Last night I got some very wonderful news: my proposal to present at the InterFaith Youth Core's 6th Conference on Interfaith Youth Work was officially accepted!
The theme of the conference is "Leadership in a Religiously Diverse World," which, of course, is a very pertinant issue right now. My friend Nikole and I decided that we really wanted to put in a proprosal, even if we weren't actually going to present. We sat on the idea for a little while, and Nikole asked if I'd be interested in working around the topic of exclusive truth. The concept is pretty self explanitory, that a faith tradition may include a claim that it in some way is true where others are not. That can sound pretty scary, and in the realm of Interfaith Plurality, where we're trying to bridge the divides between faiths, it seems a daunting topic to approach.
But Nikole and I decided that it isn't. In fact, it is absolutely imperative that, if we plan to conquer the faith divide, we learn how to work with exclusive truth claims. So we decided to create a session to explore how those with an exclusive truth claim and those apprehensive of individuals with such beliefs can participate in interfaith plurality. We really wanted to show that exclusive truth claims and work in interfaith plurality do not have to be mutually exclusive, and that those with an exclusive truth claim can hold true to their beliefs while cooperating with others in common action towards the common good. The new generation of interfaith leaders need to know how to engage those whose religious beliefs include an exclusive truth claim, as well as those who may be apprehensive to work with someone with such a belief.
And I guess the InterFaith Youth Core agreed! With over twice the number of proposals as there are session spots, ours was chosen for the conference! So sometime between October 25 and 27, a room full of people at The Center for Civic Engagement at Northwestern University will partake in a discussion about what it means to be fundamentalist and how that connects to the idea of an exclusive truth claim, followed by an interactive exercise in which participants will be assigned exclusive truths and must find ways to all work cooperatively with the group, and then a talk-back in which the participants can unpack the experience and garner insight into working with exclusive truths in their interfaith undertakings.
HAPPY DANCE! And, special congratulations to Nikole because she will be presenting not once, but twice at the conference! In addition to The Truth about Truth: How to Engage Exclusive Truth Claims in Interfaith Work, Nikole's proposal with her fellow interfaith coordinators from the Chautauqua Institution about their Sacred Song Service was also accepted.
ETA: Happy Dance Again! One of my favorite people in the world, Anthony, is the recipient of a scholarship covering registration costs, so he'll be at the conference too!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Gooooooooooal!
As part of my AmeriCorps year, I had to put together a Member Development Plan, which is really just my goals and such for the year.
Service Goals
Volunteer Recognition
I know that positive reinforcement is a very strong tool and I would like to utilize that in volunteer services. I would like to regularly update the website with photos and blurbs from each Sponsor for a Day, in order to help them feel good about their accomplishment and to show Habitat’s appreciation for their hard work and support. I would also like to do occasional volunteer spotlights that feature inspiring stories about why people volunteer for HFH.
Volunteer Communication
I would like to better utilize Facebook.com as a tool for communicating with out volunteers. After taking pictures at the worksites, I want to post them promptly so that people can tag themselves and show them to their friends. It is also a great way to share volunteering opportunities and a venue to cross post our monthly newsletter.
Increase Interfaith Service
Habitat for Humanity was built upon the idea of the “theology of the hammer” bringing people of different faith traditions together in common action for a common good. I would like to explore this ideal and increase its presence within the affiliate. My first goal is to read Millard Fuller’s The Theology of the Hammer to get a full understanding of the concept and to better share it with others. I would then like to reach out to various faith groups in the community. HFHS currently has many groups that volunteer from Christian churches, particularly of the Methodist and Lutheran denominations. I would like to expand that to other Christian denominations as well as groups from other faith traditions, including but not limited to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Baha’i. Ultimately, I would like for these groups to build a home together in cooperation. I would also like to place special focus on encouraging the involvement of youth groups from various faiths.
Student Involvement
HFH Suffolk has a Student Build that brings in students from all across Long Island to support our mission and build a home. I would like to expand this program. Student involvement in the past build did not seem to go beyond each chapter’s individual build days. I would like to encourage students on the future build to meet and reach out to the homesteading family, to attend the dedication, and for the relationship to not cease at the end of the workday. I would also like to involve younger students. At schools that already participate, volunteering is limited to older students as per Habitat regulations, but younger students should be encouraged to volunteer in other ways, like serving meals to working volunteers, raising awareness, or bringing gift baskets to the house dedication. Using Connetquot’s school district as a test, I would like to see their Habitat program expanded to include students in younger grades, with presentations about the mission of Habitat for Humanity, and encouraging children to be creative in their support of HFH’s mission.
Educational Goals
Habitat for Humanity
My goal is to learn as much as I can about the operations and workings of Habitat for Humanity, specifically the Suffolk affiliate. I would like to understand how all of the different departments work separately and together to achieve their goals.
Faith and Volunteering
I would like to better understand Millard Fuller’s concept of “The Theology of the Hammer” and its continued influence on Habitat for Humanity. I would also like to learn about the motivations of the individual faith groups that come to volunteer with HFHS. In the future, I plan to study the influence an individual’s past and present faith tradition has upon their thoughts and actions towards society, and I would like to take this opportunity to talk to people about how their faith brought them to participate in service.
Similar Organizations
I would like to have a better understanding of other organizations that do similar work to HFH. I would like to learn more about Section 8 housing, the Long Island Housing Partnership, and the Community Development Corporation, as well as any other organization that Habitat works closely with. I would also like to learn about other organizations that our affiliate does not specifically work with but whose efforts may be similar to ours, such as Rebuilding Together, and the Long Island Land Trust.
Professional Goals
Planning
I would like to improve my planning skills this year. In the past I have often procrastinated or not fully thought out all of the steps it might take to achieve a long-term goal. I would like to work harder at making and keeping long and short term goals to gain the most out my service here.
Service Goals
Volunteer Recognition
I know that positive reinforcement is a very strong tool and I would like to utilize that in volunteer services. I would like to regularly update the website with photos and blurbs from each Sponsor for a Day, in order to help them feel good about their accomplishment and to show Habitat’s appreciation for their hard work and support. I would also like to do occasional volunteer spotlights that feature inspiring stories about why people volunteer for HFH.
Volunteer Communication
I would like to better utilize Facebook.com as a tool for communicating with out volunteers. After taking pictures at the worksites, I want to post them promptly so that people can tag themselves and show them to their friends. It is also a great way to share volunteering opportunities and a venue to cross post our monthly newsletter.
Increase Interfaith Service
Habitat for Humanity was built upon the idea of the “theology of the hammer” bringing people of different faith traditions together in common action for a common good. I would like to explore this ideal and increase its presence within the affiliate. My first goal is to read Millard Fuller’s The Theology of the Hammer to get a full understanding of the concept and to better share it with others. I would then like to reach out to various faith groups in the community. HFHS currently has many groups that volunteer from Christian churches, particularly of the Methodist and Lutheran denominations. I would like to expand that to other Christian denominations as well as groups from other faith traditions, including but not limited to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Baha’i. Ultimately, I would like for these groups to build a home together in cooperation. I would also like to place special focus on encouraging the involvement of youth groups from various faiths.
Student Involvement
HFH Suffolk has a Student Build that brings in students from all across Long Island to support our mission and build a home. I would like to expand this program. Student involvement in the past build did not seem to go beyond each chapter’s individual build days. I would like to encourage students on the future build to meet and reach out to the homesteading family, to attend the dedication, and for the relationship to not cease at the end of the workday. I would also like to involve younger students. At schools that already participate, volunteering is limited to older students as per Habitat regulations, but younger students should be encouraged to volunteer in other ways, like serving meals to working volunteers, raising awareness, or bringing gift baskets to the house dedication. Using Connetquot’s school district as a test, I would like to see their Habitat program expanded to include students in younger grades, with presentations about the mission of Habitat for Humanity, and encouraging children to be creative in their support of HFH’s mission.
Educational Goals
Habitat for Humanity
My goal is to learn as much as I can about the operations and workings of Habitat for Humanity, specifically the Suffolk affiliate. I would like to understand how all of the different departments work separately and together to achieve their goals.
Faith and Volunteering
I would like to better understand Millard Fuller’s concept of “The Theology of the Hammer” and its continued influence on Habitat for Humanity. I would also like to learn about the motivations of the individual faith groups that come to volunteer with HFHS. In the future, I plan to study the influence an individual’s past and present faith tradition has upon their thoughts and actions towards society, and I would like to take this opportunity to talk to people about how their faith brought them to participate in service.
Similar Organizations
I would like to have a better understanding of other organizations that do similar work to HFH. I would like to learn more about Section 8 housing, the Long Island Housing Partnership, and the Community Development Corporation, as well as any other organization that Habitat works closely with. I would also like to learn about other organizations that our affiliate does not specifically work with but whose efforts may be similar to ours, such as Rebuilding Together, and the Long Island Land Trust.
Professional Goals
Planning
I would like to improve my planning skills this year. In the past I have often procrastinated or not fully thought out all of the steps it might take to achieve a long-term goal. I would like to work harder at making and keeping long and short term goals to gain the most out my service here.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Squee for Glee!
Glee provides just a touch of nostalgia for those hours upon hours of rehearsals. Devoting all of our time, against our parents' better judgement, to entertaining the masses and, more importantly, feeding our passion for the art.
I look at the character of Rachel Berry, a nutty young woman with a burning desire to become a star, and I think we're all a little bit like her, wanting a touch of spotlight, to be recognized for our talents.
And I see Finn Hudson, quarterback fo the football team, struggling to balance his talent and love for performing with survivng high school. We're all like him too, trying to make it work without completely losing touch of what we want to be.
And that's why Glee is such an attractive show. It doesn't feature characters that we want to be, but rather characters that we already are.
Plus, they do a lot of really kickass stuff.
I disapprove of Kanye's big head as much as the next girl, but the show's rendition of "Gold Digger" was nothing short of fabulous. And Rachel's outburst at the Chastity Club about girls wanting sex just as much as boys was a definitive "Get it!" moment.
I'm excited for the season ahead, for the opportunity to live vicariously through the group's struggles and successes, to rock out to their numbers, and to squee at the screen when Finn finally realizes that Rachel really is a lot cooler than his cheerleader girlfriend.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!
In my head, I've always really liked Autumn. It's cool and crisp, and there are apples and pumpkins everywhere, and people wear cute scarves and sweaters and boots. But when it comes down to it, I'm not actually all that much a fan of September through Novemeber. And today I figured out why. Because, while I love the golden rust of an idealized New York Autumn, when you look outside my window, this is actually what you see:
So, I decided to do the only happy thing I could think of and make a yummy autumn lunch.
A lovely shade of gray that can really only be described as MEH
So, I decided to do the only happy thing I could think of and make a yummy autumn lunch.
Aaron and I made some grilled cheese with cheddar, mozzerella, and smoked turkey. We ran out of hummus, so I added a little bit of peanut butter to some Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinagrette, just to thicken it up, to make a zippy dip for our pita chips. Topped it off with some Cambell's creamy tomato soup.
It's still pretty gross out, but I feel like I can get through all of this boring data input with all of that yummy in my tummy.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Stand Beside Her, and Guide Her
I don’t want this to be another cliché piece about where I was when I heard about the planes hitting the towers. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you were in Manhattan or Minnesota. No matter where we were, we were all in the same place. A place of shock and fear. A terrible place where our innate sense of security was absolutely trampled.
What matters is where we are now. President Obama declared today a National Day of Service, and I think he expressed my own feelings when he said
I can honestly say that I have never felt so American in my life as I do now, as an AmeriCorps volunteer. This is what being an American means to me. I truly believe at the core of this country is the underlying sense of responsibility to do right by each other. To take care of our ourselves by taking care of each other.
I know that means something different to everyone. What I want it to mean is that you do something for someone today. Take that sense of purpose you felt on September 12, 2001 and renew it. Follow through on it, eight years later. That might mean installing sheetrock for a single mother stuggling to give her son a safe home. Or maybe it means donating a few bucks to the Red Cross. It could mean helping someone pick up the change they dropped.
No matter what you choose to do, it means that you remember, today and everyday, what it means to be an American, and to cherish it.
What matters is where we are now. President Obama declared today a National Day of Service, and I think he expressed my own feelings when he said
"On a day when others sought to sap our confidence, let us renew our common purpose, let us remember how we came together as one nation, as one people, as Americans united. Such sense of purpose need not be a fleeting moment.”And he’s right. In the months following, everyone was flying a flag on their front porch, sporting a patriotic bumper sticker, wearing that requisite lapel pin. Everyone was talking about patriotism, and freedom, and what it means to be an American.
I can honestly say that I have never felt so American in my life as I do now, as an AmeriCorps volunteer. This is what being an American means to me. I truly believe at the core of this country is the underlying sense of responsibility to do right by each other. To take care of our ourselves by taking care of each other.
I know that means something different to everyone. What I want it to mean is that you do something for someone today. Take that sense of purpose you felt on September 12, 2001 and renew it. Follow through on it, eight years later. That might mean installing sheetrock for a single mother stuggling to give her son a safe home. Or maybe it means donating a few bucks to the Red Cross. It could mean helping someone pick up the change they dropped.
No matter what you choose to do, it means that you remember, today and everyday, what it means to be an American, and to cherish it.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ears on the Beatles
Today, the world has dedicated itself to The Beatles. With the release of the remastered albums and The Beatles: Rock Band, today is a day to party. To celebrate, my favorite radio station, WFUV, is playing Beatles songs and solo projects, original and covers all day. Stream it! http://www.wfuv.org/audio/stream.html
I personally have a deep love for The Beatles. 1 was the first cd I bought for myself, and also my first favorite. And I kind of forced my RA staff to make our building Beatles themed last year. The complex (comprised of Brewster, Boland, and Brockway, also known as BBB) had "Let it B B B" painted across the front windows, our lounge was called Strawberry Fields, and we had a giant orange (it is Syracuse, after all) submarine. It was pretty fabulous.
I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Beatles tunes...
(À la Dominic Monaghan, I think the lyrics "Living is easy with eyes closed" make for a great tattoo.)
Mystery Meat
My dad has a few friends who are Burmese, one of whom recently had a daughter. In their tradition, you celebrate 100 days after birth with a feast. So this party of sorts was at a Chinese restaurant, which sounds awesome because who wouldn't want nine courses of General Tso's yumyums? But hold on to your taste buds, this was real Chinese food. None of the made up, American, not even remotely Chinese in nature, Chinese food. Nope, this was the real deal.
We started of with a platter, which I neglected to take a picture of because I was just so enthralled. There were beef ribs, calimari, and duck, all of which was pretty harmless. But there was also duck tongue. Tongue! And there were probably at least 30 on our platter, and multiply that times every table at the party...well, that answer begs the question my Dad so artfully asked. How many ducks are we eating?!
But the fun doesn't stop there! Also on this platter were these mystery orange things. Perhaps octupus. No one was really all that sure.
Okay course two. Much tamer, and much more delicious! Little balls of fried dough with condensed milk inside, candied pecans, broccoli, and shrimp. It was all quite good, except for the fact that the shrimp was drenched in this mayo-based sauce. Like, you could tell you were eating a whole lot of mayo. That made me squick out a little. Okay, a lot. So, needless to say, tht shrimp did not get eaten by me.
Course three- soup! It was quite good, although I don't actually know what it was. I do know that someone at the table put a little bit of red wine vinegar and Johnny Walker Black in the cup to bring out the flavor of the seafood.
Course four was perhaps my favorite of the night. Why? Because no one knew what it was. No one! Even the wait staff just shurgged and said "Seafood?"
The fifth course, lobster, was very artfully displayed. With both the lobster head and tail on the plate, it represented good luck from head to toe for the baby.
This was followed by a sixth course of chicken and a seventh course of fish, also featuring the heads and tails. I have the pictures, but they're kind of creepy, so I'll refrain from posting them.
Then came the tame stuff. Courses eight and nine were lo mein and fried rice with nuts and raisins, followed by a fruit platter and a sweet soup of black bean and tapioca, making it a grand total of eleven!
But the fun didn't stop there! Someone at the table put in an order for the chef's specialty. And I was very glad they did. Out came chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice with a side of Sriracha mixed with something sweet. So good!
We started of with a platter, which I neglected to take a picture of because I was just so enthralled. There were beef ribs, calimari, and duck, all of which was pretty harmless. But there was also duck tongue. Tongue! And there were probably at least 30 on our platter, and multiply that times every table at the party...well, that answer begs the question my Dad so artfully asked. How many ducks are we eating?!
(Two duck tongues! Actually they tasted fine, but there isn't a lot of meat on there.)
But the fun doesn't stop there! Also on this platter were these mystery orange things. Perhaps octupus. No one was really all that sure.
(Aakash bravely approached the orange stuff.)
Okay course two. Much tamer, and much more delicious! Little balls of fried dough with condensed milk inside, candied pecans, broccoli, and shrimp. It was all quite good, except for the fact that the shrimp was drenched in this mayo-based sauce. Like, you could tell you were eating a whole lot of mayo. That made me squick out a little. Okay, a lot. So, needless to say, tht shrimp did not get eaten by me.
Course three- soup! It was quite good, although I don't actually know what it was. I do know that someone at the table put a little bit of red wine vinegar and Johnny Walker Black in the cup to bring out the flavor of the seafood.
(Good to the last drop!)
Course four was perhaps my favorite of the night. Why? Because no one knew what it was. No one! Even the wait staff just shurgged and said "Seafood?"
(In the end we decided that it may or may not have been conch and abalone.)
The fifth course, lobster, was very artfully displayed. With both the lobster head and tail on the plate, it represented good luck from head to toe for the baby.
This was followed by a sixth course of chicken and a seventh course of fish, also featuring the heads and tails. I have the pictures, but they're kind of creepy, so I'll refrain from posting them.
Then came the tame stuff. Courses eight and nine were lo mein and fried rice with nuts and raisins, followed by a fruit platter and a sweet soup of black bean and tapioca, making it a grand total of eleven!
But the fun didn't stop there! Someone at the table put in an order for the chef's specialty. And I was very glad they did. Out came chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice with a side of Sriracha mixed with something sweet. So good!
(YUM!)
All in all, it was a very interesting night. I tried a whole lot of new things and had a lot of fun doing it. Certainly a culinary adventure worth having.
I leave you with the quote of the evening:
Me: I work for Habitat for Humanity
Random Guy: Oh cool, you work with ducks!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Song of the Moment
Well I feel like an old hobo,
I'm sad lonesome and blue
I was fair as a summer's day
Now the summer days are through
You pass through places
And places pass through you
But you carry 'em with you
On the souls of your travellin' shoes
Well I love you so dearly I love you so clearly
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell you I got the wanderin' blues
I got the wanderin' blues
And i'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways one of
these days soon
And I'll sing
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...
Well it's times like these
I feel so small and wild
Like the ramblin' footsteps of a wanderin' child
And I'm lonesome as a lonesome whippoorwill
Singin these blues with a warble and a trill
But I'm not too blue to fly
No I'm not too blue to fly cause
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...
Well I love you so dearly
I love you so fearlessly
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell you I got the wanderin' blues
I got the wanderin' blues
And I don't wanna leave you
I love you through and through
Oh I left my baby on a pretty blue train
And I sang my songs to the cold and the rain
I had the wanderin' blues
And I sang those wanderin' blues
And I'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways
One of these days soon
And I'll sing...
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs....
I don't care if the sun don't shine
I don't care if nothin' is mine
I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my lovin' in the wintertime
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Git 'er Done
I will get things done for America-
to make our people safer,
smarter, and healthier.
I will bring Americans together
to strengthen our communities.
Faced with apathy,
I will take action.
Faced with conflict,
I will seek common ground.
Faced with adversity,
I will persevere.
I will carry this commitment
with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member,
and I will get things done.
A couple of days ago, I started seeing story about Obama's address to students pop up on the news sources I follow. I didn't pay much attention to it. I thought it was a cool idea and figured I would have an opportunity to see or read it more closely when it actually occurred. Then I started seeing pieces about the uproar by some parents. And then I had to figure out what was going on.
"At 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET), September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama will deliver a national address to the students of America. During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation's children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning."
Okay, sounds harmless. Except for the fact that this speech came along with optional lesson plans, which suggested that elementary school students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." That's where people started to freak. So the administration took it out. Now it says that they can "write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term educational goals." Sounds pretty harmless, especially considering the fact that all of this is optional. No student has to watch this address and no teacher has to follow the suggestions in the lesson plan.
But people are still freaking out. Honestly, I didn't understand the hoopla in the first place. The original suggestion sounded very much like Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country." Is that dangerous? Is that an attempt to indoctrinate the innocent children of America and mobilize them as a sort of
But the point is...are we being indoctrinated? That's kind of a scary thought. I sure hope not. Granted, Glenn Beck did recently tell America that Obama is growing the AmeriCorps as his own SS. And honestly, that offended me. I did ask what my country could do for me, and the answer was that it could provide me with this opportunity to do something for my country. And I'm doing it for a bare-bones living stipend. No one has "indoctrinated" me into choosing this year of service. And I have yet to be approached to fight for Obama's secret mission.
Mr. Beck mocked the AmeriCorps pledge.
Now, I'll be honest, I did find it kind of amusing when I read this pledge in my binder on Tuesday. But let's make this clear: I read this pledge, I didn't take it. I didn't actually pledge anything. To me, this pledge is more of an idea, an explanation of what my goals are for this year. And it doesn't seem all that unreasonable. I do want America to be safer, smarter, and healthier. I do want stronger communities in this age of isolation and apathy. I do want to take action, seek common ground, and persevere. And shouldn't it be everyone's goal to get things done?
I am a member of the AmeriCorps, and I am proud of that. I tell everyone that I meet. And it was my choice. I decided to do this. And no one can or should reduce that to an insinuation of brainwashing.
Friday, September 4, 2009
It's Arts & Crafts Time!
So I'm starting a Photo A Day project. I really want to remember this year, and I think this will be the perfect way to keep up with my scrapbooking and perhaps improve my photography skills. I already have some great pictures from this week:
On Monday night we made a delicious dinner of homemade pizzas and then played a rousing game of Uno. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other before starting in the office.
We spent the entire day on Tuesday filling out paperwork, so it was really refreshing to get the chance to go out out at night. I took the crew to Port Jefferson where we walked around on the boardwalk and ate some awesome seafood and gellato.
On Wednesday we went on a little tour which ended at the ReStore. People donate all kinds of stuff that the ReStore sells, with the proceeds going back to Habitat.
Last night we went to the beach at Smith Point. It was absolutely beautiful and gave my roomies a chance to see a different side of Long Island.
Today we spent the whole morning talking to all of the people in the office, getting a idea of how they came to Habitat and what they do. Even though I've been there a while, I learned a lot about everyone.
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