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HAPPENING IN
JUNE...
As a young adult, maybe you are getting acquainted again to
Simsbury after another semester of school, adjusting to life in the
working world, or looking for work. The Young Adult years are
neither here nor there and that's a good reason for young adults to
come together in fellowship, service, and love. Below are
two very different and unique events coming up that are
open to all Young Adults and I hope you'll consider them both.
1) Sunday, June 13th, 2:30-6pm. This is the kickoff
event for a very cool organization called YAMS (Young Adults
Minister through Service). YAMS organizes service projects
for young adults that are always followed by something called
"Theology on Tap" (a time of fellowship and conversation around
appetizer and drink with other young adults). We will meet at
my office at 2:30pm and drive to West Hartford where we will run an
information table during the Celebrate! West Hartford Town Festival
(www.clebratewesthartford.com). The point of the information
gathering is to find out from young adults in the Farmington Valley
(including you) what service projects you all would like to do this
summer. YAMS will then pick the most popular and plan
them. Our information gathering will end with a "Theology on
Tap" from 5-6pm. So come, help YAMS do some cool stuff this
summer, and enjoy fellowship and conversation with other young
adults.
2) Friday, June 18th, 9am-12noon... First
Church is helping to rehab a Simsbury home and turn it into
affordable housing. We will meet at the church at 9am and
head over to the house in West Simsbury to do some outside work on
the property. This is a great opportunity for young adults to
gather with other members of the church for service and
fellowship.
Email Rev. Kevin at kevin.weikel@1stchurchsimsbury.org to
confirm your attendance or to find out the answer to any
additional questions you might have.
A REFLECTION on the YOUNG
ADULT MISSION TRIP to BOSTON - by Oliviarose
Hurley
A group of First Church Young
Adults spent the first week of January in Boston. They stayed
at First Church Charlestown and took the T each day to non-profit
agencies and churches, working at a soup kitchen, food bank, prison
book ministry program, and a homeless art program. The goal
was to serve the homeless population of Boston and to learn about
forgiveness, justice, and love from their situations and
stories. Below is an excerpt of a message that Young Adult
Oliviarose Hurley shared at our Uncommon Worship Service after
returning from the trip.
Hello, I'm Olivia - I graduated from
Canton High School in 2007 and spent two years in the Navy. I
recently completed my first semester at the University of Rhode
Island studying to become a nurse.
I was invited to go on this trip by my
friend Evan Gross. Evan told me about his experiences on
previous mission trips and he was confident that I'd get a lot out
of it. So, with an open mind, I accepted the invitation. The
open mind thing was important from the start because, in the middle
of blowing up the first of 9 air mattresses, our one and only air
mattress pump blew up - red ball of fire and all - leaving us to
sleep on the hard church floor. Running through my mind was, "What
on earth did you get me to agree to, Evan."
After an uncomfortable but bearable
first night, we woke up, got ourselves together, and I'm not sure
why, but Kevin designated me to lead us to our first destination
(he obviously didn't care if we got there on time). After a few
misguided turns, we walked into a soup kitchen. For me, it was the
first soup kitchen I had ever seen. Our duties consisted of
prepping, cooking, setting, and serving. Simple enough. But it
wasn't our duties at the soup kitchen that surprised me; it was the
people in attendance that did.
If you would have asked me ahead of time I probably would have
guessed that the soup kitchen would be filled with smelly,
bum-looking mostly African American men. But it wasn't long
before I came to see that homelessness knows no ethnicity or
gender. There were men and women there - White, Black, Asian, and
Hispanic - some smelled pretty bad and wore tattered clothes, but
others looked pretty clean.
After the soup kitchen was finished, we talked with the manager
of the soup kitchen, Chris. To my surprise, Chris told us
that he used to be homeless and attend the soup kitchen
himself. I never would have known! It turns out that
after some very difficult years struggling with addiction and
subsequently losing his job, his home, and sleeping on the streets,
Chris has turned his life around and now has four part time jobs
and managing the soup kitchen is one of them. Hearing his
story was inspiring.
On Wednesday we attended a program in the Fellowship Hall of
Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston called Common Art. It's a
time and a place where homeless people can congregate to express
themselves through drawing, painting, and crafts, something they do
not often get the chance to do.
Soon after we arrived at Common Art, Kevin introduced me to a
man named Kirk. Kevin had met Kirk at Monday's soup
kitchen. Kirk and I shook hands, starting talking, and for an
hour I was fascinated as he told me his
story.
Kirk is a 40 something white man who graduated from Boston
College and had "made it" in the world of big business. But
regardless of the amount of money or status he accumulated, it was
never enough. Greed overtook him. To relieve stress he relied
on alcohol, and before long, drinking became a part of his daily
routine. In time Kirk was almost always intoxicated and hit
rock bottom when he was caught stealing from one of his
clients. He lost his job, and then his wife, and then his
connections with his family. Kirk lost everything and spent a
year behind bars.
Kirk is sorry for the people he hurt by what he called his
selfishness and addiction, but is at the same time grateful for all
that he has learned along the way. He has come to understand
that life isn't about money, it's about being content with who you
are. Since this realization a few years ago, Kirk has been
alcohol free. He doesn't wish to hold a high paying job again
but aspires instead to simply be happy with each day and help
others who may be going through something similar to what he has
gone through.
Kirk showed me that everyone has a story to tell. He
taught me that just because someone is labeled "homeless" doesn't
mean they're any less of a person. Kirk told me that he
appreciated me listening to him because each time he tells his
story it helps him to understand a little more about himself.
My conversation with Kirk meant a lot to me. It opened my
eyes to how addiction and greed can take over your life and how we
have to make sure we are at first content and at peace with
ourselves. It taught me how money and status can get in the
way and block our view of what's really important. I'm
thoroughly thankful for the opportunity to meet and learn from
Kirk.
On Thursday night we had 2 guests over for dinner, Ron and
Rudy. They came to tell their stories about life on the
streets. When I talked to Ron, he asked me questions. I
thought this was interesting because up to this point in the week I
had been the one asking the questions of the people we met.
One question Ron asked me was, "Can you describe a stereotypical
homeless person?" And so I told him about the stereotypes I had
before I went into the soup kitchen on the first day and how those
stereotypes changed. I told him how my experiences in just a
few short days broadened my thoughts and how I learned that
homelessness knows no ethnicity or gender.
Rudy said something amazing when telling us about his battle
with drugs. He said that every night tells he tells himself
when he's putting his kids to bed, "life is beautiful but it has
bad moments-and this is not one of them." It helps him
appreciate the fact that he has overcome his addiction and that he
is in a good place. It helps him remember that God believes
in us and gives us second chances.
God believes in us. This was something we talked about at
length one night as a group. We discussed how having faith in
Jesus is important, but sometimes the question is really more about
Jesus' faith in us. I believe that Jesus must have faith in
us because he leaves so much in our hands.
I'm so grateful and thankful that I was able to participate in
this trip. It was without a doubt transformative and life
changing. The people I was able to meet in Boston and the
friendships I was able to establish among the other young adults in
our group will be with me forever.
My prayer is that you have gained something by my words.
May you take the time to listen to the stories of those around
you. May you trust with your whole heart that God has faith
in you. May you come to understand that God loves each of
us-no matter our status, power, wealth, or size of the shelter over
our heads - or lack thereof. Amen.
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