Sunday Services

On July 17th of 2011, 16 high schoolers, 3 chaperones, and 3 vehicles full of luggage and supplies made their way down to Denver for a 5-day stint of service, learning, and fun.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a long trek seeing as Fort Collins is only an hour north of Denver, so we didn’t need to stop at all.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to force the youth to switch vans at every stop like we did on the way to Heifer.  There’s nothing like a long car trip for enforced youth group bonding!  However, my back and nerves were quite relieved to spend 22 fewer hours on the road this year.

In spite of my (very) lacking navigational skills and because of the (very) stellar navigation skills of the youth, we arrived safely at the Denver Urban Ministry office on Colfax Avenue.  DenUM is a pretty awesome organization that serves the community in many ways: by handing out food bags, rental assistance, utility assistance, and baby supplies; by offering voice mailboxes, computer access, and resume help to people who are job seeking; and by offering practical assistance in getting people ID’s, giving legal advice, and connecting and referring them to other services in the area.  DenUM also had this really brilliant idea to maximize volunteer power by coordinating service sites for groups doing mission trips, an effort which they call their “Urban Plunge” trips. The purpose behind the Urban Plunge is to offer education about homelessness as well as build relationships between volunteer groups, service organizations, and people in need in the community.

DenUM normally doesn’t organize service projects on Sundays, but they very graciously offered to set some projects up for us.  Since we were only going to be down in Denver for 5 days, we wanted to make use of all the time we had.  We divided into two groups: one stayed at DenUM to pack food bags and one went to Urban Peak, a homeless shelter for teens to prepare and serve lunch.

Assembly-Line Packaging

For the group that stayed at DenUM, teamwork and efficiency were the name of the game: it took our youth about 5 minutes to perfect an assembly-line method for this, and we cranked out a good hundred food bags or so in about an hour.  The result was beautiful to behold (I believe we even had to put together some extra metal shelving in DenUM’s basement to hold all the bags we created).  Incidentally, DenUM gave food to about 13,900 households last year, and I was pleased to hear comments from the youth during debrief that recognized hunger as a shared problem: “Everyone goes through hard times.  It might be me needing help sometime, and I felt good that I could give help to people who need it now.”

If there has been anything good to come out of the economic recession of the past few years, I think it has been a dawning realization in the country that laziness is not generally the reason that people go to get food boxes.  Instead, it often has to do with not being able to find employment or having employment that doesn’t cover all monthly expenses, no matter how much you scrimp and save.  Many of us have realized that we are only one pink slip away from being in a position of seeking help ourselves, and there are no guarantees of job security anymore.

A Shelter for Homeless Teens

The group that went to Urban Peak to serve lunch got to interact directly with some of the homeless youth who were staying there.  Some had been kicked out of their houses–this can be a particular problem for GLBT youth at odds with their parents.  Others had families who were very unstable, with parents in and out of drug rehab or not able to earn enough to pay rent.  Probably the hardest thing for us to see at Urban Peak is that these were teens–it wasn’t their choices that had sent them to the streets.  It was usually family circumstances that they had no control over.  One of the “God moments” that was mentioned in debrief was the effort that the teens at the shelter made to thank all of those who had served lunch.  Again and again, the youth at the shelter came up to let our group know how much they appreciated the meal.  That was humbling.

We, who are so often ungrateful for the things we do have, were confronted with gratitude and graciousness from people who had every right to be angry at the world for the way they had been treated.  Love in the face of injustice is a manifestation of grace, and I saw God’s grace at work in the people we encountered.

A Different Kind of Sunday Service

Following our service at DenUM and Urban Peak, we did another type of service…worship.  At House for All Sinners and Saints, an emerging church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we partook in an experiential type of worship that included a time for response to the sermon with prayer stations, meditation centers, and gratitude messages.  This was a different sort of worship experience for most of our group, but one that gave us some space for thought and prayer.  It was a lovely way to start off the rest of our action-packed week.

Even our time at the host church where we spent the nights was instructive.

Downtown Denver: Home for a Few Days

The church, First Baptist,  was just one of a number of churches around Denver who open their buildings to host DenUM service groups.  We were greeted by Steve, a young man who worked as the caretaker and security guard at the church, which is situated downtown just across from the capitol.  Steve was very concerned about our safety, repeating over and over the importance of locking doors, not triggering his alarm system, and not allowing anyone else into the building.  He also emphasized that he would be doing rounds all night while we slept and that he was armed (with a permit, of course).  We wondered: is it that dangerous downtown at night?  I’m not really sure about the answer to that question, but I do know that, because of First Baptist, a young man with a rough past had a place to sleep and a secure job.  And because of Steve, First Baptist could be assured that no one would disturb their beautiful old building.

It was hot, hot, hot in the building, which made it hard to sleep–air conditioning only ran in one or two rooms, and not the rooms that the boys or the adults slept in.  It’s funny because we do a Sleepout every winter in December to see what life would be like without a heated house, and during July we experienced the opposite problem.

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless: Coordinating Political Advocacy & Practical Assistance

However, during our tour of the city (given by the DenUM staff and focused on seeing the city from the perspective of someone experiencing homelessness), we realized that heat and cold are only two of the major inconveniences suffered by those who have no roof.

Denver Rescue Mission: A Fixture for Services in the Denver Area

Tucked into corners and alcoves, stretched out on benches or slumped in doorways, the people who sleep out in the city are woken often.  They really cannot sleep until the rest of the city goes to sleep because of the noise, the traffic, and people who own, work at, or worship in the places that they try to sleep.  When they do finally get to sleep, they may be roused by a member of the police.  They must wake early or be yelled at by people who don’t want their doorsteps blocked.  Then there is the problem of food and of belongings.  What to do with extra clothing or other personal items during the day?  There is no permanent place to leave them.  And without being able to keep food refrigerated, it’s quite difficult to maintain any level of nutrition, not to mention the lack of access to basic kitchen items like stove, microwave, can opener, or knife. Then there’s the question of basic sanitation–bathroom, shower, sink.

"God, give me eyes to see and ears to hear others as you see and hear them. May I be the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in the world. Amen."

If I could reduce all of DenUM’s lessons down to one point, it would be that of seeing: seeing the city from a different perspective, seeing people who are homeless in a different way, seeing my own response to need as indicative of my respect for other people, seeing myself as a fellow pilgrim on the journey, no more and no less than anyone else in this life.

Getting Down and Dirty

For our final service project of the year before the mission trip, we chose to stay close to home…really close to home.  See, Plymouth has been working on a Memorial Garden for several years now.  The church wanted to have a place to commemorate those who have died, a quiet place to pray and meditate, a place to inter ashes or place memorial stones.

The high school youth, after sleeping over at a lock-in the night before, got to be part of the landscaping crew for the day (incidentally, I had never realized just how high the ratio of rock to Colorado soil is).  Not only did we get wonderfully dirty, we got to see how the garden will shape up.  Stage 2 involves a labyrinth, which the youth are looking forward to using…and maybe helping to build!

If you haven’t gotten to look at the Memorial Garden yet, you should check it out!  And while you’re at it, check out the perennials on the western side closest to the church…they represent my first-ever attempt at using a post hole digger.

Those Infamous Perennials

The Mulching Crew

Post Hole Exhaustion

I know that it has been some time since I’ve updated this blog, but be prepared for some interesting reading ahead.  Up next: the July mission trip to Denver Urban Ministries!  I promise to be a little more beforehand with this next post.

In the meantime, feel free to leave comments about your favorite part of Plymouth’s recent work on the buildings and grounds.  Personally, I love the solar tubes in my office!

Memorial Garden Master Plan

2010 Clothing the Cold, Warming the World

Plymouth UCC Clothing the Cold, Warming the World 2010

“Wait.  You sleep outside? In Colorado? In December?”

“You’re crazy.”

“Outside?  Why?”

“The youth group does what? Really?  That’s pretty cool…or, er…cold.”

“But it’s, like, 10 degrees out there!”

“Well good luck with that.”

“That’s pretty amazing!”

Oh, yes.  We get all kinds of comments about our annual Sleepout event.  This year’s was the 6th we’ve ever done, and it was the largest one as well.  The youth group kids (and their fearless leaders) sleep outside for 1 night to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness in our community and raise donation money for homelessness prevention.

“The evening was really cold, but really rewarding and meaningful.  My favorite part about the sleepout is contributing to my community with some of my favorite people.  I participate in the sleepout because i want to end homelesseness in Fort Collins and the world! Think globally, act locally, one issue at a time.” ~Heidi

The thing about homelessness is that we all have stereotypes and assumptions.  I, personally, always thought that I was well-informed about the issue…after all, I knew better than to assume that people were poor because they were lazy!  But since working with the annual Plymouth youth Sleepout, I’ve learned a lot more about homelessness in our area.

Assembling our shelters for the night

Did you know that, in Larimer County alone, we have a Food Bank that feeds over 30,000 individuals in need each year?

We also have over 800 children in the Poudre School District alone who are homeless.

50% of adults in shelters in Fort Collins work.

You have to make at least $14.00 per hour here to afford a 2-bedroom apartment or $27.00 per hour to afford an average house.

“Homelessness” includes couch-surfing, sleeping at relatives’ houses, moving from shelter to shelter, and living in one’s car.  It means that you don’t have a stable place to return to each night.  And there are many more people in Fort Collins who experience this type of homelessness than we might think…at least 3,000 people in our town live this way.

Donation Table

Donations, please?

The really cool thing, I think, is that our youth are aware of this and speaking out about it.  They sleep out once a year in order to fight against this problem.  This year, they raised over $12,000 for the Homelessness Prevention Initiative (HPI), a local non-profit that offers rental assistance to prevent families from becoming homeless.  According to Sue Beck-Ferkiss, HPI’s Executive Dir., an average of $250 in rental assistance saves the city around $5,000 in emergency room, shelter, temporary housing, and rehabilitation costs that it would spend if that family did become homeless.

“I sleep out because I want to make a difference in our community. By sleeping out I feel like I raise awareness and supplies for people who are struggling expecially around winter and the holidays.” ~Lily

Our youth believe in this cause, and they help not only by sleeping out, but by assisting with the planning, contacting the media and politicians to speak at the event, and inviting youth from other churches  and congregations to participate:

All the youth eat together

Northern CO Jewish Youth
St. Joseph’s Catholic Parish
St. John XXIII Catholic Parish
Heart of the Rockies
Congregation Har Shalom
Shepherd of the Hills ELCA
Unity Church
Fort Collins Friends
FC Mennonite Fellowship

It’s pretty cool, isn’t it, that so many youth can come together from so many different churches for a unifying cause?

“It was sooooo fun and a great learning experience, and it was awesome to see so many youth from various religious backgrounds coming together for one cause that is so essential to the well being of the Fort Collins community. I participate because I love to see people from different schools and faiths come together, it’s fun, and I always love to see how much money and supplies we are able to provide for people facing homelessness in Fort Collins.” ~Jonah

Sister Mary Alice Murphy lights the Hanukkah candle

At the vigil

Perhaps my favorite moment at the Sleepout was during the vigil.  The vigil is an annual part of the Sleepout, when we have politicians and local homelessness activists speak and all Sleepout participants contribute a piece of the vigil from their faith background.  During the portion of the service led by the Jewish youth, they brought out a menorah, since it was the second night of Hanukkah.  They asked Sister Mary Alice Murphy, a revered, long-time homelessness advocate, to light the candle.  This is, perhaps, the only time that a Catholic Sister has lit a Jewish Hanukkah candle at a Protestant church.  Lovely!!!  And symbolic of the care and power present when people unite around a life-or-death issue.

Aside from the money raised and the cooperation experienced, one of the most rewarding aspects of the Sleepout for me is to watch how it changes the awareness of our youth.  “I regularly argue about homelessness at school,” Alison told me once.  “Some of the other students have so many misconceptions about homelessness, but I just tell them about all the statistics about homelessness and how many homeless people work or go to school.”

An inside look

Brrr!

I have also watched our youth become more and more excited about mission and service because of the start that they get at the Sleepout.  We will be heading to Denver Urban Ministries this summer to help out in homeless shelters, low-income day cares, soup kitchens, and senior centers.  The youth are educated about the issues and ready to go help first hand.

One of my youth pastor friends in LA told me that he tried to get his youth group to sleep out in boxes.  They refused.  “We can’t sleep outside in a box!” they said.  “That’s crazy!”

So, are we crazy?  Probably!  But in the best way possible.

And yes, it is 10 degrees out there.  But we endure only one night, whereas many people live on the streets for years.  And in the end, what we are able to accomplish IS pretty amazing!

Upsetting the Applecart

 

Just a few of the apples we picked!

 

Okay, I know the title was a very bad pun, but I think it works as a little metaphor, too.  Hear me out:

Two weeks ago, I got a call from a woman who had her house on the market.  She said she had trees laden with luscious apples, but she wasn’t around to pick them, and she didn’t want them to go to waste.  Her hope was that a youth group could pick them and use them to bake apple crisps for a mission trip fundraiser.

I loved this idea.  And I thought, “Why not go a step further?  No need to keep a bounteous harvest to ourselves!  If we pick enough apples, we can use some for a bake sale and donate some to a place that serves meals to hungry people!”

 

Crunchy and delicious (and scary?)

 

Despite the terrifying picture of our rambunctious youth on ladders wielding clippers and pickers, we forged ahead (I am still thanking God that no one fell off a ladder…but then, I tend to be a rather worried youth leader who imagines all sorts of melodramatic incidents occurring to the youth she loves).  The really funny thing (please, imagine this scenario in your mind) is that, by the time we got to the house, it was completely dark, and, of course, there was no one home because the house is waiting to be sold.

 

Holding the bucket for Cam

 

We stumbled into the dark backyard with all our accoutrement, blithely assuring the neighbors, “It’s okay!  We’re supposed to be here to get the apples!”  With the assistance of headlamps (and looking a bit like coal miners), we set up some spotlights and squinted up at the branches to see hundreds of apples waiting for us.

 

Our tree-climbing wonder

 

Abby scaled the trees like a monkey (if there were an Olympic tree-climbing sport, I’d nominate her promptly), Aaron balanced precariously on top of a ladder, Cam dropped apples into the bucket I was holding on my head, Katie and Emily found the abandoned hammock, Oliver and Amy proved lethal (to the apples, not to us) with the extended clippers, and Nathan realized that Amanda would scream whenever he threw rotten apples at her.  So much fun and hilarity ensued, and before long, we found ourselves the proud harvesters of multiple bins and bags of apples.

 

The Mission run by Catholic Charities

 

The next day, I took several bags of apples to The Mission, run by Catholic Charities.  The Mission is an emergency shelter, housing up to 40 people, that used to serve supper and breakfast but has now expanded to include lunch as well.  Plymouth has long had a relationship with The Mission and sends members to serve lunch there one Sunday a month.  In fact, the high schoolers will be going during the Sunday School hour on 10/17 to serve the meal.

I don’t know if The Mission’s cooks baked our apples into pies and crisps or left apples out for people to take, but I was happy to know that the fruits of our labor (literally) were going to people who would enjoy them.

 

The Mission's dining area

 

As for our youth group, we will spend a sticky and delicious 2 hours this evening slicing, packaging, and freezing loads of apples (and hey, if some get eaten along the way, who will ever know?).  Plymouth, be prepared for a reappearance of these apples at the Alternative Giving Fair bake sale…

 

Our apple-picking strikes me as a prayer (action can be prayer!) that reflects the words of the "Johnny Appleseed Blessing."

 

And all of this brings me back to my original thought about the applecart.  Sometimes I despair because I can’t change the world…  But this week, I thought that maybe doing good for others just involves seeing beyond ourselves.  I mean, nothing that happened these last two weeks is world-changing or dramatic.  First, it was a community member looking beyond her own interests to think about sharing what she had with a church instead of letting her apples go to waste.  Then it was a youth leader thinking beyond the benefit to her youth group to share what we had with The Mission.  In a few months, during the Alternative Giving Fair, it will be people from Plymouth who buy baked goods, housewares, coffees, and clothing as gifts, thinking about where the gift comes from in addition to who its going to.

That’s the kind of thinking that does upset the applecart because it focuses beyond the narrow vision we usually have and asks how we can expand our circles.  When we start expanding our circles to include more than just ourselves, our families, and our friends, we start to make our everyday choices ones that positively impact the world.

Join us on November 21st from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. to buy fair trade gifts, food, and housewares.  Expand your circle and upset the applecart!

 

Last year's Alternative Giving Fair announcement. Note: this year's will be on Nov. 21st!

 

The Body of Christ

Our most recent service project involved rather a lot of sticky hands and delicious aromas.

We decided to make bread to take to some of the homebound members of our congregation.  These are folks that have a difficult time making it to Sunday morning service–whether because of health, mobility, or driving issues.  It’s good to remember that they are still members of Plymouth’s community (and many have been members of Plymouth’s community for many, many years).  I know that homebound members support Plymouth, too, through prayer, giving, and blessed interaction with various members of the congregation.  It’s good to be able to give back to them!

We mixed the dough on Thursday night at Youth Group (more or less successfully, due to some measuring difficulties with certain batches…not naming any names, of course). Incidentally, it is pretty much amazing that out of 4 ingredients

water

yeast

salt

flour

comes a hearty, crusty loaf of carb-loaded goodness!  Sometimes the simple things in life…that we tend to overlook or take for granted…are the biggest miracles.

After mixing the dough, we let it rise while having a communion service together.  The talented and learned Rev. Sharon Benton presided over our bread and wine (hamburger buns…since the bread we had intended took longer to bake than expected…and Sharon’s good bottle of wine…since the deacons had run out of the tradition Plymouth Mogen David jug wine).  She told us the story of the first communion:

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NIV)

Sharon even did the traditional Hebrew blessing (the one Jesus would have done) over the bread (translation: : Blessed art Thou, LORD our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth):

As we served each other the bread and wine, Sharon also taught us the Jewish toast: L’Chaim!  To life!

On Sunday morning, during Sunday School, we baked the bread (yes, tantalizing the congregation with delicious bread-baking smells) and then delivered it (still warm) to members of Plymouth.  It was very satisfying all around!!!!

We  delivered the body of Christ and were the body of Christ to the body of Christ.

And if that’s not a theological conundrum, I don’t know what is.

Investing in the Food Bank

One of the projects we knew we should do over the summer was working at the Larimer County Food Bank.  While individuals can volunteer anytime, if you want to volunteer as a group, they have a very specific time for you to come: Friday afternoon from 1-3.  Now, since that’s impossible during the school year, this had to be a summer project.

At the very end of July, seven of us headed over the Food Bank to help out however we were needed.  They put us to work right away sealing bread donations in individual bags so that families could pick up what they needed.  We discovered that WholeFoods and Panera Bread generously donate their leftovers to the Food Bank so that their food doesn’t go to waste.  I don’t know about you, but I love hearing about businesses with a conscience!

Aside from bagging bread, we also separated taquitos (excess donated from the school lunch program) into family-sized portions and assembled snack bags of rice cakes for the Food Bank’s Kids’ Cafe program.

The really wonderful thing about going to the Food Bank or helping with other service projects around town is that it gives us a chance to see how various groups in our community are responding to the needs of the world.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the need out there, but there is good reason to have hope, especially when we see the efforts of so many businesses, churches, organizations, and individuals come together at a place like the Food Bank that feeds 30,000 people per year.

bagging bread & pastries

halfway through

We got to be one very, very small part of that larger picture.

Some facts about those whom the Food Bank serves (for more, see the section on the Food Bank’s website Hunger 101):

• “According to Hunger in America 2010, the Food Bank for Larimer County is serving 30,000 unduplicated clients annually – a 55 percent increase since 2006 – through its emergency food programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters.”
• “The average food recipient in Larimer County who participated in Hunger in America 2010 is a married 30-49 year old Caucasian female who is a high school graduate and has 2-3 people in her household.”
• “49% of the households who receive groceries through the Food Bank include at least one working adult.”
• “1 in 5 children do not have access to enough food to meet their nutritional needs on a regular basis.”

So often, we have assumptions about what the “face” of poverty or hunger looks like.  And yet…as Jesus says, “The poor will always be among you.” And it is true: looking at these statistics, we realize that those who are hungry are literally among us.

Paying It Forward

Wow!  It’s been quite a long time since I’ve posted.  Well, I’m going to try to be more regular about it because this is one creative part of my job that I love.  In any case, we can chalk the long silence up to a very busy August getting ready for school and Sunday School to start.

The Burrito Standard

The good news is: WE’RE BACK!!!!!!!!  Our first youth group meeting will be today (Thursday, 9/2).  The youth council has been planning some verrrry exciting things to do this year, with a big emphasis on service and mission.

“So how is youth group different than a social club or a service club?” I asked at our first-ever Plymouth Youth Council meeting.  “I mean, why do you come here instead of just going to Key Club or hanging out with friends?”

“Because here we have the whole burrito,” one of the youth replied.  The rest agreed that youth group offers the many things they love and need in one package.

And that is how the Youth Council at Plymouth ended up creating a mission picture instead of a mission statement.  Everyone chimed in about the necessary components for a youth group burrito:

tortilla = sacred space (time/space where everyone comes together)
meat = the people
black, kidney, navy, or pinto beans = an open welcome (we welcome all beans)
lettuce = faith, which keeps us fresh and grounded
cheese = friendship, love, community, which makes everything good
salsa = variety, the spice of life (variety of opinions, personalities, and activities)

The Burrito Standard has been set…the question now is: Are we meeting the Burrito Standard? (I wrote about the Burrito Standard for Plymouth’s monthly newsletter, and you can read the rest of my article here: Sept10 Placard Article).

Night-Time Volleyball

Well, the final youth activities of the summer DO seem to have met the Burrito Standard.  One of the coolest ones was hosting a lock-in for a youth group from Billerica, Massachusetts.  This group was headed home after a mission trip on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.  Our youth welcomed them– remembering the open welcome for all beans– for a night, which offered plenty of salsa (a variety of people and activities).  They stayed at our church, and the next morning, our intrepid adult chaperone, Meg, drove them up to Rocky Mountain National Park to experience some Colorado mountains–I consider both the church and the mountains a lot of tortilla (sacred space).

Our Massachusetts Friends Enjoy RMNP!

The cheese (fellowship, community) that we all experienced together made everything good!  And we sort of got to pay back the wonderful Wichita church (University Congregational) that hosted our youth group by paying the welcome forward.

Passing on the Experience

The youth did an amazing job of sharing their reflections on the trip!  There were some great insights about trying to live more sustainably (Tait), coming together as community (Courtney), understanding that people in poverty struggling for survival have no time or space to develop their potential (Kalli), how it’s one thing to “know” about poverty and another to actually feel what it would be like (Rachel), and, of course, how the bugs in Arkansas are approximately 23 x larger than any we have here in CO (Taylor).

By popular request, here’s an embedded version of the slideshow of our trip that we showed at the church service:

In case you weren’t able to make it to the service, here are the reflections that I shared:

As Jesus sent the 12 disciples out, ”He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. ⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.”

Imagine—one of the disciples leaves Jesus.  He wanders down the road or around the countryside for a while, getting hot, tired, and hungry, and maybe wondering why the heck Jesus hadn’t let him at least bring some bread!  After a bit of walking, he finally finds a cluster of houses and asks to stay with someone in that town.

Because he has no supplies of his own, he doesn’t just enter the house of those he’s staying with.  He enters their lives.  He fully shares in the business of living: sleeping in the same house—probably the same room, waking at the same time as everyone else—his laundry goes in the family wash pile and his food is prepared and eaten as part of the family meals.

It seems to me that this is the most powerful part of a retreat or a youth trip, and it proved to be the most powerful part of our trip to Heifer.  Twenty-two of us—some who were complete strangers before the trip—shared daily life together for 7 days. We ate together, woke together, shared meaningful experiences—like the Overnight Village—and seemingly-trivial experiences—like forty-something hours of van riding.  And all of those shared moments magically added up to community, as we enjoyed one another’s company, and drove each other crazy, and tried to be gracious to each other in the midst of close quarters and little sleep.

This, I think, is a perfect metaphor for the work of Heifer International. Heifer starts a project in a town or village by first getting the entire community on board.  As the people of the village learn together about animal husbandry and sustainable farming, they share meaningful experiences and life events. The town becomes a community of people committed to each other in the ups—and downs—of life.

We are often very good at embracing causes or giving money, and these are good and necessary things.  But as the disciples experienced so long ago, ministry often happens in relationships. It can’t just happen once a week on Sunday morning when we all look and act our best.  It happens continuously, as we build relationships by serving on committees together, sharing in fellowship groups, going to the Navajo reservation to do mission work, teaching Sunday School together, offering each other prayer shawls or visits.

In the midst of our causes and our busy lives, may we remember to share life with one another and with those we work to help…let us remember what we learned as we traveled together to Arkansas. Let us remember, as Heifer does, to help build community and give of ourselves in relationships.  Let us eat together, argue together, forgive one another, be gracious to one another, and, above all, love one another.  Amen.

I’ve also posted the slideshow video on the Plymouth UCC website, so you can view it there.  Incidentally, while you’re on the church website, check out the cool link that Hal made for this youth blog.  It’s on the bottom right corner of the home page!

As a side note, I’ve just discovered that Heifer has an Official Heifer International Blog!  Check it out!  Pretty cool, huh?

The Long Answer

(My article for Plymouth’s monthly newsletter–Placard July 2010–is a summary of the posts about our mission trip if you prefer short and to-the-point…otherwise, read below for more extensive details of the trip. I’ve posted in order of how the trip went, so if you want to read chronologically, scroll to the bottom and work your way up.)

our last...

...work day...

...at Heifer

At church two Sundays ago, I was standing with a few of our youth who participated in the mission trip to Heifer Ranch in Arkansas.  Several of our involved and interested church members came up and asked us about the trip. What did you learn?  What did you do?

The feelings that I had at that moment were reflected in the faces of the youth: How can I put into words all that happened on the trip?

I’ve had this experience more than once since that Sunday.  I’ve had this experience on many other trips as well.  My friends or family members ask me about the trip.  There is, of course, the long answer that covers all of the significant events that took place, but that’s often too much for a brief conversation at church or on the phone.

And yet…it’s hard to give a short answer.  Whatever you say about a meaningful experience seems to sell it short.  But no matter what answer you choose to give–short or long–the expereince must somehow be shared because a meaningful week like the one we had at Heifer should be more than just a good memory.  It should spur us to action and interaction.  The youth know this.  I know this.  And so we will try to put words to it.

In some ways, this blog is my “long answer.”  It’s the best way to invite others into a better understanding of how the week went (partly because pictures often speak so much more eloquently than words).  But some of you will probably want to hear more…or to hear it in a voice different than my own.

That is why we are inviting you to join us on July 11th at Plymouth’s 9 a.m. service.  We will have a slideshow of some pictures from the trip, and the youth and other chaperones will share some of their observations and reflections.  We are hopeful that this time of sharing will convey some of what we learned and some of the ways in which the trip was meaningful to us.

Coming Back

Kissing the Camel

Of course, there were some last minute things to finish before we left.  We had to clean and pack, say our good-byes, and take lots of last minute pictures.  And obviously, we could not leave without visiting the camels, who are happy to kiss you if you happen to be holding an apple between your lips.

Having finished all of these important tasks, we sadly climbed into the vans and waved good-bye to Heifer Ranch (though the humidity and chiggers were not-so-sorely missed).  The way home seemed even longer than the way to Heifer, maybe because we were all so tired, but the drivers were able to rotate a bit, so it was less of a strain.  There was some sleeping and much silliness in the van as we drove back to Wichita to spend the night at University Congregational again.

some sleeping

much silliness

When we got to the Wichita church, we discovered that provisions had been made for a lock-in with the UCC youth there (and, thankfully, provisions had been made for all drivers to sleep while the Wichita parents stayed awake!).  We played capture the flag, ultimate frisbee, and dress-up (apparently the Wichita youth room had a hiterto-undiscovered stash of amazingly tacky costumes).

hitherto undiscovered costume closet

Paul, the Birthday King

We also celebrated Paul’s birthday (17!) with some delectable ice cream cake.All in all, our stay in Wichita was as comfortable and welcoming as the University Congregation Church could make it, and we were very grateful for their generous hospitality.

Upon our return to Fort Collins, we were greeted with 55 degree weather and a light drizzle–a dramatic change from the steamy air in Arkansas!  It was with great regret that we all said good-bye, cleaned out the vans, and went our separate ways.

a final group photo upon our return