Being Commissioned...

Here is my picture of my being commissioned. (if you can't tell I am 2nd from the left) I'm still trying to process the fact I am a missionary and what the 2 years will hold. I know this is the right thing for me and I am very thankful I answered the call. I will blog more on that later.

I have been trying to compile a list of books and resources that I would like to have. You should all definitely check out some of these resources as well. You can see them on the left under my wish list of books and dvd's and also on some blog postings in the future.

On http://www.missionresourcecenter.org/ there are a few things I would like:

1. Who's at the Table? 2009 Program Book
2. A subscription to Response Magazine either 1 or 2 years and here is the website to get it, RESPONSE
3. From Palestine to Seattle Study Guide and Book
4. Global Praise 1 CD

Like Seeds Sown

Look we made the front page of the GBGM Website !!!

So I am now officially a GBGM United Methodist Missionary. Kinda crazy to think that, but hey its gonna be an adventure!

Here is an excerpt from my journal:

Over 3 weeks ago, I came to NYC as a recent college graduate, bored from a summer of nothing much, unsure of what to expect, having answered the call but not sure what that entailed. Now I'm sitting here 3 weeks later in the park looking over the Hudson River, and my emotions have got the best of me...so I have just begun to cry & reflect.

Yesterday all 8 of my fellow US's got on a plane an left NYC to head home. I was supposed to join them, but due to airlines really not liking me I got stuck in NYC for another night. All i really wanted yesterday wa to go home and recuperate a little before beginning the preperation for the big move on Aug. 14th. Yet for some reason I must stay for an additional day.

It was lonely waking up to no roommate, no one to eat breakfast with, and no US-2 to make me laugh. Honestly, I cried int he shower. I think it was because all my emotions of yesterday had been building up and I just let loose. I wasn't at home, so there was nothing to distract me. Naturally I immediately tried to figure out something that would keep me busy all day so I wouldn't get upset or frustrated. I went to Barnes and Nobel, The Strand, the bank...but on my way to lunch I saw this gorgeous old church, Grace Church, and saw a sign that said, "come in, rest and pray". It appealed to me so I went in. The sanctuary was beautiful, it was similar to Duke Chapel only a little smaller. I found a pew and started to rest and pray, to reflect on the last 3 weeks. I think maybe God wanted me to take this time to be by myself, to reflect on what has happened and what is to come, and to rest because there is a long journey ahead of me.

A lot has happened in 3 weeks. So much to cry happy and sad tears about, so much to laugh about, so much to be challenged by, so much to frustrate me, so much joy. I wouldn't trade these last 3 weeks for anything. My ignorance was shattered and there is no turning back not.

I will stand up, I will be an advocate, an activist, a lover, a neighbor, a friend.

And there is no doubt in my mind that my fellow 8 US-2's will do the same. We are in this as a family. As you see in the picture above, these are my brothers and sisters, and we will fight for social justice and liberation for all of God's children.

"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together"

My US-2 Family:) Class of 2008-2010

From Left to Right: Top- Greg Little, Meg Koach, Elyse Christensen, Bonnie Monk, Fawn White
Bottom - Krista Dover, Carolyn Marcus, Brooke Newsome, Sarah Martindell

Well look at us, aren't we cute??? But in all seriousness, we are about to venture out into various parts of the country but we leave NYC not as complete individuals, but as a beloved community of US-2's. I will always cherish each one of these fellow US-2's! More to come soon...

A new community

We have had the afternoon off today and I am very thankful because I think I needed sometime to process at least a little bit of what has been going on. I know I will only continue to need to process over the next 2 years, but hey I can start now. I said I would write more about my experience at Potter's Field but I was reading my fellow US-2's blog and she has written it well so you can read her words, that are similar to my feelings http://wist.wordpress.com/ (Thanks Sarah).

These experiences and sessions have changed all of us. We have now been shattered of our ignorance and there is no turning back. We must fight these social injustices and we will. I find so much comfort and hope in the fact that 9 of us are about to go out to various parts of the United States and fight social injustices together. Our eyes have been opened and with God's help we will begin to help to open others eyes. It will not be easy, we are all pretty humble about that, but we do have each other. We made our class covenant last night and I will not disclose any specifics but we will be holding each other accountable each month and pretty much daily on how we are each addressing those social injustices and how we are serving God. We have built a beautiful new community of believers that want to go out and serve God through fighting social injustices...how wonderful is that?

Yet over the last few days I have been reminded of the communities of my past, communities that I was apart of for years, or just months, communities that embraced me and that I learned so much from. Those communities I love dearly and have brought me to where I am now.

There is my family community, my parents, brother and sister, and grandparents that have taught me to love and how to love others. They have been there with me through so much and will always support me.

Then there is the community of friends from college, my loving support network of friends that were there to challenge me, allow me to act silly, let me cry, scream, dance, and love. I will cherish each moment that I spent with them.

I was lucky enough to also have a wonderful community of Reach Workcamp Friends that will always be a special family to me, where I met my good friends Megan and Breck and where I will always know I have a place as a "red shirt volunteer" in the summers.

Another community that means a great deal to me is my community from Philadelphia, my dear friend Trish and her hospitality to let me live with her last summer, and everyone from Cornerstone that welcomed me with open arms to serve alongside of them and teach me how to be a missionary.

All of those communities have led me towards this community of Young Adult Missionaries that I am apart of now. I urge everyone to reflect upon the communities of support you have had throughout the years, they are a big part of your journey. And it is, the journey that defines us...

S'mores and Comedy

Subway rides

After a few tries we got a good one!

S'mores???Inside, is that legal?

Elyse and Silly Sarah

Krista, Meg and Elyse

Greg and I with our s'mores

Look at the cute roomies...

Last night we had the night off and we all went in various directions. Meg, Elyse, Krista, Sarah, Greg and I went to an organic restaurant for dinner, then s'mores at Cosi for dessert (it was a nice reminder of Philly) and then we went to the Broadway Comedy Club. It was a blast and hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Meet the Family....and Potter's Field

Finally a Roommate picture!!! This is Elyse the best roommate and friend to have pillow talk!
This is Greg on the long subway ride being silly
Oh Sarah you make me laugh so much!!!
The Family being silly
Fun times with the US-2 Family....dinner...
Sarah and Meg riding the dolphin
The group...L to R...Fawn, Greg, Meg, Me, Elyse, Bonnie, Carolyn, Krista, Alycia, Sarah
Krista and I on the subway


Today we started the day off speaking with Willie Baptist, a former homeless man who is part of the Poor People's Initiative from Union Theological Seminary. He was a great source of knowledge and a wonderful person to hear first hand about the struggle the poor and homeless face. He was challenging the church to MOVE to change this issue and he told us that all great change comes from the church initiating it. I will be writing more on this later. But I wanted to share about an experience we had this afternoon that correlated to this mornings discussion. The picture above is of a sign we left at Potter's Field in NYC on Heart Island. The sign says, "We have come to remember our brothers and sisters who have gone on before us. We recognize them as sacred, now and forever more. Amen". We went to this place because it is where the homeless and "unbefriended" people of NYC are sent each year to be buried. There have been over 600,000 buried there and over 8,000 a year and 1500 of those are infants. We know we need to address this problem, so we began by holding a service for the people buried on Heart Island. You cannot actually get to the island unless you are part of the department of corrections or with this organization that is working to bring justice to this issue http://www.picturethehomeless.org/ . I urge you all to learn more about the injustices that involve the homeless in the US. I have so much to say about this but I need some time to process.

I needed to speak up....

Hand in Hand, we the people of Park Slope United Methodist Church - black and white, straight and gay, old and young, rich and poor - unite as a loving community in covenant with God and the Creation. Summoned by our faith in Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves to the humanization of urban life and to physical and spiritual growth."

-- The PSUMC Creed

Tonight we went to a wonderful church in Brooklyn for a Taize service of silence, prayer and meditative songs. It was wonderful experience. What caught my eye as we entered the church was their creed on the outside of the church. That is what you see above. It just made my day. Some of you might be reading this and do not agree with the creed due to your feelings on homosexuality. I do not mean for this to be a time to argue or disagree. It is something I wanted to share because this Creed is how I feel each church should approach ministry and community. It was refreshing to know that there are churches out there that do. I guess I have been afraid for a long time to speak up for how I feel ministry should be approached because I felt I was younger and did not have a voice or I wanted to avoid confrontation and conflict. Yet today I feel empowered to bring this up and to share how I feel. Today we discussed power and gender in one of our sessions and I decided to take some advice from that. Some days you have to pick your battles but sometimes you just have to stand up for what you believe is right. Today I am standing up, I am using my voice. Not to be a voice of conflict but a voice to cause people to ask the hard questions of why? To open dialogue. To let everyone have a voice at the table. So my opinion is this....

We have no right to judge people, that is God's job. Jesus went into mission and spent time with the marginalized. He went where everyone else would not dare. He embraced every community he came into contact with. I feel he is calling us to do the same. We should not exclude the GLBTQ Community (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, transgender, and queer community) from being in worship and community with us and we should not exclude them from leadership. It is our job to love our neighbor no matter their sexual preference.

Everyone needs a place at the table (and at sunday morning worship), and they need to feel safe and welcomed there.

You might not agree with me, you might be mad at me. I hope you will still accept me in our communities we have made together. I cherish each community I have come into contact with over the years. Let us all learn to be in an open, loving and excepting communities.