Agency

Last week our summer student staff met with the summer orientation staff for one of our regular professional development sessions. The topic was the Reformed Identity of Calvin College, which was established from the beginning as “messy.” One of the foci of our conversation was the question of our agency in the process of redemption, something about which Calvin’s vision statement makes some claim when it says that “Through our learning, we seek to be agents of renewal in the academy, church and society.”

This got me thinking about what it is that we hope for students who go out into the communities of this city/country/world to do service-learning. To what degree are these people agents for God’s redemption in a broken world in the short time they spend serving there? In the four years I’ve worked professionally in the Service-Learning Center, this question has been a compelling one that I come back to perennially. One of the keys here, I think, is the phrase “Through our learning…” which qualifies our claim of agency.

So, what does this mean for students who might spend an afternoon stocking a food pantry for StreetFest? Or a week encountering the complexity of coal mining’s impact on Appalachian communities? Or a semester tutoring an English language learner at an urban elementary school? Or many hours interviewing community members for an ethnographic study in Peru?

My hope is that at the conclusion of each student’s experience, they might view their situation through a lens of shalom. Imagine what this place would look like in the fullness of God’s kingdom. Each person encountered would be living an abundant life, expressing their unique giftedness as an image-bearer of God. Relationships would be restored in such a way that each interaction contributes to the other’s flourishing. The flora, fauna, and built environment would all declare the glory of God. True shalom will be even greater than we could possibly hope or imagine.

But our communities are far from this vision of shalom. They are broken, fallen. Comparing our actual experience to the kingdom can help illuminate further questions: Has my service done anything to alleviate the brokenness here? How are people and organizations working towards renewal? How does the sin that affects all of my daily actions (and inactions) contribute to the brokenness I’ve seen? What is my agency in the fallenness of our world?

We trust that in spite of overwhelming brokenness in the world, Jesus Christ has power over sin. Through his resurrection, he will prevail in the redemption of this world. We may feel powerless, on a tiny boat about to capsize amidst torrential downpours, hurricane force winds and monstrous waves. But if we lift our eyes in search of the horizon hidden behind the storm, we may see a ghostly figure amidst the squall. That person, who with a word from his lips can command the rain to subside, the wind to cease, and the waves to still, beckons us to step out of our boat and walk towards him through the storm.

It is not in our own power to walk on water or to calm the storm, but with the power of the risen king behind us, we can step towards shalom.
-Noah

Blessed to Be a Blessing

‘Blessed to be a blessing’ is a quote that I love. I heard it at church over the summer and continue to find it more and more true in my life. And even though StreetFest 2011 wrap-up is officially complete as of October, 1, I will not soon forget this summer and how amazingly blessed I am to have had the opportunity to be a blessing to others in just a small way. For a short time following StreetFest, it was hard to see the positive outcomes. The evaluations that
flooded in were encouraging at times, but also discouraging at others- seeing what went bad, what didn’t run smoothly, what could have gone better, and so on.


BUT, Just a few days ago, a transfer student stopped in the office and asked me how he could get involved with StreetFest next year!! A transfer student! Who liked StreetFest! Who now wants to get involved! Ahh!!! This just about made my day. Ok not even just about, it DID make my day. Some days, the awesomeness of what was StreetFest 2011 still catches me off guard.

Anyways… this run-in was just one more reminder for me of how the work we do isn’t really about us and what we get from it, but rather it’s about inspiring other people to get involved – and that THAT is the best outcome. In the big picture things won't always go perfectly, and there will always be people who don’t enjoy StreetFest, but what’s more important and trumps all of that is that some people actually DO like it, or maybe even love it! Those stories are the ones that make all the work worth it, because in the long run it’s about helping people find the ‘on-ramp’ to the highway of living as a lifelong service-learner. That's what we do here at the Service-Learning Center and I will forever be glad to do so.

Now and always I am be blessed to be a blessing.

What about you?

Emily

Reflection on the StreetFest Theme 2010

“How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
‘Your God reigns!"

The theme for StreetFest this year is “Beautiful Feet” which is derived from the verse Isaiah 52:7. The passage describes the beauty of the feet of those who proclaim peace, bring good tidings, proclaim salvation, and praise the reign of God. The theme “Beautiful feet” was chosen for two reasons. First, we wish to urge students to develop beautiful feet, by proclaiming good news and working towards peace in their communities. And second, and more importantly, urging the students to recognize and show gratitude towards the people in the Grand Rapids community who have beautiful feet.

People with beautiful feet are those who have a willing heart and have taken action in pursuing service to their community. These people are walking in the mud of a community garden, the cement slabs of a city block or the overgrown grasses of abandoned homes. People with beautiful feet are those who work in the desolate areas, the developing and the crowded areas of the world.

People with beautiful feet see the potential of neighbors gathering in the community garden to plant fruits and vegetables, see the cement slabs of city blocks as canvases for local artist and children to draw on, and see the community pulling its resources together to revitalize overgrown grasses of abandoned homes.

We hope that StreetFest students will catch a glimpse of people with Beautiful Feet and see the harmony of Grand Rapids communities, so that they may be inspired to recognize their place in this community and develop beautiful feet of their own.

We at Calvin College’s Service-Learning Center thank all of the organizations of Grand for your commitment to service and to the beautification of the city of Grand Rapids, we thank you for seeing this world as redeemable and taking steps to bring about peace. You have beautiful feet.

Christina Crider

Transition 10: Being Reminded of How to Walk Humbly

On Saturday, January 30th, we as staffs of the Service-Learning Center were blessed to be able to spend our days serving and learning with the new and transferred students of Transition 2010. Though this day was in many ways a much smaller scale of Streetfest Day, we were glad to see the same excitement and willingness from the students to learn and serve as those came in the fall.

The students were given a more detailed presentation of the city of Grand Rapids and its unique neighborhoods. They also had a van tour around Grand Rapids before their arrivals at the agency and thus were able to see these neighborhoods outside the classroom introduction. The students were then split off to go serve at two different agencies, YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) and UCOM(United Church Outreach Ministry). I stayed in the group of students working at UCOM and enjoyed much of the interactions and the reflective conversations we had. It was the first time for me at UCOM and thus like all the new students, I was very appreciative of the history through which UCOM has developed as an outreach ministry, a tutoring center (Homework House) and a food pantry (partnering with ACCESS) for the southwest community of Grand Rapids.

Not only did we learn about the food system UCOM tries to maintain for their clients, but also we got to be the servers by repackaging the donated food, cleaning the freezer and rearranging the grocery shelves for future clients. Though some projects were done outside in the freezing weather, I was glad that most students were eager to help out with them. The conversation afterwards was refreshing and encouraging. All of them had fun engaging with one another as they served. They also expressed appreciation for the good works being done at UCOM and their eagerness to go out and explore the city of Grand Rapids.

As we wrapped up the day, we as the staffs were glad to have met these new students and been part of their orientation to Calvin. In a way, this Transition day was a refresher and encourager for us to continue our humble walk of service to Calvin students and the greater Grand Rapids community as the whole staff and as individuals.

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

Streetfest '09 is Finally Coming Together

The last two weeks have been a busy but very exciting period for the S-LC staff. Prepping for Streetfest has been the biggest task at hand in our office. We were pumped to work with the Streetfest Leaders and Orientation Leaders as we experienced our MockStreetfest together serving the Creston Neighborhood.

Putting the last pieces of information together today for the big event in the next three days, we are thrilled to be parts of the upcoming Streetfest. We are looking forward to hearing the conversations of the new students, the leaders and the mentors as they experience serving the greater community of Grand Rapids in an attitude of humility.

Finally, the Theme for StreetFest 2009: Walk Humbly

Although in the same sentence as do justice and love mercy (Micah 6:8), “walk humbly” is not met with the same enthusiasm. God doesn’t gives us the option of walking humbly, he commands us to. The hope for StreetFest is that this idea of walking humbly will be explored and that students, faculty, and staff will commit to a new way of seeing and participating in this world.

Walking conveys quite a different message than running. Running means stress, speed, and desire to get from point A to point B as fast as possible without slowing to observe what’s in between. Walking, though, is much the opposite. Walking still gets you from here to there but it allows for, even encourages, fellowship, conversations, intimacy with the surroundings, and the ability to see a place in its true form.

Walking can be powerful- it was the pace from which Christ administered his love on the least of these in society. If we are to emulate Christ we must also walk- walk in order to notice the details of God’s creation, walk to create opportunities for meaningful conversations, but most importantly walk to be in stride with those who are struggling.

Humility can be applied many ways as well. First, as we walk through life we must be humble before Christ. Our savior left heaven to die for this spoiled world. He lived his life here- never commuting from heaven. He not only healed and preached but spent time and socialized in a non-serving way. He lived with prostitutes, prisoners, non-Christians, and by doing so showed that they were just as deserving of his attention and saving as anyone else. We must respect that this was Christ’s focus, and be humbled by the knowledge that we weren’t necessarily the type of people that were on the top of God’s list to see.

We also must be humble before others. Too often we elevate, spiritually, people with a well-rounded Christian education, people who have clear criminal records, those who attend fancy churches, and people who are gifted with the ability to thoughtfully articulate themselves. As we (should) know, none of these things make a person closer to God. Instead we should be humbled that every single person was made in God’s image. We should be humbled that the people we “serve” are just as connected to God as we are.

An attitude of humbleness is necessary in working towards the Service-Learning Center’s goals of long-term relationships, racial reconciliation, and cultural intelligence. “Walk Humbly” is simple and familiar, but rarely is it importance dissected as frequently as other commands.

In other StreetFest news, we have again commissioned the work of a local Grand Rapids artist. This year, Rick Beerhorst, a Calvin grad, is helping us translate our thoughts into a meaningful logo. The Beerhorst family consists of Rick, his wife, and their 6 children who all make up “Studio Beerhorst”, the family business. They are committed to the city of Grand Rapids and have mastered the art of car-less living by intentionally buying a house within walking distance of the Famer’s Market, grocery stores, and places of worship. All of these lifestyle choices make Rick a perfect artist to represent what StreetFest attempts to communicate to incoming students. I will update more as details emerge!


Thoughts?

The Artist

Coming up in our next S-LC newsletter will be a phone interview done by Jessica Ennis and myself with a Grand Rapids local named Reb Roberts.

Reb is cool.

Reb is collaborative.

Reb believes in community building.

And Reb is an artist.

More recently in relation the Service-Learning Center, Reb created the t-shirt design for Streetfest 2008. I don't want to spoil the interview, so I won't go into detail about what was discussed.

I just want to explore a quote that got me thinking.

"Every neighborhood has an artist." --Reb

An artist in this sense may not only be someone who is gifted with a paint brush, but someone who has vision, who can view the whole. I think an artist is also someone who can look at fragmented, seemingly disconnected things and sort of connect the dots if you will. So in light of community building, an artist may look at a rather dumpy disjointed community and see its potential of becoming a sustainable community.

I recently read an article by John McKnight entitled "Why Servanthood is Bad". This is a great thought provoker about the role of service systems in community building. McKnight believes that service systems that cause a community to be dependent tend to focus more on the community's deficiencies instead of its potential strengths . This is problematic because according to McKnight, community can only be built upon the unique capacities and capabilities of a given group. I think that artists have great potential to change community because of the unique voice they can bring, and I know Reb would agree. An artist asks questions, an artists complains, an artist is not afraid of the truth (i hope). An artist is bold, an artist heals and hurts to heals. An artist cannot see pain and suffering and go along as if it did not exist. An artist must act, and so creates.

I wanted to put out the question: who is the artist in your neighborhood?

-Is it the grandma that encourages and prays for everyone on the block?
-Is it the little girl with an amazing voice who belts out a solo in church?
-Is it the troubling teenager who voices his anger in spiraling graffiti on abandoned buildings?
-Is it the man who mutters to himself as he wanders alone at night?
-Is it the lady who always has kids coming through the house?
-Maybe it is your pastor


I think that there is greatness in Reb's idea.


Follow this link to RapidGrowth for a great article on Reb:

http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/rebrob10508.aspx

and of course check out our interview in the upcoming S-LC newsletter! Blessings!

Jocelyn

Places

“Places” is a key idea that the office has been discussing and thinking about over summer, the staff training last week, and also especially during this period of StreetFest. The theme for this year’s StreetFest, to embrace fully, projects the hopes “aimed to promote care for place, located within a context of personal relationships and focused on attentiveness to particularity and otherness.”

I think a “place” is somewhere where its residents have a sense of belonging, somewhere where reciprocal and organic relationships between the residents and their environments grow together. People shape places. Some people decide to live in a specific place with no intention to leave, while some people move from place to place.

If places reflect the people within them, then transient people and returning residents are “windows” to that place. These “windows” bring life, new perspectives, and an air of energy from the outside. A place without “windows” is locked within, sinking slowly into a comatose state. Reflectively, if places influence people too, then would non-vibrant “window-less” place suffocate its residents? What do you think?

What does “place” mean to you? Is it any different from “space”?

Activism?

This entry is long overdue. I got a bit distracted with StreetFest.

I finally got a chance to read my assigned article, "Who Is an Activist" while in Minneapolis for a cousin's wedding. On Saturday morning my father and I took a walk along the Mississippi, we moseyed through the farmer's market in the old mill district, and stopped at a coffee shop where he encouraged me a bit about this whole daunting task that I currently face (that is, StreetFest). We sat across some sort of government building and read separately for a while. 

Working as the StreetFest coordinator has been a difficult blessing. This summer has been a lesson in engaging the "system" and sampling bureaucracy. I've enjoyed getting my hands a bit "messy," even at those moments when I'm partly confused as to whether or not I'm doing the right thing. In light of my summer job and my more recent discouragement, reading the article "Who Is an Activist" this past Saturday was a refreshing act of reflection.

Living in right relation with God and creation is important. It is the foundation of everything, it is the motivation for activism. And yet, I have also found it to be entirely confusing and exhausting. What does it mean? Do my summer activities reflect this effort? Perhaps a year or two ago I would have had a different opinion as to whether or not being StreetFest coordinator had anything to do with activism.

I appreciate what this article says about activism when the author writes that we must "have a strategy for shaking the system." In this way, practical activism may sometimes appear mundane. I am sometimes a bit bashful about Streetfest, because it is easy to wonder what purpose it serves. However, my hope is that this event will appropriately apply pressure where it should (our letter-writing campaign to Gildan, vegetarian lunches, and challenging incoming students to engage their city).

I firmly believe that activism has a place in everything. I echo what this article when it says that while not every activist much be a Christian, every Christian must be an activist. In this realization, I believe we are called to living with clear communication. That is, to work together. There must be unity between those involved with new-monasticism, the Jesuits living and working in garbage dumps, the Christian politicians, and the suburban church-goers.

Activism must reach deeper than a protest; it is essentially about a life of love. We must work to insure that our life is consistent with this call to love, participating in our Creator's transformation.

Would anyone like to share their thoughts? (Please)

StreetFest 2008!

Well friends, the theme has been decided.

The study done by Embrace Our Place published in fall 2007 uses interdisciplinary research to explore the intersection between the liberal arts and the particulars of place. It talks about developing care for place. This “care” comes from understanding one’s location in the context of personal relationships. It involves “attentiveness to particularity” and “requires attentiveness to otherness.”

The title of StreetFest this year is “to embrace fully.” My desire for these three days is to encourage conversation centered on the importance of place and interconnectedness. This is, to emphasize two specific points:

For four years these students will be in a particular place, part of which involves the city of Grand Rapids. StreetFest serves to encourage students to engage the community in which they will be living. That is to interact, explore, and celebrate! This is an event where students have the opportunity to learn about the many ways in which they can participate as active citizens in this particular place. It is my hope that dialogue will encourage an attitude of excitement and a willingness to embrace Grand Rapids fully. This event serves to foster consideration for future Service-Learning endeavors, promoting a spirit of openness and thoughtfulness while discouraging the perspective that narrowly predetermines specific aspects/areas of the city.

The idea “to embrace fully” equally refers to the individual student’s role within the larger web of interdependent members. I wish to encourage students to recognize their own position within the community and to realize both their voice and responsibility. Their task in this community is not to come and speak to a place, but to participate in a place. My hope is that their StreetFest experience will encourage students to offer themselves to this place, through relationships and care.

There are several exciting projects percolating at the moment. Art, color, and local resources! I will share them with you as they progress. For now, I would love to hear feedback on the theme (feelings, ideas, reflections).

Your faithful coordinator, Reb.

Interested in looking at the entire Embrace Our Place study? Please do! (http://www.calvin.edu/admin/provost/engagement/teagle/pdf/CalvinCollegeTeagleWhitePaper.pdf)

Themes, Beauty, and Brokenness.

And so it begins again, that reoccurring summer Service-Learning Center angst around what this year’s StreetFest theme will be. After much deliberation on the part of Rebecca, our StreetFest coordinator, and a brainstorming session or two, we seem to be circling in on a few possibilities.

Interestingly, as we have been discussing the possibilities for this year’s theme, one of the topics that has come up a number of times is the beauty of/in brokenness.

Is there something beautiful about brokenness, brokenness experienced on both individual and societal levels? If so, what is it that makes brokenness beautiful? Is it the “stuff” born of brokenness that is beautiful or is beauty inherent to brokenness itself? What does the relationship between beauty and brokenness have to do with service-learning or, more specifically, StreetFest?

We are hoping to start a discussion about the relationship between beauty and brokenness in the comments section below; please feel free to join in the discussion with your own thoughts, comments, or questions.

Streetfest '07 Orientation (Video Clip)

Each year the Service-Learning Center at Calvin College organizes and carries out an event for new, incoming students called Streetfest. This event takes place over three days, with different groups of students each day. The general approach is to send students out into the community to local organizations where they can learn about the Grand Rapids community as well as serve that community. This event is a fast introduction to the rich and complex idea of service-learning, and certainly has its pros and cons. Each year the Streetfest coordinator develops a theme to center the event around, this past year Laura Wolff, the Streetfest coordinator, chose the theme of Revive, Restore, Renew (a play on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle slogan). This video clip*me.

*Clip no longer available