"The bible doesn't say, 'God bless America., The bible says 'for God so loves the world'."
These were words spoken at the end of the day- a day of learning about and practicing justice. "We don't work to win salvation. We work because we are saved," the speaker, Shane Claiborne of Philadelphia, said.
After an early breakfast of beignets (traditional French doughnuts or, as Cris Burfete calls them, "funnel cake on steroids"), we went back to the hotel to prepare for our work project. Work gloves and goggles in our backpacks, we arrived at the Dome along with at least 3000 others. We were the last of three groups to go out into the community today. As we arrived at the Dome, there were lines & lines of buses waiting to transport the group before us. Groups of gathering folks are doing various service projects all over the city.
Before getting on our buses, our group met in a conference room for presentations (live and video) on the impact of previous Gathering projects in NOLA. A live band led singing, and we blessed one another's hands and feet for service. Then, we picked up lunches that were packed for us and headed to our buses.
Emily was our guide and Jack was our driver. As we ate our lunches, Emily told us what we'd be doing. Our community partner was the St. Bernard Project located in the western area of the city where Katrina destroyed most of the homes. Even now, 8 years later, there are many abandoned houses and empty lots. Our task was to clear several of those vacant lots in order to make the neighborhood safer and look better for the residents.
For several hours we chopped down high weeds, pulled up kudzu and poison ivy, and removed weeds and grass that covered the sidewalk in front of the lot. We battled yellow jackets, fire ants ("come on, Kayla. Do the ant dance!"), lizards and beetles, but we managed to whack most of the weeds down and bag them up. When we finished, there was a cleared sidewalk, too. Several of our Zion group worked on a team that put the final touches on a lot that had been cleared previously by pulling vines off a fence, edging and mowing.
Neighbors came out to thank us for our work. One man who lived near by told Pastor JMe that he really appreciated what we were doing. "It's a beautiful thing," he said. When told who we were, he said he knew about us because he remembered when people came came to his neighborhood before to work.
We were tired and dirty when we finished, but we felt really good that we made a difference for that neighborhood.
After showers back at the hotel and a quick take-out dinner, we made our way back to the Dome for the evening gathering. There seemed to be more people there than the night before! The result of our late arrival was seating in the "nose bleed section."
As on Wednesday, the speakers we heard were amazing. The emphases were Global Mission and bullying of those who are "different". We were on time to hear Valerie Rivas, who served as a Young Adult in Global Mission in South Africa, and Meghan Stubbs, whose parents serve as missionaries in Tanzania.
Pastor JMe knew Meghan and her family from her time in Africa. She was so excited to see Meghan that she called the ELCA Gathering Help Line to find out if there was a way to contact her.
Although last night's post evening gathering activities were cancelled due to the storm, tonight, there were concerts, dances, and other activities to choose from. Part of our group enjoyed one of the dance venues. The remainder decided to return to the hotel. It was a long, tiring, yet purposeful day!
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