Search Our Writing:
Tree Rings of the Soul
May 1, 2025 | By Raleigh Adams YDS ‘26
“What if the sadness never leaves?” That’s the question I couldn’t stop thinking about after ChatGPT told me my patterns and blind spots based on our chat histories. Number one was “your emotional residue lingers”; that “your heartbreak still shows up—beautifully, honestly—but it may color other aspects of your life more than you intend. Whether it’s in your theology of longing, or your cautious approach to new people, there's a tension between your mind's clarity and your heart’s ache.”
On Education
May 1, 2025 | By Isaac Oberman BF ‘26
What does it mean to be an adult? To define it against time, adulthood is the state after childhood. It follows then that adulthood results from growth and development, in which one progresses past the state of childhood that one is born into. From here, we have to ask the question: growth and development toward what? Growth and development are ordered toward membership in a community. As Plato firmly stated in The Republic, man is a social animal who is naturally drawn towards life in society with others.
The Birth of Self
May 1, 2025 | By Emma Ventresca BF ‘26
Transformation is a “coming into” ourselves, a metamorphosis rather than discrete change that fundamentally alters who we are. In the words of philosopher and theologian Karl Rahner, “True 'becoming' must be conceived as something 'becoming more', as the coming into being of more reality, as an effective attainment of a greater fullness of being.” What it means to ‘become’ oneself “must be understood as a real self-transcendence, a surpassing of self or active filling up of the empty.”
The Rise and Fall of King Saul
March 15, 2025 | By Jack Batten BF ‘27
There’s something in the human heart that demands a king. We want someone upon whom we can gaze with admiration and respect, even awe. This is why so many nations have kept their monarchies alive in a non-governing role—we crave the crown. In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the nation Gondor has been a shadow of its former self since its kingly line vanished, its place held by lesser stewards.
A Secular Saint
March 22, 2025 | By Raleigh Adams YDS ‘26
Captain Hampton did not know what her final moments would be, but she knew the risks of her service. Taking up the cross of active combat came with the risk of death and joining her sacrifice to that of Christ’s passion and resurrection upon the Cross. We do not know our time or place to join Christ's suffering, or our final end, but our souls yearn for this kind of sacrifice
Be With Me Lord, When I Am in Trouble
March 9, 2025 | By Isaac Oberman DC ‘26
But like a flower, growth isn’t easy. Like a gentle flowering bud, we are fragile as we start to bloom. The refrain for today’s Psalm, “Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble,” is not just a repetitive mantra. It is a nurturing lifeline during this Lenten Season. Calling on the Lord is a cry for protection and help for our continued growth.
Upcoming Events:
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William Blake Private Exhibition Tour
THURSDAY, OCT 2ND, 10:30-11:30 AM, Yale Center for British Art
Peter Wicks of the Elm Institute will guide us through the traveling exhibition ‘William Blake: Burning Bright’ at Yale Center for British Art. No previous experience with art or William Blake required. Meet in the Yale Center for British Art lobby.
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Vibe Meeting
THURSDAY, OCT 9TH, 6:15-7:15 PM, William Harkness Hall, RM 012
This week, we will have a more relaxed meeting to chat, have snacks, and play some board games!
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Second Draft Workshop
THURSDAY, OCT 23RD, 6:15-7:15 PM, Location TBD
Second drafts for our print publication are due Oct 31st, so this meeting will cover common problems in the first drafts, what to think about for the second draft, and some ideas on how to make the pieces talk to each other and flow.
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Dinner at Justin and Moriah Hawkins' House
THURSDAY, OCT 30TH, 5:30-7:30 PM.
Justin and Moriah Hawkins have graciously invited us to their house for dinner and conversation! Please email using the link below if you are interested in attending! Transportation provided. -
Content Editing Workshop
THURSDAY, NOV 6TH, 6:15-7:45 PM, Elm Institute
For our print publication, we will be conducting content editing in person. At the Elm Institute, and guided by Peter Wicks, you will be paired with a partner and will each edit each other’s pieces for content and discuss what worked and what didn’t.
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Copy Editing Workshop
THURSDAY, NOV 13TH, 6:15-7:15 PM, Location TBD
For our print publication, we will be conducting copy editing in person. You will be paired with a partner and will each edit each other’s pieces for grammar and punctuation, and polish off anything else needed in the draft.
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Veritas Weekend
FEB 6-8TH, Boston
Save the date for Veritas Weekend in Boston! More information below!