Compassionate Justiceand Service Learning

Rev. David EllingsonProfessor of Children, Youth & Family StudiesDirector, Children, Youth & Family CenterTrinity Lutheran College

Mark JacksonProfessor & Chair of Children, Youth & Family StudiesDirector, Center for Community EngagementTrinity Lutheran College

Peggy HahnAssociate in MinistryAssistant to the BishopTexas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, ELCA

Compassionate Justice

Rev. David EllingsonProfessor of Children, Youth & Family StudiesDirector, Children, Youth & Family CenterTrinity Lutheran College

Why? 1. Human needhunger, homelessness , illiteracy,effects of violence , etc.

Why? 2. Divine mandate

Luke 4: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me …”1 John 4:19: “We love because God first loved us …”

Development

Advocacy/Justice

Relief

Advocacy/Justice

Relief Development

DevelopmentRelief

Advocacy/Justice

Relief: - Feeding program- Matthew 14:15-21 (Feeding of the 5000)- Proverb: Give a person a fish.

Example: Hunger

Development: - Developing a fish farm- John 21:6 (Throw net on other side of boat)- Proverb: Teach to fish.

Example: Hunger

Advocacy/Justice: - Local fish food co-op- Luke 4 (The Spirit of the Lord …)- Proverb: Share in owner- ship of the fishing business.

Example: Hunger

Relief: - Bandage wounds- Transport to a safe place- Provide for care at the inn

Example: “An even better Samaritan”

Development: - Build aid stations- Train paramedic teams- Plan for a hospital

Example: “An even better Samaritan”

Advocacy/Justice:- Create the Jericho Road Improvement Association to address issues of road conditions, safety, poverty, hunger, violence and develop public policies and funding to make systemic changes

Example: “An even better Samaritan”

Relief:- Read to a child- Donate to Habitat- Feed a family

Example: New Orleans

Development: - Teach child to read- Help family create a garden- Join family in building Habitat home

Example: New Orleans

Advocacy/Justice:- Fix and fund good education- Grow neighborhood garden- Provide low interest home loans

Example: New Orleans

Service Learning Process

Mark JacksonProfessor & Chair of Children, Youth & Family StudiesDirector, Center for Community EngagementTrinity Lutheran College

Volunteers gather in the Ninth Ward during the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans

An intentional process for creating service experiences

with deeper meaning and lasting impact.

What is Service Learning?

The usual:

- Fundraising- Gathering paperwork- Gathering supplies- Making travel arrangements- Packing up / getting ready

Step 1 - Preparation

Don’t forget about:

- Community building- Bible study- Learning about the context- Commissioning service- Sharing expectations

Step 1 - Preparation

- Meaningful orientation- Learn about people, an organization, a community- Receive blessings in return- Begin the reflection process

Step 2 - Action

- Begin reflection on-site- Group reflection- Individual reflection- Invite creativity!

Step 3 - Reflection

- paint a picture- compose music- produce a video- capture photographs- compile a scrapbook- make a flyer- create a blog - stage a debate- write a story- create a role play - lead a workshop

Step 3 - Reflection

- Being welcomed home- Continued reflection - Telling the stories to others- Evaluate the experience- Consider other service opportunities

Step 4 - Celebration

- Be intentional in your planning- Prepare well- Allow adequate time for reflection- Think beyond “project” or “event”

Key elements ofservice learning:

Practicing Justice – in New Orleans and at Home

Peggy HahnAssociate in MinistryAssistant to the BishopTexas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, ELCA

So, just exactly why and how do we figure out all the service projects for over 32,000 people?

THE PROCESS:Preparation

Listening deeply Action

Joining local organizations and leaders in what they are doing

ReflectionNoticing the movement of God

Celebration Maximizing the gifts of high school students and adult mentors

Tune Into your neighborhood

•Deep listening•Assessing gifts & passions•Creating partnerships

If we areserious about accompanying our neighbor, we start with deep listening.

Tune In•Deep listening

Deep listening means we watch our listening filters so we really hear what is being communicated.

We suspend our judgment.

We lead with questions.

We notice what God is already doing.

Tune In•Assessing gifts & passions

We can’t do everything, but we can do something!

What are our passions and gifts?

We are honest about the gifts we bring – our own skills, commitment and growth potential.

Tune Into your neighborhood

•Creating partnerships

We create an action plan that includes local leaders – we don’t rush in trying to fix – rather we join what is already

going on, working side by side with others.

Accompaniment

Accompaniment describes the way God walks with us, and the way our church therefore walks and works among Christian communities in other places and countries. Together we participate in God’s reconciling mission.

Accompaniment is both a lens for seeing the world and a way to engage one another in mission. Through the lens of accompaniment, we see that relationships are at the core of mission. This is a new theology.

When is helping not sohelpful?

“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes

to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs

restructuring.”

- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Where do you start? Think about …• Local – in your own neighborhood• Domestic – in our country• Global – in our world

Our neighborhood (Local)

Our country (Domestic)

Our world (Global)

Liminal Space:A threshold or thin

place where God seems near

enough to touch

To live with them among God’s faithful people,To bring them to the word of God and the holy supper,To teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, to place in their hands the holy scriptures, and nurture them in the faith and prayer, SO THAT

Your children may learn to trust God,Proclaim Christ through word and deed,Care for others and the world God made,And work for justice and peace.- Evangelical Lutheran Worship

Suggested Resources

www.sallt.org

Service learning resources, links, and videos

For a FREE copy of a training DVD, email cyfcenter@tlc.edu

www.elca.org/globalmission

Under “Quick Links,” click“Resources for global engagement”

www.selectlearning.org

Service and Learning:A Way of Life

Five session DVDwith Leader’s Guide

Presenters: Peggy Hahn, Sunitha Mortha, Marcia Bunge, Dave Ellingson, Mark Jackson,

Linda Staats, Eugene Roehlkepartain