Still my hope will cling to Your promise.

The first week of January marked the first Urban Intensive held in Philly.  Our theme was Urban Education: Hope Without Help.

Our housing site filled with 8 passionate college students, committed to praying for and learning more about education in Philadelphia, engaging in thoughtful dialogues with one another and new friends from around the city and to consider ways of being agents of transformation in their own contexts.

The days followed the basic pattern of beginning the day in Scriptures, reminding ourselves of the hope found in Christ, followed up by a time of conversation over specific issues in the education system (literacy, poverty, race...).  The afternoons were varied with times of meeting with educators, after-school programs directors and students as well as volunteering at several after-school programs.  Our evenings were speckled with events, including a Q & A with educators from around the city, dinner conversations with our friends from City Year and time to process the day as a group.


In a final debrief before returning home, we created a list of our revelations from the week/what we would do now that we had spent this intentional time together. Some of the commitments included:

• Seeking hope in all situations

• Prioritizing relationships - not forgetting that people are first and foremost an image-bearer of Christ.   We don't need an agenda to serve them.

• Intentionally praying, remembering God's bigness and goodness and allowing that to free us from fear. 

• Praying for a heart of love and peace and for a sound mind

• Being a student first, learning from those we teach/serve

- Brittany Nyce, CSM Philadelphia City Director

Learn how YOU can serve with CSM through the Urban Intensive!