Since becoming more familiar with my church and with my service project, I feel that my learning plan needs to be revised a bit. First, my service will most likely be served at the Maria House. Although the Maria House is not technically affiliated with St. Mary’s Parish, it is on their campus and is located in one of St. Mary’s old convents. I’m still waiting to hear back from one of the supervisors at the Maria House to work out a schedule, but I’m really excited to be volunteering here. Domestic Violence is one issue that I’m particularly vocal about have had some experience working in this kind of environment before. I hope to learn from this experience more about how this organization helps to empower women and help them and their children get a fresh start. Some of the things I will be doing here will range from: tutoring the residents, playing with the children, answering phones, watching the door, and possibly staying overnight to supervise.
As far as my learning objectives go, I think that it is going to be really difficult to come up with ideas to help St. Mary’s connect with the Washington neighborhood simply because they are closing. Annie, our site supervisor seemed really uncomfortable with the idea of Steve and me going door-to-door and asking members of the neighborhood what they wanted to happen to the church after it closes. She did however seem really excited about finding out what the city of Dubuque would want to happen to the building after it no longer is a church. I believe Steve is going to try to find out some of that info. Otherwise, I don’t really see a point of us trying to create and sustain a relationship with the Washington neighborhood.
Developing a historical concept of the church and maybe its relationship to the Washington neighborhood throughout history should not be a problem at all. I’ve watched videos, looked at books, and seen tons of pictures. Steven and I were given names of older parishioners in which Annie and those at St. Mary’s wish for us to interview as a way to gather their memories of what St. Mary’s parish life used to be like. I think the biggest challenge for Steve and I will be finding the time to put everything together and deciding which information is most pertinent.
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When we were picking our service site, I wanted to make sure I did not get St. Mary’s Church because with them closing, I felt like it would be very hard to get them involved with the neighborhood. Now I know that it is going to be a different kind of involvement but I still give you props for taking on the task.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your service project is one that you will enjoy and are interested in. I think that makes it more worthwhile and you get way more from it.
I can see your point about not wanting to create a relationship with the neighborhood if it is not going to last. I really think you guys should stick with trying to find out what people would like to happen with the building. If she doesn’t want you guys going door to door, maybe you could go to a mass and talk briefly with some members; hopefully some from the neighborhood, about what they think should be done with the church after it closes.
I empathize with you about the history project. It seems like there is never enough time in a day, or a semester. Kelli and I have started talking about stuff with think we should focus on for the history project so we can narrow our research from the beginning. If you haven’t already done that, it might save you some time.