All May, None Must, Some Should

Redeeming the practice of confession

by Rev. Christopher Micklewright

EXCERPT //

As I complete the first year in my new vocation as an Episcopal priest, several friends have asked me whether I miss my previous career as a college mathematics professor. My first answer is always “Yes!” I loved the energy of the classroom and the ever-present possibility of discovery and wonder. However, there’s also a deeper answer: I am profoundly glad to have given up the burden of judging my students. As much as I genuinely wanted every student to succeed, I also had a responsibility to assess whether my students had actually learned the material; at least in the formal educational setting, the professor must be a gatekeeper as well as a guide and advocate.

This responsibility was always a burden for me. No matter how much I did to support my students, every semester I would have to tell some of them, “I care about you, and you should be proud of the work you’ve put in, but I still can’t give you the grade that you want.” Those conversations—and the whole system of assessment—were important, and they sometimes even opened the door to growth for my students. But, I still never enjoyed judging my students. So, one of the things that I love about being a priest (at least in the Episcopal tradition) is that I am not responsible for judging people. Instead, I get to focus on loving and welcoming and supporting people no matter where they come from. And, let me tell you, I get to work with some pretty awesome people. //

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Ideas // THE BENEFITS OF UNBURDENING OUR SECRETS