In light of election day:
"Instead of trying to strike an elusive “balance” between private piety and the social gospel, we must go to the heart of prophetic religion itself in which a personal God demands public justice as an act of worship. We meet the personal God in the public arena and are invited to take our relationship to that God right into the struggle for justice. Indeed, without that personal relationship we will lose the political struggle. That shift—bringing the personal God into the public arena—is at the heart of the prophet’s message and will transform both our religion and our politics."
(read the full article here: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/current-events/op-ed-blog/1474-is-there-a-politics-of-god).
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
I realize that after my last post (over a month ago), it looks like I was swallowed up by the hurricane. As BA of a story that would be, the hurricane never came close and the reality is I'm just really bad at blogging. I'll try to give a recap of the past 30 days, but it has been a blur...
We got a chance to work @ Bayfest - Mobile's biggest (probably, only) music festival. Now, I was surprised to find out Mobile even had a music fest, and extra surprised when I found out how huge it was. Mobile is 400,000 people, and 250,00 were at Bayfest (a 3 block radius) We got to see Earth, Wind, & Fire, Lady Antebellum, Mary J Blige, Reba McIntyre, Nelly, Godsmack, & Motley Crue, as well as some pretty sweet local bands. We set up for meals and cleaned, but the best part was at the end of the festival, we got to take all of the bands' leftovers. I'm talking like 100 cans of Earth, Wind, and Fire's sodas, ha.
We headed out to New Orleans to go to a benefit concert & to spy on the other JV houses. They took us out to Frenchmen (sp?) st., an awesome park overlooking the Mississippi river @ Sunset, & a Tulane vs. Army game at the Superdome. The NOLA house came back to see us the following weekend, and we headed out to Pensacola for some October beach action (benefit of the South).
While we weren't rocking out/traveling, we've been busy @ work. I feel like I have a handle on work, but it's still ahrd not being from Mobile bc I don't have the connections other caseworkers do, but I'm working on it. I've become a professional beggar; I call places pleading for funding for clients. I'm a scrapper, and I must say I'm getting good at it. It's hard to not feel a bit burnt out at the end of the day; there comes a balance between leaving work at work and not becoming shut off from reflecting on it at the end of the day. It's never fun to have someone storm out of your office, but it's pretty great having people ask you for hugs.
I'm headed out to a conference on green living in North Carolina with a bunch of nuns, ha. My boss was supposed to go and I jokingly asked if I could, and she sent me instead (baller). As much as I like having roommates, it will be pretty baller to spend the night in a hotel alone AND watch TV! My TV access has been limited to 4 Jesus channels, an oldies humor network, football, & Glee. I think a weekend away will be good; I feel exhausted; not necessarily physically, but mentally. This intentional community thing is tiring. It comes down to either being tired of letting people know I'm frustrated or being frustrated that I'm too tired to let people know I'm frustrated. Where's the balance? I think the result has been me pulling away from community a bit: spending more time reading/playing Mandy Lynn (my mandolin).
Spirtually, we've been traveling so much, I just made it to my 2nd Quaker meeting on Sunday. It's so nice to sit in silence; it's something that I never really give the time/space for in my life, especially with 6 other roommates. They have some sort of study before their service, and I'd like to start attending. I think it will be really helpful to have something specific to meditate on before the hour of active silence.
I miss Chicago a lot. Because it's starting to get darker here earlier, it's reminding me of layering up in the city and living under my comforter back in the Rogers Park apt. I miss coffee shops & public trnasportation that comes more than twice a day. I miss having friends that aren't my roommates, ha. I think I'll appreciate my visits home/Chicago so much more now that I've been missing out on everything for 2 months. I'm figuring out when I'm going to be able to visit without screwing over my clients at work; so it probably won't be until next year. Please continue to send life updates/random occurrences.
Peace,
Emily
We got a chance to work @ Bayfest - Mobile's biggest (probably, only) music festival. Now, I was surprised to find out Mobile even had a music fest, and extra surprised when I found out how huge it was. Mobile is 400,000 people, and 250,00 were at Bayfest (a 3 block radius) We got to see Earth, Wind, & Fire, Lady Antebellum, Mary J Blige, Reba McIntyre, Nelly, Godsmack, & Motley Crue, as well as some pretty sweet local bands. We set up for meals and cleaned, but the best part was at the end of the festival, we got to take all of the bands' leftovers. I'm talking like 100 cans of Earth, Wind, and Fire's sodas, ha.
We headed out to New Orleans to go to a benefit concert & to spy on the other JV houses. They took us out to Frenchmen (sp?) st., an awesome park overlooking the Mississippi river @ Sunset, & a Tulane vs. Army game at the Superdome. The NOLA house came back to see us the following weekend, and we headed out to Pensacola for some October beach action (benefit of the South).
While we weren't rocking out/traveling, we've been busy @ work. I feel like I have a handle on work, but it's still ahrd not being from Mobile bc I don't have the connections other caseworkers do, but I'm working on it. I've become a professional beggar; I call places pleading for funding for clients. I'm a scrapper, and I must say I'm getting good at it. It's hard to not feel a bit burnt out at the end of the day; there comes a balance between leaving work at work and not becoming shut off from reflecting on it at the end of the day. It's never fun to have someone storm out of your office, but it's pretty great having people ask you for hugs.
I'm headed out to a conference on green living in North Carolina with a bunch of nuns, ha. My boss was supposed to go and I jokingly asked if I could, and she sent me instead (baller). As much as I like having roommates, it will be pretty baller to spend the night in a hotel alone AND watch TV! My TV access has been limited to 4 Jesus channels, an oldies humor network, football, & Glee. I think a weekend away will be good; I feel exhausted; not necessarily physically, but mentally. This intentional community thing is tiring. It comes down to either being tired of letting people know I'm frustrated or being frustrated that I'm too tired to let people know I'm frustrated. Where's the balance? I think the result has been me pulling away from community a bit: spending more time reading/playing Mandy Lynn (my mandolin).
Spirtually, we've been traveling so much, I just made it to my 2nd Quaker meeting on Sunday. It's so nice to sit in silence; it's something that I never really give the time/space for in my life, especially with 6 other roommates. They have some sort of study before their service, and I'd like to start attending. I think it will be really helpful to have something specific to meditate on before the hour of active silence.
I miss Chicago a lot. Because it's starting to get darker here earlier, it's reminding me of layering up in the city and living under my comforter back in the Rogers Park apt. I miss coffee shops & public trnasportation that comes more than twice a day. I miss having friends that aren't my roommates, ha. I think I'll appreciate my visits home/Chicago so much more now that I've been missing out on everything for 2 months. I'm figuring out when I'm going to be able to visit without screwing over my clients at work; so it probably won't be until next year. Please continue to send life updates/random occurrences.
Peace,
Emily
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Cliff Notes:
#1: I suck at blogging regularly.
#2: I want to be arrested for civil disobedience.
#3: I want to go to grad school. Loyola has a Magis program where I can live in an intentional community and get my MSW fo free! Wash U in St. Louis also has some scholarships... Ayy!
#4: I got to go to an Alabama Arise meeting; a lobbying group made up of 150 organizations who decide on what legislation to lobby for and which issues benefit the poor. It was awesome; and I got to meet individuals who have made worlds and worlds of change already on their own. It was so neat to be around that much passion, I felt like a bum, but a really excited bum :)
#5 I am looking into a life as a Jesus loving Quaker. For reals. They love peace and justice and all those good things, but (almost) more importantly, they're hilarious. Their official website states that:
We mostly don't dress like the man on the box of oats anymore, and today we hardly ever call people "thee."
(http://www.quakerinfo.org/)
Gotta love it. I'm going to check out a Quaker meeting on Sunday.
Peace,
-E
"Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty"
#2: I want to be arrested for civil disobedience.
#3: I want to go to grad school. Loyola has a Magis program where I can live in an intentional community and get my MSW fo free! Wash U in St. Louis also has some scholarships... Ayy!
#4: I got to go to an Alabama Arise meeting; a lobbying group made up of 150 organizations who decide on what legislation to lobby for and which issues benefit the poor. It was awesome; and I got to meet individuals who have made worlds and worlds of change already on their own. It was so neat to be around that much passion, I felt like a bum, but a really excited bum :)
#5 I am looking into a life as a Jesus loving Quaker. For reals. They love peace and justice and all those good things, but (almost) more importantly, they're hilarious. Their official website states that:
We mostly don't dress like the man on the box of oats anymore, and today we hardly ever call people "thee."
(http://www.quakerinfo.org/)
Gotta love it. I'm going to check out a Quaker meeting on Sunday.
Peace,
-E
"Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty"
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Work is wonderful and difficult all in one. I love, love, love sitting with people and getting to hear their stories. I've just come to realize how much I associate sitting and listening to someone with acknowledging their dignity and loving them, and I get the opportunity to do that every day! The hard part though is balancing that with actually "achieving" something (ie getting their bills paid) because there is lots of paperwork and I feel like I miss out on a lot of their story trying to get the necessary documents and information. It's a fine line. The worst though is when I forget someone's face and they see me and are like "don't you remember me?!" I feel like I really let them down and myself down by forgetting, and getting used to my mind's limits is rough. Anywho, I still love getting to tell people we get to turn their lights back on or pay part of their rent - I get to hug lots of people and hold their hands. It's wonderful :)
We didn't go gator spotting but we did get a chance to go to Pensacola for labor day which was awesome and relaxing and only an hour away! I saw a jelly fish AND baby sharks AND white sand beaches. We also went to a minor league baseball game, and we're on our way to becoming the biggest Mobile Bay Bears fans this state has ever seen. We had first row tickets, and there was absolutely no one there. It was the first time I've ever been able to actually hear the players talking in the dugout, ha. Another family some of the roomies met at church invited us over for a picnic, and we got to go with two priests (driving w. a 78 year old, diabetic, ADD priest was hilarious after his birthday cake). The one priest was from Ireland and a little strange, but kind. Rather than asking us where we were from and such, he saw "what year did your parent immigrate here?" as a valid get-to-know you question, ha. Regardless, both are cute old men, and when Fr. Klepac forgets that I'm not catholic, I think he really likes me, ha.
I finally got to a church on Sunday that I really enjoyed - it was sooooo different than anything I'd been to. It's a Presbyterian church, and there are literally like 25 people who meet in a room for a "contemporary" service. 6 or 7 of the people are from the L'Arche community (an live-in facility for people with special needs). Willie, one of the members of L'Arche gets to "play" up during worship (he just strums and mouths words, but it's the most beautiful thing ever). They created the service specifically for the L'Arche community because they weren't getting a chance to participate during the traditional service, so now they have instruments on all the tables and we join hands and sing together. The worship is completely off tune and unorganized, but it gave me a new perspective on what worship is - its not me singing certain songs/words/ in a certain style, but joining together with a community in Jesus' name. It's awesome and I'll definitely be back.
It's a "cool" 90 degree week, and we're still hoping for a baby hurricane. I feel completely out of the loop news wise bc I don't have my computer and rarely turn on the TV. I think someone could tell me that California broke off into the Pacific and I would probably have to believe them right now. All in all - send updates (truthful or hilarious).
Peace,
Em
We didn't go gator spotting but we did get a chance to go to Pensacola for labor day which was awesome and relaxing and only an hour away! I saw a jelly fish AND baby sharks AND white sand beaches. We also went to a minor league baseball game, and we're on our way to becoming the biggest Mobile Bay Bears fans this state has ever seen. We had first row tickets, and there was absolutely no one there. It was the first time I've ever been able to actually hear the players talking in the dugout, ha. Another family some of the roomies met at church invited us over for a picnic, and we got to go with two priests (driving w. a 78 year old, diabetic, ADD priest was hilarious after his birthday cake). The one priest was from Ireland and a little strange, but kind. Rather than asking us where we were from and such, he saw "what year did your parent immigrate here?" as a valid get-to-know you question, ha. Regardless, both are cute old men, and when Fr. Klepac forgets that I'm not catholic, I think he really likes me, ha.
I finally got to a church on Sunday that I really enjoyed - it was sooooo different than anything I'd been to. It's a Presbyterian church, and there are literally like 25 people who meet in a room for a "contemporary" service. 6 or 7 of the people are from the L'Arche community (an live-in facility for people with special needs). Willie, one of the members of L'Arche gets to "play" up during worship (he just strums and mouths words, but it's the most beautiful thing ever). They created the service specifically for the L'Arche community because they weren't getting a chance to participate during the traditional service, so now they have instruments on all the tables and we join hands and sing together. The worship is completely off tune and unorganized, but it gave me a new perspective on what worship is - its not me singing certain songs/words/ in a certain style, but joining together with a community in Jesus' name. It's awesome and I'll definitely be back.
It's a "cool" 90 degree week, and we're still hoping for a baby hurricane. I feel completely out of the loop news wise bc I don't have my computer and rarely turn on the TV. I think someone could tell me that California broke off into the Pacific and I would probably have to believe them right now. All in all - send updates (truthful or hilarious).
Peace,
Em
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I'm really bad at blogging -- quick update:
Cockroach update: I think we're up to over 30 now - WOO! If you're excited about cockroach season, just wait until winter when rat season starts.
We get to babysit lots of children. Families just invite us over, and we tend to play with the kids' toys more than the kids do while one of my roommates talks to the 4 year old about George Bush Senior and the Transsiberian railway. These naiive families trust me around their children and expect me not to steal them. Silly Silly...
Work is good - really stressful, but really good! I'm doing casework on my own now, which means I get to meet one one one with clients. I thought I would be terrified of this, not knowing what to do and all, but I've been surprised at how comfortable I am with it. I still have no idea what to do half the time, but the other 3 caseworkers haven't complained to bad at me asking questions. It's also kind of nice that I'm new, because I can call all the contacts in the area and introduce myself and basically beg for resources from them for my clients. It's great. Work is starting to pose more questions than I've asked in a long time though... I'm trying to understand the difference between mercy and justice; between giving financial assistance and loving someone well. I really don't have answers yet, but let me know if you have any insight.
I love my community. Really. They're hilarious and we all spend far too much time together; I'm sure we'll be ridiculously sick of each other soon. This weekend, we went out to Beerfest... now don't let your idea of Mobile fool you, we had a blast. The event was 3 different beers at over 20 bars. We spent the majority of our night at a piano bar where we mingled with 30 year old, married coast guard men (Married Murray) and had one of our roommates get on stage for a birthday song (which was accompanied by an uninvited birthday dance from a stranger who is mysteriously in all of our pictures from the night).
I miss everyone lots lots lots. Please send me updates of your life. really.
Peace,
Emily
Cockroach update: I think we're up to over 30 now - WOO! If you're excited about cockroach season, just wait until winter when rat season starts.
We get to babysit lots of children. Families just invite us over, and we tend to play with the kids' toys more than the kids do while one of my roommates talks to the 4 year old about George Bush Senior and the Transsiberian railway. These naiive families trust me around their children and expect me not to steal them. Silly Silly...
Work is good - really stressful, but really good! I'm doing casework on my own now, which means I get to meet one one one with clients. I thought I would be terrified of this, not knowing what to do and all, but I've been surprised at how comfortable I am with it. I still have no idea what to do half the time, but the other 3 caseworkers haven't complained to bad at me asking questions. It's also kind of nice that I'm new, because I can call all the contacts in the area and introduce myself and basically beg for resources from them for my clients. It's great. Work is starting to pose more questions than I've asked in a long time though... I'm trying to understand the difference between mercy and justice; between giving financial assistance and loving someone well. I really don't have answers yet, but let me know if you have any insight.
I love my community. Really. They're hilarious and we all spend far too much time together; I'm sure we'll be ridiculously sick of each other soon. This weekend, we went out to Beerfest... now don't let your idea of Mobile fool you, we had a blast. The event was 3 different beers at over 20 bars. We spent the majority of our night at a piano bar where we mingled with 30 year old, married coast guard men (Married Murray) and had one of our roommates get on stage for a birthday song (which was accompanied by an uninvited birthday dance from a stranger who is mysteriously in all of our pictures from the night).
I miss everyone lots lots lots. Please send me updates of your life. really.
Peace,
Emily
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Hi Y'all!! (too soon?!)
So I was told that I have to blog about my experiences down in Mobile, and though I don't think my life is remotely interesting enough to worthy a blog, I'll give it a shot...
I left Chicago almost a month ago, and I miss it terribly. When people here ask me where home is, do I say Hudson, Ohio? Nope. I tell the truth and say Chicago. Anywho, after a trip home and to Boston, I flew on down to Houston for orientation. Highlights of Houston: Lacey Maxwell and BBQ. We stayed at this ridiculous retreat center that had PEACOCKS! (Though I question their native-ness to Houston). Orientation felt an awful lot like middle school summer camp, but I kind of liked it that way, ha. We had speakers come in and talk on each of the four pillars (social justice, spirituality, community, and simple living). My favorite speaker was the simple living speaker, because she taught us how to do this type of dance called Neya (sp?), and we all looked ridiculous and were laughing and it was free! After five days of exhaustively talking about all of these concepts though, we just wanted to clear out and see our house and actually start this year.
My roommates are wonderful. Really. I am a bit biased, but I think that we have the best house. There are 7 of us (Jenny, Mary P, Andrew, Andrew, Megan, Matt, and myself). Our house is an old convent (really). It's HUGE. We all have our own room, equipped with our very own sink. Though we were greeted by a few cockroaches when we came in, we've made a game out of it and start a tally on how many we can kill throughout the year. I think we're up to 10.
Mobile is a cute little, little city. We can walk almost anywhere. We took a tour of our agencies and the city, and it was a bit overwhelming. It's odd to experience all of these things that were so abstract before I got here (like racism, poverty, slavery, people who are illiterate, homeless children) and then to see the reality version... all in one week. We drove by the old slave markets where people. PEOPLE. were bought and sold. It was mind blowing. Then we toured a homeless day shelter where Megan works, and her boss told us that the average age of a homeless person is 9. That's what, a third grader? Ridiculous.
My agency is the Service Center for Catholic Social Services. I've only been there 3 days, but I can already tell it's going to be really, really hard. We have some grant money from utiltiy companies, and we try to disburse it to people who are going to have their utilities shut off without assistance. So many clients have these HUGE bills because they have a medical need (dialysis machine, home-care machine...) that are drawing on their electric bills, and if they get cut off, so do the machines... It's hard because there is SO much paperwork and checking information involved. People come in the day the power is going to be cut off with their 4 babies, and don't have the necessary paperwork... I saw a woman who had 6 or 7 little ones and was homeless. I see people coming directly from the prison right to receive food stamps and a place to stay. We went to "the Bayou" yesterday to do offsite work for people who have been affected by the oil spill. These people worked for crab companies or processing plants and now have no work, and BP gave them a one time sum of $1,000 to cover "all future lost income." Some of these peoples electric bills are $400, plus rent, food, gas, and water? $1000 might last a month. All the clients in the Bayou are from Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia, and speak very little if any English, so finding new work is even more challenging.
Okay, my time on this library computer is about to cut off, so I'll stop rambling. I bought a bunch of random postcards to send, so please give me your address so I can harrass you. Also, please send anything random down to Mobile:
208 S Ann Street
Mobile, AL 36604
PEACE,
Emily
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