Chicago Semester

A Church Visit

Posted by Janelle Kibbe in CS Seminars in Service-Learning in Staff Stories | Feb 14, 2011

Yesterday (Sunday), students from a Values and Vocation class attended a church service and potluck at Many Peoples Church in Rogers Park, where both my husband (Bryan) and I attend.The connection between a Values and Vocation course and visiting a particular neighborhood in Chicago, conversing with members of a particular church over a potluck meal, and a semester of service-learning through that church may seem a bit loose. However, I see values, vocation (or sense of calling), church life, and community life as integral to one another. Let me explain.

When my husband and I graduated from college, got married, and moved to Chicago, we realized that there were many decisions beyond career decisions that we would need to make that would reflect our sense of values. One of these decisions was which church we would attend, and so we choose a church in our own neighborhood, one in which we could be actively involved, and also was a diverse and community-oriented church that reflected many of our beliefs. In doing so, we were certainly using our values to consciously inform our decisions, but being a part of the church has also more subtly informed, shaped, and refined our values as well. I’ve come to understand community, hospitality, diversity, and service (among other things) much more deeply in our time at Many Peoples Church (MPC).

MPC has taught me about the reciprocal nature of living out vocation. The place that we have been called continues to teach us about what “being called” even means and to demonstrate to us that the service we give (in showing up at church, knitting scarves for the homeless, baking for a friend, leading a book group, etc.) we also receive (in hope, encouraging words, strength enough to continue, friendships, etc). This I think is why it is valuable for students in a Values and Vocation course to take part in experiential learning opportunities that get them out into the community, such as visiting our church service on Sunday. That is, in experiencing various situations and communities, outside of the classroom and express theories, we come to more completely understand our calling and develop a deeper sense of the values that make up who we are. In being present and open to these experiences, we are enriched and discover more about who we are and who we want to be.

Yesterday, when the students joined our worship, I hope that they were blessed by the welcoming community, the joy of our children who play instruments and dance during worship, the words of the sermon, the sincerity of our prayers, and the filling potluck meal. I know that we were certainly blessed by their presence. And, I trust that a similar reciprocity, though not easily measured, will continue throughout the semester as the students both serve in our community and learn from our community, and as the community, in turn, both gives and receives as well. I also hope that their experience with the Values and Vocation course, and with MPC, helps initiate thoughts about how their lives, whether in their careers, in their churches, in their neighborhoods, in their cities, or wherever, can be an answer to a calling and how service, in whatever form, can be a part of how they live.