Shares practices and insight with the Drew community
February 2024 – Drew Theological School alum Amy Davis Abdallah T’10 shared a sermon on the practices in her new book, Meaning in the Moment: How Rituals Help Us Move Through Joy, Pain, and Everything In Between, at a special chapel service held in Craig Chapel.
Davis Abdallah earned her PhD in Liturgical Studies from the Theological School. She has a permanent residency at the Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, Florida.
Her sermon, “God, Ritual, and Liminal Space,” based upon the ideas in her book, talked about the in-between phases of human life, or liminality. She identified the many stages of life that could be considered liminal, including students in the process of earning a graduate degree.
Many liminal stages have predictable outcomes. Graduate students will likely have an outcome of graduation. But liminal stages that involve health issues, unemployment, grief, or other crises may have uncertain outcomes.
She noted the message of liminality in the scripture 1 Samuel 1:1-20, as Hannah struggled with infertility.
Davis Abdallah shared the importance of rituals when coping with liminality and grief. “Rituals are a way to embody one’s grief that may actually alleviate one’s grief,” she said. “Rituals help our tolerance for the ambiguity of liminality.”
Davis Abdallah participated in a book signing at the close of the service.
