South Carolina Mission Trip (SCMT): This is the biggest and most popular service project of the CUMC Youth Group, and it is also possibly the best week of my summer! Around 150 youth, leaders, and young adults all drive down together in big white vans to Hollywood, South Carolina, where we spend the week sleeping on the floor of the gym of a local church and repairing houses in the impoverished neighborhoods of the local community. The property laws are somewhat wacky in our country, and so the people we help are ones who would lose their property if they demolished the house and tried to build it anew, though the problems we are trying to fix could probably best be solved by doing just that. We mainly repair leaky rooves, replace insulation, work with drywall, and do other very basic and important repairs. I very much believe in long-term solutions. However, even though we fix houses that are likely to fall apart again in a few years, changing the real estate laws involves going through the sloth-like and monolithic governmental process, and so fixing the bare necessities in these people's homes is really important so that they can live a better quality life that they might not live to experience if we took the lengthy long term approach. Cell phone use is prohibited on the trip, so my photographs are limited to site photography!
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| I volunteered to do an "inside job" on the insulation, using my size to my advantage |
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| Working on a tin roof is different than shingling- something I had to learn how to do. |
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| GO GO GO THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Wait, maybe it is... |
Chicken Pot Pie Fundraiser: This fundraiser is very prestigious within the church and is our main and most effective fundraiser out of many that go towards SCMT. For about 2 hours one night we make a super-organized, assembly-line-type-of-thing, and churn out as many as 200 precooked chicken pies, boxed, with instructions for heating and serving. The pies sell for $10 each, and are preordered because of their popularity.
Christmas Present Shopping:
Another very well-known fundraiser at Christ Church is the Kid's Konsignment Sale, which helps raise money for one of my personal favorite events in the Youth Group, the christmas shopping! We round everyone up and divide into smaller groups of 10 or less. Each group is assigned one child and receives information on the child's interests and a small Christmas list. We are then let loose at the local Target and do our best to buy quality in quantity. The next youth group meeting is traditionally a wrapping (not rapping) party to get the presents ready to send off!
Christ Church Youth Choir:
The Choir at Christ Church secretly satisfies my love of singing combined with the fact that I am terrible at it. Practicing new parts, blending sounds, and taking on new music have become easier through weekly Choir meetings on Sunday afternoons. Also, spiritual connection through music is much more emotional and different in nature from meditation or the spoken word. Anyways, Please enjoy this embarrassing photo of the choir in their robes:
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| I am the fourth from the right in the middle row |
What Christ Church means to me:
Though I have learnt more about the Christian faith through the youth program at Christ Church, the main thing that will stick with me are the people I have met. It astounds me every meeting and every service project to see so many adults in the Greensboro community who are willing to take so much time and effort in creating a safe and fun place for the church youth to meet. Adults like Susan Norman Vickers and Brit and Katie Blaylock who just seem to radiate kind energy and acceptance have my full respect and admiration. I have no idea how they have so much room in their hearts to love each of the youth so dearly!
Undoubtedly, these kinds of people are the core of the Youth Group; they persist in getting the youth involved and making sure events run smoothly. As I have grown up in the youth group and volunteered for leadership positions, I realize how underappreciated the leaders' detail-oriented organizational skills are! It takes a lot more to plan an event than people think.
Another pertinent theme that emerged throughout my time in the Youth Group is the power of tradition. Susan Norman Vickers was my Buddha of sorts. Everyone has that one person whom they have met in life who are just as close to perfect as is possible: charismatic, honest, bubbly, energetic, but also solemn, understanding, and serious at all the right times. Susan was that person for everyone. She tragically passed away of cancer, and during our first SCMT without her as our fearless director of the Youth Group, we held a ceremony under her favorite trees (they dripped with Spanish Moss) in a park that she had requested before her death. Youth and leaders spoke alike, and though it wasn't anything in particular that was said, I was struck by the power and tradition the Youth Group holds. It has been so longstanding that I witnessed the circle of life take a member who had been the center of the Youth Group universe. Susan's service drew a herd of people of all different ages. Most of the leaders who spoke about Susan were sons and daughters of other church members, who were also sons and daughters of other group members and so on. The SCMT has been operating since at least 2004. For one I think it is immensely special and kind of awesome (in the literal sense of the word: inspiring awe) to be a part of something as established and historically successful as these mission trips.
Another aspect of tradition that is not necessarily positive is the phrase, "This is the way it has always been done." To some degree, repeating an event over and over again does make it more streamlined, easier to organize, well-established, and well-known, but it can also just as easily push people into a one option track, with no desire or ability to see areas of improvement. Repeating the same trip over and over again also gives rise to expectations and comparison among the times attended. I duly recognize the power of tradition, and attempt to keep an open mind to potentially forging a new path or seeking areas of improvement. This theme of tradition also applies to the Church as an institution, not just the mission trip. The Church historically has been the last to accept a slew of social practices, two examples of which are divorce and gay marriage.
Youth Sunday:
My time at Christ Church culminated in Youth Sunday, which is a service fully operated and lead by the youth of the church. Though it doesn't count for CAS hours, it does provide good closure for this page as representative of this area of my life. Here is the reflection I delivered from the pulpit at the 11 am service in front of the whole congregation:
Hello everyone! My name is Frances Henshall, I am a senior at Grimsley High School, and I will attend NC State University in the fall where I will be playing soccer. Now, I could give you all a very well-structured 5 paragraph essay, written in argumentative style, detailing the South Carolina Mission Trip, the Christmas Progressive dinner, or any other of the wonderful traditions we have here at Christ Church. And honestly, these events are more wonderful and fun-filled than I can express in words, but I want to focus on what makes them that way. I know its cliché, but it really isn’t about where you are, or what you are doing, its about the people you are with. The youth leaders and the youths themselves here at Christ Church are some of the most nurturing, uplifting, and wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
There aren’t many adults I know who would willingly sacrifice every Sunday evening to plan activities for a bunch of rowdy youth. I remember staying after the Art Night meeting and seeing all the behind-the-scenes cleanup work that the youth leaders did without question or complaint.
Other than all the under-appreciated time investment, the youth leaders also relate to the youth in a way that makes us feel important, mature, and loved. For example Brit Blaylock is one of the most hilarious and real adults I am lucky enough to call my friend. The adults remind me of the first Bible verse I came to know and love, 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. (I’ve always wanted to do that (: ). The Youth Leaders here are the epitome of this verse, constantly holding us as youth to a high standard, and letting us be kids at the same time.
Through the leaders and life-long friends at Christ Church I have also grown tremendously in my faith. I was never one of those Bible Jeopardy stars who went to church since I was an infant. My family actually isn’t very religious, but I think in a way that made my choice to join Christ Church that much more meaningful. Something I really value that helped me grow in my faith was, among lots of other things, the honesty in people like Susan Norman Vickers. Most people never speak about what its like to doubt God, or allow the youth to interpret scripture themselves, instead of spoon-feeding it. Susan is one of those people that you meet once in a lifetime, and I account her among my personal Buddhas. She had this ability in saying exactly what was on your mind, when you were too embarrassed to say it. This honesty and love surrounding me helps me to feel God’s presence in my life, one of the most difficult things to do if you are not looking for it. I learned these lessons, and more during my time here at Christ Church.
So thank you to all you amazing people. In my family, we have a tradition of toasting family not present, so instead of family not present, cheers to all those people not present who have had a hand, not matter how big or small in making my time at Christ Church an unforgettable experience.
- Undertaking new challenges: A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one.
- Working collaboratively with others: Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing music in a band, or helping in a kindergarten. At least one project, involving collaboration and the integration of at least two of creativity, action and service, is required.
Addressing my spirituality in front of a large crowd, speaking publically, and volunteering for leadership positions at the Church, and working on a worksite were all new challenges I consciously decided to undertake, and I believe I am a better person for it! Also, working collaboratively with other people to combine Service and Creative hours building/ repairing houses improve both my construction and teamwork skills.
Total Service Time: 100+ hours
Total Service Time: 100+ hours
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