Who is Penny Lane? (CIR Series No. 01)

This blog post is the first in a series of reflective pieces written by various Chaplains-in-Residence. The Chaplains-in-Residence play a special role in the lives of students on campus – particularly in their adjustment to college residential life. In this series, the Chaplains-in-Residence share how their own lives have been transformed since moving to the Hilltop.

“The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.”

― Henri J.M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership

At the beginning of 2016, my wife Leigh and I were feeling a bit unsure about how best to live into our new role as chaplains-in-residence for New South Hall.

Then we got a puppy.

Penny Lane, the furry addition to our family, has quite a knack for breaking down barriers between people and starting conversations.

For many of our students, who are missing home and pets, spending a little time with our energetic springer spaniel became a much-appreciated therapeutic break from the stresses of school and life. Suddenly, we had students regularly knocking on our door, asking if Penny was available to play. Sometimes, that’s all that was needed. Other times, sitting on the floor with the dog was a doorway into a conversation about academic challenges, personal dilemmas, or questions of meaning and purpose.

Odd as it may sound, Penny Lane has taught me a lot about the purpose of chaplaincy. In an age of specialization and functionality, in which ministry is increasingly (and not always wrongly!) assessed using tools borrowed from the worlds of business or non-profit management, Penny’s pastoral presence in the dorm is a reminder of what Henri Nouwen terms the “irrelevance” of ministry. Penny brings no particular set of skills or specialized knowledge to bear on the struggles of our students. (She is getting better at “sit” and “wait,” though). She does not offer advice, provides no solutions. She has no test or assessment to make of our students. She does not judge. She advances no agenda, has no connections, offers no benefits or boost to resumés.  And that is exactly what is so helpful about her presence in the residence hall – she is just herself, her exuberant, friendly self.

If, as Nouwen posits, “the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self,” then I, as a Christian leader, might have a thing or two to learn from Penny Lane in this regard. And if we are to believe the Jesuit principle of “God in all things,” then perhaps that’s not such an odd claim to make after all.

Written by David Finnegan-Hosey, Chaplain-in-Residence