On Sunday, October 1, Fr. Rob Slocum, Assistant Dean for Virtual and Online Formation, will be here in person to lead the Adult Class in the Library following the 10 a.m. service.
"We are not islands: Reflecting on John Donne and Fearful Times"
John Donne (1572-16331), poet, Anglican priest, and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, London, lived in a time of plague and epidemic. In 1623 he found himself stricken with fever and in grave danger. He wrote and edited his Devotions upon Emergent Occasions during this precarious time of illness and convalescence. He was deeply moved by the sound of bells ringing for the dying and the dead from the "church adjoining" as he faced mortality in the Deanery of St. Paul's. The insistent bells recalled Donne to his deep connectedness with others through the church. The bells ring "for thee." In a time of plague and epidemic, the bells reminded Donne of life for all in divine union together.
In Sunday's class, we'll discuss the importance of Donne's reflections for all of us today.