I've noticed while reading through most your blog entries that a lot of you have done service work your whole lives. If I did any as a kid, which I probably did, I honestly cannot recall it. At the moment I'm having trouble thinking of any service activities I've done. During my time here with Loras I've helped with Dance Marathon and done other activities with different organiziations that we are required by Loras to do. Most of those activities are escaping me, which should show how meaningful they must have been. In some ways, my lack of experience is probably why I'm very excited about this project.
I am very excited to learn about the historical context of this part of the assignment. I'm excited not only to learn about the church I've been assigned but also the history of every other church that our group is going to be focusing on. Dubuque has such a rich history and I've always been fascinated by how religion has shaped the community. I will be really interesting to see how everything all fits in together once we have completed our project.
Another thing, particularly with the St. Mary's, the church I've been assigned, that I will be interested in learning is what happens when a church is forced to close. St. Mary's has had a long and strong tradition in Dubuque. It's steeple can be seen for miles. Yet, sadly, it will be closing it's doors. This sad, and painful process will be one that is different from most other people's experiences with their churches and I hope that this aspect will help all of learn more about the "circle of life" as far as churches go.
The Washington neighborhood is full of different types of people. Different races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This diverse area has seen it's fair share of problems, particularly stabbings at the moment. However, working in this area will hopefully allow me to become more familliar with some of the neighborhood's struggles, as well as it's strengths. This area also seem to exemplify many social issues to which our country is currently discussing. Working in this area will give me a hands on chance to really fully understand some of these issues.
I think that our work in the Washington Neighborhood is going to be quite different from any service experience that most of us have had in the past, so I really think we are all in the same boat regardless of whatever experience we've had. I myself have not had a great amount of experience working with people directly through service, and feel as if the buffer I've received from most of the service work I've done might make things a shock to me initially.
ReplyDeleteThe history that we'll be learning about the churches in the community I think will be very interesting, especially to see the changes that have happened to the neighborhoods and why they've happened. I think that the historical context may also put the project into a better perspective for all of us.
The closing of St. Mary's will be very interesting, and I will look forward to hearing more about it as you all start working there. I just came from my first meeting with the pastor of the parish I'm working with and I feel that if the other parishes are like this one, then there is going to be a lot of potential work for us to do, especially in increasing communication between parishes and increasing activity in the community (Pastor Achtemeier has expressed an interest in becoming more involved with the community in a sustainable way which she admits has been lacking for the most part in her parish).
As you've touched on, Liz, the recent stabbings in the Washington neighborhood, while a bit frightening at the moment, point to the need for building a better Washington community. I think it will in part be our responsibility to try to, at the very least, create bonds between people in the community, possibly through the churches, in order to create a safer living environment for people in the Washington community.