In February 2009, and again in February 2010, I co-led two successive trips to New Orleans.
Both times, we travelled during University reading week. Both times the trip closely coincided with Mardi Gras.
I wonder why the students came.
Was it pure altruism? Was it a process of self-discovery? Was it the story of a city neglected by its own mayor, state politicians and federal government?
Was it the plea from our friends and partners in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana? What was it, exactly that brought two separate groups together to travel to New Orleans? Read more…
Most youth and young adults head out on short term missions because they want to make a difference, they want to help, they want to battle injustice. It would most likely be devastating for them to know that their short term endeavors may actually make things worse for the people they are meant to serve! Read more…
On the last Saturday of August, I had the opportunity to visit with a group of young people in the Parish of March in Kanata, Ontario, along with their mentors. The group had just returned from Nicaragua where they had partnered with Almonte, Ontario-based SchoolBox in helping build a school.
It was the first time the group had assembled since returning home, and it was an opportunity to begin to unpack the experience and to continue to frame it within the context of our Christian faith and our participation in God’s mission here on earth.
What’s more, our time together provided the opportunity to ask deeper questions about how the experience might change their lives now that they’d returned home.
How will their parish community support them as they apply what they learned? How will this group challenge their parish to find new ways to serve closer to home? Read more…
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