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Johnson Internship Program

Spiritual Study

John Covach, Chair Steering Committee

Located on the campus of one of our country's great universities, our parish enjoys a rich relationship with the University of North Carolina. From the first discussions and planning sessions for the Johnson Intern Program, the parishioners involved decided that an internship program sponsored by Chapel of the Cross must take advantage of the opportunities and resources of the university. The result of this impulse has been a spiritual study component to the Johnson Intern program that is designed to prompt the interns to think both broadly and carefully about issues in spirituality and to engage them to some extent in university life, both at UNC and at Duke.

This year's interns took a class this fall on Peter Kaufman's "History of the Christian Tradition" is widely regarded as one of the most stimulating courses on campus. The interns enjoyed Kaufman's thought provoking survey of almost two thousand years of Christianity in the West. Professor Kaufman also met with the interns in a small group format, allowing for more extended discussion and consideration of issues raised in the course. This term Amanda, Sarah, and Anne-Marie are attending Michael Battle's course entitled "The Black Church in America: Catholic and Anglican Traditions" at the Duke Divinity School. Professor Battle is an Episcopal priest, and an expert on the theology of Desmond Tutu.

In addition to their coursework, the interns have been meeting with me two Sundays a month for discussion and further study. We have been working our way through a series of video taped lectures produced by the Episcopal Church entitled "God at 2000." These tapes feature leading scholars in the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions such as Desmond Tutu, Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, Lawrence Kushner, and Diana Eck. They address questions of how these traditions perceive God. We have also recently attended a series of three lectures on feminist theology presented by Mary McClintock Fulkerson. These lectures generated much lively discussion and good-natured debate.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of the spiritual study component of the Johnson Intern program is the opportunity it provides the interns to reflect on issues that are central to one's faith. In a schedule filled with social ministry, community life, worship, and parish activities, having the time to dig into intellectual topics enriches and deepens the internship experience. It has been my great pleasure to work with the interns on this aspect of the program.

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