Investment

Investment  in  

FAMILY

EDUCATION

RELATIONSHIPS

THE GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY

(INCLUDING THE SCHOOLS)

is essential.

We raise up this blessing:

Dear Lord,

We thank you for Jesus's work upon the cross. 

We thank you for your Holy Spirit.

We pray that we invest ALL in you.

We raise up our families, education, relationships, and the Grand Rapids community to You.

We will continually lift these up to You.

We pray that we will not cast our treasures upon the earth but above.

We thank you for the callings you have placed on our lives.

We pray that we invest into all that you have for us in these callings, and that your children may be reached and cared for.

We pray for open ears to hear Your Voice at ALL times,

 not just to strain our ears in trying times.

We pray for Your Kingdom to come quickly.

We pray for Shalom.

In Jesus's Holy name, 

AMEN.

Nikita Miner

Academically Based Service-Learning

Literature,  Language, and the  Arts

Streetfest '09: Serving and Learning About Grand Rapids in an Attitude of Humility

From Thursday, September 3rd to Saturday, September 5th, over a thousand new students participated in Streetfest 09, serving the community of Grand Rapids. Some of them have lived in this city their whole lives, some have not even got their heads around the Calvin College circle, let alone the greater community. However, we, (the staff in the Service-Learning Center) have received immensely positive feedback and reflections from the new students, the student leaders and the participating agencies regarding their service and learning process during StreetFest.

Amazed by the things we heard, we are reminded of what it means to be humble in our service to the community. These various jobs that these students accomplished may only have a short-term effect to the different communities, but they surely showed the students the needs of the different communities within Grand Rapids, and what they can do in small ways to address these needs. One thing that surprised me was that even the students on the biking tour of the city, who didn’t provide any hands-on service with the agencies, came to appreciate the city in many ways (my colleague and I ourselves learned a lot about what has happened to Grand Rapids downtown recently driving along and getting lost at times). Though more than half of the new students on the bike tour were from the Grand Rapids area, they all learned a lot about the city by riding through many parts of the city that they had never been to and speaking with people that they normally would not have spoken with. There was one guy that approached us as we stopped near the Calvin Art studio at 106 S. Division. At first, most of us thought he was going to ask for money, but he actually just wanted to talk to us and to wish us well as we continued the tour. As Professor De Graaf , the bike tour leader, expressed in the reflection afterwards, we do not know how such a high point of our day can come from the least expected situations. Such experience also reminds us as students to be humble toward the people whom we serve, and encourages us to get involved with the greater Grand Rapids community.

As we say good-bye to StreetFest and begin our new academic school year, the challenge of “walking humbly” remains. Our hope is that the students will take away that humble attitude as they serve and explore the city of Grand Rapids.

One great thing that is happening this Friday September 18th from 8:00am to 5:00pm is Park(ing) Day. The Service-Learning Center is joining the Off-Campus Programs office in reserving two parking spots downtown to raise awareness about transportation options in the city and to encourage students to continue to get involved with the city.
Check out the links below to learn more about Park(ing) Day and don’t forget to visit us this Friday. http://www.grand-rapids.mi.us/index.pl?page_id=10304

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhvp_d4HZrE