A Ministry of Reconciliation

Today's lunchtime treat: a video produced by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on the work of my site coordinator, Doug Baker, and the Young Adult Volunteer program in Northern Ireland. Enjoy!

(sneak a peek at my placement location, the Vine, at 2:47)

Discernment and Commissioning

dis-cern [dih-surn, -zurn]

verb (used with object)

1. to perceive by the sight or some other sense or by the intellect; see, recognize or apprehend: They discerned a sail on the horizon.
2. to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different; discriminate: He is incapable of discerning right from wrong.

We spend a lot of time talking about discernment in the Young Adult Volunteer program. Discerning whether to spend a year in the program, whether to stay at home or abroad, which vocation will follow your YAV year... it's a word I have become a lot more familiar with since our placement weekend in March.

I was joking with a few members of my congregation that I've been successfully avoiding seminary since graduating with a religion minor 7 years ago. Since admitting this, I've been actively challenged in this avowal - multiple times - from several different places. I was discussing this with my friend, the recently Reverend Alex, and he pointed out that I'm not the only one who has felt like running in the opposite direction of a perceived call. What's up, Jonah?

com-mis-sion [kuh-mish-uhn]

verb (used with object)

1. to give a commission to: to commission a graduate of a military academy.
2. to authorize; send on a mission.
3. to give the order that places a warship, military command, etc., in a state of complete readiness for active duty.
4. to give a commission or order for: The owners commissioned a painting for the building's lobby.

Last night, Will (future Kenya YAV) and I were recognized at a special meeting of the Mid-Kentucky Presbytery. We were reminded that our commissioning was both a privilege and a responsibility to uphold with God's help. Among the vows that we pledged were a commitment to accepting the persons we serve where they are and just the way they are, to work in glad cooperation and mutual support with other workers, to demonstrate our love of Christ and commitment to our call.

As my time here is wrapping  up, the importance of this decision is becoming clear. Feeling literally carried in love as I begin this journey reminds me so much of my ordination as a ruling elder 3 years ago. I can still feel the waves of warmth and love from those in the congregation who laid hands on our class and prayed for our service. Since that day, I still can't hear the hymn, "Here I am Lord" without choking back a tear. I particularly like the revised version we sing at Second - rather than going if God leads us, we should be open to going where.

Here I am Lord, is it I Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go Lord, where you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart.

Daniel L. Schutte (revision in italic)

What I do when I'm not doing what I do...

A break from the YAV-ness to give props to my BFF for a moment. I've been involved with Team Sweaty Sheep for about a year now, and have met the most awesome people in the process. So when I'm not filling out visa paperwork or shopping for rain boots, I'm apparently jumping up and down like a fool by the side of the road. In case you weren't already aware, check out the video below for proof that I am a goofball:



For those of you lucky ducks who get to go to GA next week - don't forget to say hi to my Sweaty Sheep teammates, who will be riding their bikes up from Louisville!

Two months!

Two months from today, I will be boarding a plane for Stony Point. Yesterday, I turned in the last of my preparatory paperwork, so now I am free to focus on purging my storage unit, packing, and finishing up the rest of my fundraising requirements.

I am blown away by your support of my upcoming journey. Thanks to your support, I have raised over $7500 so far! (If you have sent a donation but don't see your name on the ticker - never fear! Sometimes it takes awhile for the donation to be filed, and for me to receive notification.)

As I've mentioned in the past, my $8000 goal is only a fraction of what it costs the denomination to cover my programmatic expenses... as well as travel, visas, stipends, health insurance, housing and food allowance for the coming year. Anything collected above the minimum is still credited toward my trip - I would love to exceed this goal!

I appreciate the kind words and notes that have been arriving at my door (/ inbox) in a steady stream since March. Your encouragement means so much to me. If you feel moved to support my year, I've included a few options below:

1. Pray for me!
2. Spread the word
• Tell people about the Young Adult Volunteer program, my work at Fortwilliam and Macrory Presbyterian Church and the Vine Community and Advice Centre.
3. Keep in touch
• I already have my address and phone numbers for while I'm away, but rather than post them on the internet, please email tricia.mcreynolds [at] gmail.com to request it!
• Add my blog to your RSS feed or via one of the links in the side bar.
4. Pledge financial support
• Give a tax-deductible contribution as a one-time gift or in installments over the course of my year of service.
• Give online at http://gamc.pcusa.org/give/E210105/ or
• Send a check made payable to the PC(USA) at P.O. Box 643700; Pittsburgh, PA  15264-3700. Include on the memo line of the check my name and the number E210105.

Paperwork is the name of the game

Hello everyone, just thought I'd pop in and let you know how it's all going. Obviously the blog will be more exciting once I actually get to Belfast, but I don't want to leave all 5 of my loyal followers hanging! ;-)

This week is the deadline for most of our YAV paperwork - so I've been putting the finishing touches on insurance forms and visa applications, spending a lot of time at the doctor's office (blood work - eek!), and writing thank you cards. Lots of thank you cards - because I'm now within $500 of my goal!

Every time I think I can't be more excited to begin this adventure, I immediately prove myself wrong. Is it time to start packing, yet?

Hopefully I'll have more to report next time. Until then, all my love.

Saying goodbye...

So I touched on it briefly in my last post - the difficulty of saying goodbye.

(I write this post in the interest of transparency I've promised to this blog and my experiences with the YAV program - but I'm going to save it until I get back to Kentucky. Mostly because I don't know that I can hold it together if my mom reads this before I go. Mom, you've been warned.)

On each trip to Orlando, I typically try to find time to visit some places that hold special significance: a walk through part of the neighborhood I've lived in since preschool, a trip to the park or my old home church. During this particular trip, however, these experiences were especially poignant - as many felt like a final farewell.

So much has changed in my hometown in the 10+ years since I've moved to Kentucky, and the strong memories I hold with these places are beginning to fade (the true testament to this being that I actually got lost driving home by a once-familiar route).

This time, I walked past the house my grandparents lived in for 40+ years and remembered all the little details of growing up there. I looked at the front door, and muscle memory told me exactly what it would feel like to open the latch. Even though my grandparents moved out years ago, seeing a For Sale sign in the yard made me feel like I'd never see the house again.

On Sunday, I visited the church I attended from birth through college... and recognized a total of about 5 people in the 3,950 member congregation. The sermon highlighting their recent switch from PC(USA) to EPC made me feel like even more of an outsider. I quietly said my goodbyes after the service, and honestly don't know that I'll ever go back.
 

Saying goodbye to places is tough, but I've begun to realize how monumentally difficult it will be to say goodbye to my family. Typically stoic, I completely lost it this evening when I dropped my grandma at her apartment after dinner and it hit me that I won't be back home for almost a year and a half.

I know there will be more goodbyes in the months to come. I've even taught my mom to Skype. Part of me hopes that my other goodbyes will go smoothly and tear-free (which is much more my style, actually) - but the other part of me feels blessed to have these relationships that make it so difficult to leave.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

-Carol Sobieski, Annie

Slán go fóill

We're raising our glasses to Tricia,
She's leaving and that is our issue,
Have fun in Belfast,
But hurry back fast,

'Cause while you are gone we will miss ya!

- Jake C.

Tonight, my mom and stepdad hosted a fantastic party, full of people I've known throughout my life: old friends and new, cousins, coworkers and significant others... all gathered in my honor for my last visit to Orlando before I leave for Belfast. It was wonderful and humbling to be surrounded in love by these people who have known me my entire life. Of course, as usual, my mother cooked far too much food and a good time was had by all!

The title of this post is slán go fóill - which means in English, "Good bye for now". While it will be difficult to leave my family and friends (3 months to the day from today), I will carry with me the hopes, love and prayers of those who have shaped me over the years and left an indelible mark on my heart in the process. It is truly awesome to have the support of so many as I prepare for this journey. But for now I head to bed, happy and with a new sense of purpose.  I feel that I can't say it enough, but I'll say it again:

THANK YOU!