Micah Corps for 2009 is over! It was a great summer and now we are looking forward to receiving applications for the 2010 Micah Corps experience.
The application process will begin November 15, 2010 and you can get the applications online. For information before then, contact rtmj.umc.nebraska@gmail.com.
View the video below to get a taste of the Micah Corps' experiences in 2009.
The five Micah Corps interns had a great time this summer, and learned a lot about ourselves, as well as many justice issues. Take a look at the video to get an overview of our time this last ten weeks!
On the last leg of their journey, Micah Corps Interns, Ross Janovec and Kathryn Cunningham sat down with the Christian Education Director at North Platte First United Methodist Church, Cheri Kneifel. The interns spoke with her about her experiences with the Day Care center the church run on a year round basis, but what she talked about with the most passion was the Mayor's Youth Initiative, which was created to allocate and create services for youth in the North Platte Community.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The above video is a collection of experiences that Brian and Rachel had in the Gateway district of the Nebraska UMC. It includes music from Braden Garwood (at Kearney Faith), the immigration board game being played at Kearney First and Kearney Faith, and discussions with congregations and adult Sunday schools from First and Faith. The interns discussed a variety of issues related to immigration, including the immigrants' integral role in our communities and economy, as well as the Christian call to welcome EVERY stranger. The conversation centered on how our system of immigration is broken (forcing those to migrate without documentation in search of a better life), how many of the myths concerning taxes and benefits are simply wrong, and lastly how we as United Methodists (and as Christians!) can get involved in the effort to help and welcome the immigrant. As the Reverand Jim Wallis, from Sojourners, says, "We do face a danger from refusing to welcome the stranger among us. And that is a danger to our very own souls. This a religious matter to us...We will minister no matter what our government says. And will call upon them to the best thing and do the right thing and do it now!" Our experiences in Nebraska communities showed us that we have the passion and potential to enact change, to create a system where ALL people are treated with compassion and dignity. We thank all for their contributions and time the last couple weeks! Do Justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!
Some people I talked to in local churches felt like health care was a political issue which should not be discussed in the church, others felt like the church should be providing health care and government should have nothing to do with it. But most acknowledged that caring for people is something Christians are called to do, and we can build our conversation on that foundation. In this video I am giving the sermon at the Ainsworth United Methodist Church, and talking with children at the Silver Creek Vacation Bible School.
Interviews: Emily Spearman, from Louisville, Colorado, is a current intern of Trinity United Methodist in Grand Island. Emily is a student at Hastings College, and is called to ordained ministry. Becky Schelm is from Johnstown. Becky lived many years without health insurance because her daughter has Type I Diabetes, a pre-existing condition. She and her first husband lived for one year in Colorado at their own expense to be near the heart doctor. I spoke with Becky and her family on their 20,000 acre ranch in the Sandhills. Rev. Dean Joy is the pastor at the Harvard United Methodist Church and a member of the Rural Response Committee of the United Methodist Conference. Glen Becker is a member of the Harvard United Methodist Church and interested in how the church can expand its health care ministry. He also speaks here about Medicare recipients receiving the best possible program.
After two weeks of intensive learning and preparing at the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, NE, I stepped out into the Elkhorn Valley and Prairie Rivers Districts to share information and listen to stories. I was armed with pamphlets, fliers, displays, and endless statistics to prove that health care, and rural health care especially is in desperate need of a reformation, and that the church should be on the frontline of the battle. The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate as the President pushed for immediate action in Congress, and I pushed for advocacy on behalf of the almost 50 million uninsured in our nation. The church is relevant! Stand up and live your faith! As Jesus healed the sick and God loves every person, it is our part to do the same. The strong existing ministries of praying and caring for the sick in our communities is a springboard from which we can dive into changing policy that ensures adequate affordable health insurance for every person in this country. My bright-eyed and bushy-tailed epic of a failing system and government intervention was greeted with the warmest hospitality and fearful skepticism. A mindset of criticism and concern is no place to remain frozen in our actions of love. Fear of government intervention, fear of exclusive policies, doubt about effectiveness, and comfort with one’s own situation made it difficult for people to grasp the desperateness of the situation, a time where 14,000 more people lose their insurance every day. Through private conversations, group discussions, professional interviews, sermons, talking with health care professionals and children’s presentations, some opened their hearts, and others stayed in their fear. Some thought I had a hidden agenda, others received me as a prophet (a prophet unable to prophesy in her own land successfully…). At the end of our conversations, I always encouraged every person to contact their Congresspeople on this issue, whether or not their opinion aligned with mine, with the church’s, or anyone else’s. The voices of private insurance companies are being heard loud and clear, and we need to push back as constituents, voters, and tax payers, but especially as Christians who stand up for those marginalized, and without care. It is also the responsibility of each individual to let that opinion be informed and act out of care and hope, not fear. Here are some issues that I came across:
Health Care is working for me, therefore it does not need to be reformed. Many people with whom I spoke were very content with their Medicare insurance, most had a supplemental policy to cover prescriptions. Communities were very satisfied with their doctors and hospitals, and highly appreciative of their volunteer emergency services. Most that I talked to with employer provided private insurance paid well over $10,000 a year, and up to $18,000 including co-pays. While they receive the care they need, they pay very high amounts for it. This system is working for those who have good benefits and steady jobs, but the self-employed and individuals who work at small businesses which are the heart and savior of small communities suffer. They often cannot afford insurance, or if they do purchase it, pay higher costs and receive less reimbursement. This is generally referred to as “underinsurance”, and leads to medical debt, and neglect of preventive care.
Uninsured individuals don’t want insurance, or could afford it if they lived more frugally. This argument is invalid firstly to the Christian who wants to provide care for every person. Secondly, uninsured people are often families with full-time employment, some poor, but more and more frequently people who are simply not offered health care by their employer and feel they can’t afford insurance which itself costs more than the poverty line. However I agree that we must be responsible for our own health which includes limiting drinking and smoking. But I do not think that those savings will pay for a private health insurance plan. Other uninsured people do not have it because of pre-existing conditions, like diabetes or a mental health issue. The people that need good health insurance are those least likely to have access to it.
The government shouldn’t be involved in providing health care, or does not have the appropriate solutions for reform. The government is already heavily involved in providing health care to our older and poorer citizens, and many children. They also currently provide health care to government employees and veterans. These systems are certainly imperfect, but most people with whom I spoke were very content with their experiences in these programs. An extended public option would provide competition between private companies and insurance for those currently without it, without dissolving private insurance with which many people are also content. This is not the same as government controlled health care, but an extension of an existing system. Many are skeptical of this project, and I once again encourage everyone to have input before the decisions are made! Reform will be necessary in many facets of health care in order to bring down costs and cover everyone.
Ross Janovec and Kathryn Cunningham had a chance to sit down with Zach Anderson, Assistant Director of Peace with Justice Ministries, and talk to him about his thoughts on justice in the church and society today as well as what his personal views of justice are.
One of the goals of the Micah Corps is to enjoy connecting with local churches. Kathryn Cunningham and Ross Janovec share at Southminster UMC in Lincoln and Sabrina Miller talks with pastors and thanks churches for making the internships possible through Mission Share dollars.
Along with many personal visits to churches in all six districts, a goal for the five interns is making contact with each church in our conference to find out what types of exciting risk-taking mission and justice work are being done at the local level.
The last part of the Micah Corps program is action-based, including visits to local churches to discuss meaningful immigration reform and learn from Nebraska United Methodists and others about their own experiences with the issue. In the video interns Rachel and Brian facillitated a forum in Hooper, NE on immigration from a biblical perspective, and how Jesus taught us to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25). Furthermore, the interns visited Olive Crest UMC in North Omaha to discussion immigration and our immigrant history, as we were once strangers in the land of Egpt (Leviticus 19:33-34). Other captions in the video include a section from our attendance at a worker justice breakfast, put on by Interfaith Worker Justice, which stressed recognizing the humanity and dignity in all persons. It was a wonderful experience traveling to different churches, bible studies, and community events. The interns thank all who participated and encourage all to advocate for justice for the immigrant. If you feel motivated to get involved, one of the things you can do is visit www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org, and sign up for text updates on reform or simply navigate the site to learn more...or if you feel like it we encourage you to call your local representatives and ask for meaningful immigration reform that is just and humane. Thanks! And remember to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!!!!!!
The video above includes Darcy Tromanhauser, talking about the Immigrant Integration and Civic Participation program at Nebraska Appleseed. It also includes Vanessa Martinez, state-wide coordinator for "Nebraska Is Home," speaking with Micah Corps intern Rachel Boellstorff about aspects of the immigration board game. The interns did a presentation, including the game, for 10 or 12 Appleseed staff. In the video an intern talks about the difficulty of the "undocumented limbo loop" section of the game, referring to the many difficulties and struggles undocumented immigrants encounter when attempting to work through our immigration system. The interns finished one of their final days at Appleseed and soon will began a two week term of visits to local churches, where the board game and other created materials will be used to engage local UMC congregations in discussion about the issue. We look forward to these two weeks and in the mean time encourage all to get involved by visiting www.neappleseed.org, or more specifically visiting the www.NebraskaIsHome.org website.
On July 12 I traveled to Aldersgate UMC in Lincoln to talk in worship and visit an adult Sunday school class. The topic of the class discussion was a "Culture of Hate," and I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss immigration issues. The video above was taken while the group played an immigration board game, a game created from interviews with hundreds of immigrants in the Northwestern United States, and specifically the board game details the complexity, difficulty, and brokenness of our immigration system. Beyond the board game, the class had a discussion about the facts of immigration, United Methodist policies toward immigration, and lastly the group discussed different stories (or outlooks) on immigration.These different stories served to facillitate discussion about the issues at play, and helped us understand our many preconceived notions of immigration in our culture. In conclusion we discussed ways for the class to get involved in advocating for meaningful immigration reform that is just and humane, and in the mean time got to share some cookies, coffee, and light-hearted conversation. It was a great experience, and I thank Aldersgate for the time and place to have such an important discussion about such an important issue. Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!
In this video you will here a small snippet of Kathryn and Ross' presentation that they will be taking out to UMC in NE towards the end of this month.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
In this video Kathryn Cunningham and Ross Janovec, Micah Corps interns, have been spending time at Voices for Children in Nebraska and had some time to sit down with the Executive Director: Kathy Bigsby Moore to hear her perspective on Voice's mission and current activities.
Sabrina Miller calls Senator Ben Nelson's office from the Center for Rural Affairs to express concern about health care reform. If you're interested in learning more about rural health care issues, visit www.cfra.org, or email smiller@hastings.edu. I apologize for the sideways video, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it.
Jon Bailey, Director of the Rural Research and Analysis Program at the Center for Rural Affairs, is currently working on Health Care issues in Rural America. He talks about the specific challenges rural areas face.
Virginia Wolking is a Rural Policy Organizer at The Center for Rural Affairs. Here she speaks about why she is passion about the issue of health care, and the work that she does at the Center. Virginia travels around to rural communities, educating, listening, and moving people to action on the issue of health care.
This week Rachel and I continue our work at Nebraska Appleseed. I had a chance to sit down with Darcy Tromanhauser, Director of the Immigrant Integration and Civic Participation Program at Nebraska Appleseed, and she explained to me the mission of Appleseed and their efforts for comprehensive immigration reform. Rachel and I are involved in a variety of activities while at Appleseed, including making brochures and curriculums for United Methodists across Nebraska, practicing different presentations, being involved with the "Nebraska is Home" campaign (mentioned in previous post), and learning from the policy experts at Appleseed. It has been an eye-opening and educational experience for both of us and we look forward to spreading the word about how we all can take concrete steps toward truly "welcoming the stranger." Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!
Sabrina Miller gives a glimpse into her fast-paced stay at the Center for Rural Affairs. The Center was established in 1973, their mission is to "establish strong rural communities, social and economic justice, environmental stewardship, and genuine opportunity for all while engaging people in decisions that affect the quality of their lives and the future of their communities." Sabrina is learning about the challenges rural Americans face in receiving adequate affordable health care.
Micah Corps interns, Brian and Rachel, are learning about immigration reform at the NebraskaAppleseedCenter for Law in the Public Interest.Appleseed is a public interest law firm that fights for equal justice for all Nebraskans.Specifically, Brian and Rachel are learning about the Nebraska is Home campaign.In the video Vanessa Martinez, state-wide coordinator for Nebraska is Home, explains the strategies and goals of community conversations.In the coming weeks both interns will be traveling to Nebraska United Methodist churches to talk about comprehensive immigration reform and Jesus' call to "Welcome the Stranger" (Matthew 25). To learn more visit www.neappleseed.org/immigrants or www.nebraskaishome.org
Jim Wallis, the creator of Sojourners, is an evangelical pastor who promotes moving deeper than bipartisan conversation to a higher moral ground. The Micah Corps is reading his newest book, The Great Awakening: 7 Ways to Change the World as our study guide, and we had some great conversation about it. Kathryn Cunningham from Norfolk, NE, gives a synopsis and opinion.
The Micah Corps has been doing some advocating for the Millenium Development Goals by teaching people of all ages about the MDGs, then encouraging them to write a letter to their representatives on Capital Hill to encourage those in power to make a difference in the world.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Micah Corps being consecrated and describing their internship at KZUM radio (from Annual Conference week).
On this site you will find updates from workers and interns with the Micah Corps. Among these updates you will find photos, video, and written dialogues documenting the experiences that will occur over the next ten weeks of this internship experience. Feel free to explore the entire website and comment on any of the experiences you feel driven to do so with and you are exploring. We welcome your comments and look forward to collaborating with anyone that decides to utilize this blog site.
PS As this is the first post, be patient. We will be adding material as we journey farther into our internship.
