Through my role on the Commission on Covenant History, I was able to bring Dr. Chris Gehrz to campus for a lecture and a faculty discussion. It was a wonderful set of events and has re-invigorated by exploration of pietism and libraries. Perhaps it would be more fair to say this lecture reinvigorated an exploration a pietism and my personal life…and I hope that I’m able to connect these thoughts to my professional calling as a librarian!
He started his lecture by telling “his story” so I’ve decided to start in the same place – but telling my “stories” of pietism. In reading his book – The Pietist Vision of Higher Education – and over the course of the lecture and faculty discussion, I’ve been able to reframe several key events in my educational past through the pietist lens of “transformation” or “re-birth.” So I’ll try and capture these memories using the language and spirit of pietism. Continue reading “Personal Reflections on Pietism”