|

Daily Reports from Youth Mission Trip to Nashville

A group of diocesan youth embarked on a trip to Tennessee this past Saturday, June 13, on a mission to participate in a Week of Hope community service program. The group plans to join up with students from all over the country to make a real difference in the lives of people in the Nashville area. Projects may include serving meals to the homeless, tutoring struggling children from low-income families, helping to lead a day camp for kids, working with disabled children, or sharing stories with a lonely elderly person in an assisted-living facility. Evening activities include movies, lip-sync battles, bedtime stories, group games, and much more! The group will “camp in” at a local church, sharing meals, worship, and teaching with the larger group. When their time in Nashville has finished, they will head to Dollywood for a day of exciting fun! 

Dorothy Porcher Holland of St. Stephen’s, Charleston, and the Rev. Brooks Boylan of Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant are heading up this special opportunity, along with the Rev. Canon Ramelle McCall on the bishop’s staff. Dorothy is submitting daily reports of their activities, and they will be added below. 

Day One Report – Saturday

We gathered before dawn at Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant to embark on our mission. By 7:00am we were on I-26 headed west to Tennessee. Two vans traveling with eleven teenagers, two priests, a parent chaperone, and a youth minister on the way to Tennessee. (Two more students and another chaperone will meet us in Nashville.) Our team is made up of youth from three Diocesan churches and we hope to have even more next time. 

The drive was long but the vans were filled with talking and laughter. We had some ongoing games,  a trip-specific bingo game, and some other car activities. There was a quick Starbucks stop just before Atlanta, which was nice to have as we hit the city traffic. 

Our first destination was Buc-ee’s in Adairsville, GA for lunch, gas, shopping, and to stretch our legs. Buc-ee himself wanders about on the weekends, so we obviously had to get pictures with him. Beaver Nuggets were purchased, shared, and greatly enjoyed. There were a few people who had not ever been to Buc-ee’s so that was fun. 

We arrived in Sewanee in the afternoon with time to walk around and enjoy the beautiful campus. We visited some special places including the chapel, the goat farm, and the Sewanee Memorial Cross and its view.  Then we gathered for  supper in McClurg, which may be the most beautiful college dining hall in the US. Finally, we loaded up the vans to make the last very short drive of the day. 

Arriving at Rivendell Spritual Center we were struck by how lovely it is. It was built in the 19th century and, though it has been updated, its original charm is fully intact. The mechanism from an ancient well has been placed in the stone-walled dining room- historic preservation as art. There are many other unique items incorporated in the decor and I enjoyed walking through and discovering them. 

 We explored the grounds upon arrival and found it to be a beautiful property. There is a large pond that has a cozy dock with chairs and a dam that creates a small waterfall under a stone bridge. The view is spectacular. There is plentiful wildlife and we found an armadillo, a small snake, and delightful fireflies before we even went inside. As night fell, a grand chorus of frogs, cicadas, and birds sang us good night and good rest. 

After unloading, everyone settled in and showered. Then we gathered for a brief team meeting and prayers. The young people played games and had fellowship. Lights out was at 11:00 so we could get plenty of sleep in real beds (or on sofas) for the last night for the week. We do not know what this week will bring but we know that the Spirit is with us! 

Your prayers are requested!

Faithfully submitted by Dorothy Porcher Holland

Day Two Report – Sunday

We slept in a bit as we will have early mornings this week. Wake up was at 8:00 and breakfast was self-serve items that we brought with us. Around nine we loaded up and drove up the road back to the Sewanee campus known as The Domain. We were fortunate that Stirling’s Coffee House was open as it typically is closed on Sundays in the summer. No visit to Sewanee is complete without a trip to Stirling’s. After we had been caffeinated, it was time for the 11:00 service at the Sewanee’s All Saint’s Chapel. 

The Chapel was beautiful, as always, and the flowers at the altar were just as lovely. The lectionary for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6, Year A) was seemingly ordered up specifically for us and Rev. Christopher L. Epperson, Dean of All Saint’s Chapel,  who preached, understood the assignment. He did not know we were coming, but the Spirit led him to preach very specifically about mission and service. I once heard someone say that if you think the sermon is being directed specifically at you, it is. This was very true this day. I wish I had brought my sermon journal! 

After the service, we walked over to McClurg to enjoy lunch. Fr. Brooks and Canon McCall were able to catch up with old friends who were there which was nice. The macaroni and cheese was especially good and the Cowboy Pie was a hit with many people. We lingered, just a bit, as we had the night before, enjoying some fellowship in this impressive space. 

At last it was time to go to Nashville! We did make a stop at the Monteagle Piggly Wiggly for Pig merch (If you know you know!) and another stop to pick up flip-flops for a student. Fr. Brooks chose wisely and Jamison now has a pair of banana colored and shaped flip-flops. We hit a snag on the road- Day 4 of m Bonnaroo music festival was underway and there were 20 or so bands in the lineup, eleventy-million tents, and traffic for miles. Our first hint that something was happening was seeing traffic cones and police officers managing  Starbucks traffic, and we were bewildered until we saw the tents and caught up to the lines of cars. Someone checked to see who was performing and there were more than a few people who would have happily stayed behind to hear Noah Kahan and others. 

Finally, we arrived at our Week of Hope lodging site, Pennington Fellowship Church. Week of Hope is a service week offering for teens from Group Mission Trips. It is similar to Group Workcamps, but a smaller scale, and focusing on supporting community service organizations instead of construction projects. Group Mission Trips was founded in 1990 as a non-profit offshoot of Group Publishing after devastating floods in their home state of Colorado. Since then, they have provided mission trip opportunities for thousands of youth groups from all over the country. When Group Publishing was sold to a larger Christian publishing company a few years ago, Group Mission Trips became a separate non-profit. They have sites all over the country, including a Week of Hope camp in Charleston this summer. 

Once we had settled in, sent Fr. Brooks and Dorothy to the leader’s meeting, and had supper, it was time for our first program. The first part was largely orientation and expectations, but there were also some icebreakers and games. Canon McCall handled a blindfolded challenge quite well! 

Finally, it was time to meet our Work Crews. 

A core component of a Group Mission Trip is the way they set up the Work Crews. At the larger Group Work Camps, they are comprised of 5 students and 2 leaders, all from different groups. They begin the week as complete strangers and end it as a team. This serves the young people very well, giving them opportunity to make new friends, discover their leadership skills, gain confidence, leave their comfort zone, and handle challenges. Week of Hope is set up the exact same way, but as it is a smaller program, there is a good chance there will be a student or leader from your group in your seven person Work Crew. 

When the Work Crews had assembled, they opened their envelopes and learned what their work site would be for the week. Members of our group are serving at food pantries, doing grounds and maintenance work., and ripping up carpet and tile at a church that makes that space available to various groups. During this time, we enjoyed a large selection of homemade cookies brought to us by members of Pennington Fellowship who will be hosting Week of Hope all summer long. 

The last part of the day was youth group devotionals,  prepping for Monday, and finally to bed. There was lots of excitement in the air, even though everyone was tired  Lights out at 11:00- Wakey Wakey is at 6:45am! 

Faithfully submitted by Dorothy Porcher Holland

Day Three Report – Monday

 6:45am! Our hosts awakened us with their enthusiastic knocks, shouted greetings, and loud music. The “Red Shirts”, as they are affectionately known, are the young adults from Group Mission Trips who will be living and working at Pennington Fellowship all summer. The last to bed and the first to rise, these three women have committed to hosting teams each week all summer. They prepare our meals, lead programs, coordinate crews & work sites, handle logistics, and manage everything. They are true missionaries, having committed to sleeping on the floor, makeshift showers, sharing the Gospel with teenagers all day long, and smiling through it all. Our Red Shirt team is Alyssa, Brecken, and Lily. 

The young people arrive in the dining room in small groups. There are about 70 of us here, six half baths, and eight showers, so it takes a minute for everyone to get ready. Breakfast is egg & bacon burritos, yogurt, and fruit. In addition to the loud wake up music, the room is filled with excitement and energy. The Work Crews begin to gather and the Break Makers start to get the coolers loaded. 

On each Work Crew, there are five roles, one per student. The Break Maker gets lunch packed up each morning, calls break & lunch times, and reminds everyone to drink water. Our lunchtime devotions and prayers are the responsibility of the Devotion Leader. Communication with our hosts at the project site is the job of the Partner Coordinator who serves as a liaison. When each crew returns to our home base in the afternoon, the Progress Reporter checks in with the Red Shirts and tells them what we accomplished and if there were any problems. Our Crew Coordinator keeps track of our information packet, assists the Break Maker with getting lunches and coolers, maintains the first aid kit, and coordinates our departure each morning. 

After breakfast was cleaned up, everyone gathered for morning program. The Week of Hope theme this year is “Illuminate.” Alyssa, one of the Red Shirts, leads our programs and helps us start the day right with scripture and prayer. 

After program we began loading up the vans and drove off in all directions to our project sites. While most of the sites are within 20 minutes, some are as far as 45 minutes with traffic. None of them are close together, Nashville is a big place. Pennington Fellowship, our host church, is just across the interstate from The Grand Ole Opry and Opry Mills, about ten minutes from downtown. 

Oliver, Jamison, and Isabella are in Crew 8 with Ms. Lindsay, Canon McCall, and two girls from South Dakota. They are serving with Team 9 at The Branch which is a food pantry. They are bagging food, organizing donations, and doing some cleaning and other tasks.  

Grace, Addy, and Madelyn are on Team 5 with Fr. Brooks plus a leader and a student from Illinois. Their project is “light demolition” at a local church. They are ripping up tile and carpet to make a large space better for use by The Curve, non-profit school enrichment program. 

Cohen is with four girls from South Dakota, Mr. Graham and Ms. Dorothy on Team 5. They are doing yard work, maintenance tasks, cleaning, and painting for Cottage Cove, an organization providing programs and services for at-risk kids and teens.  

Crew 6 is Charlie and Delaney serving with three students and a leader from South Dakota. They are working together with Crew 7 which has Catherine, Rachel, Eudora, Cora, plus a student and leader from Illinois. They are serving at a food bank, One Generation. They are unloading trucks as they arrive with donations, sorting the items, and packaging boxes of meals. 

Returning from our work in the afternoon, some people gathered for games in the dining room, others went straight for showers, and a bunch of people went for naps. We have four outdoor showers in the rear parking lot for women and four in the front parking lot for men. There are separate times for adults & students, and intermittent hot water. Our host church has welcomed Week of Hope for the last six summers and has invested in portable, propane hot water heaters but we have had some issues getting them to work. Fortunately, it is hot outside and the sun has been shining down on the showers. 

At 5:30 we gathered for supper and then it was our group’s turn to be the Hospitality Team. We cleaned the bathrooms & showers, took out trash, swept & mopped, and other tasks. All of our students served happily and even picked up some extra tasks because they award points for extra work. At the end of the week, the youth group with the most points gets a marvelous prize and we are determined to bring it home for Bishop Ruth- in gratitude for her support of our trip and to let her know that we worked hard and reflected well on our Diocese. Of course we also want to support our Red Shirts as much as possible in thanksgiving for all that they do for us. 

At 8:00 it was time for evening program and students were invited to participate in music and drama and it was wonderful that they had that opportunity. Practices were held in the afternoon so everyone was ready. Afterward, time was set aside for youth group devotionals. This wraps up the day’s theme, lets us pray together, and gives everyone a chance to share about their day since we were at different places doing different things. 

There was a little free time for card games and fun, but 11:00 came all too soon (or not soon enough!) and then the lights went out. (Except for our girls who were tossing a ball around the room until someone asked them to quiet down. To be fair though, Ms. Dorothy brought the ball. Also, she started it.)

Submitted faithfully by Dorothy Porcher

Day 4 Report – Tuesday

Today was an early day for most of our group. It was our turn on breakfast duty! That meant a 6:30 arrival in the kitchen for 6 students and a leader, and a 7:15 arrival for 5 students and a leader. As hard as our Red Shirt ladies work, they still can’t get meals out without some sous chefs to help. Once everyone was served, our students helped with some of the cleanup before reporting to morning program. Although it was early morning, our students were cheerful and energetic. In fact, more than the required number of students showed up to help. 

Today’s program and devotionals focused on Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In morning program, we talked about the ways that we spend our time and energy. In Work Crew devotions, we talked about why we chose to be at Week of Hope and what sacrifices we had made to be here. 

Every Group Mission Trip, whether a Work Camp or a Week of Hope, gives the teams an evening off to have downtime and fellowship in their host city. For us it is today! As everyone reported to breakfast, students were asking each other where they were going and what they were doing. This continued in the vans and over the course of the workday. Everyone was excited about the different things that Nashville has to offer. 

Vans were loaded up by 8:30 and everyone was off! Today, most teams walked in to their sites ready to work, for they had already been trained for their jobs and could get right to work. Team 5 went to a second site for Cottage Cove, but did similar work there. That location doesn’t have a summer program, and no children were present so there was relief from the heat during lunch break. 

In the afternoon, Crew 5 had a unique experience. Pastor Brent, the head of Cottage Cove is basically Indiana Jones and has his own (legally registered) museum of Biblical Archaeology. He invited us to see it and so we went there. It is a custom addition to his home and I cannot think of a word to describe it that is enough, so I am going to just say it is impressive. He entertained us with stories of archeological digs, getting lost in the tunnels in Petra, nearly getting arrested because Turkish officials thought his antiquities permits were forged, and amazing finds over a decades-long career. Among other things, we held in our hands a sword that was forged during the time of King David and a lepton, or “widow’s mite,” a coin he found at a well near the south side of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 

The Work Crews returned a little early today so everyone could shower and get ready for a night out. Some teams were heading to a bowling alley that had  a lot of additional games and fun, others went to Cheesecake Factory and shopping at Opry Mills. At least one team went out for barbecue. We decided to have an adventure downtown! Fr. Brooks and Mr. Graham drove us in and took one for the team by dropping us off and then going to look for parking. In one van, Canon McCall continued to crowdsource a Mission Trip playlist on his Spotify account and it is over five hours long at this point.

A Goo Goo Cluster is a round candy bar made up of marshmallow nougat, caramel, and roasted peanuts that is dipped in chocolate. It was invented in Nashville in 1912 and is recognized as the first combination candy bar, that is, it has more than just chocolate. Both the beloved and official candy of Nashville, the flagship store, just off Broadway seemed like a natural place to start. In addition to multiple sizes and variations of Goo Goo Clusters, they have a “fishbowl” kitchen, fun t-shirts & merch, and kiosks where you can design your own custom Cluster and then watch it get made. Several students chose to give that a try. There were choices in what kind of chocolate dip to have,  at least half a dozen nougats and caramels, a dozen crunchy mix-ins, and even things to sprinkle on top. Ms. Dorothy bought a bag of mini Clusters so everyone could at least have a sample before they decided if they wanted to buy some or not. Fr. Brooks did quite a bit of shopping, including designing his own Cluster with bourbon caramel and potato chips among the mix-ins. 

With Ms. Lindsay as our guide, we strolled down to Bicentennial Park along the Cumberland River next, enjoying the huge public art installation, the view of the Titans’ football stadium, and the riverboat.  A bunch of the students rolled their way down a terraced hill several times, laughing the whole way down. Except for the one that felt a little sick, but they recovered quickly. While in the park, we visited the replica of Fort Nashborough, the area’s first settlement and learned a bit of history. 

Having heard tales of the Buy-One-Pair-Get-Two-Pairs-Free cowboy boot outlets, that was an important stop for some of the girls, but one of the boys got in on the shopping as well.  Just about everyone at least tried some on for fun.  They were in every color, style, and embellishment you can think of including a spectacular purple pair that was worn about the shop for a bit. Finally, two groups of three students combined together to split the cost of the one pair of boots and each getting one pair. They put them on immediately and wore them for the rest of the night. 

We walked back up Broadway enjoying the live music spilling out of nearly every doorway, pausing when we could. Assembly Hall, with over 30 counter service restaurants with a wide variety of local and international cuisines, was our destination for supper. We made our way to the second floor, all the way in the back, where there are lots of big tables and a stage that often has live music. We were in luck! There was a talented musician from Australia, Jesse Dozzi, who knows what the people want to hear and made a set list & took requests accordingly. I am pleased to report that our students not only tipped her very well, I saw many hands dropping tips in for street musicians as well. 

While a leader held a table and watched their shopping bags filled with boots and chocolate (Potential band name?), everyone fanned out in pairs or groups to get food. They returned carrying trays laden with Chinese dumplings, Nashville hot chicken, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, Indian street food, and shawarma-loaded fries. We happily settled in and broke bread together while enjoying the music. Several people went to the shaved ice and cotton candy place and discovered they didn’t have to choose. Shaved ice sundaes with whipped cream, slices of pineapple, and huge clouds of cotton candy soon arrived at the table. We stayed until the end of the music set at 9:00pm and then got a picture with Ms. Dossi before we left. It is likely she picked up more than a few new followers on Instagram before the day’s end. 

We had planned to have Compline tonight as there was no program. However, by the time we got back to Pennington, it was late and people were really tired. Plus, there were students from other groups gathered in most of the spaces. Compline was postponed until Friday night in Sevierville. 

Submitted faithfully by Dorothy Porcher Holland, Youth and Children’s Minister, St. Stephen’s Charleston, Co-Chair Diocesan Youth Commision 

Day 5 Report – Wednesday

Wakie, wakie, biscuits and gravy! After getting up and getting  breakfast, it was time for morning program. 

When we gather for the programs, all of the youth groups from different places and their leaders attend together. For the purposes of the trip, our team, though we represent three churches from our Diocese, is one youth group. Alyssa, one of our Red Shirts, or Group Missions staff members, leads our programs.  During the day, we have Work Crew devotionals and after evening program, we have youth group devotionals. 

During morning programs, or First Focus, everyone sits with their Work Crews. There is usually a game or activity of some kind. Then we would learn about one of the partner organizations that works with Group either as a supporter or a recipient. A teaching time, announcements and prayers followed. 

In the evening, we sit with our youth groups. Music is led by volunteers from the groups. This week, the music team is led by the group from Ohio. One of their leaders plays guitar and another one sings. While others who sing were participating, the mic for the one was turned way, way up, and the remaining shared microphones didn’t pick up much. As our group didn’t know many of the songs, it felt somewhat like a concert a lot of the time. This is not to say that they are untalented or did a poor job, just that it wasn’t very participatory and little encouragement was given to make it so. There is a skit each evening, relating to our topic, as well as a video featuring our animated mascots, Teddy and Fluffy, and sometimes the whole group gets energized by standing up and dancing to “Get Down” by Big Audio Dynamite. Finally, we get some teaching from Alyssa that leads us into youth group time. 

Today at First Focus, aa part of our ongoing theme of Illuminate, we talked about how God can illuminate our stories to reveal His purpose. We were asked to consider some of the highs and lows the highs and lows of our lives and wrote some of them down in our devotional booklets in a timeline format. Today, Rev. Dennis of Pennington Fellowship welcomed us and told us about the church and congregation.  After some teaching from Alyssa, and prayer, we were off! 

All of the Work Crews travelled  to their Work Sites and settled in to their tasks. Mr. Graham, Ms. Dorothy, Cohen, and the rest of Crew 5 were back at their original site and got to spend part of the day with the children of Cottage Cove. Isabella and Ms Lindsay of Crew 8 went with the team from The Branch to go out into the community to distribute food to families. Meanwhile, Canon Ramelle, Oliver, and Jamison, also of Work Crew 8, did some hard work cleaning out the closet. Eudora, Rachel, Cora, Catherine on Crew 7 , and Charlie and Delaney on Team 6, together with their respective Crew mates, at One Gen Away, assisted with “Senior Walk-In Day.” This is a day when appointments aren’t required for seniors.  The crews helped distribute grocery bags. They also vacuum-sealed hundreds of pounds of dry beans for distribution. Eudora took off her shoes at one point and returned to find that they had also been vacuum sealed. Crew 4, which included Fr. Brooks, Addy, Grace, & Madelyn continued their labor ripping up carpet and flooring. They had hoped another Crew would be there to help them, but that didn’t happen. Prayers for Friday! 

When the Break Makers called lunchtime at the respective sites, everyone was grateful to pause their labors and enjoy food and fellowship. Our coolers are well stocked each day with chips, IKEA sandwiches (they are not assembled!), fruit, baby carrots, and cookies or another sweet treat. As lunch wound down, it was time for the Devotion Leaders to take over. To begin, we shared some things we had journaled that morning about our highs and lows. Then we talked about the highs and lows of our sites & projects and how we celebrated or overcame them. Our scripture reading was Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  This was followed by discussion of how our faith helps us respond to both the highs and lows of life. Then we closed with prayer and got back to work 

It was our group’s turn to help with supper tonight, so five members reported to the kitchen early to assist in preparing and serving the pasta supper. After supper, there was some free time for playing Uno, napping, just hanging out, or doing extra tasks to earn points toward the big prize that we want to get for Bishop Ruth. Then it was time for evening program. Tonight, Isabella did the scripture reading from the front and then both Jamison and Cora shared their God Sightings of the day. Alyssa continued our discussion of God’s purpose. 

Tonight’s music, chosen, in my understanding, by the people leading it and not by Group Missions, happened to include a song containing a phrase that many churches in our diocese no longer use and that is also not used at Camp Saint Christopher- one referring to God as “master.” It was decided that we would talk about it during youth group time. Fr. Brooks also wanted to follow up on some of the teaching from the program, so we decided to delay the provided questions and discussion until after we had addressed these other matters. 

We were joined for that time by a leader, Carrie, and a student from Illinois. The rest of their team had gone straight to bed so we welcomed them. We opened up our gathering by talking about the song lyrics and how not all churches are as sensitive to such terminology and honestly do not realize that it could be problematic. Carrie very politely interrupted to respectfully ask why we don’t sing songs with that particular term. We carefully explained why it could be hurtful or offensive to many people to refer to God as our “Master.”  We went on to talk about how we have some integrated and some entirely African American churches in our diocese and we try to be aware of that when we choose music etc. 

Finally we discussed Charleston’s specific history in that regard. Carrie said that she had never even considered these issues but it was giving her new things to think about. (Other songs were discussed included “Beautiful Scandalous Night” which has poetic imagery that for me is forever shaped by my visit to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice (dedicated to the victims of racial terror lynchings 1877-1950) as part of the Three Churches United Racial Justice Pilgrimage last year. It, too, has been removed from the Camp playbook.) 

We talked about how it has become more important to us to err on the side of caution and do our best to refrain from causing pain or discomfort to our brothers and sisters, than to sing familiar and/or beloved songs. The discussion went very well and Carrie was quite thoughtful. 

[The benefit of being too exhausted to type up my report at the end of the day means that I can share now a follow-up on the conversation that happened on Friday night. In program we sang a song that referred to people as “slaves to sin.” I sought Carrie out later and asked her if she had heard any songs differently than she had before. She immediately said that upon hearing it her very first thought was that our churches probably didn’t sing that song.  We chatted a bit more and covered “white as snow” as well. I can’t help but wonder if this discussion, as well as others that we had with some of our new friends, was a small part of our purpose in being at this in this place, at this time.]

Because the programming is aimed at a teenaged “seeker” audience, and tries to avoid any denominational theology or hot-button topics, it ends up being a bit shallow at times. This is not on the part of the on-site leaders, but the written curriculum itself. They are casting a wide net and do not know the level of faith formation that individual students have had. That is why youth group time is afterward, so we can end the day with whatever discussion we choose. Tonight, Fr. Brooks wanted to take it deeper and bring in things that were “left on the table.”  Then he led a discussion about why the programming and music are different from what they are used to having and how to respond to it. It isn’t an issue of bad form or theology, more of a basis in mainstream Protestantism, and the aforementioned factors. I want to point out here that before we signed up for this experience, we checked their mission statement etc. and then we reached out to inquire as to whether or not our LBGTQ students would be welcome. The response from Group was a little surprising and a lot heartwarming: 

“They are absolutely welcome to attend. It is our goal that everyone feels welcome, loved, and worthy. Our programming is Christ-centered and we try not to include anything that would cause issue with theological differences amongst the churches and groups joining us.”  That gave us full confidence to participate and we are glad that we did. 

After what was a very long but productive youth group time, that had followed a long but productive day, a lot of our group went to bed, but some enjoyed a feisty game of Uno with Canon Ramelle until nearly lights out time at 11:00. 

Submitted faithfully Dorothy Porcher Holland, Youth and Children’s Minister, St. Stephen’s Charleston, Co-Chair Diocesan Youth Commission