Friends,
This week one of the way I have served in the community is helping out on the Search Committee for the replacement of the Director of Campus Ministry. We had our second meeting today. One of the things I learned is that people bring diverse questions and experiences to the table as we begin to sort through resumes. It is so important to be aware of my own bias as I enter a group like this. I wouldn't want to exclude a candidate because of something that triggers a negative vibe for me in the resume. Others may not have the same issue. I have made an effort to explain to others my concerns and then also own up to my own insufficiencies.
Post your Week 4 responses as a comment to this post!
Dean
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This week I started my service learning with St. Joesph the worker parish with the parish nurse, Tania McClain. We visited parishioners that are at the stonehill care center and the enoble care center. At Stonehill We sat down to talk to the parishioners about how they are doing, their family. They told me alittle bit about their lives and some insite about life in general. I met a 99 year old that taught in a one room school house for many years. She gave me advice for studying. She said read ahead and highlight what you think is important in one color, then highlight what the teacher talks about in a different color. Over all I learned that elderly are very knowledgeable and they know the sercets of live, We just have to give them a chance to tell them to us. One man said they we need to have patience in life.
This week was my first week of service. On Thursday I spent my time at the Sinsinawa Mound. It is home to the Dominican Sisters. About a week ago I went there to talk to the sisters to see what it was that I could do to help them. I met both Sister Sally and also Sister Mary Owens. They took us around and showed us the many gardens and beautiful scenery that surrounds their property. They then asked if we would be willing to help Sister Sally with gardening, because there was so much work they wanted to get done. There is a garden that at the Mound that is filled with rocks and there are a few statues and flowers there as well. Many of the sisters spend their time working in the many gardens at the Mound, so it was nice to help Sister Sally with this. She had already done so much work, and it was nice to get a chance to talk to her. I realized from talking to her how dedicated and committed she is. She works all day in the finance office, and then spends her nights washing and separating the rocks for the garden. While I was working in the garden many visitors and sisters came in to talk to us. Working one on one with Sister Sally was very uplifting because she has such a positive outlook on life. I’m excited to go back and I’m glad that I can help them.
This past Thursday night I volunteered at Sinsinawa Mound which is the home of Dominican Sisters. Heather and I are volunteering together there. We worked with Sister Sally in the inner garden washing the river rocks that lay the path in the garden. This may seem not particularly as a huge contribution to the community, but it is an aspect of beauty in the lives of the sisters to have a lovely garden to look upon while walking the hall. Sister Sally had a great impact on me. This job (washing rocks) and working on the garden overall is not her main contribution. She works in the financial office throughout the day and then does this in the evenings. It shows me the dedication and pride that she possesses, and it is not for herself, it is for the community in which she lives. I discovered this aspect about her and there is much more to learn about the entire environment and atmosphere that surrounds Sinsinawa Mound. Also, while we were working, I would wave at those who passed and they would smile and some would stop and ask what we were up to. It is a lovely eniviornment to be in and I am glad I can contribute in whatever way I can.
I started my service learning at the catholic worker farm on Friday September, 21. The farm is owned and run by Rick and Mary.When first arrived we met Mary. She took us inside to give us a kind of introduction to the Catholic Worker Movement and what they did at the farm. Their farm grows food and raises livestock and donates about half of it to Hope House. Hope house is a place for homeless women and children to go and live. After getting our introduction we were sent outside to do some gardening work. We first picked up rotten tomatoes out of the garden and put them in buckets for the turkeys to eat. Then we weeded out a pumpkin patch. After that three younger people from Hope House arrived, Jenny, George, and I think Eric. Once they arrived we had a special task to do. We had to move the turkeys from their pen across the yard to the chicken pen. We started off by carrying them by hand, but we swithed to putting them in buckets to avoid getting pooped on. After the turkeys were finished, Mary invited Caitlin and I in to help her in the kitchen. While we were in the kitchen we put mairinara sauce into containers for freezing. While we were doing that Mary talked to us about her family and other things. She told us that she was surprised by how well we worked int the kitchen, she said that many kids our age don't have a clue these days how to prepeare food, etc. Once we finished in the kitchen we spent the last half and hour taking the stems of garlic. The whole time we were there Mary kept telling us how much she appriciated us comming and that we were really helping her out a lot. It made me feel good to know that we were helping out the family and the farm and I also could see how we were effecting the bigger picture. All the work we did was in some way going to help those homeless people at Hope House and that is a very rewarding feeling to me.
The week before I started my learning service I visited the Maria House and was given a tour by Sherry, the program director. She shared with me the basic needs and situations of the women and their families.
On went to volunteer and meet the women and children on Weds. I ate dinner with them and realized that for some of them this is the only family they have. I also sat in on a house meeting where the women voiced their concerns. The mothers wanted to be able to spend more recreational time with their children which was very inspirational to me. I was reminded of the L'Arch community when Sherry talked about how the neighbor were not welcoming at first when the house was established but through outreach and service the community and the residents of the Hope House are benefiting and working together.
I also have to add that I commend you Jenny, because I would have never been able to work with the Turkeys and you make it sound like nothing!
In volunteering my service to the community this week, I would have to say that the outcome was a positive one. Upon my first service experience, at the Center Grove United Methodist Church of Dubuque, I was a little shy. I had already known my supervisor before I had volunteered my services to the church, but I was a little nervous about meeting other members of the community. However, when I arrived to the church I was introduced to everyone, and they were very nice to me. I was placed in working and performing activities with the youth group. There were many Jr. high and High school students within the youth group, and they all seemed to get along very well.
Throughout our time together we performed activities and played out certain roles in presentations that allowed us to see the importance of caring for others. Not only did we talk about remaining faithful to friends and family, but also to everyday people that we meet. We were forced to put ourselves in other people's positions, and we were asked to define how we would feel if we were treated unfairly. We discussed certain needs of every individual, and we then read passages from the scripture of Matthew. From these scriptures we integrated them into our own life experiences and relationships. This was very insightful, and it was interesting to hear what everyone had to say.
At the end of the night we held a prayer service where we lifted up our hopes for others, and we then prayed and honored the presence of those around us. The experience showed me that the community I am engaged with shares a deep passion for helping others and showing care and concern in times of need.
This past Friday, 9/21/07, I did my first service learning experience. I went, along with Jenny, to the Catholic Worker Farm in Key West, IA. I was not sure what to expect when we arrived at the farm. Mary was there to meet us and share what the farm is all about. She told us that the farm is linked to the Hope House here in Dubuque. The Hope House is a place for women who are pregnant or have just had a child and have no where to go. Mary told us that she at one time lived at the House and she felt that she was very welcomed and accepted there. She then shared that of the crops and livestock that they raise at the farm, half of it gets sent to the Hope House. At this point I felt very good about my choice to go to this farm. Mary set us up first with some cleaning tasks outside. Jenny and I worked with the youngest of Mary and her husband Rick's children (who was named Ester). We cleaned out a bed of tomatoes that had not made it through the frost, then we weeded an old pumpkin patch so that new things could grow. Mary was very appreciative of our help and told us that frequently during our time there. The next task we did was quite interesting. We, (Jenny and myself), along with three other young people who came to work, had to transport turkeys from a pen to the chicken coop. This was not an easy task and we really all had to work together to figure out an efficent way to accomplish it. We formed our own little community in doing this task. One person was in charge of handing the turkeys up to those of us who were transporting. We all tried to help each other out when one turkey was a little wild. After that exciting task, Jenny and I went inside to help process mairinara sauce for freezing. I felt good about doing this because I knew that half of what we were processing was going to people in need. After we helped Mary clean up the mess we had made, Jenny and I went back outside to cut off the roots of garlic cloves. This experience was very rewarding for me. I could tell that this family, which also included two young boys, was very close and they all helped each other out. I also felt good about knowing that I made a difference in giving someone a meal one night. It felt good to be at a place that was so accepting and welcoming. It really made our job a lot easier.
Last Tuesday, 9/18/07, I started my service learning project at the St. Vincent DePaul warehouse. Working at a warehouse, one wouldn't think anything special but to me it was a very positive experience. For my first day volunteering at St. Vincent DePaul, I feel I was really outgoing and fit in well with all the other workers there, I worked with a lady named Dee for the three hours I was there. Her job is to put the prices on each item and sort them into different carts while I took the clothes out of each cart and hung them on hangers and separated them to be brought out to the main floor where people could buy the things. This service project really didn't seem much in the beginning until I started to ask questions and got to know a little more about St. Vincent DePaul and how they help people in need. When you go into a warehouse like that, one wouldn't expect to see very many nice things but there were; some of the clothing even had tags on them which really surprised me. All and all I feel volunteering at St. Vincent DePaul will be a great experience because I was very accepted by everyone there and I like to know I am helping those people in need while still revealing who I am by working with clothes, I love to shop! :)
On September 15th, I volunteered with Into the Streets. I went with a group from the sophomore class. We were assigned to clean up the Old Jail Museum in downtown Dubuque. When I first heard that this was what we'd be doing I was unsure about it. I was sort of upset that I would not be working with people. I went to the site and a woman met us to show us around and tell us what we'd be doing. I was excited when I saw what a cool place the jail was. We started cleaning the jail and we realized that by cleaning this place we would be helping others appreciate the space as much as we enjoyed it. The Into the Streets is a faith based community and they send people out to places who are in need of some help. This is what the Old Jail was, it was a place that needed help, and we were there to help. This made me feel good to know that I was helping others enjoy a place that is a historical landmark here in Dubuque.
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