"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words." -St. Francis of Assisi As a Young Adult Service Corps member in South Africa in 2007, I got an artistic flare and painted this quote on some notebook paper and tacked it next to the light switch in my room. The painting was not beautiful, but the words were inspiring and allowed me to serve those in a foreign land. My year as YASC volunteer changed my views and life in many ways, but within the context of service it altered my career path and goals. I have a degree in business administration and had always envisioned myself in power suits sitting behind a big desk. Why did I become a Service Corp member one would ask? Because of an uncomfortable stirring feeling deep within my soul which I could not ignore, I knew God was saying that He had other plans for me, and of course He did. I began volunteering at Settler’s Hospital in Grahamstown with hospice patients and in the Children’s Ward. Within two weeks of spending time with the sick and dying, I had found my true calling… I wanted to become a nurse and return to Africa to serve those who were in need of adequate medical care. I had never been interested in the medical field before and loved that my school days were over, but within a month of returning to the States I was back in school studying Anatomy and Physiology to gain admission into Nursing School. Before my year as a YASCer, I thought of service and ministering as separate entities. Serving was more what you did without thought and in a group. Ministering, on the other hand, to me was more personal, deep one-on-one conversations with a purpose or preaching. In South Africa, I found I was a minister through actions, not my words. My service and ministry was praying with the mothers of dying children, holding a newborn no one wanted because of a positive HIV status, and holding hands with those who were alone in their final days. I learned that service is not an unconscious act as I had previously thought, but a conscious, individual, God driven opportunity to minister at the same time. I’ve learned that serving is a gateway to preaching the gospel, and without service one misses a chance to open others’ eyes to Christ’s love. Service is an important part of being a Christian, and through service, ministry comes, and through ministry, souls are healed, and when souls are healed, they are filled with God’s love. by Virginia Holt, Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast |
 |
A Soccer Field Made Sacred 20 minutes from Dorcas House, an orphanage for children in Mexico, lie a set of pristine soccer fields. I never would have guessed that the soccer fields would be such fertile ground for discussion of God’s Mission in the world, but there they were, and there we were. ..... >>> |
 |
Life Together “Life in community is not easy,” I heard myself say, over a cup of coffee at Starbucks, as I was counseling a teen in my parish who recently spoke to me about difficulties she was having with her youth group. And yet, as we talked, it seemed clear how much she valued the relationships she had formed with the other young people in our church .... >>> |
 |
Economic and Environmental Affairs and the Episcopal Church Much of what I see my work to be about is simply to help us all recognize the grace and beauty of all creation, and that our faith calls us to love all of it. E.O. Wilson, the noted Harvard ecologist, coined a beautiful term for this: biophilia. He contends we are actually hard-wired to love life.... >>> |
