Here's a few reflections from our students about what they'll be talking about first with friends and and family after this Spring Break trip: Just the state of Selma, how run-down it is, after something so important happened there. - Janae The realities of mass incarceration and the way we got there.- Dazia (The Legacy Museum detailed the path from slavery to incarceration and convict leasing after Reconstruction to Jim Crow laws and lynching to the War of Drugs- which had a distinct racial component, as is now admitted by policy advisors)- That everyone needs to experience The Legacy Museum ..read more

Holy Cross Day- Sept. 14th   Many churches- including Lutheran, Episcopal, Catholic and Orthodox ones- call today Holy Cross Day.  Most churches won’t observe it with special services, but we put it on church calendars.  And if it falls on a Sunday, we’ll have some different readings.    The church does this a lot- we set apart days to lift up saints and important realities in the life of the church.  So that we’ll glance at the calendar and be reminded of something that will support us in faith and point us again to God.    This feast day dates from 335 ..read more

I was too tired at the end of the trip to write, so here’s the last installment of the blog. Public defender and the criminal justice system After a brief visit with Pastor Andrew Rickel, Lutheran-Episcopal campus pastor in Atlanta, who brought coffee and shared about his ministry, we got to hear from Willymena Joseph, a public defender in DeKalb County (part of Atlanta) who previously served in more rural areas of Georgia. Public defenders defend about 85% of all cases brought to trial. As a public defender, there are 2 ways to handle cases given to you: you can follow the constitutional mini ..read more

Tuesday, March 21st The answer to “What Percent of Discarded Food is Responsible for Greenhouse Gases?” is C: 8%.  Our last day of the trip was a lot different than the rest, but helped us get a fuller picture of the realities of poverty and homelessness in Asheville. We began our day at Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, a faith-based social service organization. They are supported by over 300 local church communities as they seek to provide food and clothing assistance, medical care and referrals to other services to their neighbors throughout the Asheville area. We helped ..read more

For those that are playing the trivia every day, the last blog’s answer is Asheville was labeled an outpost in 1797.  Today we were given the gift of sleeping in.  A well-enjoyed luxury this trip!  And then it was off to 12 Baskets Café, an initiative of the Asheville Poverty Initiative.  They use rescued food from grocery stores and restaurants to set a table so community can happen.  Folks with resources and those with less resources come to eat together, to befriend each other and to share life on Monday and Thursday afternoons. While at the cafe, we met with Thorn ..read more

For those following along, yesterday’s answer is B: Salem, North Carolina was founded in 1776. We started our adventure for the day at 7 am on the road to Haywood Street Church. Pastor Katelyn told us about what made Haywood Street so different than other Methodist churches and talked about their twice weekly meal, the Welcome Table- a sit-down, order what you want breakfast at small tables with fresh flowers.  We got to be companions for the morning- helping with serving, cleaning and sharing in community with our neighbors.  They don’t use the term volunteer- since there’s a recip ..read more

The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration The Equal Justice Initiative’s museum was overwhelming as it detailed the slave trade (by 1860,Montgomery was the capital of the domestic slave trade in Alabama) and how, after Emancipation, America continued to find new ways to oppress African-Americans. After Reconstruction fell apart in 1877, Southern police often convicted African-Americans of small offenses (which usually only applied to non-white communities) and then leased them out to work in factories, mines and farms since 13th Amendment allowed for involuntary servitude for ..read more

March 18th: Saturday For those that are keeping up on the daily trivia, the answer was B. Mr. and Mrs. Wuf.  Our first stop for the day was in Winston-Salem to visit the wonderful church, The Dwelling where we were able to offer assistance with moving chairs and tables for the Grand Opening of their new space tomorrow that will directly be able to support the those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity.  While talking to the pastors there, Pastor Emily Norris, and Intern Michael Schulete we got the opportunity to learn that 60% of the community faces food insecurity.  T ..read more

We started our day at Rippling Hope- with some folks finishing up building a wall at our house from yesterday They were pretty much beaming with pride when it was done and I understand why- our students built a wall by themselves! The rest of us helped take down some shelves from Rippling Hope’s former headquarters in a church so they could install it in their new headquarters- a former bank building that was donated to them. (We got to explore the safe and the safety deposit boxes!) And then we cleaned up sticks to keep the bank building property in good shape. It wasn’t glamorous work, but w ..read more

A prayer written by Wes and Jude, intern and student from the University of Maryland, College Park. God, There has been much to be thankful for on this week-long pilgrimage. Tonight, we give thanks for: Messiah Lutheran Church and their well of hospitality For the witness-bearing, legacy-carrying workers at the Lowndes Interpretative Center For the new knowledge and rewritten narratives we were given there For the space to be honest, vulnerable, and challenge our assumptions And for those you put their lives on the line, gave their lives, and are still giving their lives to this cause, we give ..read more