I am continuing my blog series on the folks in our Dwell program. To learn more about our Dwell program or to apply to be one of our residents, please visit our website (www.doornetwork.org/atlanta).
Katie Jenkins came to be a part of the Capitol View Dwell program through the Presbyterian Church (USA) Young Adult Volunteer program. She just graduated from University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TX. Folks who come into our Dwell program through the PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer Program are placed in a ministry to work for 35 hours a week. Katie’s placement is with Central Outreach and Advocacy Center (www.centraloutreachandadvocacy.org) She works as a case manager for guests who come to the center who are homeless or are working but still need assistance. If you’d like to apply to be a Young Adult Volunteer with the Presbyterian Church, check out their website. (www.pcusa.org/yav). Here are some of Katie’s reflections on her ministry placement and how it intersects with life at the Capitol View Dwell House.
“Being placed at Central Outreach and Advocacy Center has really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t nervous about starting the job, but I also didn’t have a lot of confidence that I could handle the weight of people’s stories. As I’ve been at my placement the past two and a half months, I’ve realized that I can handle the weight of people’s stories. I only have to be open to hearing their stories. I may not be able to change their situation in an hour, but it is important to open myself to listening, even if it is hard. I’ve also realized through my work with the guests at the center that there is a fine line between by situation and theirs. I could easily find myself on the other side of being able to pay my bills. Getting out of my comfort zone at my ministry placement also helps motivate me to get out of my comfort zone in my neighborhood. If I wasn’t used to getting out of my comfort zone every day, I might be tempted to stay in my comfort zone at home and not take the opportunities to hear the stories of my neighbors as well.”

Introductions of Atlanta Dwellers

Over the next couple of weeks I’d like to take some time to introduce you to the folks who are participating in our year long program, Dwell. Our Dwell program seeds intentional Christian communities where young adults can put their faith into practice by living together, serving the neighborhood in which they live and creating a routine of spiritual disciplines. The majority of our Dwellers are local folks who are either working or are in school and are creating the space in their lives for exploring their faith, developing deep relationships and being a neighbor as described in the Bible.
Alison is the newest member of the Capitol View Dwell house. She moved to Atlanta after serving for a year in the Hollywood Dwell YAV program. She is getting a Master’s degree in Public Health from Georgia State University. Here are some of her reflections on her studies, intentional Christian community, living in the neighborhood of Capitol View and going to church at Emmaus House.
“Living in the Capitol View Community helps me have a higher awareness of others needs and perspectives. Specifically, living in a place where you see environmental and economic injustice helps me to make the health disparity issues I am studying more real. I understand what I am reading in my textbooks about health. I’ve found my church home at Emmaus House which is an Episcopal church and ministry in the Peoplestown neighborhood. I go to a Sunday school class where I am the only white person and the other students in the class have empowered me to talk about race issues. I have hopped on the bus in front of the Dwell house and been the only white person on the bus and felt surprisingly nervous about it. But I have a church community that is supportive as I explore these race issues. But what is also interesting is that these same people that are helping me understand these racial issues, have moved out of Peoplestown. They live in places like Decatur and still come back to go to church. It is really interesting to have conversations with them about my neighborhood. They don’t understand why I would choose to live in a neighborhood such as Capitol View. Success for them would be to get out of a neighborhood like Capitol View. But my hope is that the people in my neighborhood would have better opportunities but still be able to live in the neighborhood. That there might be another option for success than flight.”

Spirit of the Purple House

Last night, the Purple House in Grant Park embraced its six residents as they came together for community night. As we do each Monday, we shared discussion about this week’s “Rhythm of the Year” topic. The subjects gain depth and take on new forms as we hear each other’s perspectives and interpretations of the readings. I look forward to discussion time because each week we grow closer as housemates and discover a richness in the texts that would be impossible to uncover as a sole reader.

During check-in time, tears and hugs poured out, as they often do. We offered up our concerns and joys, there against the teal living room walls. I could almost hear the eves sigh in sympathy last night. This house has a spirit. What all must this home have seen and witnessed over its last twenty-some years as a Mennonite Hospitality House and now a Dwell House? It has sheltered refugees, Mennonite Voluntary Service participants, Young Adult Volunteers, and even the founders of DOOR. In the lives of how many people has the Purple House been the set for even a brief scene?

Last week, I ran into a woman who lived here nearly a decade ago as a housemate for a newly paroled convict (“transitional housing” in action!). And recently, Tommy met someone who had volunteered here and painted Alan’s bedroom. My 9 year-old cousin even recognized the soul of this place when she visited for the first time yesterday: “This house is way cooler than I ever thought it could be!” she confided. Come see for yourself.

Praying for the Math Lights to Come On

Two of the Dwellers in the Capitol View house have dived into community ministry. Steve Andrews and Kari Pellegrino (newlyweds as of August 2009) have started volunteering at the neighborhood GED program, a joint project of Covenant Ministries and Capitol View United Methodist Church. Steve saw a sign in front of Covenant Ministries this summer that they were looking for volunteers for their clothing bank. He got talking with the Minister and the Apostle about their desire to start a GED program. Steve had the knowledge and skills to organize the GED program and Covenant Ministries and Capitol View United Methodist Church had the ability to provide the space and resources. God had brought them together and the GED program kicked off on August 17th. Most of the folks who come to the program are local neighbors and some are also from the congregations of Covenant Ministries and Capitol View United Methodist Church.
Kari shared that being involved in the GED program has created a big leveling field. Even when one is the teacher and one is the student, they both are struggling through fractions together. One day Kari and one of her students were working through a lot of math word problems. These word problems were hard for both of them, but they kept struggling through them. After successfully solving several, the woman who Kari was working with looked at the next problem and said “I’m not afraid of you”. This reminded Kari that this program is not just about skills, but also about empowerment. Something like completing math problems can become a way to increase self confidence and feel empowered not just in math skills but in other parts of life as well.
Kari says that she has never prayed so much as she has while working in this program. She prays for the students and for the “light to come on” as they learn math skills. This faith community has become part of her faith community. The folks in the program celebrated her and Steve’s marriage and have supported them as newlyweds. Kari has never been more grateful for the skills someone taught her while she was growing up. For example, the skill of reading a paragraph and understanding what it says. She doesn’t remember learning these things, but now recognizes in a new way what a gift her education has been and the important role that teachers and parents have played in her education. It has been a real joy for Kari and Steve to see the progress their students are making and to see how both they and the student are changed through the process.

Still Glowing from our Fall Event....

It's time to look ahead. This Saturday the local DOOR Atlanta board of directors will convene our annual board retreat. We pray that God will guide our discussion and decisions as we seek to honor God in all that we do. Whether it's a service learning weekend on homelessness or our intentional Christian communities living a call in our neighborhoods, may God guide each step as we learn more about each other, cast the vision for the future and obediently move ahead in faith!