Why I Keep Coming Back, or: Hooked
By Elise Alexander

This past semester, I completed an ethnographic project on a Sacred Harp singing group in the Boston area, motivated by one central question: what is it about this old-timey style of music with its archaic language, conservative Protestant theology, and downright depressing subject material that has managed to hook a bunch of largely progressive folks of all ages, many of whom have left evangelical Christianity behind and some of whom aren't even Christian at all?  And so, yes, I did my good participant-observer ethnographer anthropologist rigamarole, but really what I wanted to know was-- why do I keep coming back?

And the question popped up for me again this winter as I went back home to south Georgia for the holidays and attended services at my home church for about a month.  I'll admit it was probably the longest stretch of regularly attending church that I've had since graduating from college, thanks to a combination of not knowing many people in my new Boston surroundings, being deterred by long distances to walk in the increasingly cold weather, and having a series of theological thunderstorms in my head.  And, as has been true since I first interrupted a Sunday School lesson to ask whether Mary might have been worried about her donkey giving out halfway to Bethlehem, I still nit-picked my way through church.  I switched out gendered pronouns in the Lord's Prayer and the Doxology; I mentally sparred with the pastor, challenging his interpretation of the scripture; I writhed awkwardly within whenever someone told me that God would do a mighty work in my life, trying to avoid the gaping black hole that is the sum total of my understanding of how God acts in the world.

But the thing is: it also felt so good to be there.  Maybe this can be largely traced back to the affect theories of religion: I've just been trained so long that "my church" means "comfort" and "community" that on a deep, responsive level that's true regardless of the elaborate spiderweb-thoughts of my rational mind.  After several years of questioning nearly everything and trying time and time again to find some kind of peace in that continued unknown, it is also just nice to be around people who really do firmly believe in a benevolent and omnipotent God, and to relax in the thought that they might be onto something I've lost track of for now. Read more here.

Absolute Truth & Emotional Risk in Interfaith Dialogue

Responsibilities

The Communications Assistant for State of Formation is responsible for managing the online presence of State of Formation and attracting new Contributing Scholars.  Working closely with the Managing Editor, the Communications Assistant will work on the following key tasks:

• Sending a “call for contributors” to key individual and organizational partners

• Managing the Facebook and Twitter accounts, updating multiple times per week

• Creating and distributing the weekly State of Formation newsletter

Skills Required

The ideal Communications Assistant will have strong attention to detail, will work well with limited collaboration, and will be passionate about the values that State of Formation seeks to foster. State of Formation is a small organization and values the input of all employees regarding its future direction. However, the Communications Assistant will be primarily concerned with day-to-day tasks ensuring the smooth functioning, and growth, of the site and its community of Contributing Scholars.

Communications Assistant Tasks

• Sending “call for contributors” to various contacts (current contributors, individuals and organizational partners)

• Develop relationships with other interfaith organizations

  • Solidify relationships to re-post SoF content

• Create list of organizational contacts that the bi-annual call for contributors can be distributed to.

• During slow seasons, reach out to promising Contributing Scholars (who have not yet written much) to engage them in writing more.

• Manage SoF Facebook Account

  • Post article of interest concerning religious news/analysis twice daily

  • Re-post strongest content from State of Formation on FB

  • Connect with key interfaith organizational partners (re-posting content as necessary/relevant)

  • Engage with SoF writers as able on FB

• Twitter

  • Re-post all content from State of Formation on Twitter

  • Follow SoF writers as able

• Newsletter

  • Re-post top article on weekly SoF newsletter

  • Re-post other relevant SoF (or partner organization) events or resources

• Help new Contributing Scholars get started on blog

  • Add new applicant to the google groups.

  • Give new applicant WordPress username.

  • Add blog post submitted in application process to WordPress queue.

  • Post Bio and Picture on SoF site

Position would begin by shadowing current employees on April 1st, 2014, with job to commence June 1st, 2014. Employee will occasionally relieve supervisory input from CIRCLE directors and JIRD staff. Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to honna@irdialogue.org and ben@irdialogue.org by 2/15/2014.