Here are a few questions we asked Sara about her work.

What does a typical day of work look like for you?

What gives you a lot of life in your work?

What are some of the greatest challenges you have in your work?

Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges was a black girl who integrated in schools in the 1960s and is Sara’s childhood hero. It was Sara’s first glimpse into the past and was what sparked her interest in history and the Civil Rights Movement. The book also gives a glimpse into how Sara sees her family and past. For Sara, when she read the book as a kid, she saw that there was a right side of history and a wrong side of history. Then when she started talking with her parents about Ruby Bridges and the Civil Rights Movement, she learned that her family was not on the side of history that she wanted to be on. This book sparked Sara’s awareness to question what is going on in the world presently and think about on what side of history she wants to be on. This book was Sara’s catalyst for wanting to work with immigrants and immigration issues. In high school and college, immigration seemed like the big issue occurring in the United States, and so she decided to understand those issues so that she could one day work for immigrant justice. 

Ultimately, Sara now strives to live and reflect from history in a way where she is not blindly molding to culture and religion. She finds history very disheartening in the fact that we continue to repeat injustices against certain groups of people. One of the reasons she no longer identifies as religious because she has seen the danger of blindly following religion and how Christianity has been perverted in history. While she thinks that religion can provoke good reflection and thought, she does not think that it is very common. For her religion can provoke groupthink. And while she knows this can happen to any people in all areas of life, it is the church as an institution that has been the tool to justify many of the atrocities she is against. This is also why she is drawn to churches that are social justice oriented because it proves to her that the institution of the church can be used to do good in the world. However, she was not exposed to more progressive religion growing up nor does she see religion painted this way in history. 

El Colibri (hummingbird)

When Sara became interested in immigration issues, she knew that she needed to learn Spanish. So, a year after college she received a job with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Guatemala. And she went to Guatemala with the purpose of learning Spanish and why people migrate. One of the first communities that she worked in was Santiago Atitlán (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Atitlán). It was also how she met her good friend Kat and the women at ANADESA (https://www.natik.org/anadesa) who do mostacilla (bead work).  For Sara this colibri (hummingbird) represents many things, like her intro to a Mayan culture that she did not even know existed before. It also represents the people in Santiago that she met and how important they are to her, something that she did not even realize for her first years in Guatemala. El colibri reminds her of why she went to Guatemala in the first place, and all the things that she uncovered in Guatemala, and why she can’t stay away from Guatemala now. She finds friendship in el colibri because Sara shared experiences with friends in Guatemala who have become some of her longest friendships apart from childhood.

Sara also identifies with the meaning of el colibri in Mayan culture as a sign of resiliency and bearer of strength in confronting obstacles. Sara acknowledges that as much as she loves Guatemala, there were other things occurring in her life and being in a foreign country added extra layers of difficulty. Some people have asked Sara why she did not leave Guatemala during difficult parts of her life, but Guatemala felt so much like home for her that she wanted to make the best of her life even in those difficult times. She now realizes that while she would have never used the word “resilient” to describe herself before Guatemala, she now has constructed resiliency for herself, and she enjoys that aspect about herself. 

Migrant Trail Bandana 

This is the bandana that Sara took on the migrant trail. Sara started to work for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in 2016 and it was her job to facilitate learning tours for MCC Guatemala. So, she had the opportunity with MCC to participate in another MCC learning tour anywhere around the world, and she chose to go to the U.S./Mexico border because she really wanted to learn about this part of her country. She was drawn to immigrant issues there, and she felt it was really important to know what was happening with immigration in her own country on the border. On the learning delegation she visited Tucson, Douglas and Agua Prieta, MX. She remembers feeling that there was a great harshness to the borderlands, but there were also a lot of glimpses of hope from the harshness. 

She was inspired by Jack and Linda in Douglas, AZ of their intentionality of living on the border, and how they had found hope and beauty in the midst of the injustice and the ugliness of the borderlands. After the learning delegation, she participated in the Migrant Trail (https://azmigranttrail.com), and it was a powerful experience for her to reflect on the journey of migrants to the United States. She also met many people like Jack and Linda who have shaped their vocation and profession around helping immigrants. The bandana represents her redirection in life from her visit on the border that eventually led her to live and work with immigrants on the border in 2020. It was after the Migrant Trail where Sara went from saying that one day, she wanted to work with immigrants to saying that she wants to work with immigrants on the border after her time in Guatemala. Sara has made this a reality for herself when she moved to Tucson and began to work with Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, MX. However, she thought she would be here in Tucson a long time, but it has not been a great year for her professionally. Her time in Guatemala was supposed to be like a steppingstone to work in immigration on the border, but she has not felt belonging in her work or she has the skills for her job. Now that she has been re-directed back to living and working in Guatemala, it feels a little bit weird for her. But Sara is also really excited to go back to Guatemala for more aprendizaje, and she feels good with making the choice to go back. 

Santiago Atitlán Painting

The last year that Sara lived in Guatemala, she lived in San Juan La Laguna, which is a small village on Lake Atitlán (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_La_Laguna). The town is almost 100% Tz’utujil Mayan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzʼutujil_people), and it was a culture shock for Sara because she had been never exposed and immersed so much in Mayan culture. She lived with a family who adopted her into their family like a daughter. Since they were a family of painters, they wanted to gift her paintings when she was about to leave to the United States. She asked them to paint her a woman from San Juan and a woman from Santiago. The woman in this painting is from Santiago Atitlán. 

These two places for Sara are important because they are the sandwich of her aprendizaje (learning) of indigenous cultures in Guatemala. When Sara worked for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) she would visit the town of Santiago often. It was in Santiago where the community helped her learn the Tz’utujil Mayan culture and norms there. Her aprendizaje in the community of Santiago then helped her do work in San Juan La Laguna. In this way, the painting is like a representation of how her life in Guatemala came full circle. In Santiago Atitlán she had to go through a lot of cultural choques (clashes). Sara feels that during this time in her life she did not do things with a lot of grace, and she was frustrated all the time. Her frustration came from that everything in the Tz’utujil Mayan culture just did not make a lot of sense to her. But then when she lived in San Juan La Laguna it was not such a cultural choque because the people in Santiago Atitlán had been so patient to teach her. Her time in San Juan La Laguna was really beautiful because she knew she was utterly different from everyone else there, but it was not an obstacle, her differences were something that she could celebrate. And she feels that her time, exposure and personal growth in Guatemala allowed her to learn to celebrate her differences. 

The post Young Adults in the Borderlands: Sara appeared first on 787 Collective.

También, pedí que Brenda me enseñara cuatro objetos que son simbólicos en su vida, aquí es lo que me compartió.  

Su Pulsera Roja

Brenda es de una familia con tradiciones que no son occidentales. Su mamá siempre le ha regalado una pulsera para protegerla del mal de ojo. Ella lleva tanto la pulsera que tiene una línea de bronceado de la pulsera. Cada vez que se rompe, siempre recibe una nueva, y su madre le dice que ha cumplido su propósito y le da una nueva. Siempre que no tiene su pulsera, siente que le falta algo y sus amigos y familiares notan que ella no tiene el rojo también. Su pulsera roja suele tener un santo, que tiene una función religiosa de sus creencias católicas. Tener un santo en la pulsera la ayuda a centrarse en la oración, Dios y la conexión espiritual. El color rojo de su pulsera le recuerda de la sangre de su familia y sus lazos familiares.

Una Foto de Su Hermana

Esta es una foto de la hermana de Brenda que siempre tiene en su billetera. Es una foto que siempre lleva consigo porque ella y su hermana son muy cercanas. Siempre que pasa un día pesado y abre su billetera para comprar algo, la foto le recuerda que las cosas van a estar bien. Su hermana siempre la ha motivado para triunfar. Su hermana tiene necesidades especiales y ha pasado por muchas cosas en su corta vida. Entonces, cuando mira la foto, le recuerda que, si su hermana pudo pasar por cosas difíciles en la vida, ella también puede superarlo todo. Dado que su hermana es cinco años menor que ella, ha asumido un papel más paternal con su hermana. Y verla pasar por tantas luchas en la vida, la hace admirar a su hermana debido a su resistencia.

Su Collar

Cuando Brenda se graduó, su profesor le regaló esta cadena. Su profesor le dijo que siempre necesitaría estas dos cosas para su tipo de trabajo: la fe y el amor. El collar es un recordatorio para ella y su trabajo, que necesita tener fe en sí misma y amor por sí misma para compartir la fe y el amor con los demás en su trabajo. En su campo de trabajo, tener fe en sí misma es un recordatorio para no dudar de sí misma o enojarse con sus errores. Cuando trabajas en salud comunitaria, puede ser fácil para alguien dudar de sí mismo a pesar de que el trabajo realmente puede impactar a las personas. Brenda ha aprendido que es muy importante ganar confianza de las comunidades con las que trabaja ella porque esas comunidades confían en ella para su salud, y elle puede perder fácilmente la confianza de las personas si comete un error. En cualquier trabajo de salud pública que haga Brenda, lo hace con amor y fe en que su trabajo tiene un impacto positivo en la salud de comunidades. Para Brenda, dar amor a su trabajo significa que trata de ser una persona cariñosa y tratar a las personas de una manera que ella quiere ser tratada. De esta manera, ser cariñosa significa que les da respeto.

Su agenda de la escuela y trabajo

Brenda lleva esta agenda a todas partes porque le gusta planear todo. Si no escribe algo, no puede conceptualizarlo. Ella siente que nunca está fuera del trabajo, por lo que siempre la tiene consigo para apuntar las cosas. Cuando está trabajando, tampoco no deja su vida personal, por lo que anotará cosas personales en su agenda. Le ayuda a organizar y equilibrar su vida, de modo que si tiene demasiadas cosas planeadas para el trabajo, puede mover las cosas para un día posterior. Su agenda la ayuda a mantener un buen equilibrio entre el trabajo y la vida personal. También ella siente que es una persona ocupada, especialmente, el semestre pasado cuando tuvo que equilibrar ser estudiante, tener una profesión y tener una vida personal. Como Brenda tiene que viajar mucho por trabajo, su agenda le permite saber donde estará ese día. Cuando abre su agenda, le da un suspiro de alivio al ver lo que tiene que hacer durante el día porque si simplemente fuera de su memoria, piensa que sería un alma perdida. Ella también siente que está involucrada con muchas cosas en el trabajo y fuera del trabajo porque siempre comienza muchos nuevos proyectos o nuevos intereses, así que su agenda le permite administrar el tiempo y hacer lo mejor que pueda. También le permite priorizar sus días de trabajo, los proyectos en los que está trabajando y otras cosas que tiene que hacer fuera del trabajo.

The post Jóvenes en la Frontera: Brenda appeared first on 787 Collective.

En los Estados Unidos a pesar de trabajar contra el Dios de vida para hacer sistemas sociales que ahora nos dejan vulnerables e inciertos sobre nuestro futuro. Optamos por que los gringos dominaran a los morenos y negros, lo que resultó en linchamientos, muros, racismo y odio. Optamos por los combustibles fósiles sobre otras formas de energía en la tierra como el sol, el viento y el agua que provocan el cambio climático, el desplazamiento humano y la extinción de especies. Optamos por el monocultivo en lugar de la agricultura tradicional que nos da enfermedades y deja la tierra sin nutrientes. Sin embargo, el Dios de vida siempre perturba nuestros sistemas de dominio en los Estados Unidos. Dios ha dado esperanza a los oprimidos, ha preservado nuestro conocimiento sagrado y nos ha ayudado a trabajar juntos para resistir la injusticia social. Y tengo fe en que el Dios de vida ayudará a la iglesia y las personas a continuar este trabajo en el futuro para resistir la muerte física y cultural de las personas, los animales, las plantas y nuestra Tierra.

Hay gente indígena en los Estados Unidos hablan de un estilo agrícola llamado las Tres Hermanas que puede ayudarnos a comprender cómo podemos acercarnos a la misión y la iglesia con los jóvenes. Las semillas de maíz, frijol y calabaza ciertamente pueden crecer por sí mismas, pero juntas pueden producir más frutos de los que producirían solos. El maíz es como la hermana mayor porque es la primera hermana en crecer y la más alta. Pero no tendrá suficiente nitrógeno mineral del suelo sin la ayuda de su hermana mediana, el frijol, que puede producir nitrógeno de la atmósfera para agregar más al suelo. El frijol puede utilizar el maíz de su hermana mayor para trepar alto y crecer de los depredadores en el suelo. Mientras que la calabaza es como la hermana menor, que puede crear un nuevo camino para sí misma al crecer horizontalmente debajo de sus hermanas mayores. Pero sus semillas deben ser sembradas con las mismas cantidades para que produzcan la mayor abundancia de frutos y alimentos para nosotros. Cuando una hermana se hace dominante en el suelo, no obtenemos tanta comida y cosecha de las otras hermanas.

Quizás, nuestras iglesias son como las hermanas mayores del maíz, donde han crecido altas y fuertes a lo largo de los años, pero necesitan más nutrientes debido a la falta de frijol, que es como la diversidad que les hace falta en muchas iglesias cristianas en los Estados Unidos. Quizás, la hermana de calabaza es como los jóvenes que puede mostrar a la hermana mayor (la iglesia) nuevas formas de abordar la misión de cristo en un mundo cambiante. Pero, las hermanas menores pueden beneficiar de las estructuras sólidas y la experiencia de la iglesia para ayudarlas a crecer aún más para producir más frutos y amor por nuestro mundo. Pero si nuestras iglesias solo están llenas de maíz, entonces necesitamos encontrar una manera de hacer más espacio para nuestras hermanas menores. Necesitamos dar preferencia y apoyar la vida, el trabajo y la espiritualidad de los jóvenes para verlos crecer con la ayuda de la iglesia. En este proyecto esperamos involucrar y conectar a hermanos y hermanas de varias generaciones en esta serie de blogs de Jóvenes en la Frontera por amor y conexión en la frontera de Estados Unidos y México. La serie se enfocará en conectar las vidas, el trabajo y la espiritualidad de dos jóvenes con comunidades que tienen una rica historia y sabiduría para ayudar a nutrir y regalar a los jóvenes. Compartiremos las vidas y pasiones de dos increíbles jóvenes Brenda y Sara en Tucson, AZ con dos comunidades en la frontera DouglaPrieta Trabaja (Agua Prieta, MX) y La Iglesia Presbiteriana de San Marcos (Tucson, AZ) para nutrir a estas jóvenes con amistades, regalos y el amor de Dios.

James Martin

^[1] Robin Wall Kimmer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. (Minneapolis Milkweed Editions, 2013), 130.^[1] Kimmer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 132-134.

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In the United States we have often worked against the God of life to create social systems that now leave us vulnerable and uncertain about our future. We opted for white people being dominant over brown and black people resulting in lynching’s, walls, racism and hate. We opted for fossil fuels over other forms of energy on earth like sun, wind, and water that result in climate change, human displacement and species extinction. We opted for monoculture farming over traditional farming that made us unhealthy, gave us diseases and leaves the land without nutrients. Yet, the God of life disrupts our systems of dominance in the United States. She has given hope to the oppressed, preserved our sacred knowledge and helped us work together to resist social injustice. And I have faith that the God of life will help the church and people continue this work in the future to resist the cultural and physical death of people, animals, plants and our Earth. 

Native people in the United States speak about a farming style called the Three Sisters that can help us understand how we can approach mission and church with young adults in the United States. The seeds of corn, beans and squash can certainly grow all by themselves, but together they can produce more fruit than they would alone.^[1] Corn is like the oldest sister because it is the first sister to grow and the tallest. But she will not have enough mineral nitrogen from the soil without the help of her middle sister, beans, who can produce nitrogen from the atmosphere to add more to the soil. The beans can utilize her older sister corn to climb high and grow up from predators on the ground. While squash is like the youngest sister, who can create a new way for herself by growing horizontally below her older sisters.^[2] But their seeds must be equally planted if they are to produce the most fruit and food for us. When one sister becomes dominant in the soil, then we don’t get as much food and harvest from the other sisters. 

Perhaps, our churches are like the oldest corn sister where they have grown tall and strong over the years but need more nutrients due to the lack of beans, which is like the diversity that is missing in many protestant churches across the United States. Perhaps, it is the youngest sister squash who are the young adults that can show the older sister and church new ways of approaching mission in a changing world. But, the younger sisters can both benefit from the strong structures and experience of the church to help them grow even taller and wider to produce more fruit and love for our world. But if our churches are only filled with corn then we need to find a way to make more room for our younger siblings. We need to preference and support the lives, work and spiritualities of young people to watch them grow tall with the help of the church. We hope to engage and connect siblings across generations in this blog series of Young Adults on the Borderlands for love and connection in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. The series will focus on connecting the lives, work and spiritualities of young adults with communities that have rich histories and wisdom to help nourish and give to young adults. We will be sharing the lives and passions of two amazing young adults Brenda and Sara in Tucson, AZ with two communities in the borderlands DouglaPrieta Trabaja (Agua Prieta, MX) and St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church (Tucson, AZ) to nourish young adults with friendships, gifts and God’s love.  

James Martin                         

^[1] Robin Wall Kimmer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. (Minneapolis Milkweed Editions, 2013), 130.

^[2] Kimmer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 132-134.

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The 787 Collective is proud to present this not-to-be-missed studio experience. From Odyssey Works Artistic Director Abraham Burickson:

What is the one key to really great design? What is required for us to understand each other better? Work together better?

A product or live performance, organizational structure or digital interface — everything we design succeeds or fails in the experience of the user. To create with meaning is to do so with empathy.

The intensive will be a chance to join the Odyssey Works directors and dive deep into Odyssey Works’ intimate and inspiring process on how to create transformative experiences. This class combines the content of our core offerings of empathy & experience design, diagramming, and making meaning workshops, into one intensive that creates community, cultivates communication, and uses rigorous design methods to build empathetic teams connected to their core mission.   

The Design Intensive will take place on the Austin Seminary campus October 12th and 13th from 9 am to 5 pm each day. The cost of registration is $395 per participant, with all proceeds supporting the creative endeavors of Odyssey Works. Registration includes breakfast and a membership to the Library of Experiences (http://experiencelibrary.com/). Some full and partial scholarships available, and the application for scholarships can be found here. To get a more thorough sense of the creativity, philosophy and performance elements that drive Odyssey Works click here to read a profile from The New York Times or watch a TED talk about the concept of designing experience from Artistic Director Abraham Burickson.

photo by Ayden LeRoux from Odyssey Works performance “When I Left The House It Was Still Dark” (2013)

about Odyssey Works:

THE IDEA IS A BEAUTIFUL INEFFICIENCY: A TINY BUT INFINITELY MORE AFFECTED AUDIENCE.

Chris Colin,
The New York Times

Imagine waking up to find yourself immersed in a performance that is all about you. Since 2001, Odyssey Works has been creating immersive, durational experiences for an audience of one. Our team is made up of artists in dozens of disciplines who study the life of one individual and use whatever means necessary to create intimate, meaningful performances that last days, weeks, or months, and occur not on a stage but interwoven with the life of our audience of one. The experiences are transformative; most of our participants change jobs, move, make new commitments to loved ones shortly after their Odysseys.

The post Odyssey Works Design Intensive appeared first on 787 Collective.

If your congregation is interested in participating, either by nominating a Young Adult Community Builder from your ranks or discerning a partnership with a Young Adult Community Builder in Austin, please submit this Expression of Interest by September 15th. If you use Google Suite, you may also conveniently fill out the Expression of Interest here.

If you are a young adult and are interested in applying to become a Young Adult Community Builder, please submit this Expression of Interest by September 15th. If you use Google Suite, you may also conveniently fill out the Expression of Interest here.

To access our brief refresher on the art of Christian Discernment, click here. Our full and very snazzy Discernment Guide (with pictures!) is available for free here.

Our project focuses on the spiritual thriving of young adults in our immediate community, so projects in and around the Austin area will receive priority. But the spiritual nurture of young adults everywhere concerns us all, so please reach out regardless if you seek help brokering a creative venture in your community or your congregation!

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Name: Evan Hearn
Age: 25
Relationship to the Collective: Young Adult Advisor

Describe the event in three sentences or less: Over the course of two days, leaders and participants of spiritual innovation hubs from across the country met against the backdrop of the historic Alexander Hotel in Indianapolis. Our objective was to share the experiences, successes, and shortcomings of our respective initiatives – each seeking in its own manner to bring together young adults and the Church in new and lasting ways.

What did you notice during or about this event? Everybody came with questions and left with more, yet among all of us there seemed to be a sense of optimism and faith. While none of us had any definitive answers to the big question of, “How do we get young people involved in their communities in a spiritual sense?”, all of us appeared to be advancing down our own paths.  

What impacted you the most? I was most impacted by the richness of interaction between older hub leaders and young adult participants such as myself. It would be no exaggeration to say I was able to converse with some intellectual titans of Christian thought and spirituality – people who have dedicated their lives to this kind of work. Yet simultaneously, I was able to learn much about the work my peers are involved in – this diversity of backgrounds made for a constant exchange of perspectives and lessons learned.

What about this event struck you as spiritual and/or carried spiritual significance for you? As someone who has struggled for many years to find a faith community, being able to participate in this event carried a significant spiritual weight for me. There is a lot of spiritual joy to be felt in being welcomed and accepted by strangers at every opportunity, and these two days were filled with such moments.

What new or next thing, if anything, did this experience inspire you to do/be/or try in the future? This gathering reestablished in my mind that the project I am helping with, the Good Start program, is on a good track. While there is still much to do and further to go, I feel confident that we are advancing towards making a real material difference for young adults in the Marble Falls community, which will undoubtedly entail and facilitate spiritual growth.

If you want to find out more about how the “In Our Words” series got started, click here.

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Senior Sermon: I don’t know…by Todd Jones

Preached on: February 25, 2019 at APTS

Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to protect you, and on their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

I want to begin with a small confession that I imagine most of you will understand all too well. I will next be preaching on March 10^th at First United Methodist Church in Harlingen, TX. This will serve as something of an introductory sermon, as I will start as their Youth Pastor in June. That day in March happens to be the first Sunday of Lent, and when I checked the lectionary, I saw that the Gospel reading for that day was the passage that I just read out of Luke 4. Since these sermons were fairly close together, I chose to save myself some work and did some double dipping by using the same text for both. So, for those of you who attend churches that use the lectionary, you’ll probably hear this scripture again in a couple weeks and you’ll be able to decide which sermon you like more.

But even though that is how this passage came to be read in this time and place, as I prepared for this, I found that it is an incredibly appropriate text for this occasion of a senior sermon. I also find it rather poetic that this same text is at the heart of both an ending, goodbye type of sermon like this one and a beginning, hello type of sermon like the one I will give in Harlingen in a couple weeks. Now, I know that this is not really goodbye and that will not really be hello, for a number of reasons, including the fact that there are three months left in the semester, but still, I enjoy the balance and duality of these two things. A beginning and an end.

I especially enjoy it because this passage is also something of a beginning, hello moment as well as an ending, goodbye moment for Jesus. This passage is one of several that make up the beginning of Christ’s life of ministry. Prior to this story, Jesus is baptized in the Jordan by John, and the Holy Spirit descended on him and led him out into the wilderness. And directly after this comes Christ’s sermon in Nazareth, his hometown, where he declares that he is the fulfillment of God’s promise to proclaim good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and so on. When he finishes speaking, he is thrown out of town, and he goes on his way to start casting out evil spirts, healing the sick, and calling disciples to follow him. This is all the beginning of a journey that will eventually lead Jesus to the cross. It is the beginning of something incredible and historic. But, it is also an ending. It’s an ending to the life Jesus knew before. It’s an ending to being known as Joseph’s son, or perhaps Mary’s boy. It’s an ending to a private, quiet life as a carpenter or stonemason or whatever it was that Jesus was doing for work. The life he is about to begin will look nothing like that life. That life is over. It is a huge pivot moment for Jesus.

And for that reason, it was impossible for me not to put myself in the place of Jesus in this story. To make myself the main character who is experiencing such a significant ending and beginning. It just fit too well with where I am right now. So, as I reflected on this text, Jesus became me and the wilderness became Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Those 40 days became my four years. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are so many ways that this place is nothing like the wilderness that Jesus experienced in this text. But, let’s not pick apart the metaphor just yet. Save that for later, when we are around the lunch tables.

Anyway, as I put myself in the story and made it fit my experience in this place, I began to ask myself, “What ‘temptations’ or ‘tests’ did I experience here?” Now, one way to look at this is academically, with the tests being specific classes or assignments that were particularly difficult to complete. One might be Jen Lord’s massive annotated worship service paper at the end of Intro to Worship. Another might be writing an exegesis paper at the end of a long semester when you just don’t have anything left and you’re grasping at straws trying to say something, anything. Or perhaps one is sitting in Bill Greenway’s class just trying to understand half of the concepts he’s talking about. These were most certainly times of trial that I experienced in this wilderness.

Another way to look at it is through a community lens, with the tests being different times when it was particularly difficult to live into beloved community. Times when is seemed impossible to achieve the goal of being a winsome and exemplary community of God’s people. These, too, represent metaphorical temptations and tests in this wilderness. A third type of test might be personal, as all of us experience various hardships in our lives during our time in seminary. We experience losses and enter into grief. We question our identity as people of faith. Our families take on extra burdens because of the demands of our theological education. The tests and temptations in this place are certainly abundant, just as they were for Jesus in the wilderness.

But why? Why does Jesus enter the wilderness? Why does he fast for 40 days? Why is he tempted and tested by the devil? And why are we tested and tempted in this place? And who is doing the testing? One could argue that it is an essential part of preparation for ministry. A time of pruning and purifying that must precede one’s life of ministry. One could also argue that it’s a way of weeding out the ill equipped. Only those able to pass the tests in the wilderness are qualified to preach the good news. Another argument could be that these temptations force us to lean more fully on God and less on our own strength. Or perhaps there is no reason or meaning to any of it. Perhaps none of it really matters. All that matters is getting through it so you can move on to the next step.

But I’m not going to make any of those arguments. In fact, I’m not going to make any argument at all. I don’t know why Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. And I don’t know why seminary students experience trials and tribulations. There could be reasons for all of it, some of it, or none of it. I don’t know. And I think that is what seminary has taught me more than anything else. That I don’t (and can’t) know everything. Or even many things. I don’t know everything about God. I don’t know everything about humanity. I don’t even know everything about myself. And I won’t.

But I do know some things. I know that I was created in the image of God and have a need for God in my life. I know that I am loved by God and have been called by God to minister to the poor, the captive, and the blind. I know that God speaks to me through creation and through scripture and leads me by way of the Holy Spirit. And I know all of those things are true about all of you.

And I also know Jesus knew these things. And knowing them is what got him through his temptation in the wilderness. Knowing these simple truths was all he needed to withstand the temptations and pass the tests. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Now, I imagine most of you have not had the experience of crafting a senior sermon, as this is just the second one of the semester. So let me tell you, it’s a very strange thing to do. On the one hand, there is a desire or pull to use this to show off some of the things you’ve learned during seminary. You want to prove that you know how to use good seminary words like kenosis and eschatological. You want to demonstrate your exegetical and preaching skills. Additionally, there is a pull to offer some wisdom to your classmates. To share about your seminary experience in a way that enlightens and edifies. And at the same time, there is another pull to simply focus on the text and speak truth about God in a way that is meaningful to you and the people who will hear you.

I don’t know if I’ve manage to accomplish any of those things in this sermon. I didn’t write a focus or function statement either so I can’t use them as tools for evaluation. But to be honest with you, I’m pretty tired of evaluation right now, so I think I’m ok with that. If nothing else, this sermon gave me an wonderful opportunity to reflect on this pivotal moment in my life (and in many of our lives). It allowed me to reflect on where I was when I entered seminary, where I am now, and where I hope to be in the future. It provided a space to recognize the temptations and tests that I have encountered along the way and see how I succeeded (and failed) in meeting them. And it has left me even more convinced of the simple truths of God’s love, God’s calling on my life, and God’s leadership through the Holy Spirit. But why should I be the only one who benefits.

I’m going to shut up now. You will have the next few minutes for silent reflection. Feel free to use it however you wish, but I do want to invite you, whether you’re a senior or not, to consider this moment in your life. To reflect on your own wilderness experiences (whether they are related to this place or not). And to ask yourself “What do I know?” “What are the simple truths I can hold on to?” and “How do those truths sustain me in the midst of tests and temptations?”

For more information about how our Proclaim series started, click here.

The post Proclaim Series: I don’t know… appeared first on 787 Collective.

On March 12 & 13 I attended the Young Adult Initiative Consultation in Indianapolis as a member of the 787 Collective. This was my first time at this conference, the fourth year it’s taken place, and on the flight up from Austin I read a packet of information from the previous year. This packet summarized the demographics and feedback of the young adults, pastors, congregation members, and Innovation Hub leaders. The first task at the conference was to write on posters hung around the great hall our questions and/or observations based on this packet. I asked how both the white dominance of the previous conference and LGBTQ inclusion had been addressed. The answer to the former was, to my delight, that the leadership team from the Lilly Endowment had worked to deliberately amend the racial imbalance!

Amid plentiful delicious food, I met members of similar collectives from across the country. We asked each other questions, shared concerns and stories, networked, and provided an array of resources. After a brief powerpoint presentation about the statistics of young adults who have left institutional Christianity, there was a panel of young adults and a panel of Innovation Hub leaders. Common themes were the importance of authentic connections, service-based faith, and intersectionality. Dr. Anne E. Streaty Wimberly from Connecting With Hope Innovation Hub in Atlanta blew everyone away with her call for using stories to bring different generations together.

That afternoon I attended the breakout session “Beyond Church Walls.” Fifteen people attended and seven were men, seven were women, and one nonbinary person. Rev. Michael Baughman from The Zoe Project in Princeton facilitated this session about where young adults seek community or fulfillment away from church, how congregations can make use of “third space” gatherings, and the functions of social media. I was blown away by a young African American woman who stated “the people you center in leadership are what you get as a result.”  I was also pleased that the conversation around social media was multilayered and nuanced, as opposed to labelling it as all-good or all-bad. When a session participant asked what the drawbacks of a social media-less church could be, I pointed out that white nationalist organizations are very skilled at using social media to recruit, network, and plan events. A church with one such white nationalist organization in their community would be helpless without social media.

After the breakout session, representatives from the Lilly Endowment announced that they wanted volunteers to suggest and lead similar breakout sessions the next morning. I leaped out of my chair and offered to lead a session on “how congregations can be more LGBTQ-inclusive or, if that’s moving too quickly for you, how congregations can talk about what their LGBTQ-inclusivity might or might not look like.” The next morning I facilitated this hour and a half long session; ten people attended, six were women and four were men. I was very active in the Milwaukee LGBTQ community in college, I’m a co-leader of my church’s LGBTQ ministry, and I am currently pursuing a Masters degree so that I can work in LGBTQ ministry professionally. Additionally, I provided the list of resources that is posted at the end of this blog entry. The ten participants asked very smart questions, brainstormed what their congregations could do in their local communities, and prioritized bridge-building compassion. When I explained the history of the Stonewall Inn, I suggested using such stories, as Dr. Anne had mentioned the day before, to unite uncertain congregants and LGBTQ youth.

My time at the conference was incredible, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to meet so many different people with a similar mission.

Organizations:
New Ways Ministry
Call to Action
Equally Blessed
FutureChurch
Q Christian Fellowship
PFLAG
Dignity USA

Podcasts:
Queer Theology
Queerology
The Liturgists episode “LGBTQ”
Nancy episode “God + the Gays”
Making Gay History
Blue Babies Pink

Books:
More Than A Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church
Sexual Diversity and Catholicism
Radical Love: an Introduction to Queer Theology
Ministry Among God’s Queer Folk
Building a Bridge
Nobody Passes
The Sexual Self
The Invention of Heterosexuality
The Trouble with Normal
Queer: A Graphic History
PoMoSexuals
She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders
My Gender Workbook
Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians

The post Notes from the Field: LGBTQ Resource List appeared first on 787 Collective.

Our first 787 Studio short course is coming up on April 11th at 7 p.m. with the fantastic Josh Blaine! The event will take place on the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary campus. Come enjoy the fellowship and the learning as he shares his approach and philosophy around building community with and through song.  Register here!

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