​At Memphis Youth Mission, one of the community partners that we go to every week is St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral on Wednesday mornings for a worship service that is open to everyone, and they mean everyone. After the worship service, the group will help serve breakfast to those who attended the worship service and others from the community.

​For me, this service site has been particularly meaningful. MYM had an Episcopalian group come earlier in the summer and I had the privilege of sitting next to one of the group leaders during the service. She was overwhelmed by the joy, love, and compassion shown to those who normally would not be so welcomed in a traditional church setting; she wept at the idea that this church was opening its doors to anyone and everyone that wanted to come in. It was a powerful experience for me to watch her during the service and afterwards during the breakfast, talking to people and helping welcome those on the margins.

Community:

1. a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. 

2. a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

​We all belong to communities. We are on different teams and parts of different clubs. We attend different schools and different churches. However, the one community without any divide is the body of Christ. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are our people!!! Throughout the summer, I have had the opportunity to engage in many different communities that have taught me so much about who makes up the body of Christ. Although getting up and to work by 7:30 seems to be getting harder and harder, the communities being built seems to make it more and more worth it.

A core goal of Raleigh Youth Mission is to deter participants from the “savior mentality”, because we believe it is a toxic standpoint, and not a true reflection of the gospel. To achieve this, as a staff we are intentional to define the concept of mission immersion. Prior to arriving to Raleigh and receiving training- I was a bit unclear on the concept myself. Several friends and family members would ask.. sooo what exactly are you doing this summer? Mission immersion is like a mission trip in that you are volunteering, working with others, and maybe providing some relief to those in need. However, mission immersion takes this concept a step further. The immersion aspect is a dual idea that while we aid agencies in their mission, we are also learning ourselves. We learn about the agencies, how they’re funded, what services they provide, and much more. So instead of simply helping those facing poverty, homelessness, or food insecurity, we also teach our youth where these problems come from. At RYM, we teach curriculum to middle and high school students that challenges systemic issues such as gentrification, generational poverty, racism, and privilege awareness.

​This week at RYM we learned about what it means to live abundantly, what living abundantly looks like, and how God has called us to serve those who lack abundance. During the week, we played an activity called ‘Continuums.’ In this game, someone reads out a statement, and people place themselves accordingly on a scale of “agree” versus “disagree.” The last statement in the game was “God cares the most about people who are poor and/or oppressed.” Once this statement was announced, the majority of people moved more towards the 100% agree spectrum. This shocked me. If anything, I feel neutral to this statement.

The first week of anything can challenge us and even be difficult. My first week at AYM was no different. It was difficult, but just because something is difficult doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth doing. Our first week was worth any difficulties that we encountered, because we were able to serve the people in our community here in Asheville.

​Our first week I took Northwest Presbyterian Church of Atlanta to 12 baskets and we helped serve the meal for the people who came in to eat. Almost immediately my group of 6 middle school boys saw that there was a chess set on their coffee tables at 12 baskets. They were all excited, most of them loved to play chess. They asked if they could play a game of chess and I told them that maybe if we had some time at the end of the day then they could. After that we started getting ready to serve the people coming in.

​My deep gladness is lived out at Raleigh Youth Mission (a part of Youth Mission Co).  I began this past August as the Director of Raleigh Youth Mission and in this short time I have experienced pure joy!  I have experienced the joy of numerous agencies that are meeting the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness in Raleigh, NC – filling those gaps that enable them to move through their struggles and temporary situations with dignity and with hope.  I have experienced the joy of young people who become aware of the issues that surround homelessness and the complexity of it all – and not becoming overwhelmed but rather come to an understanding that they can make a difference in the lives of others.  And I have experienced joy to work with a staff that has a passion for youth and for justice systems that give all people an opportunity to flourish – who have the ability to look forward and ask “How can we meet the needs of those we serve with innovation and creativity?”

​For the last several weeks we have been looking at each part of worship and considering how we can “mission” that element of the service.  From being called together to confession of sin, from hearing God’s Word and responding with what we believe, we have discussed how each part relates to social justice and the command that Jesus gives us to “love our neighbor.”

​Typically the end of our services includes some kind of Charge and Benediction.  Often a pastor leads it by coming out to the center of the room, raising her hands, and gives some final words to the congregation.  This part of worship reminds us that God sends us out into the world, and blesses us for that journey with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit goes with us.

​Welcome to Part 6 of our blog series, Mission Our Worship.  We are looking at the different parts of worship and considering how we can engage in related acts of mission.

​In our last post we discussed that after hearing God’s Word read and proclaimed, we are inspired to stand up and say what we believe.  That’s more than some litany read aloud by a congregation once a week– it’s a call for our whole lives.  Whenever we see injustice or strive in the context of our world, we are called to speak out based on our faith and our convictions.

​Welcome to Part 5 of our blog series:  Mission Our Worship.  Week by week, we are looking at each section of worship and thinking about how we can engage in acts of mission that are related to each of those elements.  In previous posts we have discussed how God calls us, not only to gather together in worship, but also calls us to love and serve our neighbors.  We have considered how adoration of the creator leads us to care for what God has created.  Confessing our sin requires us to be aware of the ways that we, individually and collectively, have hurt our neighbors through social injustices.  We’ve also talked about how the Spirit uncovers more of the power and meaning of Scripture when we study the Bible in community… particularly with neighbors who are different from us.  Our collective wisdom and collective experiences of life provide a richer soil for our growing understanding of God’s Word and its application in our lives.

​Welcome to Part 4 of our blog series “Mission Our Worship.”  We are spending time looking at each part of a worship service, and then considering how we can do mission activities related to that part of worship.  Here’s a quick re-cap:

​Call To Worship:  God not not only calls us to worship, but is calling us throughout the week to serve our neighbors.  Be intentional and mindful of what God is calling you to do, and with whom God is calling you to be in relationship.

​Adoration:  In worship we spend time in adoration of God, for who God is and what God has done.  Chief among these is praising God as Creator.  In adoration of the Creator, we can protect and care for God’s creation!