In working at The Alley Church, I will be involved in starting programs within the church to strengthen community and initiating volunteer programming between church members and an urban ministry here in Saint Paul. Some of my responsibilities will include: Iron Men Small Group (Friday Mornings), researching to find an inner-city ministry that can best accommodate The Alley, initiating this ministry, meeting regularly with the leadership to re-evaluate what may be needed to strengthen community within the church.
On Saturday the 28th of April we visited Keystone. Keystone is a local community food shelf. While there we had a chance to look around and get an idea for what kind of service a person might expect upon coming there. After this we sat down and discussed some of the things involved in running a food shelf and some of the current and upcoming struggles that it faces.
What the lady there said reaffirmed, for me, much of what was said in class. I particularly thought of Dick Gable and the Hunger 101 activity that we did. I can imagine walking in and having to choose a combination of appropriate foods to add up to 21 pounds. It would be a lot like going to the store with little money like in the hunger 101 simulation.
What struck me the most was the knowledge and awareness of the worker who was there to lead us. I don't think that I had any idea how much goes into running a non-profit charity. It seemed to me like there is a lot to keep tabs on and she seemed to be even ahead of the game. She mentioned things about the future and the effects of things like the light-rail and changing donation styles. I was impressed.
The Poehler Lecture is an annual lecture that is lead by a different member of the staff each year and addressed faith and learning. This year's speaker was Rev. Dr. Stohlman. He discussed how it was integral to the life of the university to approach its educating from a resurrection perspective and to be up-front with prospectives about it.
I am having a hard time relating this to anything else that we have done. However, in class I have many times wanted to discuss the how the gospel and aid to the poor go hand in hand and how they interact with eachother. Dr. Stohlmann took the majority of his time describing how education and the resurrection go hand in hand.
Walking in, I had no idea what to expect, and if i would have had to guess, I wouldn't have guessed that Dr. Stohlmann was going to be so forward about what he thought. It was something that I really appreciated. He didn't lightly cover his conflicting opinions, but threw them out and let them be heard. Whether anyone agrees or not, I think that all can appreciate how Stohlmann cut to his points and made evident the things that he didn't agree with.
Yesterday Dick came to class and shared about some of his experiences with us. He explained to us about some of the successes and failures that he has seen in working with foodshelves and other programs that are involved with reaching out to those less fortunate in the Cities and surrounding area. He also shared a little about how he went about being successful and gave a few pieces of advice.
This reminded me a lot of the time when dick came before with Hunger 101. There was more talk about the food shelves and food banks and what is involved with keeping them running and using them. I was also reminded of when Godfrey came to class and shared about his ministry. To me, they both seemed a little burned out.
This may seem a little small and insignificant, but I really took to heart the small pice of advice that he gave about following through and never making a promise that can't be kept. I really think that that is important and that if one can make sure to be consistent in that way, then they can accomplish much more and be a better person for others to work with. It sounds like a little piece of common sense, and it is, but it hit pretty good today.
This HTV was a speech given my Dr. King while he was in Memphis. He was rallying people to support the sanitation workers who were on strike. He used the parable of the good samaritan to show the role that needed to be played in the situation that the black community was in. He also foreshadowed his death a little.
Because this was an MLK speech, I connected it a lot with the letter that we had to read for Dr. Chatman. They have a lot of similarities, and they both show a lot of Dr. King's knowledge and how learned he was. I also am reminded about this third phase of this semester. The action part. I think this is a great example of that and Dr. King shows an effective way to go about being actively involved in bringing about change and ultimitely justice for the impoverished.
For me, this and the letter from Birmingham that I read have really opened my eyes a little. I have always heard and been told of the great leadership and significance of MLK, but until now I have never really appreciated it. He really made some great arguements for what he was leading and went about it in such away that was most effective. I am impressed and admire him.
On Monday a lady came to class from Bread for the world. She brought along with her a bunch of posters and displays that showed some of the statistics about povert in the world today. We al looked through them and then picked one out that really got our attention. We then went through the ones that we picked out and she discussed them with us. After that she shared with us some of the things that "Bread for the World' is doing. She also shared a little bit about the ONE Campaign and encouraged us to write to our congressman about keeping the promises that the United States has made about aid to help reduce poverty.
This related a little bit with some of the things that we discussed earlier in the semester like the video about world poverty that had the short section on "Pobreza Cero" another advocacy group that speaks out against hunger and poverty in South America. It also reminded me a little of some of the research that i have done so far this semester and some of the staggering numbers that have come up.
There was some good information, but I got a little frustrated. I kind of felt like I was in elementary school talking about the topic. I understand that she had her own program and outline that she ran by, but I would have liked to talk more about how "Bread for the World" advocates on the behalf of the impoverished and what specifically they do on any given day to communicate to our government our desire to see change. Hmmmmmmm.....
On Wednesday the class had the opportunity to hear from a man from Godfrey who is from East Africa. He ministers to some of the other east Africans who speak the same language in the area. Currently he is leading a service at Woodbury Lutheran. He shared much about his experience in Colorado, and then here, trying to minster the gospel to some of the immigrants from Eastern Africa and some of the unique difficulties in trying to reach that people group.
Right away, the first thing that came to my mind was the lady that I talked with at the Wellstone Center. I remember that she had told me she was from Kenya and had spent time in Ethiopia. I could definitely tell that there were some similarities in the way that they both talked about there experience here. This is especially showed when they spoke of the change in community between here and where they have come from.
I couldn't tell you why, but this meant a lot to me and made me think a lot. The same was true for the trip to the Wellstone Center. Although I have had no experience like the people that I have met, I find it easy to identify with them and empathize with their situation. I really think that God has given me a passion for interacting with different people groups and helping those who don't understand to identify with those people who are new to American culture. I am not sure about it all, but I do know that I really become focused and xcited and passionate whenever I find myself in a situation like that.
DO IT
So, I was thinking last week. I am sure you have all heard about all of the mission work going on in the world. In Africa and Indonesia and Latin America great leaps and efforts are being made in sharing the Gospel with the people that inhabit this part of the world. This is good. We all have helped in some way with this. Some of us give money, some of us help out with care packages, and still some others pray fervently for those in the field. However, I would like to point something out. When was the last time you looked at those in need in your own ‘backyard’? It is very easy for us to pitch in our 10 dollars a month and let that be enough to make us feel like we are doing something, while still staying comfortable in our homes and keeping those in need ‘out of sight, and out of mind’. Don’t get me wrong. It is great that we are all helping with the efforts overseas and across borders, but there is still more work to be done.
Maybe you don’t know how you can help, or don’t think that you have the ability to really make something happen in your own community. Hear what Paul says,
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."[a] 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-11).
Sow generously in your own community. This isn’t something that you have to do alone. We are a community of believers and we have each other to work with. Pray to God about your desire, then, when you see your pastor or other church leader on Sunday morning, let them know of your desire to do something. Let others know too of the need and of the abilities that God has given you to make an impact for Him in your community. Then what? DO IT.
So we took a trip to the Wellstone center and were given a little tour and then had some time to talk with the ESL students who had their class their. In the tour, our guide informed us about all the different services that the Wellstone Center offers to the many immigrants and refugees that are in that area of town. They do things like offer classes such as the ESL class that we saw, they have a food shelve, and even have child care.
This related a lot to the two movies that we saw last week. In 'When the Levees Broke', and 'Amazing Grace', we saw the people at work who were out helping those who needed it, and at the Wellstone Center, we were able to see up close what really goes on to help these people get started.
Of the experiences that we have had so far this year, this one has been the most exciting for me. During the time we had to talk with the ESL students, I talked with a guy from Mexico and a young lady from a refugee camp in Kenya. I am sure we could have sat there all day and talked about anything, but in the tme we had we talked about things such as discrimination, our languages, and our chosen professions. It was very interesting to tell what I was studying to do. The lady from Kenya could not figure out why I would want to study to go make so little money. It was good for all of us to talk and I left without being able to take the smile off my face.
This was movie day. Earlier we watched Spike Lee's Documentary and in the evening we went to see the movie "Amazing Grace". It was about William Wilberforce and his fight to end the slave trade in the British Empire. It told the tale of all of his struggles, like his heath and political opposition. It also told of the things that helped him bring about change such as the story written by his preacher friend and his wife that encouraged him to fulfill what he was called to do. It was a pretty good movie.
For me, this movie really tied in with what we read from Amos. I see both Wilberforce and Amos as those that became the voices that made the world aware of the injustice done on those in their time and how to change. Both were not well met by the other leaders in their times and we remember both for their efforts and words.
This movie really got me thinking about the ability that one person has to make change, but at the same time, how a whole host of people can be silenced. Isn't that ironic? Personally, that means to me that since i have the ability to speak and ake people aware, and there are others whose voices seem to be silent, I should probably be making a little bit more noise to let the world know about those whocan't make themselves known. A little convicting.
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