Feeling Our Way Through an Apocalypse: During the Pandemic, Politics, War, Climate Change and More
with The Rev. Cody J. Sanders
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
7:30pm on Zoom
Zoom Link: bit.ly/FeelingOurWayLyceum
Fear, anger, and sadness are stimulated in increasingly more frequent ways during times that feel “apocalyptic,” when worlds and ways of life feel like they are coming to an end or to a precipitous edge. These emotions have important messages and value for our survival, but they can also become problematic when they develop into long-lasting moods and orientations towards life. We cannot avoid these emotions, nor can we treat the problematic aspects of apocalyptic moods by simply thinking our way out of their emotional sway. Instead, we must cultivate more complex emotional experiences within community. Expressions like grief, gratitude, and wonder can hold the complexities of our experiences of life at the edge, work to curtail the harmful effects of apocalyptic moods, and make living life out of our deepest held values a greater possibility, even when times feel apocalyptic.
The Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, MN. Prior to this, he served as pastor to Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Cambridge, MA, and American Baptist Chaplain to Harvard University. He has published several books including, most recently, Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead with Mikeal Parsons (Fortress Press, 2023)
