The Bridge

BRIDGE Lauren Flora

Love in Action SPRING 2020

National Young Adult Conference

NYAC will be held: May 21 – 8:00 p.m. - 10:30 Eastern May 22 – 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 Eastern May 23 – 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 Eastern May 24 – 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Eastern May 25 – 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Eastern

Bekah

Drew

Worships Concert by Jacob Crouse

Paul

Workshop—yoga

Conversation with AC Moderator Paul Mundey

Workshop—art

Compelling Vision conversation Workshop— personal finance

Panel discussion about facing COVID-19 as a faith community and what the church might look like afterwards

Here’s how to attend NYAC online 1. Register here www.surveymonkey.com/r/virtualNYAC2020

by May 20. It’s FREE! 2. Check your email for links to particular activities! (In order to prevent “Zoom bombing,” we will send event links registered participants, rather than simply posting links online.)

3. Hop online at the right time!

Lauren

Richard Jose

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Love Feast

By Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred

through it, least of all the act of sacred servanthood we were there to emulate.

So why are my feet missing Love Feast, along with the rest of me? Why do they ache for a tender touch they can hardly bear? Why do they wish to be dipped into lukewarm, sock-fuzzied water, to be worked over as if by hands that might as well be made of feathers, to be smothered in an old, scratchy towel (the worst of it all)?

I remember how Peter himself was also repelled by the notion of Jesus washing his feet, until he understood the significance of it and then wished he could be washed from head to toe. Every year, I welcome my feet into their ticklish gauntlet because of what it means to me to feel the touch of servanthood upon them and what it means to me to give that touch in return. That feeling means everything to me; it’s my faith summed up into one simple act.

My feet are ticklish. Frightfully, irrepressibly ticklish.

Almost painful, toes curled up in self-defense at the first sign of trouble ticklish. This always posed a problem for me at Love Feast growing up, shuffling into a quiet room with my father and my brother and the men of the congregation to shed our socks, roll up our pantlegs, stoop down, and wash one another’s feet. All, it seemed to me in those days, without cracking a smile or making a sound beside the swish of water and the whisper of blessings.

I always wanted to take feet washing as seriously as I felt the moment deserved, treat it as solemnly as the men around me seemed to treat it. I didn’t want to cause a disruption, didn’t want to spoil the spiritual significance for myself or others. And yet there I would invariably be at the first touch of some elder’s rough, calloused fingers to the sole of my foot, gripping the edge of my folding chair until my knuckles turned white, biting my lip to not let a chuckle leak out, not thinking of anything but getting

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dozen, from around the Church of the Brethren, to come together for a virtual Love Feast Service presented by the Dunker Punks Podcast. In addition to all the traditional elements of a Love Feast service, the podcast features stories and theological reflections on why we do Love Feast and why it matters. I invite you to listen to the podcast episode at www.virtuallovefeast.org. If you like the closing rendition of Move in Our Midst, recorded by Jacob Crouse, as much as I do, listen to the full version by clicking the image below.

This year, the best act of service we could give to one another was to not be in the same room for a change.

And that hurt, because Love Feast always seemed to me to be precisely about being in the same room, sitting at the same table, kneeling before the same basin. Nothing could ever replace that, but we could use the opportunity to reflect on what it is we were missing, and why it is we do something so strange as wash another’s feet in the first place.

In that spirit, I was glad to be one voice of nearly two

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movie review

JUST MERCY

By Karly Eichenauer

In late 2019, a movie following a young lawyer named Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy, was released. I would strongly recommend either watching the movie or reading the book (by the same title) as a summertime or social-distancing activity. Stevenson, fresh out of Harvard Law School, headed south to Alabama. He started The Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization that provided free counsel to death row inmates. His goal was simple: remove men and women from death row who have been placed there unfairly - often due to race, an unjust trial, or a judge’s overruling of a jury. Stevenson found his passion through an internship working with death row inmates. In an opening scene of the movie, Stevenson lost himself in a conversation with an inmate, as he found out they shared a very similar upbringing.

As the inmate was “roughed up” and dragged out of the room, the inmate started singing a gospel hymn, undaunted by his surroundings. In that moment, Stevenson reflected, “I knew I wanted to help condemned people get to higher ground. And I knew that my journey to higher ground was tied to theirs.”

As I watched the movie, I could not help but reflect on how Stevenson embodies the theme of NYAC 2020, “Love in Action.” Stevenson’s work was a labor of love. He gave of himself, through long days and nights without charge, to help his clients. He asked nothing in return. He remembered his neighbors who had been forgotten and loved them without question. He forgave those who were quick to judge and/or contributed to a racist society, yet tirelessly labored to transform society to be just, merciful, and loving. And he gave hope to those who were hopeless! Stevenson, still practicing law today, loves in action. As Christians, may we mirror his example, innovating ways we can embody the radical love and holistic peace of Jesus in our own neighborhoods!

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FearFaith and

By Nolan McBride

“Through my fear, I trust in God.” Nobody at the National Youth Cabinet planning meeting last February guessed just how appropriate the theme we chose for this year’s National Youth Sunday based on Psalms 56:1-4 would become. As we see rising rates of COVID-19 infection and related death totals on the news, fear is a natural reaction.

It would be easy to say: “the Bible tells us not to fear and it will all work out as God wills.” Although this may be true, it is not exactly helpful in the moment. The word “fear” appears 515 times in the New Revised Standard Version.

Skimming through the results on Bible Gateway, many of those refer to fearing God - which itself could be an entire article itself. But scriptures like Psalm 56 assure us we need not fear the threats of “mere mortals” when we trust in God. The psalmist in Psalm 56 describes being persecuted by others. It is attributed to David, when he pretended to be insane in order to escape the Philistine king he’d sought refuge from while evading King Saul. What if the danger is not an easily identifiable person or a group, but instead something invisible to the naked eye? In this moment, I am drawn to an image Julian of Norwich recounts in Revelations of Divine Love, the first known book to be written in English by a woman. A visionary, Julian recounts how God: “showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand. It was as round as a ball, as it seemed to me. I looked at it with the eyes of my understanding and thought, ‘What can this be?’ My question was answered in general terms in this fashion: ‘It is everything that is made… It lasts, and ever shall last, because God loves it. And in this fashion all things have their being by the grace of God.’

We are upheld by the love and grace of a God who, as the song many of us learned in childhood goes, has “got the whole world in his hands.” This too shall pass. There are no easy answers. But as God promises us in scripture, and as Jesus assured Julian: “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

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Add your talents to our

Young Adult Steering Committee team!

By Karly Eichenauer

Do you love planning, hanging out with other young adults in the church of the Brethren, and having fun?

If you answered yes, being a member of the Young Adult Steering Committee (YASC) is for you! YASC is a six-member committee, comprised of a diverse set of young adults, who plan Young Adult Conference (YAC) and other community events for the other young adults in the Church of the Brethren. We ponder about what messages are relevant for young adults’ journeys, what activities build relationships while at events, and how we can continue to stay in community online.

We also have a lot of fun during our time together planning! I have made really good friends with those serving on the committee with me. We reflect on our Brethren experiences and learn how similar our Brethren families are, no matter where we are from. I have also gained a lot of leadership experience from being on the YASC. I have gotten better at problem solving and making decisions, as we encounter minor setback or plan changes when setting up for conferences. I have also occasionally been pushed outside of my comfort zone, such as managing registration as people arrive for YAC last year. Though it required me to be more outgoing and talkative than I normally am, it was a great way to jumpstart the conference by greeting and meeting everyone as they checked in! Being on the Young Adult Steering Committee has been a transformative time of learning, planning, and community building; it has taught me invaluable skills and given me new friendships. With two seats opening this summer, I would love for you to join the committee! This is an awesome experience, so I hope you will apply and add your talents to our team!

www.surveymonkey.com/r/yascapp Applications due by June 31, 2020

Ministry Summer Service challenges Church of the Brethren college students and congregations/ministry sites to consider God’s call on their lives.

Interns: attend a one week orientation in Illinois before serving for 9 weeks somewhere in the United States; receive a $2,500 scholarship, as well as food, housing, a small monthly stipend, and transportation for the summer.

Ministry sites: Send a pastor/mentor to three days of orientation; create an atmosphere for learning, reflection and discernment for the intern; provide food and housing, transportation on the job and a small monthly stipend.

Mentors: Join your intern for three days of orientation; spend at least one hour each week offering intentional supervision and mentoring; help to plan and prepare good, engaging work for the intern to invest in during their nine weeks.

Apply online between now and January 8, 2021!

www.brethren.org/mss

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Young Adults in Leadership:

Hannah Shultz and an opportunity to also explore the location we’re serving.

This year, we tried doing something new for young adults. Instead of having a workcamp specifically for young adults, we offered three adult and intergenerational workcamp opportunities that young adults could join. Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel workcamps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the first opportunity was a twelve-day trip to Rwanda to help build a new church building for a local congregation. The second opportunity is to serve as a We Are Able companion to help with the We Are Able workcamp for youth and young adults with intellectual disabilities. And then the third option is an intergenerational workcamp at Brethren Woods Camp and Retreat Center serving the camp and that community. We hope to offer similar opportunities next summer for young adults.

The other way that young adults can be involved is by serving through BVS as an assistant workcamp coordinator. They come serve in Elgin in a yearlong position, helping to plan and lead the work camp program.

Hannah Shultz is the Coordinator of Short-Term Service in the Brethren Volunteer Service office in Elgin, IL. In that role, Hannah oversees Church of the Brethren Workcamps and other opportunities for young people to be involved in service experiences. We spoke with Hannah about workcamps and her experience as a young adult in COB leadership. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What's the workcamp theme this year?

What are church of the Brethren Workcamps and how can young adults be involved in them?

And you're relatively new. How long have you been there, and what changes are you hoping to see?

Voices for Peace, which is based on Romans 15:1-6.

What is your role in the work camp office?

I'm the coordinator of short-term service. I oversee the workcamp program, which means working closely with the BVS workcamp assistants to develop our theme, write workcamp curriculum that gets turned into a devotional book, and to plan all of the workcamps.

Church of the Brethren workcamps are short-term service projects around the country and internationally. Typically, they're a week to ten days. They give participants an opportunity to explore a context that is not their own and to serve the world and be the hands and feet of Christ.

They usually consist of four to five days of service work

I started in August. Part of what the BVS office is hoping to do is bring workcamps more directly under the umbrella of BVS so that workcamps are seen as the shortterm service opportunity through Brethren Volunteer Service, in addition to our one-to-two year long-term continued on next page

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service options. We're also hoping to expand what we offer, such as a spring break service trip for college students.

How has it been to work in the COB General Offices as a young adult?

It’s been great. I feel very lucky to be in this position as a young adult. As one of the younger people working in the office, I feel really excited to be part of what is happening in the church right now and to get to sit in on conversations about like the future vision and direction of the church.

Why did you want to work in the work camp office?

I was an assistant workcamp coordinator for the 20142015 workcamp season. I found a lot of meaning in providing opportunities for young adults youth to get to explore what it means to live out their faith in a different way than just going to church. This is a non-traditional model of ministry of going and serving out in the world.

I love being part of creating those experiences.

Was it intimidating come and work with the bigwigs?

Definitely. Yeah. There are a lot of people here who've been here for a long time and have been a big part of the church. There’s a lot to learn from people. I’m just trying to connect with as many people as I can and pull wisdom from them and learn how they've handled different situations. So it's been intimidating but also exciting to get to be here and get to be with people who've dedicated their lives to the Church of the Brethren.

As somebody who hopes to continue working in the denomination, I I've been trying to take advantage of being around all of the great people here and learning from them.

What are some of the things that excite you most about the job?

I love actually going on the workcamp. Definitely my favorite part of the job is getting to spend the time with the youth getting to know them, getting to worship alongside them, finding out what they're passionate about and how they can take what they're learning at workcamps and apply it to their lives.

Do you have a favorite workcamp?

I really love ECHO Global Farm in Fort Myers, Florida. They try to come up with sustainable technology and sustainable agriculture practices for different climates around the globe. I led that workcamp in 2015 and was really inspired by what they were doing for eco-justice and sustainability.

Do you have any advice for other young adults who are looking for ways to be involved in church leadership?

It can't hurt to ask. I encourage people if they want to get involved in their congregation to ask to preach on a Sunday or to ask if they can serve as a worship leader, to ask their church to support them in sending them to a workcamp or to Young Adult Conference. I’ve found that the church loves young people and wants to see them involved. There have been so many people who have supported me in my journey, financially and emotionally and spiritually. Put yourself out there and trust that other people in the denomination are excited to see you step into leadership roles.

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Personal Financial Health Amidst COVID-19

By Everett Teetor

This is an uncertain time. We have concerns about our health: not just about the virus and our physical health, but also our financial health. COVID-19 has affected the global economy. We have seen unemployment, crashing stock markets, and vastly decreased demand across many major industries. These changes have reached the household level, causing great uncertainty about our personal finances.

Many of us are dealing with life one day at a time in this odd event. It can be beneficial to stop worrying about money, but it is also good to check in sometimes.

Here are a few simple practices to protect your present and future financial health during these strange times: 1. Whether you’ve become unemployed as a result of the pandemic, or you’re just stuck at home because you can’t go out as much, you’ve got some time on your hands. Don’t waste it! Get that certification you’ve been thinking about, or start studying for a degree program. When employment returns and the demand for labor increases you’ll have better odds of finding a more stable job, or one that pays a little more.

2. Save money! Ordering carryout food in these times is very tempting, but also expensive. Try meal planning with infrequent trips to the grocery store. Save money by making home-cooked meals.

3. If you are lucky enough to still be working, you may be able to save a lot of money right now because you are not going out as much. Set some of this money aside for savings or investments.

4. Grow that nest egg! Most people do not have significant savings, which could mean the difference between going broke and living comfortably during a crisis such as this. I hope nothing like this ever occurs again, but that’s not a realistic perspective.

If you put your savings in investments, it’s easier to avoid frivolous spending. Although it might be scary to think of investing, especially due to the recent stock market volatility, you will likely benefit from long-term growth in the markets.

If you can take one or more of these tips to heart, you will be much better off in the future. You may also rest a little easier knowing that your personal finances are improving!

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Love in Action during Covid-19

By Jenna Walmer

With so much uncertainty, events cancelled, and our favorite places of respite closed, these days have become a time of great unity and love. The past couple of years the US saw division within politics.

News stories depicted accounts of crime, warfare, and devastation. Even though COVID-19 presents more hardships in a multitude of ways, I see so many people coming together as a community.

We see people singing together from their apartments in New York City. We see school administrations coming up with creative ideas to honor their senior class. We see teachers going out of their way to make sure their students receive the support they need. We see churches gathering virtually, giving us an opportunity to attend multiple churches from around the country rather than just our home church. We see people checking in with their friends and family more regularly. We see small businesses gifting their goods to healthcare workers.

We see the young helping their elders understand technology so they too can stay connected. We see society crushing the stigma around mental health. We see reflection on individual privilege in relation to care, safety, access to technology, and so much more. We are seeing such great helping behavior come out of this pandemic!

This year’s theme for National Young Adult Conference is “Love in Action,” and our theme verses come from Romans 12:9-18. Two verses really stick out to me in connection to the pandemic. First, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Despite the uncertainty of when states will re-open, people are hopeful. Personally, I hope that I can spend the summer coaching my swimmers. However, the challenge of patience arises. We are all suffering in one way or another.

I realize that this wish comes from my privilege of having a summer job, allowing me to swim and coach the sport I love. However, I must be patient. If we rush re-opening, more suffering could come. We can hope for a return to normalcy, but we must be patient. So, through this all, we lean on God in prayer.

Paul also states: “Live in harmony with one another.”

During the Young Adult Steering Committee’s (YASC) planning retreat in August 2019, some of us drew pictures of people holding hands in a circle, representing unity. Even though we cannot stand hand-in-hand right now, this is the image I see when thinking about the love I have experienced or witnessed since social distancing began. I forget about the previous issues dividing our families, communities, churches, country, and world.

Instead, I see people from all walks of life forgetting their differences to help. Also reflecting on YASC’s theme brainstorming, I cannot say that we had a global pandemic in mind when choosing “Love in Action.”

Yet, these verses and this theme embody what we are experiencing because of COVID-19. So to recap, here are highlights from Paul’s words: Let us love genuinely. Let us hold fast to what is good. Let us rejoice in hope. Let us be patient in suffering. Let us persevere in prayer. Let us extend hospitality to strangers. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Lastly, let us live peaceably with all!

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