Circle of Hope

Over the course of the past three months, five groups have partnered with Circle of Hope for short term service and learning experiences.  All groups were affiliated with the Atlantic Conference of the Brethren in Christ denomination, in which Circle is a part of.

In late June a group of young adults from Manor Church in Lancaster, PA, arrived in Philly to learn and become aware of the work people are doing with refugee families.  The 13 college-aged students spent time with Jeremiah Alexander and the work he does with refugees.  Manor Church has recently taken in a refugee family in the Lancaster area and this trip proved to encourage and challenge them as they returned to their own community to serve.

From July 18th through July 21st, a group of 15 high school students and leaders from Manor Church trekked over to Philly to work with various Circle mission teams.  After attending the 5 o’clock public meeting at Broad & Washington, this group had the unique opportunity to stay with people from the Circle network who volunteered to be hosts, in which lessons were learned about living in community and extending hospitality. The energetic group worked with Matt and Amanda Staples in Germantown by clearing land for a future orchard, painted and did yard work at the Shalom House, and cleaned alleys in South Philly with the guidance of Art Bucher.  Before leaving the city, the group had the privilege of taking a drumming class from Jay Beck at the Croatan Studio.

Elizabethtown BIC sent 5 young adults to Philly on a Saturday in July in which they worked with Rachel and Dan at the Frankford garden.  Piles and piles of weeds were pulled as plots were prepared for future planting.

Manor Church sent another group of 14 high school students and leaders to Philly this past weekend, as they served and learned from Thursday, August 5 through Sunday, August 8.  This group met up with Julius Rivera and his outreach to meet and play with kids at the playground in Kensington.  Throughout their time in the city the comical and hard working group painted and ate lunch with clients and the staff at Congeso, facilitated by Josiah Lash.  Thorough cleaning, painting, and weeding was done at the Circle Counseling space and the group also volunteered at both Circle Thrift Stores.   A highlight for this group was being challenged by the drumming class they took from Jay Beck.  Students went away being compelled to think and question the previous judgments and stereotypes they have had about justice, reconciliation, and worship.

Five college-aged interns from the Atlantic Conference of the Brethren in Christ denomination came to Philly to serve and learn from Sunday, August 8th through Tuesday, August 10th.  The crew stayed at the Shalom House and took part in the Monday night potluck, served at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, and Circle Thrift at Broad & Washington.

With all of this said, Circle can celebrate the fact that people across the denomination have become so excited about what Circle’s mission is here in Philly and Camden that in many ways they want to be a small part of it too.  High school students and college students are being challenged to question their previous notions of what it means to be a Christ-follower in this world, in order to pursue how Jesus is calling them to live.  Seeds are being planted through the Circle community that are spreading even across the broader community of the Brethren in Christ denomination.

(Submitted by Heather Eisenberger, Summer Intern)