Table Of ContentAUTOBIOGRAPHY AS A RESOURCE FOR COLLEGE CHAPLAINCY:
PERSONAL AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
WITHIN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT
A Professional Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the
School of Theology at Claremont
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry
by
Ashli Cartwright-Peak
May 1994
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(c) 1994
Ashli Cartwright-Peak
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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This professional project, completed by
Ashli Cartwright-Peak
— — — ■ ■■■ ■ ' |-| ■ | " “ ?
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Theology at Claremont in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
Faculty Committee
/ f f f
/
Date
/
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ABSTRACT
Autobiography as a Resource for College Chaplaincy:
Personal and Theological Reflection
within a Multicultural Context
by
Ashli Cartwright-Peak
The cultural and religious landscape on the college
campus in the United States today reflects a pluralistic
society that is dealing with problems brought on by ever-
increasing demographic changes. As the college chaplain
undertakes the challenge to minister on the campus in the
midst of a growing multireligious and multicultural student
population, she or he would be well-advised to utilize
autobiography as a resource for assisting the campus
community as they live with, reflect on, and make difficult
but needed changes in their lives and in their world. As is
inherent in the method proposed for the use of autobiography
with students, this project demonstrates that autobiography
can serve as a way station between boundary lines drawn over
issues of "difference" or "other-ness." The importance of
connecting personal narrative and reflection with
theological reflection is modelled throughout the length of
the project as a way of illustrating and authenticating the
relevant, meaningful application of autobiography on the
campus.
Chapter 1 sets the stage for the chapters to follow.
It addresses and elaborates on the problem, clarifies the
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thesis, defines the role of the chaplain, and selectively
reviews previous literature on chaplaincy, autobiography,
theology and story, and multiculturalism.
Chapter 2 exemplifies the autobiographical method I
propose and introduces the reader to paradigmatic events
central to my story.
Chapter 3 reflects on meaningful ways my story
connected with others' stories through ordinary events in my
life, and more specifically, through the medium of film.
Chapter 4 guides the reader through my story via
reflection on different developmental periods and
influential experiences in my life as they relate to the
central story of my faith community.
Chapter 5 locates my story in the context of a
theological world filled with a polyphony of stories, each
bidding for recognition and acknowledgment.
Chapter 6 describes the value of autobiography in the
multireligious and multicultural world of the college campus
and elucidates how my "autotheographical" method can be
adapted as a resource for ministry.
Chapter 7 envisions the college chaplain in the role of
autotheographer, utilizing the example of a case study, and
giving attention to the chaplain as storyteller,
storyshaper, and storyweaver.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Were it not for such persons as my husband Ira, my
daughter Sydney, my mother Stella, my sister Ali, my friend
Beverly, my professors Mary Elizabeth and Kathy, and clouds
of witnesses in my past and present, I would not have
arrived at this place or this hour of completion of my
project or been able to fulfill the requirements for my
D.Min. degree. These persons have been my nurturers, my
teachers, and a significant part of my human community,
helping me to continue to dream dreams and see visions of
better tomorrows. Because of them and countless others, I
believe gratitude to be a reciprocal venture of give and
receive, receive and give. Therefore, in gratitude to those
who have given to me, I express my deep thanks and promise
to take what has been given so richly and unconditionally
and pass it on in various ways to others who need it.
Ashli Cartwright-Peak
May 1994
iii
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE
Chapter Page
1. Introduction ...................................... 2
The Problem Addressed ........................... 2
Definitions of Key Terms ...................... 2
Importance of the Problem........................ 11
Work Previously Done in the Field............... 18
Scope, Limitations, and Method ................ 26
PART TWO
2. Stories from My Story...............................30
An Actress in My Own Home........................32
The Best Picture Show.............................43
What Is Your Confession of Faith?...............51
3. Finding Myself in a Context of Meaning: Seeing My
Story in Others' Stories........................58
Thelma and Louise................................. 63
Places in the Heart...............................68
Fried Green Tomatoes............................ 73
Places Where My Story and Others' Stories
Connect ........................................81
4. Discovering Myself in a Context of Community:
Connecting My Story with the Jesus Story . . . 86
The Jesus Story as a Question....................87
My Answer as a Young C h il d .................... 88
My Answer as an Adolescent...................90
My Answer as a Young A d u l t .................... 92
My Answer as a Seminarian and Young Minister 95
iv
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My Answer as a Maturing Adult ........... 104
Emerging Questions Regarding Jesus and Other
Religions .................................. 107
5. Locating Myself in the Context of a Theological
World: Reframing My Story within the Church's
Story ........................................... 112
What Is Local Theology? ....................... 114
Personal Experience as a Primary Source for
Doing Theology ............................. 119
A Feminist's Critique of Religious Authority 127
The Importance of Interreligious Dialogue . . 131
Conclusion .................................... 135
PART THREE
6. Autobiography in the Context of a Multicultural
World: Eliciting Unexpressed Stories as a Step
Toward Creating Our Story .................... 138
Autotheography as Praxis of a
Community-in-the-Making .................. 139
Key Principles Essential to the Formation
of an Autotheographical Community . . . . 144
7. Reaffirming Chaplains in the Context of Today's
Campus World: Conceptualizing My Story as a
Chaplain's Story ............................. 161
A Case Study .................................. 164
The Chaplain as Storyteller .................. 171
The Chaplain as Storyshaper .................. 177
The Chaplain as Storyweaver .................. 182
Bibliography ............................................. 186
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1
PART ONE
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2
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The Problem Addressed
The problem addressed by this project is the need for
the college or university chaplain to utilize autobiography
as a resource for ministry because it can transcend the
lines of race, class, gender, ethnicity, culture, and
religion on the ever-changing, increasingly diverse,
multicultural campus.
Definitions of Key Terms
In order to facilitate the reader's understanding of
that which is addressed in this study, I have purposefully
placed my definition of key terms here at the beginning of
this chapter.
College/University
Though the setting, my experience, and the content
herein are primarily focused on the liberal arts college,
this dissertation is intended to be inclusive of the
university campus as well. However, because a continued
repetition of the words college and university is
unnecessary, from this point on I will use almost
exclusively the word college when it refers to any
institution of higher education.
Chaplain
It is important to clarify, first of all, that there
are some general differences between the position of
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