The Last Lecture Series, Part 2
Contributed by Rev. Sarah R. Welton, PhD
This introduction is a repeat of the information from last month in case you missed it! My Last Lecture Series is scheduled on the last Saturday of each month at the Meeting House in Palmer, 415 S. Bailey Street at 1 pm to about 3. The next one is January 25, 2025.
In June, I was told that my cancer had returned and in July the scans confirmed it. In August, it was communicated to me that my cancer was terminal. I was quite surprised as I had had two miracle surgeries and was given at least a decade more of life. My window was said to be in the narrow time of months. I did not feel sick and I do not feel sick as I write this essay. I chose not to have any treatment as the odds of the treatment helping me live longer and with a good quality of life are not that great. My oncologist told me to “go and live my life.” That is hard to do when you get that kind of news. I am living my life with more determination to enjoy it and to give back as much as I can.
As you may know, I am the Pastor of The Meeting House, also known as the Church of the Covenant, Palmer, Alaska. I served on the Mat Su Borough School Board for 18 years. While serving on the school board, I taught at Mat Su College for 14 of those years. Some of the courses I taught included: Cultural Foundations of Human Behavior, Conflict Resolution, and many Psychology courses including Human Relations, Managing Stress, Enhancing Self Esteem, Death and Dying, and Rational Living. I have served on nonprofit boards and am currently serving on the board of Daybreak, Inc. While working as a mental health counselor in my private practice, being a pastor, and serving on the school board, I earned a PhD in Organizational Psychology. My research was on Moral Identity and the theoretical underpinnings of how we make moral decisions.
There are certain elements that were synthesized from my study that related to what is involved in moral identity. These include several internal and external qualities that appear to be foundational factors in moral identity.
In the first session, I presented ideas about investigating who one is using a variety of ideas from psychology and philosophy. The information was provided to help develop a mission statement for who one is. How do you know who you are and do you always align with who you think you are?
In this second session, I will be presenting ideas on adult learning theories and the elements that go into decision making looking at the various theories and how they figure into developing a moral identity. What is interesting is that there is new theoretical information about learning styles and behavior that has come to light since I taught at Mat Su College. Will methodology change in light of the new information, or will old and revamped curriculum continue to inform our evaluations of teachers, schools, and ultimately the students? Where does learning come into play in our moral identity?
All are invited to attend as each lecture can stand on its own with some review of the previous information.