Photo of the Week! Thanksgiving...Belated!

I know its a bit belated but I wanted to share just a couple of photos from Thanksgiving! We had a pretty huge gathering this year and my parents were actually able to join which is always just so so much fun! 

Aprons were included in the dresscode...for some of us

I think the Thanksgiving Meal may have been a bit much for ole Jeffery!

This year the Powells were in  charge of bringing desserts, I'd say we delivered!

Self Caring!

Recently I have been in a lot of conversation about different things that help me rejuvenate and how do I take care of myself. I think it is awesome that I have a group of friends and coworkers that challenge me to think of that, but truthfully it has brought about some reflections that I thought I would take a moment to share.

I feel that deep down self care is seen as in some ways antithetical to the "American Way of Life." Since grade school I feel I had shoved into my head the idea that we were to work as hard as we could and to stop would be to not be working hard enough. Self care seems to be taking a moment to say I work hard and because I work hard I need to be intentional about making sure I do not burn myself out. In many ways this takes so much vulnerability and self analysis and honesty to ever say this. However, I actually thought this was weakness upon first coming out of undergrad. "Sleep when I die" was my saying and while I still wish I never had to sleep, I see the importance and I see the beauty of taking time away.

I believe that self care will be something that I continue to learn about for the rest of my life, but I am okay with that because I actually do feel that it is something that can cause me to accomplish things with more joy, less stress and all the while not burning out. So, I guess take care of yourself and how do we allow others to do the same?

Detroit is Eligible: Bankruptcy Begins

Posting this in two places on this blog, but big news today: 

Check out this article about the Detroit Bankruptcy filings and its a tough time here and for many it may get more difficult. I just pray that we are able to work through this process and better understand how we can possibly do this right.

"Judge Steven W. Rhodes of the United States Bankruptcy Court, found that Detroit was insolvent and that the pension checks of retirees could be cut during a bankruptcy proceeding, a crucial part of his decision."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/us/detroit-bankruptcy-ruling.html?hpw&rref=us

Picking Locks

Just a short funny story to share today:

Today I am approached by a long time volunteer saying he is unable to open up the volunteer desk. Well this is pretty strange as this desk is never  locked because we leave the key in the lock. Well of course that key has since disappeared and we are left with a locked desk. Quite the frustration. 

So of course this desk had to be opened, maybe not so much out of need, more so out of desire. A couple YouTube searches later and I am going at the lock armed with two paper clips and a determination that is more pride than anything else.

There were a couple times I was sure I had gotten it only to find the paper clip had simply slid sideways. Half dejected and defeated a good friend and volunteer pokes his head around the desk to ask "WHAT are you doing down there?" I explained the locked desk and my defeat. Eyeing the desk he simply told me to walk away and he'd take care of it. 

Skeptical if he would pick the lock or break the desk drawer open I walked away to complete some paperwork. Not 5 minutes later I hear "Ohh Brandon!" And to my surprise I find the desk drawers opened and my friend smiling and pointing. Of course I convinced him to show me how he did it and to let me do it myself and a lesson was learned! Never boring at NOAH!

I think today just reinstalled the differences that we find at NOAH. Clearly at no point in my life had I picked a lock, but NOAH has given me the gift of being able to be a part of a family of people that all have incredibly different backgrounds. I believe these experiences add to the richness of our family and certainly the most "interesting" moments. Now regardless the reason of why my friend knows how to pick a lock I find so much beauty in the conversation and community we can have now, working towards a common goal of serving with those who walk in our doors, unlocking things as we go.

Pumpkintastic!

Its a Pumpkintastic day at NOAH!

On Wed of this past week we had a special event with our volunteers at the NOAH Project where we took 15 ordinary, average, boring looking pumpkins and morphed them into some beautiful works of art (some more pleasing to the eye than others). We declared October 30, a Pumpkintastic day, therefore if you know me and my obsession with pumpkin then this is practically the best day of the year for me. Anyway, the morning began with eggbakes galore and homemade cinnamon roles and i must admit a little pumpkin spice creamer in the morning coffee. The main event of the day was carving pumpkins! I believe it is in moments like this when we are all working on a simple project and just enjoying time together that we are able to continue to get to know one another and our experiences. All in all a great day for community and a great day to show off some artistic abilities all the while celebrating Halloween a bit differently!

Photo of the Week- Hands 4 Detroit!

This week's pictures come from a huge event put on by the United Methodist Church. This is an annual event where here are several different sites for volunteer opportunities. N.O.A.H. was of course one such site! Well of course we were worried because it is very out of the ordinary for N.O.A.H. to have a saturday meal, so who would come? Well we did a little advertising and well we had a fantastic turn out! There was chili and hotdogs galore and we were able to spend all day saturday with volunteers from Birmingham First UMC. After serving and brief visit from the bishop, we all gathered for a worship service to hear some of the final numbers of what was done and about other worksites. 1,700 people joined in the work for a day of service and an attempt to build partnerships with people in Detroit! An awesome day to see so many people involved and so much good work done!

Photos of the Week: Catching Up and Running it Out

So this week has been a pretty eventful one that is certain! I had an awesome opportunity to  go to Chicago, IL. So a Megabus trip later and I was able to catch up with several really great friends in the Windy City. I would say most of the pictures are from an office party that a friend was able to snag an extra ticket for and I was able to crash. It was absolutely beautiful and to be honest somewhat strange feeling, cruising around the harbor on a yacht, while usually I am looking at the yacht. 

In addition to seeing friends I was able to run the Chicago Half Marathon and I must say it was an awesome race where seemingly half of Chicago came out to, cheering and making signs for. It was a great time and topped off with Chicago style pizza afterwards for each runner! Who says you can't have pizza for breakfast?!

Pictures of the Week!- It's a Birthday!

So this week was a pretty easy week when it came to choosing a picture of the week topic, it was my Birthday!! So of course I have a few pictures from August 28th! The day was pretty awesome and sadly I don't have pictures of everything, for instances after work about 15 coworkers, friends and neighbors got together to celebrate at a local resturaunt. While the food of course was fantastic there I was somewhat overwhelmed with the group that showed up. To consider this time last war these were all acquaintances if that and now to call them my friends and family here in Detroit was a powerful moment. Beautiful time to have everyone together!

So I thought I'd show some of the more interesting gifts:

Toothpicks!

A Painted Rock

Banana Pudding!

Some lovely decorations for the office, high class!

Avalon and a present to start the day off!

The Ego of Volunteering

Before reading on into this post I ask you to recognize how this story comes from a very vulnerable part of my own life. I have done my very best to be very honest, open and tactful. I believe this is an issue that has come up in my own life, perhaps in yours too, or maybe these are just points to ponder.

I have mentioned a couple times in past newsletters and blog posts that upon getting into Detroit I immediately looked for a service opportunity outside of NOAH where I could get to know another organization, get to know the people I am working with better and just have a place where I can get to know others who are working with the homeless. So the search was on for a dinner program that I could easily get involved with volunteering my time and that I could get to directly from work via bike. It took me until late September to find such a place, but finally after hearing about this church from several of my friends who come through NOAH and actually referring some to this church for a hot meal and a warm bed, I decided to check it out.

I will just use the church's initials MBK, I am not sure it matters about being confidential with the church, but just in case. Anyway, I have been working with MBK for quite sometime now I think it has given me a fantastic avenue to see familiar faces in another setting, do what I am told and see another way of service. It was at MBK on Thursday of this past week that I had some painful realizations.

See at MBK I never know who is going to show up to volunteer, sometimes there are 40 sometimes there are 3. Anyway, this was one of those days where I walk in with nearly 35 people present to volunteer. I kept busy cleaning up after people and serving the food when asked, but it was in some downtime between when everyone had been served and seconds being passed out when I sat down to take a break. 

While sitting in that chair overlooking the gym where people were eating I saw several people that I had already talked to, that I would say that I know fairly well through N.O.A.H. Some of these men and women in front of me I am striving to learn more about, get to know even better and learn from. This is when a stinking feeling slowly snuck its way into my head.

I realize that as much as I feel volunteering is a humbling, eye opening and overall a "good" experience in this situation there was a sense of pride still in present. I strive to build relationships with the people that I am giving a meal to yet I do not sit down and eat with my friend. It was in this moment where I could feel a still present barrier. While I was willing to step into the same building, work with, talk to, joke with, learn from and build community with many of these people I was still secretly adamant about keeping a small buffer built to separate us. This barrier was that of being a volunteer and the ego involved. 

The ego that I find that we find with volunteering is the notion in the back your head saying, "I am giving my time, your welcome" or "my 'daily bread' doesn't depend on this place." While I never, ever dreamt of saying this to anyone I believe this is a consistent sentiment held by those who volunteer in different settings and it is divisive to the two parties interacting. This ego ruins mutuality. This ego keeps differing power dynamics and socio economic status' alive and well. And worse we even see people gaining a certain amount of pride off of this power differential, when someone volunteering simply does not see those being served as an equal. This hurts.

It hurts to realize that if we are not constantly vigilant to keep the mindset that each party has something to gain from the interaction of volunteering. One party may bring 14 pans of lasagna, while the other may come to the table with a couple plastic bags of clothes, each still arrives with a story to share, lessons to be learned and a common humanity and need for relationship. Maybe if I can keep this fact in mind this ego barrier can slowly become smaller and smaller (and possibly begin to disappear).

I must finish with a recognition of reality. I understand that there probably will never be a time where I can completely eradicate the barriers between myself and the homeless that I work with, but if there is ever an opportunity to make this differential smaller then I hope to work towards that. I feel that as we make our differences in experience, beliefs and status between each other smaller, it then leaves more room for us to get to know one another on a deeper more authentic level. Maybe that is more along the lines of community and the community that we see preached with "love your neighbor" as a central tenant.

Photos of the Week! - OASIS Conference

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to share about the US-2 program at a conference called Oasis by Restoration Generation. The conference was in Washington DC for the Northeast jurisdiction young adults. While at the conference I had a chance to get up in front of the group and explain the program along with field questions. However, more importantly to me I was able to meet several people who were very interested in applying the US-2 program. This just once again gave me motivation that if people at least hear about the awesome opportunities with Global Ministries, they would be interested in short term missions. 

One such case was from one girl that I was able to speak with saying this program of the church is something that has been missing. She mentioned she has grown up in the church but found at the age of 23 that there is so mug more the UMC that she wish she would've known. Such a great chance to share what opportunities I have been granted and hopefully encourage others to go for it also. 

In addition to the weekend l was able to reconnect with an old friend from training, Lorenza! Lorenza is still going strong with her ministry to share the love of Christ at all times. She has been on the street for the past 2 years, giving up her salary, pension, benefits and home in solidarity. It was a great time to catch up and talk about other issues and I am so thankful for these opportunities!

Most of the event took place at Mount Vernon Place UMC, a beautiful place to learn more about urban ministry in an area experiencing gentrification in a huge way.

This is Lorenza!

Of course cannot be so close to the mall and not see some sights! I was able to go for a run to see MLK and the Lincoln Memorial, kinda awesome to visit!

Detroit, A Love Song

The massive flood of articles about Detroit continues. But hey what is this? In a July 29th NY Times Op-Ed piece writer Frank Bruni describes Detroit and his experience (very different from mine) in the city for 5 years. After seeing reactions to this article from different people I really feel it has a certain emotion to it that so very many people in Detroit can identify with. One thing can certainly be true, there is so very much pride in Detroit, pride and aspiration to make it even better.Check this article out if you have a moment:

Detroit, a Love Song

Making Headlines

Check it out! I was recently interviewed by the United Methodist Church to talk about some of what we are seeing here in Detroit as a US-2 with the different bankruptcy procedures! It made the homepage of the denominational website, check it out!

www.umc.org- It was the largest frame, but I'm not sure that it will stay there, it is a "Featured Article"

Also here is a direct link to the article!
The People Behind the Headlines

Photo of the Week- Produce Creativity- Blueberry Edition

As a part of my service here in Detroit I have added to the tenants of my service "living simply." This has encompassed my eating habits. Sense moving to Detroit I have experimented making more vegetarian dishes and more local produce and groceries. This has been an on going learning process learning to make everything from my own bread to how the heck do you cook eggplant? I have thoroughly enjoyed this adventure moving away from chicken on a Foreman Grill with a side of Ramen and on to the items from my own garden and Detroit itself. I believe I could go on for days about stories of failed recipe attempts (who knew I could mess up cooked collard greens so bad) and we'll call them less conventional recipes.

However, this week's photo of the week is of one of those experimental times. I was gifted 10lbs of fresh blueberries from outside of Kalamazoo, MI this week! While they were delicious I think I would have turned into a blueberry if I ate them all (straight off of Willy Wonka). Therefore I set out trying to find different uses and preserving methods. Check them out! I have to admit I am both surprised and pretty darn proud of how everything turned out.

From left to right we have:
-Dehydrated Blueberry- Soon to go into some granola!
-Frozen Blueberry- Holy smokes better than ice cream aaaannd I found an interesting recipe for them to go into a smoothie along with a bit of the mountains of kale that we have.
-Fresh Blueberry- No explanation needed, these are just awesome right!
-Accidental Blueberry Jam- Well it started with boiling some blueberries slightly to allow them to dehydrate faster after the skins crack...one thing led to another and BOOM- Blueberry Jam!

A Reminder From Art And Soul

Check out this awesome connection with N.O.A.H.! This video was created by a program that works with N.O.A.H.to provide an artistic avenue for the homeless that are a part of N.O.A.H. What an awesome creative reminder that More is More!

Photo(s) of the Week- Fire Up the Grill, N.O.A.H. is on Bell Isle!

So for starters to this Photo of the Week, I need to send out a disclaimer. I know in most every photo of the week there is generally more than one photo, but this week there are even more. I am sorry if it seems I am a little carried away, but I just gotta share it all! I am sure you'll understand.

Anyway, This Friday the N.O.A.H. Project went out to Bell Isle in order to have a cookout for our quarterly hangout/chillout event we do with the volunteers. We started the morning off with a fantastic smoothie bar, egg bakes and of course Monkeybread (the exception to our new "health kick" at N.O.A.H.). After some fun times making all types of smoothies from kale, cayenne and ginger smoothies to the crowd favorite the strawberry, banana and pineapple smoothies, we then packed into cars and headed to Bell Isle! While at Bell Isle we found a nice little shelter and played some charades, fired up the grill and had some delicious food! There was quite the rainstorm, but really that just created quite the story to go along with an awesome day. After eating I got my butt handed to me in chess and dominoes so now I certainly have something to work towards for next year! All in all, it was a day for the N.O.A.H. family to just relax and hang out together, days like that are certainly tiring, but so very worth it!

As you cane tell, no one really goes hungry!

We certainly had a full grill and this was before the torrential downpour and grilling in the rain!

Here we have the awesome game of Charades! And of course the team I was on won (I think).

The 20 miler Map!

So here I am attempting to give you the link to check out the route I took to run the20 miles once I was at Annual Conference

You should be able to click the following link, the only issue may be that if you don't have a Map My Run account it may not let you view it, but it seems that it may work? One thing though, the mileage in that 18.69 miles, which for you mathematicians is less than 20 miles! Well fear not! The Map My Run App that I use for some reason does not show the bridge that crosses over Lake Junaluska right where the ending point is. However, I did cross the bridge there, turned left and did a smaller loop, where I got back on to 19 and then S Lakeshore and crossed back over the bridge to then turn right on North Lakeshore and went back to Stuart, that mileage comes out to 2.42 miles, not including what ever the bridge is... So all in all the total mileage ran was 21.11!

Try it --> THE Map

Thank you so very much for the help, support, encouragement and just all around awesomeness!

I know i posted this picture earlier, but I just like it! Thanks again everyone!

Last Day of Annual Conference!

As is usual I think I just have too much to say and explain! Conference has been so great, I have been able connect with old friends, make connections with new friends, hear about new and different opportunities and be involved in the voting process of the United Methodist Church. The worship here has been simply phenomenal. There has been a very diverse group of speakers, worship leaders and focuses all the while adhering to the overall conference mission found in Micah 6:8: "And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?" ( NASB).

The teaching time was certainly enlightening as well with professor of Evangelism at Perkins, Elaine Heath, spoke 3 times teaching each time about the joys, concerns and experiences from beginning new monastic communities across the nation. Also, of course Bishop Larry Goodpastor has been a great leader and example for the conference and those involved!
As for the voting sessions themselves there will certainly be more to come about them and what I experienced, but overall they were wonderful examples of compromise and discussion. I was very thankful for the SPIRIT that influenced and lead our "holy conferencing." I'll expand petitions passed and not passed but for a moment we can sit and connect. Now as I write this, check out the view:

Just a little break in the day from sessions! Not a bad place to break!

20 Miles Down!

20 miles down!!

As you may have seen in other posts, I did reach the goal to get me here to Western NC Conference and as a part of the deal I ran my 20 miles this morning! I woke up around 5:30 and boy was it pretty out there! I have to admit I did stop twice to snap a couple pictures, but overall the run went well. I tried my best to stay focused on just digesting and mulling over what I was seeing at conference and my thoughts on things. It took just under 3 hours and I must say it was great to see so many other very enthusiastic and friendly people out so early. Check out some pictures below and as soon as I get to a computer ill post the route I took! 

So I've got my water and oatmeal and its off to the day's first session! Thanks again guys!

 The "Finish Line"

 The "Start Line"

The view this morning certainly wasn't too bad!

Lacein Up the Running Shoes

So many of you may already know about the fund raising effort of running in order to get to Western NC Annual conference. Well it is all complete and I now 20 miles to run! Tomorrow morning is the time and I just wanted to take one moment to thank you so very much for any support, letters and thoughts that were sent my way! I'll be getting up at 5 to get out and get the run done before the sessions begin once again. Thanks so much again and be looking for an update later!

Touched Down in Charlotte- Annual Conference Bufferflies

Boarding in Detroit for Annual Conference and there are a lot of different feelings from excitement to nervousness that are playing out. Annual Conference has had a somewhat of a sense if mystery to it. I have to admit when I was younger it simply signified a certain Sunday in the summer where the senior pastor wouldn't preach. Annual Conference always seemed to have an air of exclusivity to it. I felt as though I wasn't "Methodist" enough or that I didn't know enough John Wesley quotes to be a part of the meeting. Annual Conference seems to have a different meaning now, it is now an opportunity. An opportunity to come around a similar table and do our best to see how the church translates the Spirit of God that works within us to the reality we encounter around us. It seems that there are sometimes such intense arguments, but behind the arguments there is such intense passion. I look forward to Western NC Annual Conference to share what little knowledge and experience I have as a person attempting to discern the movements and will of God and to share the experiences of a US2 Missionary in the United Methodist Church.

So we have touched down in Charlotte and early tomorrow morning, Lake Junaluska here I come hopefully with an open heart and mind and of course my running shoes.

Keep Your Head Up

I have to admit, this morning I write with a heavier heart.

Yesterday at 1:00pm some of the N.O.A.H. family attended a memorial service where we laid to rest one of our good friends (and for once I will use real names on here) Terrence Mitchell. Terrence was a  volunteer at N.O.A.H. for around 15 years and was one of the first few to come in as a man experiencing homelessness and help N.O.A.H. become what it was today. He did everything with a smile and was always working hard to get by and take care of his family.

I really do not know what more to say here, how are we supposed to do justice to a person's life with just words? I think it is here where we have to realize that it is in the memories, conversations and interactions that we have had with Terrence that we remember him. Not through some nice words, instrumental music and an eulogy. I must say too in the midst of a sudden loss we have seen many people bonding together and taking care of one another. Please keep Terrence's family and N.O.A.H. in your thoughts and prayers as we are working through this loss, but in the spirit of Terrance we will keep our heads up no matter what!

"Keep your head up and pray and just keep going-that's reality" -Terrence Mitchell

Photos of the week!- Camping in West MI!

This week's photos of the week are really just from a time of some awesome change of scenery! So, as many may know Celeste has gotten the opportunity to live and work in Detroit this summer helping to organize a program that brings youth into the city to experience and work. Celeste was able to come out early and we took the opportunity to head west across Michigan to Lake Michigan and go camping for two nights! It was great weather, sunny everyday and just a little chilly at night, but such an awesome trip to visit another part of the state! We also took the opportunity to go hiking, check out a couple cities in the area and to be honest I took several naps in the hammock (awesome)!

The awesome sunset off a pier in Grand Haven! (Check it out we are looking almost directly at Chicago here)

Of course the cutesy picture was to be expected right? 

Detroit Annual Conference Begins!

And it begins! I have just pulled into Adrian and the campus of Adrian College for the 2013 Detroit Annual Conference for the United Methodist Church! I am so very happy (yes I am a United Methodist Nerd) to make new connections, see friends, learn more about the church and to share my experiences as a US-2 Missionary in Detrot, MI! There will certainly be more to come, but please have us in your thoughts as we begin this conference!


I'll be tweeting a lot of the different happenings so feel free to follow: @BP888

Old Photos of the Week!- Cinco De Mayo!!

Spring was out in full force last weekend with Cinco De Mayo parades, festivals and a few surprises. the weekend was an awesome reminder of where I live in Southwest Detroit that there is a huge latino culture that is vibrant and always ready for a fun time! the streets of Vernor were packed to the brim with several street blocked off to allow for crowds! It is always so great to see huge amounts of people coming out of the winter hibernation in order to enjoy time together. Neighbors are coming out onto porches, into gardens and it seems that just like the tulips that are blooming, so are Springwells Village and Mexicantown in Southwest Detroit!

Some of the streets that were blocked off formed a sort of festival with music, food and just huge amounts of people! (and it looks like I was photo bombed with this one!)

 Some of the surprises- Mechanical Bull! Sadly it was pretty pricey, so I was not up to it, but hey check it out this guys was (looks like the bull won this one)

It is not everyday that you see horses coming down Vernor, but this was the beginning of the parade!

A time of Silence-

Yes I went on a Silent Retreat for 4 days!

I was given the opportunity with the Jesuit Retreat center Manresa and holy smokes it was so very awesome! It was a really encouraging time to step back and at about the halfway mark of being here and  I was able to look at what my goals were in the beginning, what I still hope to do, what I need to be more intentional and more focused on and just time to digest some of what I am learning. It was an awesome reorientation!

I think the retreat itself really amplified for me the importance of taking time to not just to be alone, but to really think about what you are doing and why. Regardless if you are doing a service year, school or holding down a job, I think the Holy Spirit leads us to different goals and opportunities in life and it is so very easy to get switched to auto pilot and not live intentionally to live out the message and ideals of Christ.

Photos of the Week- Its a Party!

Well some awesome things happened this weekend. For one my roommate Brian is leaving for a trip to study and living in several countries in Central America for about 5-6 weeks. We threw a Pre-Cinco De Mayo/Goodbye for a bit Brian party complete with potluck of snack foods and a bonfire! We had about 30 or so of Brian and mine's friends over for a good time watching the sunset and talking about everything from my "southern accent" to community organizing. Bon Voyage Brian!

A little bonfire action, and no my face is not on fire.

I suppose this is what I get when people borrow your camera! But hey now we get this lovely picture!

And yes ladies and gents, it is official the Spring is here and dang it is awesome!

A Loss in the Family

Well I have some pretty awful and difficult news today. Yesterday morning it was reported that one of our clients that has been coming for several years was stabbed to death at Hart Plaza Saturday night. I will continue the policy of not using any names, but "John" was a deaf man that was constantly teaching me sign language and always had a smile. "John" had a sense of humor and a spirit that really could just be felt and sure didn't mind giving you a hard time. I suppose I write this just to share that because so often I am able to share stories of exciting happenings or of lessons learned, but I thought I could share the difficult times also. "John" was one of the shining lights here at NOAH and he will not be forgotten, thank you for reading y'all.

Photos of the Week- Red Wing Win!

Hello!! It has been sometime and I am glad to be able to sit down and just share one of many recent experiences I have had in what has become my home, Detroit, MI!

On Tuesday of this week a good friend of mine and myself found super cheap tickets for the Detroit Red Wings game! This was the third to last game of the season and promised to be a good one! So on Wedensday night we joined 20,000 other people at a sell out Joe Louis Arena! On top of that there was a Tigers game Wedensday also, so Detroit was truly on fire and bustling! Sometimes it is just so great to see people who are extremely passionate about a Detroit sports team.

Just to add to the awesomeness, Red Wings took it home, winning 3-1 in a real nail biter and will be continuing on to the playoffs!! Go Red Wings!

Photo of the Week- "Goodbye Rhonda"

As many of you may have heard, I am very sorry to say Rhonda (my car for the past few years) has been totaled. 

On the morning of Sunday, March 24th Rhonda was hit by a drunk driver going nearly 70 mph in a 35 mph zone. She got hit in the face hard enough to roll to the other side of the street and leave plenty of debris. However, luckily she was just parked outside of a friend's house and it was very early in the morning so no one was around, the driver of the other vehicle did actually walk away from the wreck, but was arrested with a DUI. A sad day for sure, but at least no one was injured.

Time to bike?

 

Photo of the Week- Stations of the Cross- In Clark Park

Well I do regret to say that it has been quite sometime since I last updated, so I am very sorry for that! Believe me it has not been that nothing is happening, but quite the opposite...everything is happening! But don't you worry I am going to do my very best to catch you up slowly on everything from Lent, to Rhonda (my car) leaving! So be expecting a few extra posts this week as I have a lot to share and a lot to update you on!

This Photo of the week bit is from a Stations of the Cross service I attended and helped with in a local park. It was a pretty great service because it was so very different than other services. For one it was in the middle of the park which invited so many more people to join! However, one of the coolest points was that it was not put on just by one agency, instead it was a group effort between 8 different agencies in Southwest Detroit that are working to better Southwest in different ways. Some of the agencies ranged from ones seeking immigration justice and reform, a church plant, a gun violence advocacy group, "street art" organization and several other agencies working hard for SW Detroit. Each agency took a station or two and presented what they were doing, connected to the station itself! It was a beautiful time to see so many people passionate, working and loving the neighborhood I am living in! 

I was even invited to do a station myself as a part of Grace in Action and did the reading of the second station, when Jesus was arrested.

This cross was carried around to each station as the group walked through and each station hung a cross on the large wooden cross. 

Here is just one of the stations speaking mostly towards the need to incorporate what our ancestors learned and the importance of intergenerational dialoge.

Another station, this one by Southwest Pride, advocating for an end to gun violence, there were certainly some very sobering statistics.

There was a pretty great turn out of about 50 or so and already talks for next year! (If I help next year I will have to step up my presentation, there were some really powerful ones!)

Photo of the Week- Bowls of Hope!

This week's photos of the week are of our Bowls of Hope event at Central UMC! This past Sunday Amy (my supervisor) and I had an awesome opportunity to give the sermon at Central! We spoke from the lectionary and talked on 2 Corinthians 5 and the story of the Prodigal Son. Our main topic was Radical Hospitality and how the NOAH project has depicted this and challenged both of us to be better. I was an awesome chance to dive deep into scripture, share what NOAH is doing and get a little more experience speaking in front of a congregation. After the service we move upstairs where the whole NOAH staff had been working tirelessly to turn the dining hall into a space for the Bowls of Hope Event! There was music, 6 delicious soups, donated Avalon Bakery bread and good conversation all over the place, all to help raise money for the NOAH Project. I had a great time working, eating and chatting this Sunday and I am very thankful for all that helped and supported us on Sunday!

So first people would walk through and find 3 tables with handmade bowls on one, hand painted bowls on another and reclaimed bowls from Salvation Army on the third. There was a suggested donation that people paid, filled up there bowl a few times and then were able to take the bowl home.

As you can see there was plenty of soup and bread to go around (in fact it is Tuesday and for lunch again today I think we'll be finishing off the Minestrone!)

A packed fellowship hall which is always a good thing to see!