We continue to learn more about the systemic issues of injustice in our community and world order to deploy a more holistic approach to serving that allows us to make a deep, lasting impact.
By pairing learning and service, we increase our ability to live authentically and work diligently with community partners. We become friends and companions with people we encounter. We become allies and advocates for the populations we serve. Learning leads to knowledge. Knowledge allows for understanding. Understanding begets compassion. Compassion is the way of the Kingdom of God.
We know that we need to be learners first before we can become leaders in justice work and mission service. There are several ways that we equip our congregants to learn. In all levels of faith development, from children to adults, we offer classes that pair the teachings of our faith with the responsibilities we have as God’s hands and feet. In addition to learning on Sunday mornings, we offer extended opportunities for service and experiential learning.
During the summer, we host three mission trips that offer our children and youth distinct opportunities for service learning. Our 4 th and 5 th graders spend a weekend serving nearby, meeting with guest speakers, and immersing themselves in the ways they can begin living a missional life in their own neighborhood. Our middle school and high school students alternate in-state and out-of- state service learning experiences, learning about systemic issues that create and perpetuate injustice. We are currently working to plan our first week-long adult service learning trip.
For mission learning resources, contact Whitney Waller-Cole