By the Rev. Jason S. Terhune, ‘15, Director of Operations at Nashotah House 

Here in this place rooted in mission, people continue to see that we are called to something larger than ourselves and even larger than what we comprise as a group. One of the first things I read about our historic institution was from N.T. Wright, “I have a sense that maybe Nashotah House, like the Irish in the Dark Ages, is called to hang onto certain things which other bits of the tradition have thrown away against the time when the rest of the church realizes it needs them again.” As I invite people to Nashotah House, I realize that I am inviting them to more than simply a place; I am inviting them to consider becoming members of our community so they may worship, study, and join in our common life. This invitation has been extended for nearly 175 years, yet there is much that is new here, and certainly numerous choices for degrees, but at our core we are and have remained Nashotah House. 

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer notes in his great work Life Together, we are not to simply seek the comfort of affinity groups and remain isolated until the coast is clear. We, as Christians, have a much greater call to live together in unity (Ps. 133:1). This does not mean that we wait until we are all in agreement; instead, it means that all of us are called to serve in his one holy, catholic, and apostolic church, regardless of disagreements. Far from us moving into the mode of self-preservation, we have discerned that our call as missionaries today is to seek God’s will and continue learning how we live into a faithful heritage. We are far from fully understanding all that God has in store for us and his Church, but we join together daily in our life of prayer, seeking to have God make us into the people and place that he has called us to be. 

During our Commencement in 2015, Jon Meacham, PhD, addressed challenges my class, and all those who serve in the church would face as clergy and laity “as we bear witness to the truth.” He too referred to the ancient tradition mentioned earlier by Wright. Meacham’s charge to the graduates and others present was to “dare to be conventional; dare to be traditional; dare to be orthodox. The boldest course you can take is to preach the oldest piece of good news in the Christian story: ‘He is not here but is risen.’” 

Nashotah House operates amid tension within the church; however, as we hold fast to these “certain things” that others “have thrown away” we continue to learn their importance today. The result: we have gained a greater respect and love for God’s provision. We continue in our life together to find joy and strength as we move into a time where we seek to continue “supporting with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses . . . preferring nothing whatever to Christ.” This is what we find in our community that helps form us for the ministries to which God has called us. 

Today just as it was yesterday, Nashotah House offers the training and formation that give these things a place in daily worship; they are held tightly in the ongoing worship life here at the House. Meacham provides a simple articulation of what that means in the life of the church: “Proclaim the Gospel, say the Mass, bless the people, and then do it all over again. If you of all people drift away from ritual and rule, then we will lose something precious, and it will be mighty difficult to get it back again.” 

This is what we do here, and this is who we are. We prepare people to do the hard work, in a hard culture, in hard times. Nashotah House seeks to live in unity, forming those who are called to keep these things safe by teaching them to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord to a dying and suffering world. These things that we keep safe are not to be hidden away; they are to be practiced and administered so that the day when the “church realizes it needs them again,” we will be formed in the ongoing life of worship.

The Rev. Jason S. Terhune, (‘15), Director of Operations at Nashotah House, has accepted a call to serve as part-time vicar at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Fr. Terhune will continue his full-time role at Nashotah House.