Reflecting on Tragedy

This internship holds so many responsibilities alongside huge amounts of exciting opportunities. This blog is being authored through a welcomed exhaustion that holds with it wonderful amounts of spiritual fulfillment. Yet my heart is heavy. Peace... oh wonderful, beautiful, radical peace! Won't you be with us all?

The huge responsibility of stepping into the shoes of peace internship is to have a deep sense of just what peace actually is. Sometimes the harder we try to grasp at it, the less concrete it becomes. Inner and outer peace are wonderful ideals that we hold as this sort of end goal to achieving some type of heightened oneness or spiritual being, yet peace is hard.

As I write these words, I mourn the loss of so many who have been named in the news with the shooting in Orlando, Florida. Members of the LGBTQI community have endured a heavy and oppressive history that now includes yet one more tragedy. In the storm of this mourning, I also mourn the victims of history who were never named publically. I also still embrace peace. Perhaps peace is what prevents tragedies like this. Perhaps peace is what truly releases the heart.

I stand in solidarity with the community that I call my own. More than standing with my community, I wish I understood better how a tragedy like this could have been prevented. Was there a breakdown in inner peace? In outer peace? In being passed peace? While these questions cannot ease any sadness or change any events of the past, can they possibly create a brighter future?

As I consider these things, I hope you will also ponder them with me. Peace to you, my unknown friends. Please pass it along in some way. It only takes a spark...

Blessings,
Matthew

Peace Be With You?

I don't think I always understand the depth of the expression “Peace be with you.” During the time of Passing of the Peace in a church service, this expression is said repetitively and naturally; yet, when you think about it, it's almost anything but natural. We are saying that we actually believe peace is possible in this crazy, messy world. It's not simply a statement of hope—it is a great responsibility that should challenge us constantly. Pastor Lisa Yebuah says that her seminary education at Duke left her with a “holy haunting,” and author Stephen Long similarly writes of being “haunted by […] the specter of pacifism”... “It is the uncomfortable guest who will not leave.”

Why would anyone choose to be haunted by peace? Why would anyone choose to advocate for it? It's much easier to not care, to walk away, to pledge allegiance to what's normal and comfortable.

I love to read and to ask questions. I would be bored to death if I didn't, but it also leaves my brain in a tangled, sloppy mess most of the time. My past peace intern Margie Quinn told me to find my simple truths. Loving people is hard and fun. God is bigger than the humongous, broken prison-industrial complex. Next, she said, ask questions “until [your] brain turns into noodles.” With this noodley brain, my life has taken on a unique texture and quality that bewitches and haunts me. I can't un-know my heroes of social justice, like Bryan Stevenson or Margie Quinn. I can't un-read Ta-Nehisi Coates or Desmond Tutu or Gloria Anzaldúa. I can't un-see the prison letters from neglected and abused prisoners throughout the state of Alabama. I also can't forget the memories of growing up in camp and wanting so desperately to understand my relationship to the universe, my visión cósmica. Maybe I chose to be haunted by peace or maybe it chose to haunt me. Either way, I'm sitting here at the Disciples home-base in Indianapolis with a great responsibility and privilege before me, and I'm wondering how to make “the uncomfortable guest who will not leave” feel like the only natural hope for people who claim to love a justice and peace-seeking God.

I have a lot of hopes for this summer, but most of all, I want us all to grow in our understanding of the power and potential of “Peace be with you.” With this expression, may we never take ourselves out of the conversation on peace and justice in this world.

Peace be with you,
Lexie Ofe

Camp by the Numbers

Will's Camp Bracelets

This summer I have:

- been to 7 camps in 6 different states.

- traveled to 13 different states. (counting airports and one 5 minute detour through Washington)

- been graciously hosted by 8 different families.

- counseled 367 campers.

And, I have collected:

- 4 pieces of closing circle yarn

-8 friendship bracelets (from Zoe, Emily, Amber, Aubrey, Amy, Kelsey, Jordan, and Erin)

-1 prayer bracelet from a devotion station run by the Alderson sisters' small group

- 2 rubber bands from Ohio

- 1 four leaf clover

-1 camp cutie bracelet

-1 peace intern bracelet from General Assembly

- 1 wrist band to eat at the Bethany College dining hall.

 - 1 autographed children's book

- 16 T-shirts

- 50+ mosquito bites

However, no matter how many times I read through this list and go over all the different countable things I acquired this summer something is missing. I will confess to having a camp box that all of these collected items will go in, I will pull it out on occasion - likely when I'm avoiding packing or cleaning my room - and reminisce. But all these collected things in a box will never hope to measure up to the array intangible non-countable 'things' I've acquired as a Peace Intern. The relationships, memories, and camp songs will stay with me always.

Simply put, the most meaningful thing I acquired was a sense of comfort and confidence. The ability to walk around and be comfortable just being Will. As our Intern coordinator put it, "a real adult."

Who is That Girl I See…?

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She sure as heck is NOT the same one who left on this crazy summer adventure traveling around to 7 different church camps, three months ago! The spark that was in my heart to do and be better, and teach people about my passion for human rights has been fanned and is now a full on fire. In order to explain this journey a bit better, I have The Steps to Making A Great Fire:

1. Gather tinder and kindling.

• My kindling started in college. I was an International Relations major, with a focus on social and cultural issues and Latin America. Much of what I learned and studied in school was about peace and justice issues. I chose these focuses because I felt that this was an untapped area and one that was particularly interesting and necessary to go deeper in. I learned about justice mechanisms for gross human rights violations and the kinds of problems indigenous people suffer through. I learned about the oppressive governments, the wars, and the strife that this part of the world encountered. I learned about international organizations, and what bodies like the United Nations are doing to address human rights issues. I learned about the people who wanted to see their world changed, so they worked towards making that happen. These topics inspired me and influenced my choice to apply for the Disciples Peace Fellowship Intern Program.

2. Start small. Get it lit.

• These topics supported me through college and I always knew that this is where my heart was, I just didn’t know how to get that spark glowing more brightly and put my training into action. Enter Training Week in Indianapolis at the Disciples Center… Whoa. This week was amazing! We met with and talked to some inspirational Disciples who are doing work both nationally and internationally, with the mission of working towards “wholeness in a fragmented world”. The Peace Interns were given the tools to be able to talk about Peace and Justice issues that can be found around the world and relate them to how the General Church is helping to combat those issues. We learned how to be the change within our communities, our regions, and the world. Through the church, I am able to put my passions and interests into practice. I am able to go places and work with people, talk about and be the one who brings up issues of change for the topics I am most passionate about.

3. Let it breath, fan the flames.

• I learned to teach and to explain human rights issues and I learned to discuss with high school students what I really means to stand in solidarity of an issue and advocate for causes that are bigger than ourselves. This experience will be an invaluable resource for the rest of my life! Because of this internship, I now have the confidence to speak about my passions and to explain the importance of making the necessary changes to combat human rights issues. The only question is… What’s next? I have been exposed to so many amazing organizations, missions, groups, schools, and people that I have no idea what my future holds anymore. I used to have a plan for the next 5 years, but yeah, that’s been shattered and replaced with so many other opportunities to actually make a difference in our world! I have so many options and there is not one potential path that would set me back! Everything I have been exposed to this summer has helped me to form my idea of what the future will look like, not only for myself but what the world will look like because of people like me who have a passion for making change and actually doing it.

4. Congratulations, you’ve started a fire!

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• I cannot believe that my summer is over already. I would do the Peace Internship program again in a heartbeat, which is a testament to the success of the program and I would love for other driven candidates to have this experience!

New Experiences

This past week I attended my very last camp as a Peace Intern.   I ended my summer in  the Oregon Southwest Idaho Region, but to my surprise it was at this camp that I had many new experiences.  I learned how to make a hat, skip rocks and was finally able to do archery. I know these things are all very simple things but I found great joy in doing each one.My favorite was learning how to skip rocks because my small group was incredibly helpful and encouraging towards my goal of skipping a rock at least three times.

Each day we would go down to the lakefront and discuss our curriculum but while we were there we would take time to skip rocks or take in the beautiful scenery. On Wednesday one of my campers showed me in greater detail how she skipped a rock while another camper cheered me on each time I picked up a new rock. After a couple of tries I finally skipped a rock five times and I was so excited I jumped up and down screaming, “I skipped it five times! Five times!!” My campers were all very excited too. I felt like such a child again because of how overjoyed I was that I out did my goal. I think sometimes, as we get older, we forget that we can have new experiences and have so much joy in those experiences. 

I was very tired when I got to Oregon because of all my traveling and being an introvert and having all my energy be used. I was expecting that Oregon would be like many of my other camps. I was not expecting to have so many new experiences, not only for this summer but my whole life. I know that in my life back at home I do not expect new things everyday because I get into a routine and follow it. 

My last week at camp has taught me that I need to start looking for new experiences and take them on when they do arise. I could have just failed at skipping the rock and gone on with my life never knowing how much joy I would feel from 5 small rings left on top of the water but instead I took on the challenge.

I want to go back into my life taking on more challenges and new experiences because that is what this summer has been about for me - the experiences that I have had at each and every camp. I am so grateful that I did take a risk and apply to be a Peace Intern. I may be tired now but this is a summer I will never forget. It has changed my life! Till next time y’all.

Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night

After General Assembly ended, the interns all split back up to go to our final camp of the summer. I had the opportunity to go to Cane Ridge West outside of Lincoln, Montana and was excited to spend some more time in an environment I know! I love Montana and was so happy to spend my final week up in the beautiful mountains.

 This was my smallest camp yet with only 13 campers, but they were all very involved and enthusiastic people. We had two small groups of 6-7 campers and it was really cool to have discussion with such a small group and really be able to go deeper into the theme of the day. We followed the Power Up curriculum and it was really awesome! We learned about imitating Christ through our actions, building a stronger community (both local and global) and how to remain strong in our faith.

One night, we watched the movie The Truman Show. I hadn’t seen this movie before and it was really interesting and spurred some great discussion topics. If you haven’t seen this movie, DO IT NOW! I love the concept and can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be living life completely blind to the outside world and to have your entire life, in a sense, scripted, without even knowing it. (The title of my post this week comes from this movie.)It wasn’t all work though! We tubed down the river and caught snakes, played noodle field hockey, had awesome campfire experiences (like boiling water in a paper cup, burning underwear, and having way too many s’mores!), played sardines outside and the watched the sun set, and so much more! This was a very exhausting camp just because we did so much outside each day! When siesta time came around, I was out like a light! I had a great time in Montana and enjoyed the director, other counselor, cooks, and campers! This was a great last camp to go to and share what DPF was and my role as the Peace Intern. I loved hanging out in the mountains and loved all that the Big Sky country had to offer! Now I'm off to Portland, OR to have one final retreat and debrief this amazing summer!

Stuck in the Middle

Suttle Lake Prayer Beads

This past week I had an opportunity that most Peace Interns do not get, I got to work with a Chi Rho camp at Suttle Lake United Methodist Camp in Sisters, Oregon. Chi Rho camp is specifically for Middle School campers. If I'm fully honest I was both terrified and excited to work with younger campers. After six weeks of High School camps, I was looking forward to a change of pace and the abundance of energy they bring to camp.In addition to leading a workshop about peace and Disciples identity with each of the small groups, I had some other roles that I had not had at other camps.

I got the chance to lead morning watch and present keynote one day. Morning watch is a time for reflection, contemplation, and meditation each morning before breakfast. I took this opportunity to help lead the campers in a reflection about creation and caring for God's gifts around them. During keynote I was able to teach about love languages and how we can share God's love with those around us.In addition to the energy my campers exuded all week they were extremely appreciative and thankful of the effort the counselors and director put in throughout the week.

The campers and my fellow counselors surprised me, our camp director, and the co-regional minister that worked with our camp with a set of prayer beads. Each person selected a bead to represent themselves and created a strand of prayer beads that I will treasure as a reminder of a wonderful week of camp for years to come.

Some Assembly Required

The Interns at DPF Breakfast

This past week I traded in camp food and bunk beds for continental breakfast and a hotel suite in the ever-lovely Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the array of new opportunities I have had within the Disciples of Christ at camps this summer I got the chance to attend my first General Assembly. Well, the first General Assembly that I was old enough to remember attending.

General Assembly was explained to me in a variety of ways, ranging from a convention to a five-day Disciples party. However, the image I prefer is a family reunion, or rather a series of family reunions. I met with former ministers, current ministers, staff, counselors, and campers from this summer in addition to a multitude of surrogate family members I have collected throughout my life. However, the family I spent the most time with was my quirky little intern family.

The three Peace Interns from this summer along with our fearless leader got the chance to catch up, share stories, and teach each other a few new camp songs. We were also able to meet many members of the extended Peace Intern family from the past forty years of the internship. Experiencing this web of connections and learning about all of the different paths the Peace Internship has led people down was inspiring and refreshing.

I'm Soarin'

As Troy and Gabriella so eloquently explain in the High School Musical song “Breaking Free”:We’re soarin’, flyin’. There’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reachIf we’re trying, so we’re breaking freeOhhhh runnin’, Climbin’. To get to that place to be all that we can beNow’s the time so we’re breaking free

This song became the unofficial theme song for myself and many others, (mainly because I wouldn’t stop singing it and it got stuck in everyone’s head!), but it fits in so well with the theme for General Assembly this year, which was “Soar”. The theme was based on a scripture in Isaiah and is very similar to this song. Isaiah 40 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

The whole premise is based on the fact that through Christ we can do all things, we can walk and not collapse from being tired, we can run for miles and miles and be good to go, and we can soar like the birds in the sky because our faith, mind, and body are renewed in God’s love for us. I know that is what General Assembly is for many people, and I know it was that way for me.The worship services were so meaningful and the messages were empowering. Different preachers from different denominations provided the evening sermon and it was very neat to see that each style was not at all unfamiliar. They talked about doing more and being more and how as the church, it is our responsibility to help our neighbors, support our friends, and bring the love of God to people in a welcoming and supportive way. Bible thumping does not bring in new blood to the church, but loving and gentle actions do.The best part about Assembly was seeing all of my old and new friends. I loved hanging out with the other two interns, Celia and Will and after a long summer, we all had stories to share! I also saw at least the directors or keynoters or counselors and/or campers from each camp, and it was awesome to have these people come up to me and chat. I feel that I have made some amazing connections this summer and could not have asked for better camps to go too! I look forward to the next General Assembly in Indianapolis and am excited to see how much I have changed because of my DPF Internship!

Not Alone on my Journey

This past week the other interns and I met up in Columbus, Ohio for General Assembly. This is my sixth General Assembly in my 22 years. My first was in Kansas City in 2001, then Charlotte in 2003, Fort Worth in 2007, Indianapolis in 2009, and Nashville in 2011. I always have loved attending General Assembly because I am able to catch up with friends that I might not see often because we live on opposite sides of the country.This year was different.  Not only was I able to see old friends but I was able to see fellow counselors and campers I just worked with over the summer and (bonus!) hang out with the other interns whom I have missed dearly!After the closing worship I was talking with two families from my home region when a counselor from Oklahoma came up to me. She had a bracelet she wanted to give me and as she handed it to me she mentioned something about my journey. We chatted a few minutes, hugged, and said we would have to meet up sometime during the school year. After she left I looked more closely at the bracelet and the paper it was attached to. Only then did I realize that originally there had been two bracelets and the paper said, “I share this bracelet with you as a blessing of peace. I wear the second bracelet in honor of your journey.”For the first time this summer I realized I was never on this journey alone like I had originally thought. I may be traveling from camp to camp alone but as I enter a new camp I take all of my previous campers and counselors with me, while some take me as they continue back into the real world (like the camper from my very first camp who showed me at the GA DPF booth that he was still wearing the red yarn from my human trafficking workshop).If you have never been to a General Assembly I really recommend looking into going to the next one in Indianapolis in 2017. I promise it will confirm for you that you are not alone on this journey of faith!Till next time y’all.

Almost Heaven...

Campbell Mansion

Disclaimer: I had every intent to write this blog post all about the hills of West Virginia and a small town steeped in Disciples history. So much so that I took a plethora of pictures (some of which I am still sharing with you here) of Bethany, West Virginia in hopes to show you a small sampling of all this town has to offer. However, something else was brought to my attention that I feel is much more insightful, a much better display of the wonderful week I had with the people of the West Virginia CYF Conference.

Campbell Historic Marker

A minister and fellow counselor showed me a Facebook post from one of our conferees about an hour before our conference was over. The conferee expressed how much he enjoyed camp and the post closed with a simple and profound reasoning as to why camp is so great - "there is no hate here." It seems obvious that at a church camp there would be an absence of hate, but I had never seen someone list it as the reason they love church camp. Some people will tell you they love the songs and others love the food, the swimming, the counselors, the friendship bracelets, or the community built. But never before I heard an affinity for the absence of hate. The constant struggle of editing yourself and your beliefs while constantly maintaining a poker face in order to avoid the daily hatred that is everywhere is dismissed for one week of every year. There is no hate here.

Campbell Mansion

My fellow counselors and I discussed the simplicity and profundity of the post. We discussed how it is so much easier to be nice to those around you, particularly when they are nice in return. We discussed how this community without hate was cultivated. We discussed how to take this absence of hatred with us as we left camp and went back to the other 51 weeks of the year. We discussed the kindom (not a typo) of God. There is no hate there.

Alexander Campbell's Study

While I enjoy word play, puns, and John Denver as much as the next guy and it is rather convenient that this happened in West Virginia, 'Almost Heaven' is not Country Roads. 'Almost Heaven' is the absence of pressure. 'Almost Heaven' is a place of welcome. 'Almost Heaven' is a radical peace. 'Almost Heaven' is an extremely successful CYF conference, for there is no hate there.

All Things New

So this week was one for the books! We started out on Sunday, expecting to welcome campers to CYF 1 but were surprised with two separate fires close to the camp that closed the roads and made it unsafe for travel. So the directors, staff, and counselors came together to make sure every camper had a place to sleep, since many were already close to camp anyways, and delayed starting camp until Monday afternoon.We sadly lost a day, but quickly made up for it by literally hitting the ground running! This week was a whirlwind of new things and experiences for me. We did counselor bonding by climbing a tree, no really! This was awesome!

We were harnessed to ropes and repelled up and down a tree named Mr. Majestic. We also did a whole group hike on Wednesday, eating a picnic lunch at the top and venturing to see a waterfall. There was a log roll in the pool, which was super hard! It’s a log in the water that you can stand on and run on to move it (kinda like a cartoon) and it was really tough! We went on an optional sunrise hike Friday morning to Sam’s Peak, and it was pretty strenuous! I was really scared of falling off the side of the mountain at some parts, but we all made it up and down in one piece, and the view at the top was so beautiful! Finally, we did a wall climb. This wall was 12 feet tall and we had to get all of the campers, some of the staff, and counselors over it! Good gracious it was hard!

This week was so physically taxing and I have so many new bumps and bruises, but I also have so many amazing memories!So why do all these crazy things you may ask? Well, the theme of the week was “All Things New”, so how perfect was it that almost everything about the activities and the schedule was new?! This was a learning experience for everyone and the two directors of the camp, Sloan and Matt did a great job at incorporating the theme and making sure everyone was taken care of. The keynoter, Rev. BJ Barlow also had some fantastic keynotes and brought up many new ideas that I know I am still mulling over! 

I led a workshop on what DPF is and then we discussed what Human Rights are. This was a great activity and the campers were really engaged and interested in the topics that were brought up. Many questions were answered, but some were left unanswered for the campers to continue to think about. We discussed why human rights are violated and what they, as young adults, can do in their school and communities to promote the things they find important or to address the injustices they see. Overall, the activity was received very well and I loved talking about these issues with the campers.

Loch Leven is a beautiful camp, filled with such a strong community, and I am so glad I was able to be a part of this family for a week! I made some new friends, learned a lot of new things about myself and where I feel pulled, and the new experiences I now have sure outnumber the mosquito bites, bruises and scrapes I have! Thanks Loch Leven for restoring my faith in my journey and for opening new doors to all the possibilities that lay before me.