Speakers provide Benedictine perspective on DEIJ

Nicholas Tangen took the floor in the Quad on Monday night as the second speaker for the two day presentation series “Benedictine Perspectives on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice.”

The series is part of CSB/SJU’s initiative to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) within the campus community.

Tangen, a graduate of United Theological Seminary and director of Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices at the Minneapolis Area Synod, focuses much of his work on the intersection between faith and community in creating meaningful transformation. In his talk, he shared his approach toward the incorporation of Benedictine values as a guide for change.

His talk was geared toward CSB/SJU, as Tangen noted the importance of white-dominant communities and cultures like ours engaging with and taking leadership from oppressed communities.

He opened his talk by outlining some of the paramount qualities of Benedictine communities: stability of place, obedience and conversion of life. These values, Tangen noted, carry over into DEIJ work.

One aspect of justice work that Tangen targeted during his presentation was the tendency for people to become caught up in the urgency and outcome of an issue, and later drop it when the outcome is not desirable. Tangen spoke on the energy surrounding a “driver’s license for all” bill, which would grant licenses to immigrants in the United States regardless of their citizenship status. After this bill initially failed to pass, many people moved on from it.

This is an opportunity to engage the Benedictine value of a lifelong commitment to God, committing instead to ongoing efforts for social change.

“[Social justice] is a lifelong generational struggle to transform our way of being,” Tangen said.

Tangen then addressed the role of obedience and accountability in justice work. Obedience serves to magnify our community, as we not only listen to the needs of others but also take action.

Tangen spoke of an experience with a local congregation that wanted to support the community by starting a food shelf. Tangen said what the community really needed was mental health resources and support.

In the final portion of his talk, Tangen presented some meaningful practices that we can engage in to create more just and equitable communities.

Just as Benedictines value conversion of life in their relationship to God, we must value conversion of life to create justice in our communities. These practices include building relationships across difference, establishing policies and practices that outline a clear rule of life and critical self reflection.

CSB sophomore Colette Harrold, who attended the lecture, noted the importance of relationship building and trust emphasized by Tangen.

“What stood out to me from the talk was how important relationships are when it comes to any justice issue. I like how [Tangen] mentioned how so much of his important work is done at the dinner table. It made me think: who sits across me at the dinner table? How can I prioritize people over projects as a college student?” Harrold said.

Finally, Tangen emphasized the importance of joy in justice and equity work. This type of work is difficult and often disheartening, but finding joy allows him to keep going at it. He finds joy through this relationship building, knowing how impactful his work may be the community with whom he has created an intentional connection.

“Dominant culture separates issues from human beings… justice is wholeness.” Tangen said.