prudent to begin by giving a brief outline of the couple’s present problem and the patterns of dysfunction that I have identified within their relationship. In my opinion, it is the therapist’s job to recognize patterns and behaviors that disrupt the intimate bond between the partners.
University of Michigan. “Religion in Schools: A look at how religious practices influence education.” .
Growing up in Reading, Pennsylvania being raised in a lower class neighborhood by my maternal grandmother, I did not realize how different my life was from those outside my community. It was normal for me to see empty drug baggies on the ground, people coping drugs on the corner, condemned/ abandoned homes, and crime. As I got older and my network of people grew, I started to notice some differences. However, it was not until I left the area at age 18 to attend college did I fully realize that my "normal" was not the "normal." Most people I knew growing up were struggling with finances and had one or both parents addicted to drugs or alcohol and mines were no different. The 80s crack epidemic hit my family hard and by the end of that era my mother and 6 of her siblings were all addicted.
In today's world, there are many different ways to get involved in religion; various methods have attracted groups of all ages and races. One popular association is FCA or Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This particular group has helped me to find Christ in my own life. There are a lot of unconventional activities to help the younger generations get involved. Some of these activities included Death Week, which focused on death and pain, meetings about family and divorce, lectures to help people reach for their goals, and encouragement speakers. There is a great deal of fun incorporated into all the seriousness, though. We went on ski trips, did missionary work, and put on skits. All of these activities involved Christ in some way, and helped the younger generation to realize that being spiritual was not 'uncool.'; When I attended the FCA meetings, it was the one time that I actually felt free from all my problems. FCA helped me to find my spiritual self and gave me a sense of completion.
As my freshman year comes to a close, I need to reflect on my classes and what I improved on. I looked back at my seminar class and where I started compared to when I ended. I made improvements in some areas like distinguishing multiple senses of a text and my oral communication. I did not regress at all, but I did not improve in my ability to analyze arguments to form a well reasoned thesis or pursuing new understandings through collaborative inquiry. I may not have improved, but my abilities in those areas were at a satisfactory level. During my first year of seminar at Saint Mary’s College I made improvements and in some areas I made no advancement.
It is not everyday when you can say the majority of your college class is you talking and the teacher listening, this is seminar. Coming from a family where heated debates were present almost daily, I already know if I were passionate about a topic I would never pass up an opportunity to express my opinions. For me, seminar has allowed me to grow in this confidence of expressing my thoughts as well as learning from others opinions. Having come from a high school that stressed the importance of student participation, I was not surprised by the amount I would actually have to speak in this class, however I was surprised by the importance of disagreements and the proper way to analyze text through underlining, highlighting and questioning and how it could aid my overall understanding of a text. Being a psychology major and extremely interested in social justice issues, seminar also opened my eyes up to the interesting perspectives of the strength of human nature.
I was born into a Christian family; my father was a non-practicing Catholic and my mother was a protestant. I was raised to belief in God. The Social and cultural effect of my spiritual development and religious experience. As an adult my spirituality has grown and changed throughout my life; these changes effected the many events, decisions and circumstances; in my life which have effect my spiritual development and my religious experience. I have substantively have brought an important, meaningful quality, meaning and solidity to my life. Through these experiences, I have gained a understanding in of God, my faith and my church.