Staff Speaks - 2025 Lent

Hear from Staff members on Everything [in] Between

Harbor Staff at Pastor Janette's Commissioning Consecration

We recently finished our Lenten Study from A Sanctified Art Everything [in] Between.

Harbor Staff chose a specific question from the Devotional Cards that they were inspired to respond.

Read their reflections below.

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Eric Whitesell

"How can you be kind to yourself and others in the midst of grief?"

I find that what brings me purpose in my life is to constantly try to be the person that I've needed in my life. My little brother died of brain cancer when he was 6 years old, and through this traumatic and life-changing event, I became a much more empathetic person to those around me and myself.

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Seton Fogel

“In this season, are you feeling lost, or found, or a bit of both?”

I have felt both lost and found this past season. Recently, I’ve been set on the path to become a French educator for secondary schools and I am finally starting to feel that there is a clear path for me to take, but I feel lost due to the fact that this path is not an easy one to take. With national threats to the security of the department of education, I feel a great sense of fear for this career and the many others who are in the education system. Every time I am in the classroom interacting with my students and watching them actively acquiring a new language, my heart is filled with joy, but I worry for them and what might happen to their resources. This fall, I will begin student teaching to take the next step in my path toward earning my credential. Thank you all for your support throughout my journey!

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Macy Whitesell

"Are you quick to speak up, or do you tend to keep quiet? What triggers you to speak out?"

I have always been quiet. I like it, now. But I didn't always. When you're quiet, people will often speak over or ignore you, which creates a sort of self-perpetuating cycle. The quieter you are, the more you're expected to stay quiet, until you wonder - does my voice matter at all?

As a born listener, it feels like voices louder than mine have always dominated the world. For a long time it felt like there was something wrong with me for being quiet, preferring to speak only when I felt fully comfortable and ready. As a kid I was introduced as shy, or got asked, "You don't talk much, do you?". This happened so much that by the time I was a young adult, I had internalized my quietness as a flaw.

But it's not a flaw. I am a listener.

What I think I needed was for someone to teach me when and how to speak up. I needed to learn balance. Of course I am proud, now, of my ability to listen, discern, and then speak if I need to. And as an adult who understands that balance much better, I'm increasingly spurred to speak up when I see others being silenced, spoken over, or ignored, because I know, deeply, what that feels like. I can be the person I needed as a quiet child who didn't know how to break into a conversation.

When I speak out, it's because I've learned: if I don't, who will?

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Lauren Graham