|
| My friend, Beth and I are taking a 2 week road trip around the southeast visiting local microbreweries and doing volunteer work. We started a new blog to document the adventures. Check it out here: http://volunbeer.wordpress.com
| | |
| 
Testing out my mobile blogger in prep for a big, fun trip this summer that I want to be able to post pictures during. not really sure how this handles pics, so that's what this is about. I'm also trying to figure out how it looks when posted. and how multiples pictures work, or if it's even possible. there will probably be more of these before June 27th, and maybe more today. Attached is a picture of my bike tire when I got a nail ran through it. Thankfully it's been replaced now and all is well. | | |
| As most everyone that's reading this knows, I've taken several steps
over the past year and a half to reduce the amount of "stuff" I have.
I've never really owned a whole lot of things, but I definitely was
able to reduce my belongings about 50% pretty easily. The last move
reduced that even a bit more. There are still quite a few things that
I own, though. I have a car, a computer (2 actually), CDs, loads of
clothes (you can actually see them all just by walking in my room!), a
matress, books, and some trinkets and sentimental things like notes,
other random junk, etc.
That's the preface to the story that inspired this blog. Last night I did Room In The Inn
with some friends. It went really well and we all got some really
great insights from the men. By volunteering to do the program your
group commits to providing dinner that night, breakfast the next
morning, and a sack lunch for all the men. I drove the guys back the
next morning and had their sack lunches at the front of the bus so they
could pick them up on the way out. Since we had less guys than we
anticipated, there were a couple of extra lunches there. As they guys
left there were questions about the extras. Obviously wanting to be
fair I made sure that everyone was off the bus, assuming that they
would pick up their lunch on the way out. After everyone was off one
of they guys that stayed with us, Louis, took an extra and then another
man who hadn't stayed with us, but was at the drop-off site, took the
other one. A few minutes later, Winston came running back up saying he
had forgotten his lunch. All the sack lunches were gone, Louis had 2
and this 'stranger' had the other one. Winston asked the stranger for
his lunch back, which he refused. The stranger was saying that Winston
should have gotten his lunch before he got off the bus and that by
leaving he forfeited it. WInston was naturally upset and said "So
you're just going to take my lunch from me" and the stranger repeated
that it wasn't his lunch anymore. Winston argued that the man wasn't
even a part of the group that was at the church to get the lunches.
Winston and the stranger never resolved their argument, and Louis wound
up giving him his extra one. But seeing that interaction brought up
some interesting contrasts in the way I think about ownership.
I shared Winston's point of view that it was his lunch and that the
other man stole it from him. But looking back on it, was it really
either one of theirs at all? The entire program is free of charge to
all the guys that participate. Though they do their share of the clean
up work for the room we stayed in, there's no real purchasing or
transferring of ownership of anything there. Naturally we prepared
that lunch for Winston and the others to give them, so maybe that's all
it takes for ownership to transfer. Legally it probably is, but it
made me think about how much ownership goes beyond just legal rights to
us as people.
Ownership brings with it a sense of entitlement. If I own a house I am
entitled to let whoever I want in and refuse entry to anyone else I
choose. It ensures that no one will come in and take it from me, I own
it, it's mine to do with as I choose. Having a car entitles me to
drive it wherever I want whenever I want. Regardless of the effect
driving that car has on my neighbors and environment, I've purchased it
and with it the right to drive it as much as I choose. I'm entitled to
that. I believe that's what is at the heart of ownership to us as a
people. It's not the actual thing and the legal rights around it that
we desire. We desire the privileges, respect, and entitlements that
come with ownership.
This perception of ownership makes trying to become more and more
minimalistic make a lot more sense. We hear all the time in Sunday
school that "money is not the root of all evil, it's the love
of money that is the root of all evil". That's all good and true,
except that we use that as an out to gain ownership of as much stuff as
we want, just as long as we can convince ourselves that we don't really
love the stuff. But what if we treated everything we "own" as things
God has given us to use. Also an idea heard in Sunday school, but not
really lived out. It's easy to talk about the things I own as
"belonging" to God when I have easy outs to use them once a year "for
the glory of God". Most people (myself included) think they can claim
this because if God actually came down and said "Hey, I need you to
give up your computer for me" we say "Yeah, I could do that". But down
deep we know that God won't actually come down and say that to us.
Or will he? What if we take Jesus serious when he says 'I tell you the
truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did
not do for me.' (Matt 25:45) Taken in context with the rest of that
passage, it sounds a lot like he actually is asking that. Add to that
the earlier ideas from the Sermon on the Mount 'Give
to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to
borrow from you.' (Matt 5:42) and we've got some trouble.
Suddenly ownership isn't as glamorous as it once sounded. What is it that we're really entitled to by owning something?
| | |
| Well, it's long overdue I know, which means it's going to just be plain long. Too long I'm sure. Anyhow, here goes...
I'm loving my new job. I'm the Neighborhood Outreach & Development
AmeriCorps member. I like the title b/c it takes up a good half of the
screen as my email signature  What it means is that I find ways to
make neighborhoods better and fit it in with the general mission of
Hands On Nashville, which is to increase volunteerism. Pretty simple,
but the possibilities are so vast that it was a bit overwhelming at
first.
Thankfully, the first month of my service there was pretty much
dedicated to Hands On Nashville Day, the largest volunteer service day
of the year in Nashville that we obviously host. I spent a lot of time
doing administrative things like creating spreadsheets of teams and
sponsors, etc. Also did a lot of calling and driving to different
locations to scope things out. It sounds kinda crazy that I enjoyed
having my first month not doing anything related to my position really,
but it was nice to get to know the rest of the staff and get a feel for
how things work in the office. All in all I felt it was like a long
and intense training session, at the end of which I wound up leading 2
teams of volunteers in the same day.
After that I dove into the work of improving the neighborhoods in
Nashville. I decided it would be a good to first get an idea of what
services and resources were already available and being used. This
proved to be more difficult than I expected. After a frustrating few
days of phone calls and emails being ignored or given little to no
information, I decided to just start creating programs using things I
was already well connected with. The first was naturally dance related.
The idea with this one is to target at-risk youth (middle to high
school age) and teach them important life lessons such as respecting
others (especially women), dealing with conflict without violence, and
building confidence, using swing dance classes as the vehicle to do
such. It's coming along well with the help of the new non-profit here
in Nashville, the Nashville Swing Dance Foundation (NSDF), and a good
deal of person help from Erin & Jimmy. Looks like it's going to be
the beginning of the year when it gets going right now.
The next idea is not something I'm personally familiar with, but have
plenty of contacts for: health education. This will be targeting our
immigrant and refugee populations and deal with things like adjusting
diet & exercise to the different kind of lifestyle available here
in the states. Also we'll be screening for diabetes, hypertension, and
the like. Lots of good help with this from all around the community,
it's coming together really well.
I have some other ideas that are brewing, just need to get them
organized and start making some contacts. I can say that this is the
most fulfilling job I've ever had, and that I actually enjoy going in
to work. It also helps that I make my own schedule and can put in as
many or as few hours a week as I want :) Leaves plenty of maneuvering
room for urban foraging
| | |
| Well, I've come to a decision. After a great deal of deliberation and
weighing the many many factors in what this next year may entail, I
have chosen to accept the position at Hands on Nashville to be their
Neighborhood Outreach Civic Action AmeriCorps member. Yep, I'll be
staying in Nashville! This is a complete change of tracks for me as I
was almost sure until 2 days before my interview in DC that I'd be
spending the next year up there. I feel that this decision was the
right one, and I'll talk about why below. There won't be anymore big
news past this, so if you just want to know what the decision was, you
can stop reading now and save yourself from the unnecessary details.
Since I've given a good explanation of the Samaritan Inns program and
how great I think it is, I feel it important to talk about what the
Hands on Nashville position is and why I think I will prefer it. As
the title suggests, I'll be working in neighborhoods to develop
programs to meet different needs. It will also be my responsibility to
determine what those needs are. Here's the official position summary:
This
position will work with our Program Department to assess the volunteer
needs of three Metro Nashville departments and will work to take HON
services into a specific population or neighborhood. The Corps member
will mobilize volunteers, develop service projects, educate the
community about the benefits of volunteerism, train volunteer leaders
and build relationships with agencies, community centers and schools
vital to success.
Basically I'll have the freedom to go into a neighborhood, figure out
what the need, develop a solution, and implement it all with government
funding! This is pretty much exactly what I had in mind when I decided
on a career change, and the fact that it pretty much just fell into my
lap right before I made the DC decision is something more than
coincidence I believe.
Of course, I do love the program in DC and think it was really great.
It's definitely something that I would and probably will consider doing
in the future. They have an incredible rate of success for people that
make it all the way through their program, and I'd love to find out how
exactly it works to break the cycle of homelessness. I'm sad that I
can't do both at the same time, because I really have a lot of respect
for that program. Plus I really enjoy being in a new place and having
to figure things out and all the excitement that comes with making such
a huge life change. But I think there will be time for that kind of
excitement soon enough. Right now I feel that my knowledge and
experience of Nashville are ready to be put to use in a productive way
here in this city. The rest of the world will just have to wait it's
turn 
Now, since I wasn't planning on being in Nashville or having to worry
about housing, I have to find a place to live! Wish me luck!
| | |
|
