Peace, Justice and Memoir
Connection to the Moravian Lebenslaufe tradition
At several key points in the Minor in Peace and Justice, you will be asked to reflect formally on your life in relation to your studies in peace and justice. You will create a portfolio that includes your own memoir of the way your life relates to peace and justice. You will learn how to do this by coming to know the lebenslauf tradition (literally, “lifewalk tradition”) that is part of the history of the Bethlehem Moravians who founded this college. Every member of the 18th century Moravian Community was invited and expected to write their spiritual memoir; this same document would be read at their funeral liturgy. The Moravian Archive on our campus is filled with examples of these amazing documents. We borrow from this tradition to help students think and live more deeply the connection between their own life stories and the issues and questions of peace and justice that face our world. You will begin your memoir in the gateway course, “Lifewalk of Justice” and return to it at the completion of your studies, in “Peace and Justice-making Praxis”.
