Blogging the Campus Values: SPIRITUALITY

This is the first in a series of blog posts with some guest writers. I have asked some of my co-workers from the Campus for Human Development to write some personal reflections on the seven core values that are contained in our mission statement:

“Through the power of spirituality and the practice of love, the Campus for Human Development provides hospitality with a respect that offers hope in a community of non-violence.”

At the beginning of each posting, I will incorporate some reflections on the meaning of each value by our Founding Director Charlie Strobel. It is my hope that by getting to know some of the people I spend my days with, you will gain a better understanding of what I am doing in Nashville this year.

In this first post, we’ll reflect on the value of spirituality through the lens of three of my favorite Campus friends. Anneice will share the role that spirituality has played in her response to the death three weeks ago of her daughter Bambi. Many Campus values were lived out in our community’s response to Ms. Anneice’s loss. Jana writes about spirituality from the unique perspective as a young Jewish person. Finally, Fred, who I called “the person I never thought I’d sit next to in church” when we were at Anneice’s daughter’s funeral a few weeks ago, but who always surprises us with the depth of his love for our participants, writes about the fact that spirituality doesn’t allow us to judge.

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“The Campus for Human Development understands that spirituality is a way of encountering the divine in all of us. It is a process, more than a set of doctrines—a process of discovery of our inner life, as coming from God and moving toward God. This inner life is at the center of our understanding of ourselves. The process of self-understanding cannot be gained fully without a personal journey inward. Others may tell us much about ourselves. Society can define and explain much about our relationship to one another. But no one is able to experience our inner life. There inside ourselves, we alone have the power to come to an awareness of our heart’s desires and our mind’s intentions. Our spiritual quest is to link our spirit (our desires and intentions) to the divine spirit that also resides within us. This process develops our conscience and forms our soul. Practically, spirituality transcends denominational identities and structures and expresses our values through actions.”

-Charles Strobel

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GUEST BLOGGER: Fred Collins

I am a 62-year-old retired dentist and also a retired drug addict. After years of struggling with addiction I finally got clean and sober five years ago. I feel that working here at the Campus could possibly help others recover from this vicious disease.

To me, spirituality is the basis for our other core values. I think it is a must for staff members to embrace spiritual principles in order to empathize with our population. One of the most important of these is tolerance, because without this we could be judgmental. It is not our mission to over analyze what got our participants here but to help them return to mainstream society, or, if that is not within their reach, help them cope with a less than desirable situation. This requires the full array of spiritual principles—compassion, hope, love, hospitality, respect, non-violence, etc. No matter how many classes we do or group sessions we facilitate, without these spiritual principles we could become too judgmental and all would be lost.


Fred is part of the education team at the Campus. He leads drug and alcohol addiction recovery classes for the men in our Odyssey program and occasionally for our general population. He spends most of the day in our education center, and helping run our storage program. We all know Fred as someone who might greet us with a four-letter word or as the person least likely to sugar-coat the truth in any situation. We also know that Fred is probably the most caring person on our staff, and any of us would trust him with our lives.

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GUEST BLOGGER: Jana Bregman

Hi, my name is Jana and I am one of Jeff’s co-interns at the Campus. I graduated from high school (University School of Nashville) last May and chose to put off college for a year to work at the Campus. My thought was that as much fun as writing more papers and studying for exams sounds, working at an agency with an outstanding mission and an unreal staff sounded much more worthwhile.

From reading Jeff’s blog I’m sure you have begun to appreciate how complex this place is so maybe you can see why I am now just starting to understand (with some confidence) the Campus’ philosophy, procedures, and the population we serve. My understanding of the Campus’ seven core values has definitely evolved during my time at the Campus and in particular, the value of spirituality has taken on new meaning for me, someone who grew up in a religious household and practices a devout Jewish lifestyle.

It is a common misinterpretation that the words religion and spirituality are synonymous. For me, the word spirituality fosters images of my mom and I lighting the Sabbath candles, or me covering my eyes while I say the she’ma before bed. While these moments can be described as both spiritual and religious, certain interactions at the Campus have shown me that spirituality is not confined to religious experiences. Spirituality is also when God is present in the form of love, community, and peace between fellow humans.

Here are a few among many examples of spirituality I have witnessed at the Campus:

- A gentleman who used our services years ago is now on staff at the Campus and often works through the night serving individuals at our Guest House (an alternative to jail for the publicly intoxicated).

- When one of my co-workers helped dress an individual who is mentally handicapped and was not aware that he was exposed.

- One day a participant threatened suicide and later, when Mobile Crisis asked her for the name of the person she can rely on the most, she said the people at the Campus.

- The safety and warmth of our prayer circle every night before Room In the Inn, the Campus’ winter shelter program.

- The face that I feel welcomed and totally included even though I practice a different faith than the rest of the Campus staff.

The Campus was founded as a multi-faith organization and this is apparent in its values. The Campus doesn’t force a particular religion or even a particular God but it still values spirituality because of its inherent connection to the Campus’ five other core values – nonviolence, love, community, hospitality, and hope. And without these values, there’s no way we (the staff) could help others help themselves on the road to recovery.


Jana will turn 19 in a few weeks, but she is probably the most mature, capable person that works at the Campus. She takes on a number of roles, and works with just about all of our program teams, including administration, education, Odyssey, and Room In The Inn. She also coordinates the Campus’ Teen Board. Jana and I have a great time working together at the support desk, in the day room, and sorting the mail. We also share a luxurious office, and join in celebrating our latest victory over the mice that want to share it with us.

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GUEST BLOGGER: Anneice Tisdale

Spirituality means to me is when God is testing you to see how much faith you have in him when he takes a love one from you. It is hard to keep the pain in my heart. And you ask, “why did you pick my little flower?” I know there is a time to be born and a time to die. It seems like he wants us to go on giving ourselves helping others. My heart is broken but I know God is a just God. So I am trying my best to help others to go on. Someday he will wipe away all my tears and this burden in my heart. He knows I am a giving person and would do anything for anyone. Spirituality to the Campus is about helping the participants and listening to them, giving all we’ve got and putting them on the right road.

When I see a bright star, I know it my child looking down on her family.

Ms. Anneice is one of the “originals” who has been with Room In The Inn and The Campus since its inception. She begins each day at 6:00am by running our shower program and works in the day room until the afternoon, also leading our daily orientation sessions. Known as “The Warden,” Anneice is the face of the Campus and a mother to many in Nashville’s homeless community. She never fails to make me laugh, and my favorite times at work are when I pull up a chair next to her in the day room. She is at her best when she is teaching our Odyssey guys to dance, or making sure that some of our participants who are least able to care for themselves have their clothes washed. The Warden also possesses special laser vision that can spot food in the day room from miles away.