We are excited to share Mission Corps alumna Rachel Carey's beautiful blog about lessons learned as an SSJ Mission Corps volunteer. You can read the blog by following the link below to Rachel's personal blog where she shared her writing. Thank you for allowing us to reblog this, Rachel!
Searching for Starfish: Never refuse a kindness.: At the end of my time at the Welcome Center, the sisters wanted me to tell them what I had learned. I had some ideas, and I shared them, bu...
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
This I Believe - Becky
A note: Our friend Becky Bergh joined us for the Spirituality Night when we wrote our "This I Believe" statements. We wanted to include Becky's reflection for each of you to share! Becky is a Music Therapist in Philadelphia and is originally from Cincinnati, OH.
It doesn't have to be big to be meaningful. Sometimes it just takes getting out of bed to realize it, and other times it takes a wrong turn. The world that we inhabit is so large, so complex, that beliefs can be seen as small, especially when it is thought by one person, one family, one group.
But that's the thing about thoughts, beliefs, faiths. They begin so small, so seemingly insignificant, that sometimes it's hard to even perceive them as significant until they are all you can see. All that you do, all that you know. And they spread. Not reliably. But a little of you is integrated into her life, into his. Until these small things are quite large. This little thing ends up shaping your interactions, your experiences, your life.
I believe in insignificance. In the unseen and the forgotten. There is beauty in the little tasks: bending to pick up a pencil, in holding a door, a smile. There is strength and gratitude in those who are unknown, unacknowledged. Simply because of their seeming lack of importance, and yet where would we be without them.
Where would we be without the random affirmations from strangers? Without random acts of kindness? I believe one would be less human.
So although what we see today overwhelmingly is this desire to be known, to make our mark, to be remembered, it is often the small things that make the greatest impact. Choosing to get out of bed in the morning. Choosing to smile. Choosing to listen to someone else talk about their day. Because in the end, we are all connected by our little acts. The acts of love and compassion, of care, of joy. We leave our fingerprints on each other by our love. And that remains, to me, to be the most beautiful daily acts of all.
It doesn't have to be big to be meaningful. Sometimes it just takes getting out of bed to realize it, and other times it takes a wrong turn. The world that we inhabit is so large, so complex, that beliefs can be seen as small, especially when it is thought by one person, one family, one group.
But that's the thing about thoughts, beliefs, faiths. They begin so small, so seemingly insignificant, that sometimes it's hard to even perceive them as significant until they are all you can see. All that you do, all that you know. And they spread. Not reliably. But a little of you is integrated into her life, into his. Until these small things are quite large. This little thing ends up shaping your interactions, your experiences, your life.
I believe in insignificance. In the unseen and the forgotten. There is beauty in the little tasks: bending to pick up a pencil, in holding a door, a smile. There is strength and gratitude in those who are unknown, unacknowledged. Simply because of their seeming lack of importance, and yet where would we be without them.
Where would we be without the random affirmations from strangers? Without random acts of kindness? I believe one would be less human.
So although what we see today overwhelmingly is this desire to be known, to make our mark, to be remembered, it is often the small things that make the greatest impact. Choosing to get out of bed in the morning. Choosing to smile. Choosing to listen to someone else talk about their day. Because in the end, we are all connected by our little acts. The acts of love and compassion, of care, of joy. We leave our fingerprints on each other by our love. And that remains, to me, to be the most beautiful daily acts of all.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Updates from Maggie at Visitation
The following are exchanges between students and Maggie while teaching at Visitation BVM in Kensington:
“All the hotels were full so they found a place
where the cow lives and they went in there and they put the Baby Jesus where
the—in the—with the thing—the cow ate Him!”
~A Kindergartener
explaining Christmas
“I have a white Grandpa and a black Grandpa but
I’m not allowed to say his name or he’ll hit me.”
~
A Kindergartener on Race and Respect
“S…I…what next? S?”
<< Yes! Next is S! Very good.>>
“Knew it!
Sister Pat Tiger!”
~
A preschooler learning how to spell his teacher’s name
“Water fountain?” 3 year olds during the 4th
month of school because during the 4th week of school they were
rewarded with a drink from the water fountain if they said the English name.
<<No, not today. Can you find my
classroom?>>
“AQUI!”
~Some
rewards work better than others
“Oh no! That is NOT fair! Dear God please let me
hear—let them call my name right now
so I can go home and I don’t have to clean the room!”
*Student’s name on the loud speaker*
“YES! See, God’s answering my prayers!” With a sassy
finger snap he struts out the room.
~Actually
that was my prayer being answered…
“Ms. Myers, can you teach me something?”
<<Teach you what? What are you working
on?>>
“I’m done my homework. Can you teach me
something I don’t know. Like that’s your job, right?”
~5th
Grader trying to get out of Mathscore
“Ms. Myers can you help me?”
<<With what?>>
“My homework.”
<<I mean what are you working on?>>
“Math.”
<<Ok, but what are you doing?>>
“My math homework.”
<<Deep breath: What kind of math are you
doing? What topic? What type of problem?>>
“Um, page 47. All the problems.”
A typical day includes a
few frustrations, plenty of joy, and countless new ways to look at the world.
We already know kids say the darndest things, but couple that with a second
language and I’ve got enough gems to pay off my student loans in a week!
Working with 5th
graders in aftercare is always exciting and a little frustrating but sitting
next to a student as he finally finishes his math homework, or as she beats
another level of Mathscore, or sharing a favorite book with a student who I
know will enjoy it, or hearing about another student’s baseball game is so
refreshing that all the grievances dissipate and defeat is never even
contemplated.
It’s nice to feel that
you are somewhere you belong even if you can’t recall exactly the path it took
to get there.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
A Look at Claire's Classroom
Claire works at St. Anthony of Padua School in Camden, NJ. St. Anthony's is part of the Catholic Partnership Schools. Claire teaches 5th and 6th Grade Special Education to 8 students. She shared with us some photos of her classroom at SAS and some of an interactive science class she taught!
Monday, January 20, 2014
This I Believe - Maggie
Freshman year in
philosophy we read Euthyphro by Plato. In it, Socrates asks Euthyphro to
define Pious. They pose the circular debate: Is Pious pious because God says it
is pious, or does God say it is Pious because it Pious. We brought it around to
Goodness. Is Good good because God says it is, or does God say so because it
is, in itself, good. As a freshman I wasn’t ready to answer, but now I believe
the question is flawed.
I believe in
innate Goodness, that God is Good
means God and Good are one and the same so that finding the Good in people is
the same as seeing God in them. It means that Socrates’ question to Euthyphro
is flawed because Plato separates Good from God and therefore cannot define
either.
More
importantly, it forces me to see Good in the people around me. I believe in
innate Goodness because I am alive despite the innumerable times I’ve put my
life into the hands of strangers. I believe in innate Goodness because of the
people who accepted me into their families simply on hearing I needed help.
I believe in
innate Goodness because after 2 and a half hours of tears my student will still
come back and ask for help; because a parent will threaten her child, “Do you
want to turn out like me?” Because a woman stoned out of her mind will move off
the steps to let me pass. Because I hate what she is doing to herself, but I
still love her.
Maggie is serving as a current Mission Corps volunteer as an ESOL teacher at Visitation BVM School in Kensington. She is an alumna of St. Joseph's University and spent a year teaching in Turkey before joining the Mission Corps.
Maggie is serving as a current Mission Corps volunteer as an ESOL teacher at Visitation BVM School in Kensington. She is an alumna of St. Joseph's University and spent a year teaching in Turkey before joining the Mission Corps.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
This I Believe Series
Greeting, MC Supporters!
Last week during our weekly spirituality night at the Mission Corps community I introduced an activity inspired by NPR's This I Believe Segment. This I Believe is a segment on NPR that features 2-3 minute essays about the core values by which people choose to guide their lives. To begin the activity, I played two of my own favorite This I Believe clips.
The first one was entitled "Community in Action" and was penned and spoken by the late Studs Terkel of Chicago. You can listen to it here: thisibelieve.org/essay/37/
The second one, by Majora Carter, shares about her experiences growing up in the South Bronx and coming back home to it later in life. You can hear Majora's This I Believe, entitled This is Home, here: http://thisibelieve.org/essay/57047/
The culmination of our spirituality night was to write and share our own This I Believe statements. Maggie, Claire, our friend Becky, and myself each wrote one. I will share each of these over the next couple weeks. To begin, I will share my own.
-------
The I Believe
Becca Little
I believe that the delicate balance between love of self and love of other is what will heal the world.
I was raised by an incredible, selfless woman. I have never seen such devotion to others as in my Mother's call to care for her patients as she runs her own family medical practice. Nor have I seen such incredible humility as in my mom's constant refusal to receive praise for the work (she has, for the past ten years, been selected as on of Delaware's "Top Docs" but refuses to let them print her name on the list). Often I am stopped in public by her patients so that they might tell me of the innumerable ways she has saved their lives. She has, quite literally, saved lives. She works tirelessly andrarely never asks for credit.
Alternatively, I have seen the toll my mother's dogged, tireless efforts have taken on her health and the hardship it causes my family. Her ceaseless love for others comes at a cost.
I believe deeply that in order to accomplish a balance between self and other, we must accept the help, love and support of those around us. Balance and wholeness come from mutuality of love and work, not from the constant giving of oneself without accepting and receiving also.
From my mother I have learned how to give away my unconditional love, how to work diligently for the world I believe in. I have also learned if I do not love myself enough to care for myself, to accept the help of others when I am run down, that my diligent and ceaseless work and love will have been for naught.
--------
Peace be with you during this week, I would love to hear from you about what your This I Believe statements include.
- Becca
Last week during our weekly spirituality night at the Mission Corps community I introduced an activity inspired by NPR's This I Believe Segment. This I Believe is a segment on NPR that features 2-3 minute essays about the core values by which people choose to guide their lives. To begin the activity, I played two of my own favorite This I Believe clips.
The first one was entitled "Community in Action" and was penned and spoken by the late Studs Terkel of Chicago. You can listen to it here: thisibelieve.org/essay/37/
The second one, by Majora Carter, shares about her experiences growing up in the South Bronx and coming back home to it later in life. You can hear Majora's This I Believe, entitled This is Home, here: http://thisibelieve.org/essay/57047/
The culmination of our spirituality night was to write and share our own This I Believe statements. Maggie, Claire, our friend Becky, and myself each wrote one. I will share each of these over the next couple weeks. To begin, I will share my own.
-------
The I Believe
Becca Little
I believe that the delicate balance between love of self and love of other is what will heal the world.
I was raised by an incredible, selfless woman. I have never seen such devotion to others as in my Mother's call to care for her patients as she runs her own family medical practice. Nor have I seen such incredible humility as in my mom's constant refusal to receive praise for the work (she has, for the past ten years, been selected as on of Delaware's "Top Docs" but refuses to let them print her name on the list). Often I am stopped in public by her patients so that they might tell me of the innumerable ways she has saved their lives. She has, quite literally, saved lives. She works tirelessly and
Alternatively, I have seen the toll my mother's dogged, tireless efforts have taken on her health and the hardship it causes my family. Her ceaseless love for others comes at a cost.
I believe deeply that in order to accomplish a balance between self and other, we must accept the help, love and support of those around us. Balance and wholeness come from mutuality of love and work, not from the constant giving of oneself without accepting and receiving also.
From my mother I have learned how to give away my unconditional love, how to work diligently for the world I believe in. I have also learned if I do not love myself enough to care for myself, to accept the help of others when I am run down, that my diligent and ceaseless work and love will have been for naught.
--------
Peace be with you during this week, I would love to hear from you about what your This I Believe statements include.
- Becca
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