Micah Corps share mercy/justice story with Youth Annual Conference

 (Photo:  Matt Bowden, from St. Paul UMC in Omaha, tries to save "babies" from the river at YAC.)

THE STORY OF THE RIVER

Once upon a time there was a small village on the edge of a river. The people there were good and life in the village was good. One day a villager noticed a baby floating down the river. The villager quickly swam out to save the baby from drowning. The next day this same villager noticed two babies in the river. He called for help, and both babies were rescued from the swift waters. And the following day four babies were seen caught in the turbulent current. And then eight, then more, and still more!

The villagers organized themselves quickly, setting up watchtowers and training teams of swimmers who could resist the swift waters and rescue babies. Rescue squads were soon working 24 hours a day. And each day the number of helpless babies floating down the river increased. The villagers organized themselves efficiently. The rescue squads were now snatching many children each day. While not all the babies, now very numerous, could be saved, the villagers felt they were doing well to save as many as they could each day. Indeed, the village priest blessed them in their good work. And life in the village continued on that basis.

One day, however, someone raised the question, "But where are all these babies coming from? Let’s organize a team to head upstream to find out who’s throwing all of these babies into the river in the first place!"

Micah Corps Goes to Agencies

This week the Micah Corps is splitting up into our focus teams and traveling to agencies in Nebraska. Tori and Katie will be at Nebraska Appleseed. Jonathan and Elena will be out in the Great West visiting an organic farm and Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Elizabeth and Adam will be at Voices for Children in Nebraska. However, before they started their weeks at agencies, they each visited a church in the area of the state that they would be at.

Jonathan and Elena headed out west to visit United Methodist Churches in McCook, Juanita, and Palisade. On their way, they were able to see the sights out in the Great West District.

Jonathan and Elena stop for a picture in front of a field out west

Tori went to Beatrice on Sunday, and joining her was our mentor for the summer, Andrea Paret. They gave a talk on immigration and the DREAM Act to the congregation there.

Tori and Andrea talk to the Beatrice Congregation.

Adam and Elizabeth headed to Springfield to speak with the First UMC in Springfield. They spoke to the congregation about children in poverty and they spoke with the youth director, Ron Smith, about working with the youth in churches.

Micah Corps Makes Videos!

The Micah Corps traveled to Lincoln today to interview Bishop Sherer-Simpson and to learn how to make videos that were visually appealing. We thought we would share our videos with you. Making a cameo appearance in the video is Katie Lamb, who is the year round intern for the Risk Taking Mission and Justice Ministries. This first video was made by James and Jonathan.

This one was made by Elena, Elizabeth, and Katie Lamb.

The last video was made by Tori and Adam.

I hope you enjoyed these videos, it was a lot of fun making them and we are all really grateful for the help of Kent at the conference office for helping us improve our video skills.

Micah Corps Goes to Annual Conference

The Micah Corps' annual conference experience began on Tuesday night with the MFSA (Methodist Federation for Social Action) banquet. At the banquet, Darcy from Nebraska Appleseed spoke about immigration and the Micah Corps enjoyed the good food that was served as well.

On Wednesday, the Micah Corps was asked to help with the Opening Worship ceremonies and we all carried various items, such as the Christ Candle, the Cross, and water for the fountain down the aisle. Later on in the evening we were consecrated as Micah Corps interns for the summer.

Elena introduces herself at the consecration of the Micah Corps

Thursday of Annual Conference was a planning day for Youth Annual Conference and Children's Annual Conference, which we were to present at on Friday. However, on Thursday and Friday we all attended the breakfasts held for our specific districts around the state. The girls also were honored to be able to attend the United Methodist Women's luncheon.

On Friday, we presented for the Youth Annual Conference (YAC), and we had a blast! We began the presentation by introducing ourselves and either why we wanted to be Micah Corps interns, or how the Micah Corps is like worship.

James tells why he believes the Micah Corps is like worship, while Adam and Elizabeth look on.

In our first hour with YAC, we explained some of the United Methodist social principles and a little United Methodist history. Then, we explained to the youth the difference between charity and justice, which we explained with a challenge for a youth in the audience, and with a metaphor of babies floating down a river.

Adam, Tori, and Jonathan carry the babies down the "river" while the volunteer, Matt, grabs them to save them.

Volunteer Matt proudly holds the babies he "saved from the river"

The afternoon session with YAC also went very well. Each focus group introduced their topic, stating with children in poverty, then environmental stewardship, and then immigration. The youth then broke up into three groups to discuss whichever issue they chose further. The group focusing on children in poverty played a game with their youth which required them to try and fit what it costs to live on for a family of four, at the self sufficiency level, into what a person makes on minimum wage, and also what the federal poverty guidelines state. Then they discussed this with their groups and talked about what they left out when not everything fit and why.

Adam and Elizabeth speak with their small group about children in poverty.

The environmental stewardship group, Jonathan and Elena, talked about bottled water and its impact on the environment. In their small group, they discussed what the youth were and can do in order to be more green and to decrease their impact on the environment.

Tori and James, the group on immigration, talked about the DREAM ACT as well as about how immigration can be beneficial for our society. In their small group, they brought in Darling from Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON) to interview and answer the questions of their small group.

Darling from JFON speaks to the youth during the immigration study.

Saturday was Children's Annual Conference and we spoke to them about the Micah 6:8 passage, and about how they can "act justly" with their friends and family. 

The children move over so the Micah Corps interns can fit on the "special blanket"

Then we talked about how some people in Africa have to walk several miles a day in order to get clean drinking water and had a relay race running with gallon jugs of water.

Elena helps out one relay team to finish their race.

We then talked about the things God created and the children did rubbings of the things they could find that he created.

Adam watches his group of kids as they make rubbings on the fence at CAC.

We also read a couple Bible passages to the children to describe why it is important to take care of our world.

Jonathan reads a passage from Job as one of the children hold the pages to keep them from blowing over.

All in all, it was a fantastic week, but it was not all work. We were able to stop every so often and have a little fun throughout the week.

The Micah Corps joins with the counselors from Camp Fontanelle to go  on a "roller coaster ride"

Video from Jason Kennedy

We will be working tomorrow with YAC (Youth Annual Conference) so we thought we would share the video the leader of YAC posted to promote the fun times!

Presentations by Nebraska Appleseed and Voices for Children

Today a representative from Nebraska Appleseed came to give all of us a brief informative presentation on immigration. We played a short game called "The Path to Citizenship." We each had to try to be the first person to complete the naturalization process, all whilst navigating the constrictive guidelines placed by the government.   We learned so much about the process for citizenship today and had a blast doing it! 

James, Jonathan, Elena, Tori, Elizabeth and Adam (not pictured) playing "The Path to Citizenship" with Nebraska Appleseed! We learned so much today about the process for citizenship today, and had a blast doing it!

 We also got a visit from Voices for Children and learned about families in poverty. We did a puzzle where the "puzzle pieces" were pictorial representations of the cost of basic needs, while the small square was the average income of a family below the poverty line. It was a lot more difficult than you would think!

Adam, James, Jonathan, Elena, Tori, and Elizabeth trying to fit too many puzzle pieces into too tiny of a square. 

Micah Corps with the NE UMChurch: Serving at the Open Door Mission

Micah Corps with the NE UMChurch: Serving at the Open Door Mission

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Serving at the Open Door Mission

On Thursday, the Micah Corps went to serve at the Open Door Mission in Omaha. Throughout the day we worked organizing their upstairs area, where all of the new items, like shampoos, clothes, and make up are held for people to take and use.

Tori helps to organize and shelve the new make up that has been donated to the mission.

Throughout the day, Tori and Micole sorted make-up, while James, Jonathan, and Adam worked on sorting out new and old items, as well as helping out with moving boxes to organize the upstairs a bit more.

Jonathan works at moving boxes to their correct locations upstairs at the  Open Door Mission.

Adam is surprised by the camera as he separates the new and used items

Micah Corps 2012

The 2012 Micah Corps is into our second day, and we have already learned so much about each other! I, (Elizabeth), am a Senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying English with a Creative Writing focus. I will be focusing on Children in Poverty in Nebraska. Adam is my focus partner for the summer. He is a Sophomore at Hastings College studying Religion and Theater. The two interns studying immigration are Tori and James. Tori is a Freshman at Wesleyan College studying Global Studies and Political Science. James is a Sophomore at Nebraska Christian College studying mission work. The two interns that will be focusing on Environmental Stewardship are Elena and Jonathan. Elena graduated from Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas and will be at Morningside College in the fall. Jonathan is a Sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying Religion and Classics. We are all excited to begin this 10-week journey together and know it will be an amazing summer. However it is not all serious work! On our first day together, Tori brought us some fun team building games. 

The five of us here play a team building game where we tried to keep as many balloons as possible in the air. Also playing were Micole Harms and Andrea Paret, our two summer mentors.

Adam (in the blue shirt) works to guide Jonathan (with the blindfold) through a water balloon maze, while Micole tries to distract him. The rest of us watch, hoping he makes it through without breaking the water balloons.

Today, we got to meet Elena through Skype for the first time, as she is still in Texas until Saturday. We are all anticipating her arrival and are excited for her to join us on Sunday for our worship time at Tri-Community Church in Omaha!

Jonathan says "Hi" to Elena through Skype

Final Thank You from the 2011 Micah Corps

The Micah Corps thanks all of their supporters!

A Voice for All Children

Philip and Caryn spent time working and learning at Voices for Children in Nebraska learning about children in poverty and child advocacy right here in Nebraska.

Barbara's Sermon in Superior

Nebraska Appleseed

Voices for Children in Nebraska

Two of us, Philip Rohde and Caryn Vincent, will be working and learning at Voices for Children on the topic of children in poverty living in Nebraska. Voices for Children in Nebraska educates and motivates Nebraskans to take action against social injustices. By taking action we can better the lives of Nebraska’s vulnerable children in the areas of Health, Education, Safety and Economic Stability. The organization is widely recognized across the state and is a trusted expert and advocate for key children’s issues in Nebraska. Rather than doing direct service, Voices for Children works on the level of system advocacy by working with lawmakers, state and private agencies, and concerned citizens to ensure that all children have opportunities to succeed. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 says, “If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother, but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.” As followers of Christ, it is imperative that we all advocate for poor and hungry children to help them succeed. We urge all churches to become advocates for children. Write your representatives in Congress asking them to support legislation that helps and protects poor and hungry people. You can obtain additional information about Voices for Children at voicesforchildren.com. We are learning a lot and look forward to sharing this information with a few churches in the districts soon!

VIM Mission Experience: Day 2

We began our day at Together Inc. and started off with a tour of the entire building given by Mike Hornacek, the Operations Director. Mike explained the free services offered to people in need. Together Inc. is unique because it is both a food bank and a food pantry, as well as a source of assistance in other areas. The food pantry at Together houses both USDA food and donated food, all of which is distributed based upon need. Together Inc. also offers clothing, furniture, diapers (when available), and household items. Along with food, Together offers assistance with: medical prescriptions, state-issued ID's and birth certificates, and rent or mortgage payments, when funds are available. As similar to the Heart Ministry Center, Together relies heavily on donations. Together Inc. is supported by the contributions of churches, synagogues, foundations, businesses, and a diverse group of individuals. After sorting clothes and loading up food at Together Inc., we went to our last service site. We next spent time working at the Blue Flamingo, a “thrift and gift” shop that offers both donated clothing and fair trade merchandise, as well as a community garden. The Blue Flamingo is supported by Dietz United Methodist Church.

Because the VIM Mission Experience is focused on integrating mission and justice, we were asked to think about why people are poor and hungry. We didn’t just go out to these sites and serve for a few hours, we reflected a lot on why places like the ones we worked at are needed. As Christians, many of us have done mission work. However, integrating that work with justice is what will really help effect change. “We need to change our way of thinking,” Stephanie Ahlschwede, the Executive Director of United Methodist Ministries, pointed out. One way we can change our way of thinking is to think about how we, as church communities, serve. Stephanie talked with us about the importance of “neighborhood based” service.

“Neighborhood based” service is service that is based upon the input of those in need and takes that input into account to benefit the community as a whole. “Neighboorhood based” service is often a more effective way to meet the needs of the community because it stems from within the community. Often times we, as church communities, tend to participate in “neighborhood placed” service. This type of service has its heart in the right place but often fails to address the true need. “Neighborhood placed” service is, as the name suggests, placed in a community, and does not integrate the input of those in need. By simply re-framing the way that we serve, our efforts will have a much more substantial impact on our communities.

Another way we can change our way of thinking is to advocate for change to the systems that leave so many people in our own neighborhoods poor and hungry. One good place to start would be gathering together as a community to lobby for a living minimum wage. Currently, the minimum wage is far below a living wage, especially for families. Advocating for protection of social services that aid poor and hungry people, such as SNAP(formerly food stamps), is also a way that we can really impact our communities.

Philip loads canned goods at Together Inc.

The Micah Corps outside of Blue Flamingo.

The Micah Corps in DC

Micah Corps at Annual Conference

Volunteers in Mission Experience: Day 1

Today the Micah Corps was part of the United Methodist Ministries VIM Mission Experience. Our day began at the Intercultural Senior Center garden in Omaha. We were introduced to Jaimee Trobough who explained what our first “Big Garden” experience would be like. Jaimee gave us some background information about how the project got started and how it is sustained. We were interested to learn that some of the community gardens are funded by USDA grants. This indicates that federal government decisions have had a positive effect on the “Big Garden Project” thus far. However, this government funding did not simply pop up out of nowhere; it was made possible by the advocacy work done by the United Methodist Ministries Team and many UMC members.

After working on the garden we headed to the Heart Ministry Center. We were met by June Bear who gave us a tour of the center and explained what services the center offered. When we went through the food bank we learned that not everyone in need has access to the food in most food banks. June explained that the Heart Community Center has separate shelves for food sent by the government and donated food. This is because undocumented immigrants are not allowed to access the food sent by the government because of government regulations. June also took us through the center's clothing closet, which is stocked by donated clothing and free to people in need. We also saw the medical facility which offers everything from checkups to vaccinations. The medical services are provided by doctors and nurses from Creighton University. The last stop on our tour was the center's brand new dental room. Beginning later this month, the center will offer dental services to children, and later on will open up the service to adults. While the center is partially funded by the government, its primary funding comes from donations and church support.

See some photos from our day below. Come back tomorrow for photos and updates from the second day of our VIM experience!

The Micah Corps talking with Jaimee about the Big Gardens.

Barbara, Philip, and Caryn work with Evan to build a fence around the garden.

Caryn, Barbara, Philip, and Rachel (me) organizing the shelves at Heart Ministry Center in Omaha.

It's the Micah Corps!

Meet (again) the 2011 Micah Corps! Please check back here throughout the summer to see what we're up to this year. We truly appreciate your prayers and support that you offer us this summer!

Annual Conference

We started the week of Nebraska Annual Conference by participating in the mission day. There were several groups that went to several sites, but the goal was all the same. Each group was leaving the church and serving in the community. The group I went with found ourselves at the Capital City Humane Society. We weren't walking dogs and combing cats though. We had the privilege to remove rocks from their lawn so that the yard could be better mowed. It felt great to be sweating for the Lord (though it was a terrific day and we all remained rather cool in the shade). After a couple of hours we all loaded back up on the buses and returned to St. Marks for a talk about the day.
Wednesday morning put us right in the bustle of annual conference. We set up our booth at the Risk-Taking Missions and Justice team's table and then joined the lay peoples for lunch. That afternoon we attended the opening worship service and were once again amazed by the abilities of the bishop. We also planned an activity with the Youth Annual Conference meeting at Nebraska Wesleyan and at 7:30 put our plan to action. By addressing the immigration issue with them, we found quite a few youth who were interested in making posters to share their thoughts. Overall, I would say the first day at Nebraska Annual Conference was a busy success!!