Seamless Lives of Faith | Proverbs 27:9

Jocelyn Robertson ‘25

“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.”

After the snow days that started off the fellows’ spring semester, this week was an especially joyful reunion! Our youth leader training, Bible study, and seminary course all restarted in the same week, bringing us back into our normal routine. We also enjoyed our first in-person seminar back from the break with Ed Moy, who discussed the simultaneous challenge and significance of living out faith in a career in public service. 

Perhaps my favorite routine to which we returned this week was roundtable dinner. I was one of the fellows cooking this week, and we made my great-grandmother’s spaghetti sauce recipe (complete with three different requested shapes of pasta!). Sharing a family recipe with the Fellows family brought joy to my heart, as did catching up with everyone over the shared meal. As the year has progressed, the closeness of the Fellows community has become more and more dear to my heart. This friendship and camaraderie is especially perceptible when we gather for roundtable each week. As we share about our lives and journeys, we laugh, bond, and learn more about each other. With our cohort numbering 15, one might expect it to be a challenge to develop deep friendship and community. I believe that we have risen to and overcome this challenge with flying colors this year. As we returned from Christmas, many of us were reflecting on the fact that our year is halfway done. The speed at which Fellows has flown by is both sobering and encouraging. Though it will be sad to reach the end of the year in just a few months, it is such a privilege to be in an environment that is joyful enough to make time pass so quickly!