By Dr. Michael Campos, High School Religion, Theology and Spirituality Faculty
Seminar 2, Day 2: Being God’s Beloved
The seminar opened with a meditation on being “Beloved.” Sr. Lydia Collado and Sam Schelbe invited us to consider the principle of imago Dei (image of God) as the starting point of work and ministry. I bridged these concepts into the practice of conversatio morum (conversion of life) that emerges out of intentional relationality, when we are confronted with another’s uniqueness.
While participants came from both religious and secular contexts, most gravitated to the spiritual framework offered by the great Catholic writer, Henri Nouwen.
A highlight to the opening conversations were the introduction of daily “animations” — praise songs and dances — choreographed by volunteer, Malou Ybanez, that punctuated the day’s schedule.
As a practice at Sophie’s Farm, participants were officially welcomed during a Roman Catholic liturgy at the day’s end. The Mass was followed by a celebratory dinner and Barrio Fiesta, a cultural presentation of indigenous dances and songs throughout the Philippine archipelago. Sr. Mercy surprised us by performing a dance from Uganda. The evening concluded with an impromptu party that saw all hitting the dance floor in a mix of cha-cha, kuratsa (traditional courtship dance from Samar) and tinikling (a traditional dance from the Filipino countryside).
Photos by Dr. Michael Campos, Religion, Theology & Spirituality, Faculty
Convent & Stuart Hall Travel 