The Avowal

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace, knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

- Denise Levertov

In this short poem, Denise Levertov presents a beautiful but daring picture of Christian faith. She expresses her desire to rest in the Creator Spirit’s deep embrace: this all-surrounding grace cannot be earned. Paradoxically, however, she says that she must learn to attain this rest, this freefall. Doesn’t this learning speak of effort of some kind? How do we go about learning how to rest in God’s embrace?

I think that the content in this issue of The Pub, interacts with this paradox and possibly offers us ways we can move for- ward in faith. As a journal, we have focused on publishing students’ excellent academic and creative work more than we have focused on work which focuses explicitly on Christian faith. We believe that our focus on excellent work is in line with our Christian commitments. However, the content of this issue reflects a markedly strong interest and commitment to working through and taking the Christian faith seriouly. This is one of the reasons why we at The Pub are excited to share this issue with you. The work we have published examines and affirms human actions in the light of faith and encourages us to rejoice in the works of God. It reminds us of the loving embrace of God, even when we feel like we are falling and lost.

I am very excited by the maturity of the interaction between this excellent student work and faith: it seems born out of confusion, desire, and genuine love for the world and other people.

Sadie McCloud

Editor-in-Chief