Sisters Mercy and Shalom came to Fall Conference with students from all around Puget Sound area. The conference theme was about inviting people in the margins into the center of God's love and the story of Jesus. Many students at Pierce College know what it's like to be on the margins- international students (especially those who struggle with English), single moms, students with disabilities, and students of color.
Ginger, Nasiphi, Shalom, Mercy, Sarah, baby Rosa and Rebekah.
Dinner parties are a helpful way for students who don't have any spare cash to get to contribute their skills and love for the campus. Ginger's fundraising pays for the groceries, but students can plan the meals and serve their community. Below, Sarah and Michelle made an all-American meal for the international students- casseroles, salad, and cream-cheese/chocolate pudding pie.
Below, a big group for dinner at African Night, when we had food from several different countries.
InterVarsity Staff and Black Lives Matter
Ginger joined InterVarsity Staff part time this year. (Last year she was just a volunteer). She's grateful for extra training and community. She took a trip to Texas for the International Student Ministries staff conference. Below, her small group: Mari, Ginger, Zalmai, Jade, Tim and Martha.
Staff Regionals (Washington, Oregon and Idaha) meets every December at the peaceful retreat center near Spokane.
Some of the Puget Sound staff team, from left- Christian, Marky, Ginger, Nick, Tasha, Felicia, Benita, Allison, Sarah and Marshae.
InterVarsity has been participating in the Black Lives Matter movement, with vigils and mourning services. (More info- Ginger's pinterest board.) Below, a staff reflection project to grieve with the black community in America.
Ashley's slideshow for reflection:
Ellen Lo Hoffman asked me to make a slideshow for an InterVarsity event she was speaking at last night. Putting this video together was an act of prayer in a time when my own words fail me. #BlackLivesMatter I also want to include what Ellen wrote: "...I spoke on the intersection of Justice and Intercession and then we spent time interceding on behalf of Black male youth in our country. We prayed in Jesus name to bind the lies that our society and the enemy have spoken over the Black male community: Criminal, violent, fear, worth less, unseen, humiliation, hopeless, suspicious, death and many others. Then listened for the narrative that God speaks over them. It was beautiful and profound as students heard these words from God and prayed them into being: Beautiful, full of life, beloved, family, WORTHY, made in My image, thriving, hope, justice, freedom, courageous. I was most moved by a black student who shared in prayer that she realized that just as Michael Brown's body lay in the street for 4.5 hours as a spectacle for all to watch, that Jesus too, was killed and left as a spectacle to be mocked. Jesus not only cares about the injustice they are suffering, he fully identifies with it. I invite you, as you watch this, to intercede for God's narrative over the Black community. And let it write a new narrative on our hearts as well."(Disclaimer: I found most of these images randomly on the internet, and make no claims of ownership. The music used is a combination of Donny Hathaway singing "Someday We'll All Be Free" and Kirk Whalum's instrumental rendition of the same song)
One way Ginger implemented this at Pierce College was an outreach "proxe station." Proxes ask students questions, gives them a chance to respond, and an invitation to hear about Jesus on a topic. This proxe was created for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Ginger modified it to include Mike Brown in September. Students put stickers on the board to mark events in history- which event brings you desolation? Which event gives you encouragement? and, what do you think about racial relations in the US today? We shared a story about Jesus fighting injustice and gave students Hope Bios to take home about Christians who have worked for social justice across history.
Even asking, "which event is encouraging to you?" could be a hard question. One of the black students told a story about how exciting it was when Obama was elected president during the first year he got to vote. However, he felt embarrassed admitting it, because it wasn't socially acceptable for a conservative Christian to rejoice in the elecetion of a democrat.
Several students helped with the three outreaches over the course of the school year. Shalom, Ira and Harold ask students, "What are you thirsty for?" with options: Love, Success, Fun or Purpose
Then Sequoia and Harold helped with the Heart Makeover proxe, one of Ginger's favorites! We'd done it at Texas Tech and Rhode Island College. What do you wish you could change about your heart? What does it take to change a heart?
Talking about Jesus:
One of the best parts of staff work this spring has been having the partenership of other Tacoma staff, Nick and Felicia. We've been meeting to plan and pray about once a week, and have plans for how we can help each other next year, plus plant an additional community college in our area.
InterVarsity Community Service
Spring brought some opportunities for community service. We got to help at the community service project sponsored by the Family Farm, run by the Helles (former owner at Absher Construction.) Harold, Ginger and Sarah filled bags of dried vegetables, soy, and rice for Feed my Starving Children.
Nick and Ginger did a quick proxe in the rain at the UWT campus to invite students to a 24 hour project at the local shelters.
Kimmy and Ginger walking around Tacoma to reflect on the weekend, right, Martha serving food at the women and children's shelter at 5:30 am.
The weekend team from three different campuses, plus Scott, an InterVarsity director of Urban programs (summer missions within the US). Pierce students included Kimmy, Sarah, Martha and Jenny (far right)
Along with students from UPS and UWT (the campuses of my ministry partners), four Pierce students took at 24 hour "dip" into Urban Missions this spring. We stayed overnight at the Tacoma Women and Children's Shelter, then most of the day at the Men's Shelter. We served food, cleaned, read bedtime stories to kids (Ginger's favorite part!), sorted donation clothes, and ate meals with and talked with the residents.
We studied Mark 1:38-45 about Jesus healing a leper. Shame is a big communication barrier. We are seeing people at their lowest, and that power imbalence makes it hard to show love. Students were encouraged not to take it personally if someone conveys a lack of trust. We haven't had time to earn it. We took a service posture as a way to show love. Several of my students are naturally good at developing relationships. A new student, Kimmy, spent all her time with a single mom and exchanged contact info at the end of the weekend so she can help with babysitting.
Several men in the drug abuse program gave testimonies. They are part of a faith-based, year long program. The students were moved by the story of a young man who has only been there two months, but whose life was changed primarily in having a community of brothers who supported and looked out for him. He said quitting drugs was the small part- it's harder to quit trying to prove his "manhood," and admit that he's a child of God who needs to be taught. His humility and honesty were freeing.
Conversations about poverty are not new to some students. While we discussed what it's like to live in a shelter, two students shared that they had. Another bounced around between different homes as a child, and another was often shamed at school for her poverty, both by other students and by teachers.
As usual, Ginger uses scholarship money to send students on retreats, as even $20 is a prohibitive cost for most. Thank you for supporting students and giving them the opportunity to make more out of their college experience! You can donate to Pierce Student Scholarships here. (Search for Pierce Community Scholarships) We'll have a weekend retreat in the fall, and there is one student registering for Urbana.
See more photos in this facebook album
No comments:
Post a Comment