This week was a fantastic week. I was privileged with the opportunity to host a large youth group from Midland, TX.
Now, I grew up in western
Washington State and go to school in Idaho, so I'd be the first to admit that the Pacific Northwest (and all
its stereotypes) have left obvious marks on my life. I drink too much coffee, have
a beard, and shun all those who carry umbrellas in the rain. These students
from Texas similarly embodied the stereotypes of west Texas that I've heard. There were
students with parents who were ranchers, oil field workers, and football
coaches; all of whom would be on the trip. Oh, how
different we are.
These two worlds collided for a week in Nashville, a beautiful
city and my home for the summer. Every morning, my group and I went to YCAP, a
summer program ran by the YMCA of East Nashville and staffed by Vanderbilt
football players (sidenote: never have I felt more physically inferior - I wish
I would have started working out when I was 12 and never stopped, because maybe
then I would be able to lift half as much as some of those guys). We spent
every morning playing at least one five-on-five basketball game with some of
the participants of YCAP, with teams mixed with Texans, YCAP students, Vandy
football players, and me. What resulted was something beautiful, sometimes
horrendous, but always basketball. At least you could call it basketball.
Since arriving in Nashville, I have recognized my “otherness”,
or just the general differences between myself and the people that live here. I
am from a white, middle-class, educated family from the Pacific Northwest. Most
of the people I have met here do not share this same cultural upbringing or
background. The beautiful thing I have noticed in the four weeks I have been
here is that, to be honest, it doesn’t matter.
As cliche' as it may sound, it doesn’t matter if you’re
black, white, purple, or green - we are all God’s children.
Likewise, we all have a place in the Kingdom of God and the redemption of the
world that is already underway. The students from Texas and Nashville, despite
their differences, bonded because we were all able to laugh when I air-balled
again, again, and again. My serving group was able to get a glimpse of
ecumenical and inclusive ministry at all of the sites we participated in this
week, and see the beauty of the melting pot of God’s Kingdom.
As this group leaves to go home to west Texas, they are taking
with them invaluable knowledge: people in Nashville, no matter how different
they are, are people, too. Believing that statement with your head and heart is
what it takes to make a difference towards equality and justice in a broken
world. This is a piece of the knowledge that it takes to co-labor with Christ
in the bringing of the Kingdom.
- Shaun, CSM Nashville Summer 2014 City Host
- Shaun, CSM Nashville Summer 2014 City Host