Better Than We Found It

A week ago, I returned home from the ACPE Annual Conference, where we celebrated 100 years of CPE! It feels like it has been a long time since last year’s conference. A lot has happened in our lives personally and professionally. A great deal has transpired within and outside our Association, our Nation, and our World. For me, life is sometimes exhausting, sometimes exhilarating. One of the gifts I have gained from my CPE Education and ministry is to stop trying to be perfect. Accepting my limitations has been so freeing. My goal is to offer something that has a positive impact.

I am a former librarian, and I have always loved reading. Some of my favorite books were written for children. I want to share an excerpt of one with you:

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery screen…. It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who must be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand you.” “I suppose you are Real?” said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. “The Boy’s Uncle made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”  (The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams)

Last year, I introduced myself to you through the lenses of my familial and communal upbringing. This year, I wanted to give you insight into how I was formed and called to become a Pastoral Educator. In other words: how I became REAL.

CPE helped me to become REAL. I learned to experience and embrace the grace of God, as I had never done before. I became more aware and accepting of myself than I had ever been. And as I grew to accept my gifts and limitations, I became more accepting and respectful of others. There are many gifts I hope to pass on to my students, but supremely, I want to support my students as they grow to accept or become more accepting of themselves and use their gifts to minister to whomever they can wherever they may find themselves. I hope that they learn to take the lead in the formation of their own stories so that they can live authentic and abundant lives.

What about YOU? What about US as an organization? Are we members of ACPE for ourselves… are we simply trying to carry on a legacy and make our ancestors proud?

I don’t want to be misunderstood… elders and ancestors are important to me. I have been raised to honor them and make them proud. When I arrived at the office, I have occupied for the last 14 years the first thing I did was stand in the window and thank ancestors and elders who made it possible for this “chocolate chip” to be in that place at that time, and I promised to make them proud. But I and we have more to do. Growing up, (as probably many other African American persons can attest) I was taught that whenever I was given an opportunity, how well I did or didn’t do would either make room for another Black person or ensure that it would be a long time, if ever, that another Black person got that opportunity.

Don’t we work hard to give our children better lives and better opportunities than we had? That’s what I am referring to. That is our charge.

Recently, our colleague, David Carnish, shared a quote by Adam Grant that I have meditated on ever since:

“It’s more important to be good ancestors than dutiful descendants. Too many people spend their lives being custodians of the past instead of stewards of the future. We worry about making our parents proud when we should be focused on making our children proud. The responsibility of each generation is not to please our predecessors—it’s to improve conditions for our successors.”

I have six months left to serve as your Chair. As I shared with the Board, I do not plan to become a “lame duck” Chair. I intend to give you the best that I’ve got to the end of my term. A lot has been thrown at us as an organization, and with everything we have faced, my goal has been to secure and protect our Association because I understand that we have students and future members… some we have seen and know, and others that we may never meet. The ancestors who came before us have carried this ball as far as they were able. We have the responsibility to carry it as far as we are able. ACPE – The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education is a lovely slogan. I am inviting each of us to renew our commitment to do our part to make it as much of a reality as we are able. The descendants of ACPE are depending on us to leave what we have been entrusted with, Better Than We Found It.

Blessings Always, Cecelia

Rev. Dr. Cecelia Ann Walker is an ACPE Certified Educator and Chair of the ACPE Board of Directors.