Trinity Fellows Program

Moving Notice!

2009-09-14T17:32:00.003-05:00

Hello Friends!

For all our loyal followers out there, we wanted to let you know that we've moved our blog to blog.trinityfellows.com. You can follow us there!

Peace,

Trinity Fellows Program

Charlottesville, VA

Fellows Farewell

2009-09-10T07:08:00.001-05:00

by Matt Kleberg

I’m not very good, even after nine months, at describing precisely what the Trinity Fellows Program is.

If I were to explain the Trinity Fellows Program on a professional resume it would probably look something like “a leadership development program coupling marketplace experience, volunteerism, and graduate studies focused on professional and personal development.” But that seems prickly- too impersonal. Describing it to distant cousins in Texas, the Fellows Program might sound like a bizarre combination of going to class, working a job, living with a family, volunteering at the church, and spending nearly every waking moment with twelve other young and restless souls. But that seems random and does no justice to the richness and intention of the program’s many facets.

The difficulty in describing the Fellows Program is that no simple description rightly captures the uniqueness and breadth of the Fellows experience.

So as the 2009 Fellows prepare to move on to whatever comes next, and the 2010 Fellows eagerly await the beginning of their program, I would like to pause and reflect on the year.

As our pastors here at Trinity have walked the church through Hebrews this year, we have come to identify with a picture of pilgrimage. As pilgrims in the wilderness, we find rest in the hope we have in Christ, in the Kingdom that is to come and is, in part, already here. I am both humbled and emboldened by the notion that God chooses to invite such leaky vessels as myself to partake in the expansion of that Kingdom, and I am grateful to have experienced glimpses of the Kingdom during this Fellows year. Those glimpses came from our families, classes, jobs, etc.

We discussed in our classes and various seminars the implications faith has on work and vocation. The cultural mandate in Genesis calls man to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth, and to subdue it. From the very beginning scripture instructs people to work and to make culture- to teach, to practice medicine and law, to paint and play the trombone, to build bridges and develop better crops. For Christians, this call to cultivate the earth makes no distinction between traditionally “secular” jobs and “ministry” jobs. Rather, we declare that the Christian can be a minister of Christ in nearly any work, participating in God’s work of redeeming all things. What a beautiful image we see in Revelation 21, where every tear is wiped away and the new city of Jerusalem established in earth.

Not only did the Fellows benefit from such discussion in class, but we also had the privilege of putting education into practice in our jobs. We contemplated the nature of God’s vocational calling on our lives and strived to be disciplined workers in our marketplace settings.

We spent a week in New Orleans joining hands with the local church, in its effort to rebuild a broken community. We heard from brothers and sisters like Amy Sherman and Dr. John Perkins who have devoted their lives to showing mercy and seeking justice for the oppressed. We also spent a week in New York discussing what role art plays in communicating truth and beauty.

Family has been an integral element of the Fellows year. Nine months ago a bunch of recent college graduates parked their cars in front of a bunch of Trinity family homes and unloaded all their belongings. At that moment, whether we realized it or not, we became a member of families who had decided to love and care for us before they even knew us. These host families welcomed us into their lives, sharing the nice and neat parts along with the nitty and gritty.

Living in a home, spending intimate time with the other Fellows, and involving ourselves in the local church have all shaped an understanding of Christian community that goes beyond an affinity group. The Kingdom is no affinity group, but rather a gathering of every tribe, every nation, every race.

The Trinity community has blessed the Fellows in innumerable ways- many of you have invested in the program by mentoring and teaching us, by giving us shelter or jobs, or by sending your kids to youth group.

It truly is a comprehensive experience.

I have come to grasp a fuller understanding of what it means to be stewards of Creation, agents of redemption, and image-bearers of God.

Parable of talents

Worldview, engaging culture, biblical foundation

Now let us love mercy for the needy and justice for the oppressed and let us bear truth and see beauty and let our hearts grow for creation and creating and Christ is in all and Christ is all amen.

New Orleans

2009-02-20T15:25:00.008-05:00

By Andrew Simmons and Jenny Fearnow

One of us was recently in a staff meeting in which a supervisor asked, “Y’all took a N’awlins trip recently, didn’cha? I don’t know why people keep going down there. It’s just gonna flood again.” Yes, people are indeed still going down to the Crescent City after Katrina’s second, and more catastrophic, landfall on August 29th, 2005. So, why? Will our visits realistically change anything?

This thought occurred to at least we two, and likely more, of the Trinity Fellows and U. Va. Students from Reformed University Fellowship who made the trek to the Big Easy from Jan. 3 to 10 of this year. As we both hope to convey, the Lord’s kingdom made strong advances in New Orleans during that first week of 2009.

In addressing change, one must assume there is a pre-existing need. In New Orleans, people are still hurting: emotionally, physically, and mentally. Many have resigned themselves to apathy, tired of the long rebuilding process or extended unemployment. Some are still waiting for their houses to physically come off the 4-by-4 wood blocks that resemble a Jenga game. Driving through the now-famous Ninth Ward, we saw no street signs and no attempts, on the part of the city government, to rebuild; however, people are resettling there, living amidst brokenness.

The combination of compelling, audacious rebuilding and the seeming big-picture futility of it in the face of such wide destruction could cause one to question their usefulness there. And in some sense that is true - God is the only one that will bring about real peace and restore in our hearts a hope for it. In this respect, our very presence was an act of trust in God to work his sovereign good will to restore his people.

But we do get to play an integral part: as believers, we are called to bring peace to the city and reconciliation to hurt and brokenness. “…That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us,” says Paul in II Corinthians 5:19-20. God has made us ministers of his peace for His Kingdom. If we understood anything from being in NOLA, it was that lasting change comes only through the catholic Church. Members of RUF at the University of Virginia along with the Fellows, Redeemer PCA (Pastor Ray Cannata’s church), and the Annunciation Mission joined together to declare the gospel in word and deed within the Broadmoor district of New Orleans. Our short-term work projects meant nothing except in that they were rooted in the local church which could further a long-term relationship with community members.

By tearing up tile, scraping and painting, caulking and gutting, raking and pressure-washing, we participated in incarnational ministry. We did realistically change something. Sure, some benefits are visible even now. We gave a couple from the community leak-proof windows and a pleasant entryway. But some may not be for some time. We helped connect this same couple with the local church. Long-time development practitioner and Vice President for International Program Strategy at World Vision International Bryant Myers says that the Church is critical to genuine social transformation, “It is hard to imagine sustainable transformation without churches committed to soul care [development of personal faith] and social care [helping the poor and correcting injustices].” This truth was borne out in our own experience – the other groups we encountered aiding in reconstruction were, by a huge majority, evangelical groups of believers working in partnership with a local church.

So, to our surprise, there is indeed hope in New Orleans. This hope is found in a personal God who chooses to work through the local church and the Christians there that believe in His promises of restoration. We must remember that this applies not only to New Orleans, but to Charlottesville, as well. The church is the arm of God ministering real and lasting peace to its community. New Orleans, as that supervisor suggested it might, is indeed experiencing another flood – one of vital and engaged Gospel work that labors in the nitty-gritty of everyday life, not in spite of, but because of the imminent arrival of the Kingdom. So when the good times roll, know that the church is there.

If you want more information about the New Orleans trip or other service opportunities the Fellows are involved in please email me at jennyfearnow@gmail.com and/or check out our NOLA pictures on the Trinity Fellows Blog at www.trinityfellowsprogram.blogspot.com. Also check out the RUF website and pictures at www.uva.ruf.org

Common Grounds Post- "A True Portrait is Never Pretty"

2009-01-28T09:28:00.004-05:00

Our greatest desire is to be fully known and fully accepted. Deep down we want someone to see us for who we are- the beautiful with the ugly- and neither balk in disgust nor mistake us for something we are not, something better with fewer blemishes and flaws. And yet, we fear the fulfillment of the very thing we desire. Our greatest fear is to be known, found out, rejected. Out of this fear we build up defenses like walls, hiding our weakness, preventing anyone from really knowing us at all. We are like shopkeepers that put mannequins in the window, clean projections of the person we would rather people see (confident, attractive, sociable, interesting, etc), all the while keeping the shop door locked tight, carefully keeping the ugly reality of our imperfect lives out of sight.

As a portrait artist, the goal of my paintings is to subvert this practice of building defenses, and instead create a conversation with the viewer that is open and honest. You look at the person on the canvas and they look right back at you. Hopefully there is intimacy in that moment of examination. Maybe it is because the person in the canvas never looks away. You can look and look, critiquing every wrinkle and zit, but the subject has no shame.

I recently had a show that consisted of a bunch of portraits of folks I know from around Charlottesville. At one point I stood up and made a brief artist’s statement, which pretty much began like the first paragraph above, talking about lowering our guard and allowing ourselves to be known. I talked about how the bright colors were meant to represent each subject’s character and affirm their dignity as image-bearers of God. A question came from the back of the room, “Why don’t you have any self-portraits up, and if you did, what colors would they be?”

Uh.

Er.

I, uh.

I half jokingly replied that putting a self-portrait on the wall for the entire world to examine would demand that I unlock the “shop door” and let people in. But seriously. It is much easier to talk about not being so guarded than to take an honest look at oneself and stop pretending. I will hang up a portrait of a friend and subject them to public scrutiny long before I will subject myself. Why? Because even if you tell me you won’t reject me, my mind says, “you don’t know what I know.”

So what’s the solution- how do we get over the fear of exposure? The answer is certainly not try harder. Rather, I think the answer has to do with resting, resting in the promises of the God “to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.” This is the gospel: that God walks into a gallery, sees your face on the wall- knows every bit from the surface right on through to the core- and is utterly mesmerized by the beauty. He may as well be looking into a mirror. We are utterly known and profoundly accepted.

A Fellows Rendez-Vous

2008-09-16T21:11:00.007-05:00

by Hayley Taylor & Wilson Whitaker

Location: Revolutionary Soup
Agenda: Celebrate our Two Week Anniversary of Togetherness

An auspicious beginning, to be sure. Yet this anniversary shadowed a different, though no less important, landmark in our year: we have now completed an entire five-day work week with our new employers.

While our soup was full of Revolutionary zeal, we discovered that many of our work lives bear little resemblance to the passionate longing many of us brought to the table only weeks ago: a hope to change the world, a longing to make a difference. Throughout our varied work experiences, one common thread emerged: making a difference is taking a different shape than what we once expected. Instead of idealistic activism, we begin to change the world each morning in front of a filing cabinet at 9 a.m. sharp.

But perhaps this is a chance to remember Who it is we are serving, in both the mundane and the adventureful -- the ordinary and the breathtaking. Just perhaps this isn't about the ideas we can generate or the policies we can revamp but about the people we can serve and the love that we can give. In fact, perhaps it's not even about "we" or "me" but "Him" and "them." Just perhaps.

Happy Anniversary.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

Transforming Futures for Trinity Fellows

2008-09-15T19:42:00.000-05:00

by Reynolds Chapman

When I graduated from college I don’t think I fully grasped how much power had been given to me. In fact, since power was a negative concept in my mind, I probably played down my social, professional, political, and spiritual capacities out of some false humility. And although I had gained knowledge and tools to dive head-first into the “real world,” I lacked a robust framework for engaging with it as Christ would have me. As I reflect on the past year spent in the Trinity Fellows Program, I see how it helped me recognize the power I have been given, and how God is forming me to steward it for His Kingdom.

In his book Power and Passion, Samuel Wells says “…those in power do no good by failing to realize the power they have. Power is not wrong or bad or inherently corrupt; it is given for a purpose – to reflect the truth, to set people free – and only becomes sinister when it is not used for the purpose for which it has been given.” Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of the Church in America is our unwillingness to be honest about the influence and agency we have. We can understand why - a denial of power allows for a denial of responsibility. What the Fellows Program seeks to do is catch Christians at that fork in the road where they can either treat their gifts as inadequate, irrelevant, or even non-existent, or they can use them to engage God’s world.

This vision is built on a theological foundation established in the seminary classes we take. In our Biblical studies courses, the recurring theme of humiliation before exultation was implanted in our hearts and minds. Centered on Christ, who “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant…becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross,” we saw how our lives in the Church, our communities, our families, and at our jobs should take the form of service and humility. We saw that our power and privileges are not for our own personal peace and affluence, but are to be channeled as a blessing to the world in the name of Jesus Christ. In our cultural engagement courses we dug deeper into what the world looks like and the specifics about how theology translates into society. These classes challenged our assumptions, and helped transform us to view the world in a Christ-like manner.

Our discussions of theology and cultural engagement became practical in our workplace internships. One of the chief aims of the fellows program is bridging the divide between the sacred and secular – affirming that worship not only occurs when we gather together at the end of Fontaine Avenue, but also when we’ve been sitting at an office in front of a computer for three hours and we still have five hours to go. We saw that in God’s Kingdom, the value of someone who works in financial consulting, or someone who cleans houses for a living, is equal to a pastor or missionary. We were also able to engage our community by tutoring low-income students at Abundant Life, which allowed us a brief departure from our privileged lifestyle and granted us a snapshot into a community neglected and overlooked by most of Charlottesville.

As we affirmed the importance of engaging the world, it was indispensable to see that without the Church, any of our pursuits in this world are meaningless. In America, where we worship the gods of status, wealth, and security, the Church becomes an afterthought. We operate under the rule that when we’re working sixty hours a week, there’s just not time to go to a church prayer meeting or to pursue accountability with our brothers or sisters in Christ. But being plugged into the Church was invaluable this year, especially for many of us who are going into the marketplace. We were welcomed with open doors and open arms by our host families, who were willing to take a stranger into their home for a whole year. We had the opportunity to serve the youth in the Church, while being served in many ways by our mentors and the host of Church members and those on staff who spoke with us and prayed for us.

Before doing the Fellows Program, I would have asked “Wouldn’t a weekend-long conference on faith and work be sufficient and effective?” After doing the Fellows Program, I would answer no to this. This year has not taught me ideas, but has rather given me a community and experiences that have transformed me to see the purpose of the gifts God has given me. On behalf of the 2007-2008 class, thanks to Trinity Presbyterian Church, and may God bless the incoming fellows as they embark on this journey together.

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-28T09:16:00.003-05:00

By: Austin Johnston

I pulled into the driveway of a home in Charlottesville, and took a deep breath before walking up to the porch and ringing the doorbell. The door opened and I saw the family for the first time and realized how nervous I was. What if they didn’t like me? What if they were strange people? What if…?

I had never met these people, and they had never met me, but they volunteered to let me live in their home for the next 9 months. I appreciated their generosity at allowing a stranger to come be a part of their family life. Yes, they had read my 12 page application (which included some pretty detailed stories about me), but they still didn’t really know who I was. The first few days were awkward as we started to get to know one another, but we soon all became more at ease and I began to fit into their family a little better.

From discussions about philosophy and daily life at the dinner table on family nights to watching lots of movies to celebrating birthdays with a special orange pastry for breakfast (a tradition I was happy to partake of), life with my host family gave me glimpse into another world. Most people only experience two families, the one they grow up in and the one they form when they grow up and start their own. I have gotten a chance for a third family, one that is not related to me biologically, but which gives me a chance to see how a different group of people live together. This family is similar to my own yet is also very different, and this gives me a great perspective.

My host family just does some things differently. I thought that everyone did things a certain way, but that is not the case. They have a different policy for doing the dishes. They have different eating habits. They have a cat. I realized that not every family has to look identical to work well. Once you see from the inside how another family works, it makes you think and evaluate the way you live and the choices you make about basic things like laundry and cleaning the bathroom, how to handle conflict, and even the activities the family does together.

What a valuable experience! It is one I will treasure and hopefully it will continue to shape the way I think about family and living with others for the rest of my life.

Finding Life on Thursday Afternoons

2008-05-13T13:44:00.008-05:00

Written by: Mariko Schaper

Every Thursday we go to Johnson Elementary school. We go there to participate with Abundant Life Ministries. It’s an after school program that provides tutoring for kids among other things. The majority of the kids that go to Johnson Elementary are from the Prospect Ave neighborhood and Blue Ridge Common Apartments. Some of the students come from some really great families, but some come from broken homes. One of the boys was telling me about him hanging out with his father, who is out of jail for the 4th time; another said he’s never seen his father, while another said that their family is moving because they are scared to go outside due to the shootings that happen in the neighborhood. Despite what the students’ family lives are like, they all have something in common…they need lovin’ from us.

The boy that I tutor is 8 years old and his name is Ahmad. He is in the second grade. I remember the first couple of weeks that we started tutoring. The first day he was so apathetic and bragging about not caring whether or not he repeated the 2nd grade. He had to be pulled aside over and over to be talked to by Miss Kerra, one of the directors. But he just didn’t care. Anytime that he wouldn’t want to do something, he would totally and completely shut down. He wouldn’t do his work, he wouldn’t listen to anything that I would say or respond in any way. All he would do was sit there staring at the wall and ignore me. Some of the women running the program were talking about whether or not Ahmad could stay in the program because he wasn’t doing anything or making any progress.

…but that was in the beginning.

Now, he has been doing absolutely awesome. Ahmad wants to do his homework and the enrichment activities. They make him feel good about himself because he does well and learns from them. He talks to me about his weekend, about school, about lots of things. The kids got their report cards a couple weeks ago, and he was so excited to show me his. He got all really exceptional marks, they don’t do the whole A,B,C thing, like back in my day…haha I sound old. But anyways…he showed me his report card…and then Ahmad said something with such enthusiasm that almost made me cry in front of him…

“I’m going to the 3rd grade.”

He continued to say that after that he’s going to go to 4th then 5th, then middle school. He was so excited he hopped out of his chair, ran over to his cousin and said the same thing.

It has been so amazing tutoring him and spending time with the Abundant Life kids. I love going early and just running around and playing with them. The girls are hilarious playing tag and I just love dancing around with them. They are some of the most affectionate kids as well. They always want you to catch them, hug them, hang on your back or shoulders, jump on you…hold their hands. We took them for pizza and ice skating a while ago, and it was interesting to see their vulnerability especially on the ice. Though they were on the ice, their hard exteriors and the walls that they had up began melting away as they needed us and trusted us to help them.

I definitely have seen redemption in all of this and so much of God’s grace and love. It has been such a blessing to be able to be in these kids’ lives. To be able to let them know that they don’t have to be angry all the time; that people care about them; that doing well and working hard is awesome. The banquet that was held for them was quite stellar. They were brought into a room filled with several hundreds of people clapping and cheering for them for doing well. They were all dressed up and sang some Christmas carols after dinner and it was adorable. We were so blessed to be able to see them there and to serve them.

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” - 1 Timothy 1:14 …for this I am ridiculously thankful, but because it was poured out abundantly, means it should overflow into the lives of others around me.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” - John 10:10…Jesus came so we could have life, despite the fact that we so do not deserve it…freakin awesome!

These kids are meant to have a life abundant because of Jesus. It is amazing to think that we’ve had the blessing to be a little tiny part in that by just sharing God’s love with them.

Purpose at Work

2008-04-17T07:13:00.008-05:00

Written by: Tripp Purks

Perhaps the most constant and stable thing in the life of a Fellow (other than certain exhaustion and deep conversation) is that fact that every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we will be at our jobs along with the rest of the working world. The job-experience element of the program is indeed one of the cornerstones in the Fellow's foundation. The opportunity to be immersed in and contributing to the daily movement of an organization is extremely valuable to formation, and the part-time work hours certainly are a welcome relief to juggling the other aspects of the program. Though Fellows often work at entry level positions their presence is (hopefully) associated with hard work, pleasant dispositions, and a servant's attitude, thus bringing an invaluable contribution to their respective companies.

As for me, I've found that my time at work has been quite an experience. Though it is certainly not always exciting, or incredibly inspiring, I usually am able to see the value of the work that I do. The role of an intern is a funny thing, I often feel that I am held in this tension of doing things that are seemingly imperative to the company, but but are things that no one else would ever do. So I'm necessary and invisible simultaneously? Possibly. But the beautiful thing about the humbleness of my role (and often the role of other Fellows in their job-sites) is that it pushes me to labor outside of my own gain. Thus, the job experience becomes less about the work that I must do, but rather how I complete it. The beauty of this situation is that God works amazing things with a servants heart, and his movement in my heart while at work has certainly begun to bridge the gap between the tasks that I have to complete and the ways in which I am called to exist and behave at work. The cool thing is that when God helps me understand that work is serving well where I am called to be in that moment, stuffing 85 mailboxes seems more redemptive than I once thought.

For more updates on my life as a Fellow at the Federal Executive Institute. Start here and follow along in my blog

Pictures from NYC Trip

2008-04-09T14:48:00.012-05:00

During the last week of February the Fellows and Dottie went up to New York City for a three day conference hosted by the International Arts Movement

A few snapshots of our time...

Click the pictures to see full size.

Our fearless leaders

Guys' room at the hostel

Mariko, Jamie, Rose, and Austin waiting for the subway

Musical performance during the conference

Times Square at night

Mike and Sean. No explanation needed.

Jamie and Mike in Times Square

Tripp and Lora. Hungry? Excited? Both?

Group shot

Headed home

New Orleans Pictures

2008-02-22T15:23:00.018-05:00

A few pictures from the Fellows/RUF trip down to New Orleans.

Click on the picture for the full size image.

Group Picture at Musicians Village (MV)

Habitat work site at MV

Completed MV houses

Work site candid

Lewis is ready to crush some nails

Dennis, Elizabeth, and David

Kelly and Sarah

Isaiah + power tools = major productivity

Another group shot at MV

A Challenge from the Crescent City

2008-02-19T09:39:00.007-05:00

By: Reynolds Chapman

Two and a half years ago, Hurricane Katrina submerged the city of New Orleans beneath 12 feet of water. Most of us remember the horror of the media reports, hearing accounts from shocked survivors and watching the number of deaths climb steadily by the hour. Katrina was one of the most destructive and deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, leaving a debt of over $81 billion and an estimated death toll of 1,836. After the waters cleared, tens of thousands of residents were displaced. When the storm hit, it stole the attention of America as it stole the homes of those who lived in the city.

Last month, about a dozen Trinity Fellows and about a dozen Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) students from the University of Virginia had the opportunity to represent Trinity in serving New Orleans by working on building a house in the St. Bernard district. Many of us had seen the city since the storm hit—some multiple times—and some of us, such as myself, were visiting the city for the first time. As I was preparing for the trip and during the 18-hour drive from Charlottesville, I wondered what kind of significance such a trip, almost three years after the storm, might have for each of us, for New Orleans and for the people of Trinity and Charlottesville to whom we would tell stories upon our return.

The impression New Orleans left on us can be summed up in an insight we heard from Ray Cannata, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New Orleans, where we worshiped during our stay. Pastor Cannata said, "In New Orleans, on the one hand you see a vivid picture of the Fall, and on the other hand you see a clear picture of Redemption." One can see the brokenness in a variety of forms, such as with the memory of when Katrina hit, a time filled with fear, desperation and loss. Although it has receded in our memories for the most part, it is not as easy to forget for those from the city—those who lost their homes or loved ones, or who drive every day through the wreckage that remains to be rebuilt. Most residents know someone who was killed in the storm, and many are waiting for their friends and family to return to the city.

We also see a picture of the Fall in the apathy that has left much of the city and people still abandoned, particularly the poor. Driving through the lower Ninth Ward, seeing uninhabited houses with yards overgrown and boards on the doors and windows, was unnerving and elicited feelings of anger and disappointment as we imagined the families that once lived there. For us, just one week in a place where the memories and aftermath of the storm are experienced on a daily basis was eye opening—it took us out of our world and put us in theirs. I realized the people who looked Katrina in the eye have a greater understanding than I do of the reality that, as theologian Cornelius Plantinga puts it, "The world is not the way it's supposed to be."

After spending a week in New Orleans, I realized that when Pastor Ray Cannata said New Orleans presents a lucid portrait of redemption, it wasn't a sentimental "looking on the bright side." We were able to truly experience the vibe of hope in the city. When we arrived, both the church and the Habitat for Humanity camp where we stayed received us as though we were their first visitors, thanking us incessantly and taking a sincere interest in our own stories. If "The Big Easy" had arms, they would be wide open. It seemed that feasting and socializing were the two main activities for the people there. From potlucks at people's houses, to restaurants in the French Quarter, to music and dancing on Frenchman Street, many of us found New Orleans to be one of the most people-oriented, vibrant, culturally rich communities we've ever visited. Ray Cannata told us the hurricane did not take away from the sense of community in the city, but rather heightened everyone's appreciation for one another and brought people together.

The rebuilding efforts have also been a sign of hope in the city. There has been a consistent flow of volunteers since the hurricane hit, and it was exciting for us to be able to lend a hand by working with Habitat for Humanity on a house-building project. It took some of us a few crooked nails and bruised thumbs to get our hammer skills down, but we had fun getting our hands dirty. We stayed at Camp Hope, where we ate meals and shared conversations with people from many walks of life, all coming to help out. It was a great opportunity to testify that Christ was our reason for being there. And perhaps one of the most encouraging statistics I heard was that 80-90 percent of the rebuilding efforts were done by churches. The kingdom of God is indeed at work.

Pastor Ray Cannata mentioned that the good and the bad of New Orleans were certainly present three years ago—the storm just exposed them. This reminded me that the effects of the Fall and the Redemption of Christ are present in every city. If there's anything to take home from New Orleans to Charlottesville, it is this clear picture of Christ entering into a broken world to redeem it. So we thank God that while we were able to contribute to the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, we also left with a challenge to be the Church who enters in, and brings redemption through Christ, to the broken areas in our home, the city of Charlottesville. We thank God that Trinity Presbyterian Church cares enough to enter into the brokenness of the world, New Orleans and our own backyards, and we pray that He would continue challenging us to meet this call.

Should you wish to hear more about the New Orleans trip or other service opportunities the Fellows are involved in please email me at reynoldschapman@gmail.com

Your Life is Not Your Own

2007-05-20T23:01:00.000-05:00

by Andrew Kean

Jesus Himself said it: “For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for Me will find
it” (Mat-thew 16:25). It is to us all that
Jesus speaks these very words, without
exception. It is with His words in mind
that I write to you, Fellows. And it is
with His words in mind that I hope you,
Trinity Church, will eavesdrop on this
farewell address.

Dear Fellows,

Just nine months ago, the 13 of you were
anonymous to the majority of Trinity
Church. You were simply another group
of “young adults” who might be considered
a hard generation of folks to understand.
But between then and now, you
have become members of our Family,
examples to our children, servants of others,
studiers of God’s Word, prayers for
God’s will, thoughtful searchers, wise
answerers, marketplace-faithful, community
builders, eager anticipators of the
King’s return. In sum, you have tasted the
beautiful fruit of the Truest Paradox:
through giving your lives to Jesus, you
are beginning to find them.
It has been at once painful and joyful,
confusing and clear. Yet, through it all,
with the Spirit strengthening you, you
have proved faithful. Let me, on behalf of
Trinity Church and Charlottesville say,
“Thank you.”

Soon you will be sent out by Trinity
Presbyterian Church. Out into the world,
into new vocations, into new relationships,
into new needs, into new dreams.
Don’t look back in a wistful way; look
forward, applying all that you have
learned. Motivated by our King’s love for
us, seek the hard places, seek the places
of discomfort in others’ lives (and your
own), love boldly, aim to be men and
women of prayer, and above all, worship
the King.

Fare well, Fellows.
And remember, your life is not your
own.

Grace and Peace,
Andrew Kean

Testimony: What Tutoring Has Meant to Trinity Fellow Ebony Walden

2007-04-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

by Ebony Walden

I returned to my car after my first Abundant Life Ministries tutoring session utterly defeated. The frustration of feeling ineffective had overcome me and I remember thinking, “How will I do this for another nine months?”

Earlier that same afternoon, I had felt more than equipped to begin tutoring. I had gone through the tutor training and I had years of tutoring experience under my belt. I thought, “This is going to be a breeze.” However, on the very first day I was challenged by the wit and energy of my tutee. I had too easily forgotten what it is like to interact with highly vocal and energetic 2nd graders. Since I have been used to talking with adults, it was hard to even communicate in language that a 7-year-old would understand. I knew the answer to the math problems and how to sound out difficult words perfectly; I had been doing that for years. What I had forgotten was the challenge and technique involved in conveying these unfamiliar details to my tutee. After a couple of weeks, this became easier. I was able to come down to the level of a second grader in order to use my knowledge and wit to challenge her and further her skill levels.

[My tutee] has grown in her confidence and skill in a matter of weeks. These have been great rewards.

What’s helped me the most for my service at Abundant Life has been the structured order of the afternoon--and the notebooks that are used to record and track the progress of tutees. Though we only have an hour and a half, we are able to do homework, read, complete an enrichment activity, and work on the computers. This provides the kids with variety and prevents them from getting bored and restless. In addition, we are able to communicate with the staff about the progress of the kids by keeping a log of work and activities in their notebook. This is a good way to look back and see how the participants have grown over time, which may be less apparent in the day-to-day interactions.

Over the course of my seven months as an Abundant Life tutor, I have witnessed growth in myself, seen the skills of my tutees’ improve, and built great relationships with the participants. I have been able to work on my own skills and teaching techniques as I tutored two little girls who are very different. The first was so bright that she did not need to attend tutoring twice a week anymore, which was great. The latter, though she has more academic challenges, has grown in her confidence and skill in a matter of weeks. These have been great rewards. The best part about tutoring, though, is building relationships with the participants who are full of energy and spirit. When I look back on my time at Abundant Life, it has been hard. But the experience of having all the kids run up to my car upon arrival, full of joy and laughter--and the look on my tutee’s face when she has figured out a hard problem--is reward enough.

Sesame Street, Study, and Sanctification

2007-03-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

By Dr. Bill Wilder

Do you remember watching Sesame Street as a child? I’m thinking of those times in the show when, say, a peach, an apple, an orange, and a potato would be pictured side-by-side as someone sang, “One of these is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell me which thing is not like the others, by the time I finish my song?”

That illustration comes to mind, because I’m aware that a rigorous, academic study of the Bible can seem to be as out of place in the spiritual formation of Christians as a potato in a bowl of fruit. This came home to me one day in Nigeria when it came my turn to answer some questions from a man sent out by my missions agency. “What is the nature of your ministry at the seminary?” he asked. “I mainly teach Greek and Hebrew” was my reply. The man was incredulous. “You teach Greek and Hebrew to students planning to be pastors in the bush?” It was clear that he considered such education an immense waste of time. Alongside practical courses like preaching and evangelism and counseling, Greek and Hebrew were a set of courses that just didn’t belong.

I can well imagine a similar response to the requirement in the Trinity Fellows Program to take and pass challenging academic courses in the Bible. Compared with one-on-one mentoring, working through relational issues, direct involvement in ministry or missions, studying theology may simply represent an unwelcome intrusion into the wounding and wonderful labor of building relationships. “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” Or so it certainly seems.

The first thing to be said, of course, is that such detractors may be right. It is perfectly possible for the study of Scripture to be “out of place”—for such study to lead to the neglect of other obligations in the Christian life. But then again, such disordering is possible for any good gift of God. We may indeed honor study (of theology or anything else) more than we should; I am guilty of it myself. Yet we may also love our friends or our children or our spouses or even our ministry more than we should. Because we are fallen, we tend to love things both more and less than we should. Study of Scripture and theology is not exempt.

So the question isn’t whether it is possible for the rigorous study of Scripture or theology to be misused. Of course, it is. It is no less exempt from our fallenness than, say, our relationships. The question is whether such study, properly used, is necessary for spiritual growth and transformation of God’s people. It seems to me that the answer to that question is yes, for at least two reasons. The first has to do with our growth in understanding of the truth. The second has to do with the role of that understanding in our sanctification. Let’s take these in turn.

First, study of Scripture is necessary because of our distance from the times and places in which God’s Word was first revealed. Put provocatively, we have to study (which may include taking courses) to even begin to approach the level of an ancient Near Eastern or first-century Palestinian peasant. Those things they took for granted—language, cultural conventions, genres, customs peculiar to their cultures—are foreign to us and so must be studied and learned with some effort on our parts.

Indeed, I am quite certain that the missions representative would have affirmed the need for diligent study with respect to understanding the particular people group (the Yoruba) to which we were called. It is commonplace in missions these days to claim that one cannot hope to understand a given people group without a knowledge of their heart language and an appreciation for their cultures, their customs, their stories, their history.

And yet, if this is true (as I think it is), then is it not also true that a deep understanding of Scripture cannot come without the same commitment to the particular times and places (languages, cultures, customs) in which it was revealed? True understanding of anything (people groups, friends, husbands, wives, children, and, yes, the Word of God itself) requires careful attention, even study. Since God has chosen to reveal himself in particular times, places, cultures, and languages, we must attend to the particularities of that revelation in order to understand and know him better.

This leads me to my second point. Study of the Bible is also necessary because of our distance from God’s truth in our fallen minds and hearts. Or, put more positively, study is necessary because the transformation God intends for us is comprehensive: it includes our minds as well as our hearts and actions. If every part of us has been affected by the Fall, every part of us (mind, hearts, bodies) is included within God’s redemptive purposes for creation in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

This total transformation is ultimately a work of the Spirit, of course, but it is not without its struggle on our parts. We are tempted to do the wrong things (actions), to succumb to our feelings and inclinations of the moment (affections and will), to accept a version of reality that denies God’s truth in some way (minds). Sanctification thus involves a transformation of all these aspects of our being (mind included).

Indeed, there’s very little hope of transformation in these other areas apart from a transformed understanding of the world through sustained study of God’s truth. If the substance of Christian obedience comes down to love—of God, fellow human beings, and his world—in both our affections and actions, it is also true that Christian love cannot be divorced from the truth: love is, among other things, “rejoicing in the truth” (1 Cor 13).

Why study then? Because we are created, time-and-space-bound beings who must be alert to the very particular times and places, languages and cultural forms in which God has revealed himself and his truth. Because we’re fallen beings who are being redeemed—not without struggle—in our minds as well as our wills, affections, bodies, world. Because such study is therefore not out of place in a faithful Christian community. It is rather one more appointed means of grace which God deigns to use in his gracious work of transformation in our lives. Diligent study belongs to our vocation as Christians as surely as all that we are belongs to Him. Now that’s worth singing about.

Dr. Bill Wilder is current Director of Educational Ministries at the Center for Christian Study in Charlottesville, Virginia. Besides regularly teaching on a host of Biblically centered and theologically driven classes throughout the year, he is also intimately involved with the education of the Trinity Fellows. Among several things, Dr. Wilder yearns to see a resurgence of "worshipping God with your mind" within the Millenial Generation. You can read more about his work and life here.

Dream Big...Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal

2007-03-06T16:13:00.000-05:00

By Peter Moore, D.D.

The Fellows Initiative has been diligently working to spread the idea of the fellows program to other churches. In the next year, our programs will double and hopefully the development of leaders who think deeply about their vocation, faith, and culture will follow. Trinity Fellows, and other friends of the program
the one thing I want to say to you -- and I actually know a couple of you reasonably well -- is that you should dream great dreams. That's one of the results of Pentecost, that "their young men will see visions, and your sons and daughters will prophesy." (Acts. 2:17,18)

To me this has always been a challenge to think about what I could do in life that others couldn't. What unique contribution might I make to the world that would leave it better, and more ready for the Kingdom that is here and coming? It's led me in many strange directions, and I've started more organizations and movements than I probably should. But, the adventure of seeking where the Spirit is leading next has been exciting, and has caused me to have a better understanding of what I could do (and what I shouldn't do, too) than any other single thought. So, go ahead, and dream. Where would you like to be in 10 years? What would you like to accomplish with your life? These things ought to keep you awake at night -- at least for a while.

Peter Moore is the founder and current executive director of FOCUS, an organization devoted to seeing private school students and families come to know the grace of Christ. Peter desires for young people to think about the really big questions: God, life, death, suffering, hope, and relationships. Dr. Moore also serves on the board of the Fellows Initiative and is the former President of the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pennsylvania.

Would Wilberforce Have Been a Fellow?

2007-03-01T00:38:00.000-05:00

By Courtney Carlisle

“I apprehend the essential practical characteristic of true Christians to be this: that relying on the promises to repenting sinners of acceptance through the Redeemer, they have renounced and abjured all other masters, and have cordially and unreservedly devoted themselves to God.... It is now their determined purpose to yield themselves without reserve to the reasonable service of the Rightful Sovereign. They are not their own: their bodily and mental faculties, their natural and acquired endowments, their substance, their authority, their time, their influence, all these they consider as belonging to them...to be consecrated to the honor of God and employed in his service.”

So wrote William Wilberforce in his manifesto, A Practical View…of Real Christianity, in his ongoing efforts to practically apply faith to life and vocation. While he is perhaps best known for his efforts to abolish the slave trade in Britain in the late eighteenth century, Wilberforce was first and foremost a man deeply devoted to Jesus Christ, with core beliefs that became the basis by which he worked to accomplish his cause.

However, without his unique circle of friends, Wilberforce’s goals may not have been realized. This group, the Clapham Sect, began to form after Wilberforce’s first motion for abolition was defeated in 1789. Led by Wilberforce, the group included Parliamentarians Henry Thornton, Charles Grant and Edward Elliot, brother-in-law to William Pitt; William Smith; abolitionist Granville Sharp; former Governor-General of India John Shore (Lord Teignmouth); poet and playwright Hanna More; Reverends Thomas Gisborne and Charles Simeon and more who joined over time. Remarkably, even with the shifting numbers of the group and the widely varying occupations of its members, the Clapham Sect remained committed to its general goals: incorporating their faith into all aspects of life, making family life and friendships clear priorities, and reforming the political and social policies of the British Empire.

Those in the Clapham group were held together not only by their common desire to apply their faith to all areas of their lives, but by their common concern for a variety of moral, religious and social causes, and their strong love and support for each other. It is certain that the fellowship of this group and the important contacts created through its members empowered Wilberforce to throw all his weight behind the mighty task set before him. Indeed, as John Wesley told Wilberforce concerning his unenviable mission, “unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you?”

The love of God and common love for each other significantly strengthened the Clapham Sect’s community. Historian Sir Reginald Coupland wrote, “It was a remarkable fraternity—remarkable above all else, perhaps, in its closeness, its affinity. It not only lived for the most part in one little village; it had one character, one mind, one way of life…They could mostly have been of leisure; but they all devoted their lives to public service. They were what Wilberforce meant by ‘true Christians.’”

The Clapham Sect of course presents an extraordinary model for all Christians to follow in respect to fellowship and community. Gathering together with similar goals to be God’s representatives in all areas of life and to spur one another on, like the members of Clapham, we strive to work together unified in Christ’s love and purposes.

Not only should this be the goal of every church, especially our own, the centrality of the gospel present in the Clapham Sect should be a target aimed for by any discipleship group, Bible study, small group or simply one’s circle of friends. And the group of Trinity Fellows is no exception, as is outlined in the Trinity Fellows Mission Statement: “We affirm that we belong to Christ, and we are committed both to serving others and to pursuing a mission greater than ourselves.”

The 12 of us hail from places across the country, from California to Indiana to Alabama. We represent different personalities, perspectives on life and callings to which we are committed. However, it is our hope that this year as Fellows we have strived to have the resolve of the Clapham Sect: that our faith might overflow into all aspects of our lives, and that the character of our community might reflect Proverbs 27:17, in which “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Like Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect, may we all be empowered, by Christ and each other, to go forth valiantly with a mission greater than ourselves.

Courtney Carlisle is a graduate of the 2006 Trinity Fellows Program. As a fellows class, we urge you to learn more about William Wilberforce's life, leadership, and vocation by attending the movie, "Amazing Grace" currently showing in theaters nationwide.

Messy Spirituality in Youth Ministry

2007-02-16T00:30:00.000-05:00

By Dan Marotta

The term “Youth Ministry” is a bit of a misnomer. Unlike specialized ministries that are focused on the isolated needs of individuals, such as ministries to orphans, widows, or AIDS patients; “Youth” ministries, if they are to be successful, must be focused not only on the particular teenager that happens to walk through the doors of the church, but on the family surrounding that young boy or girl as well. For the most part, teenagers have a mother or a father (hopefully both). They probably have brothers or sisters. No young person (in the U.S.) lives in total isolation. These people, who teenagers share their lives with, have a profound influence on the development of their mind, body, and soul. Therefore, to minister to a teenager must include, to some extent, the ministry to the family of that teen.

This would seem a necessity too obvious to overlook, but how often do youth ministries seem to reflect the opposite? Churches these days seem to have a divide and conquer mentality when it comes to ministering to people of different generations; providing the teenagers with their own worship, teaching, missions, and social events.

Enter the Trinity Fellows. They are young, single, full of energy (at least most of the time), fun, and some of the best of their generation. Would it not make perfect sense to have these thirteen bright young adults spending every last minute of their time mentoring and discipling the teenagers of the church? Not quite. Instead the Trinity Fellows Program assigns these men and women to a much more difficult, but much more beneficial task (both for them and for the church). The fellows are required to not only be involved in the lives of the young people in the church, but also in the lives of their families. They get to know seventeen-year-old David as well as his father, Doug. They spend time with thirteen-year-old Alyse and her Mom, Susie. The fellows get into the lives of the families that make up the congregation and everyone benefits. Moms and Dads watch a 23-year-old fellow encourage their son or daughter to respect his or her parents. Kids look up to the fellow that takes the time to have lunch with them and talk about life as a teenager. The fellows get to see Christian parenting in action and experience the body of Christ raising the next generation of believers.

Is it flawless? Does the system run like a well-oiled machine? Heck no. They are just ordinary people trying to live out the Gospel with an extraordinary God. Thankfully Jesus shows up and carries us. The Fellows, during the few months that they are involved in the youth ministry here at Trinity church, have the unique opportunity to be immersed in the multi-generational life of a congregation. It is an experience that blesses those families they serve and hopefully will benefit the fellows for the rest of their lives as we all strive to advance God’s kingdom together.

Dan Marotta is a graduate of William and Mary and current youth director at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville. Dan, in addition to being a challenging and relational person, longs to see students take ownership of their faith and live out of that paradigm.

Another piece of the fellows program, involves members of the Fellows Class serving in some aspect of the youth ministry (children to college students) at Trinity. Fellows learn that ministering out of our true nature involves relying on someone greater than yourself to show up for the building of His Kingdom

A Year of Calling, Discipleship, Service and Community

2007-02-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

By Ebony Walden

Like most 20 something’s, I hadn’t figured out exactly what I wanted to do with my life or how to move forward in my faith. My search for guidance in this process lead me to the Trinity Fellows Program. Though all the components of the program: being discipled, mentored, working in the marketplace, living with a Christian family, being a leader in the youth group and seminary classes greatly appealed to me, there were a few things that concerned me. One- I was Baptist and didn’t know what Presbyterian was. Two - I figured Trinity Presbyterian Church was a predominately white, affluent and conservative congregation and I am none of the above, and Three- Charlottesville was a small town and I had spent the last few years prior in DC, Seattle and NY. What would I have in common with this group? I thought.

What rang true in my heart then and now, is Christ. I decided to come to the fellows program as a challenge to my thoughts, personhood and faith and most of all to do something radical in the name of Christ. I began to ask myself: are you willing to follow Christ wherever he leads you? I knew those 9 months would be a hard journey, but I also knew that it would probably change my life. And indeed it has. My year as a fellow was probably the most challenging year of my life. It was nothing less than a culture shock. However, it was full of great experiences and has provided a foundation for which I can live for Christ. I learned invaluable lessons about calling, discipleship, service and community, all of which I would not have had unless I participated in the fellows program.

Calling – Helping to bring redemption to distressed urban areas was what God had placed on my heart, but I didn’t know how that would pan out. Through my work experience and relationship with my mentor, I discovered an interest in urban redevelopment and am currently pursuing a master’s degree in that area.

Discipleship -- What I yearned for most in my young faith was guidance from older Christians, and I can honestly say that I have never had as many mature Christians pour into my life and change my perspectives as in the fellows program.

Service –As fellows we committed 9 months to pursuing a “mission greater than ourselves.” I was unsure of what that mission was at times. As I look back, I realize it’s a call to humility, loving sacrificially and allowing the Kingdom of God to dwell within us so that it can spill out and be the light to the world; at work, at home and in the hard places in our society. We fought the battle of being consumed with self in our service to one another, the youth and in tutoring Abundant Life children.

Community -- Community was a hard lesson for our group, it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t clean and wasn’t microwavable. We all got along well, but it took us almost half the year to break down our walls. Ultimately, we bonded in our prayers for one another, in our laboring together and on our retreats to places like the Faith and Work Conference in NY. In those 9 months, where I felt I had very little in common with those around me, I realized commonality with others by finding my identity in Christ. That was the beginning of an ongoing lesson on how to share my sin, my burdens and myself in a community of faith.

I wish I could say the fellows program was easy, and there weren’t times when I wanted to quit. I was out of my comfort zone and that challenged me to think through hard questions I will probably spend the rest of my life answering about my faith, my life, my identity, my career, my relationships and worldview. I learned how hard it really is to follow Christ, but how awesome it is to walk with God.

Ebony Walden is a distiguished alumna of Georgetown University and a graduate of the inaugural class in the Trinity Fellows Program

I, too, have a Dream

2007-02-01T14:28:00.000-05:00

By Kate Beach

My dream consists of the idea of creation and shalom. The way things are supposed to be. No suffering. No injustice. No segregation. No unequal treatment. No abuse or children being stripped of a childhood. We choose to celebrate people’s lives that have had an affect on our nation, but the celebration needs to move beyond speakers who remind us of what someone once did. The celebration needs to move us to a place of non-complacency.

This past Martin Luther King Day I helped coordinate and celebrate the life and mission of Martin Luther King, jr. This man of God chose to say yes to the struggle of fighting non-violently, overcoming segregated odds and opposition from white clergymen to see a nation of equality and justice. As a white believer of Christ and his life’s story, I see that we are missing out on the moral of His story as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. Are we living out of the call for equality in our country and world?

“Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch defender of the status quo. Par from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.” Martin Luther King, jr- excerpt from the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Please do not misunderstand this quote. I do love the church and although I have been a Christian for most of my life I have only recently been able to catch a glimpse of what the church should be. I have seen people who would not otherwise come together lift each other up, pray together, and come together because of a deeper common bond.

I believe this is what Dr. King’s ultimate dream was. Not only did he want people of all different colors to come together but he wanted people to come together with a common bond that transcended color, economic and educational barriers. Dr. King initially did not want the responsibility of leading the civil right movement but since he was called into that position. He was first a human being, believer in Christ, husband and father, preacher then revolutionary icon. Although we are not to be color blind, it is our Christian calling to be first identified as a human, all created in the image of God. This is the lens in which we are to view others. The way God sees us.

So if we were to be revolutionary Christians, as all Christians are supposed to be, we are to be above the influence of our culture and society. A society that still tells us that if you are born in a certain area of the world or with a certain pigment to your skin that you don’t deserve as many opportunities. If we were countering our culture, as we are called to do so, than we would be a church that would be as powerful as the early church. We would be feared for our unrelenting power of love and non-violent fight against injustice. Instead we have become a church of charity. Although generous, we must move to ask God what more we can be doing to CHANGE the way God’s children are being treated in our country and world.

“In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.” Martin Luther King, jr- excerpt from the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

I, too, have a dream

Kate Beach is a graduate of Messiah College with an emphasis in social work, an employee at a local faith based non profit, Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries, and a current member of the Trinity Fellows Program. Among several passions, she longs to see the holistic redemption of communities.

Another component of the Fellows Program is a job placement in an area of personal interest where one puts the ideas, principles, and education to practice for the benefit of the common good.

Family night and Jesus

2007-01-24T09:14:00.000-05:00

by Albert Lee

Tuesday nights are a welcome reprieve from the marathon whirlwind of a Fellows week. It’s a chance for me to relax and really enjoy being here with my host family and also just by myself for a while. Stillness and quiet, in my opinion, are underrated—stillness and quiet with the Lord even more so. Work has been pretty hectic the past few days, and the high level of interaction there combined with a weekend of travel, panel discussions and meeting people have left a moderately (according to the latest tests) introverted soul in me somewhat strained and numbed by the sensory overload.

So when I sat down at the table for dinner, my weak smile was real because I was looking forward to spending a quiet evening with them: parents of two sons, one away at college and the other a fallen war hero. I didn’t know the afternoon had been somewhat stressful for my host parents; they always asked about my day and weekend first, and I always take them up on it before asking about theirs. So it was only after dinner, after talking about finance and insurance, after the mother left for a book club and the father and I played Backgammon (which he taught me to play and then schooled me next game) when he opened his inner life to me once again.

Not that it’s that difficult to see it from the outside, but it’s another thing entirely for a man to volunteer his weakness out of love for me, disdaining the shame because he knows Jesus transforms it into a fruit of God-exalting wisdom. It’s such a small thing. But it means everything because it’s for Christ, Christ not as an abstract ideal or set of ideals, but as a person. It’s for you, Jesus. And because he really does it for you out of love for you—he knows you—therefore I know I am truly loved with God’s love, for the Father loves the Son. And because he knows you, I can know you more through him.

Albert Lee is a graduate from Princeton University with a focus in Public Policy, a current employee at Elder Research in Charlottesville, and an active class member in the Trinity Fellows Program.

One component of the Trinity Fellows Program is placement with a host family where a fellow spends time partnering, discussing, living, and serving with others.

Crazy Hope in the Crescent City

2007-01-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

by Sarah Stutz

My alarm went off at 5:00 am on January 6, which was only the first thing that was unusual about that day. After weeks of explaining my plans to roommates, family, friends and the clerk at CVS who sold me travel-size shampoo, the day was finally here—and I was nervous. By 5:30 am I was walking out of my door to join a group of Trinity Fellows and a group of RUF students from UVA to spend a week partnering with Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New Orleans in their work of loving and serving their city.

Comfortable homes and families, vacation and work time were traded for air mattresses, one shower each for men and women, and hard manual labor that involved occasional meetings with cockroaches and rats. What we set out to do was to participate in the difficult yet beautiful work of the kingdom.

As we walked up to the church on Sunday morning, a jazzy version of “Amazing Grace” floated through the windows out into the street. When Pastor Ray Cannata told us to “stand up and greet your neighbor,” I expected a couple of awkward handshakes. Instead we spent ten minutes being hugged and welcomed like we were at a family reunion. During the sermon, Pastor Ray spoke with love in his voice about the craziness of New Orleans and all the beauty that could be found in the people there, and I wondered at his deep devotion to a place that even the secular media calls “sinful.” I later learned that Pastor Ray and his family had moved to New Orleans after Katrina, excited about the “adventure” of loving a city that was being rebuilt amidst the ruins.

And seeing the destruction throughout the week, there were times I wondered if it made sense to continue. A year and a half after Katrina most of the world has forgotten New Orleans, but we saw entire neighborhoods still abandoned, homes that have still not been cleaned up since the storm hit, people who struggle with vivid memories of dead bodies floating around them. We wondered when and how it would all be rebuilt and whether people would really want to move back. And yet there were numerous signs of God’s work of renewal in the city.

There was Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which clings in strong hope that Jesus is willing to heal their city as they joyfully participate in the rebuilding. There was Mr. Washington, a 73-year-old man who through his tears praised God when he found out that his house was now cleared out and that he could begin to move home. There was Jared, the architect who told us that the church’s work had provided visible reasons to hope, which he was able to share with many others who doubted that restoration was possible.

There was hope—what seemed like absurd hope in a bizarre city. But this hope makes sense, Pastor Ray reminded us, because of Jesus. Abraham pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah on behalf of only ten righteous people; we can plead with even more confidence for New Orleans because of One who was truly righteous. With this great confidence and hope we can pray and labor for the city to be rebuilt and for lives to be restored, and we can joyfully trust that our God is at work—in New Orleans, in Charlottesville, and in all of the places in our lives that are filled with brokenness and beauty and which we long to be redeemed.

As we drove home, some of us listened to a CD made by musicians from Redeemer. In the opening song, a chorus of voices sings, “For the Lord our God, He is strong to save from the arms of death, from the deepest grave, and He gave us life in His perfect will, and by His good grace I will praise Him still.” Together with our brothers and sisters in New Orleans, we will hope and praise Him still.

Sarah Stutz is a current student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and a participant during this recent trip to New Orleans with Reformed University Fellowship and the Trinity Fellows