So... this wonderful thing happened on Friday in the atrium at the University of St. Thomas. We had a symposium on the topic of clemency, and it all kind of... worked. We started with two political scientists who described the decay of the pardon as a principled power of the executive, and ended with a woman who had received a commutation sitting with the prosecutor who had tried the case against her and the judge who had sentenced her. Within that frame, we heard from a Governor, a young federal judge, several academics, a former U.S. Pardon Attorney, two students, and a journalist. It was all of a whole, despite the mix of people, disciplines, and ideologies.
I'm still processing it all-- trying to figure out what it was that made it work. I wish that I could claim that I made it happen, but that isn't true; others (including our students) had much more to do with that. Of course, too, the presenters (and I was not a presenter) were unusually good-- they were passionate, informed, and engaging. The full room (150+ people) seemed rapt from 8:30 in the morning until 5 pm, which is... unusual.
What it had was a sense of purpose. We long for purpose in our lives; conflict can give us purpose, and even war, but so can faith. Sometimes, though, faith leads us to a purpose that is not just faith itself, but faith plus an engagement with the world, with loving our neighbors and caring for the whole.
So, yes, Friday had purpose. I need to figure out how that happened, because I want some more of it in my life. I'm hungry for it, and so are a lot of other people.
I regret that I missed that gathering,although with my lack of a sense of direction(literally) it is likely that I would have had to have allowed an extra hour for getting lost.I've been there more than once and I still get lost! Downtown is my bete noire. You mean to say you hunger for more purpose? I have never met anyone who had more purpose than you do?!!
ReplyDeleteMy heart is still racing from visions of Serena Nunn, Judge Denise D. Reilly and Judge David S. Doty together - contributing in dicussion on such an important aspect of our judicial system.
ReplyDeleteFaith's role in the process they were parties to is a blessed example of the transcendent opportunities offered when contrition is accepted and second chances nurture purpose to "play it forward" in moments not yet encountered or revealed.
What I would have given to have been in attendance - Thank you for sharing a glimpse of the symposium...
It's good to be back in the mix ;) Thanks for noticing.
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