Of Institutions and Communal Memory

Last updated on: June 29, 2012 at 9:05 am by Jerry Park

Of Institutions and Communal Memory 2012-06-29T09:05:39-05:00 Jerry Park

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s been a tough week here in Waco. I hope readers of this blog will pardon my tendency to “read sociology” into my personal experience-maybe it’s how I cope sometimes. I’m currently a member of a local church as well as a faculty member at Baylor University. Both of these affiliations reflect an important connectedness one feels with others who also share these same identities. So it was doubly hard to hear on Sunday morning the news that a fellow church member and colleague passed away after a 6 month battle with lymphoma. Her memorial service was beautiful and I was struck by the mass of people who made it out to remember her in this moment. She was not even 40 but already her impact had extended well beyond her family.

And prior to this announcement I spent the previous week at court for the first time in a jury. I’ve always known in the abstract the duties of being on a jury, but as with participation in any organization and institution, one understands these responsibilities in a deeper way when called to serve. This was all the more pronounced for me since the case was one of the most pernicious: child sexual abuse. The prosecuting team did well in conveying the evidence, but the evidence, and the narration of events that connect the evidence together jostled me to the core. I could hear and see with my mind’s eye the multiple generations of dysfunction in this victim’s social context. It would take Child Protective Services, the police department, a local clinic, and lawyers to intercede and end over a year of abuse. But after the sentencing I still wonder whether (no, I hope) the resilience she showed in calling the cops the day that ended the abuse will carry her further still.

As organizations and institutions created by people, it struck me that churches, colleges, hospitals, law enforcement, social and legal services draw us into each other’s lives. We meet people we would not otherwise have ever known. And while in these institutions, whether for many years or a mere 3 days we share the experience of being embedded together. This I think invites us to remember the people who shared that same institutional space. Moreover it’s important that there are others who are also in this space with us to help remember together. It reminds me of Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s concept of the plausibility structure (see their highly readable The Social Construction of Reality). Organizations and institutions help remind us of what is real and they help define how we are to relate to one another.

For my part, I will remember my church sister and colleague, and I will remember this young girl. Participating in these institutions of church, education, and law grant me, and others, the privilege to meet them as time and circumstance allow -and remember them.

Jerry Park

Previous Post

June 28, 2012

In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus

Next Post

July 1, 2012 Executive Confirmation

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amy Reynolds Becky Hsu Brad Wright critical realism George Yancey Gerardo Marti Jeremy Rhodes Jerry Park John Schmalzbauer Margarita Mooney Mark Regnerus Nicolette Manglos positive sociology Richard Flory Robert Woodberry Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2017 August 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz