Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places/ Third Place Stories
Through an immersion course called the Philosophy of Place, seven people from Gannon University traveled to Mt. Vernon, KY where we stayed at Appalachia-Science in the Public Interest (ASPI). The journey there and back involved stops at the underground railroad’s river crossing, native American burial mounds (Fort Ancient), and Berea College, where we built a foot bridge. The journey was one big liminal place where we found ways of being connected beyond majors, roles, and what Thomas Merton calls our false selves. We encountered strangers as strangers ourselves and we entered encounters vulnerable and ignorant. That third space yielded gifts, physical and spiritual—-walking sticks carved by hand from a local story-teller, Zen Buddhist guides and farmers, who led us on a walk into a forest, nature’s silent third space. We drank water directly from Climax Spring. Singer-Songwriter Mitch Barrett told Appalachian stories through his songs, and a waste management official taught us about illegal dumping and the grip of poverty. The course was a collaboration between Campus Ministry and the Philosophy Department, integrating ultimate questions with a ministry of presence. Appalachia-Science in the Public Interest, a house adjacent to the Catholic parish in town, was clearly a neutral ground since the ASPI director, Timi Reedy, had a sign on the white board which read, “Being is everything.”
After each day’s journey or work, we had third space reflection and conversation as the pinnacle of the day’s activity. When leaving, one person said that they learned philosophies of place, but they weren’t sure how to “leave the place” and desired to return. Thus, there was an awakening to the third space as a sense of familiarity and belonging that remains with us as we launch into new and strange places. This exhibit will feature images, descriptions, and art from third space experiences. In opening ourselves up to these encounters our vocational choices were lifted to become engaged with the needs of the places we inhabit.
Listen to song “Sacred Yard” by Mitch Barrett
-Aaron Kerr, PhD and Emily Muntean, Gannon University in Erie, PA