Learning Better Together

This morning we got to sleep in a little, and went to the Noor Islamic Cultural Center where Jeri gave us a basic Islam 101 crash course. Her insight was especially interesting to me because she grew up Christian but converted to Islam later in life and joined Noor when it was established five years ago. She emphasized the connections between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and how Islam can be seen as a continuation of the other Abrahamic religions. She then took us on a tour of the beautiful mosque that serves over three thousand Muslims in Central Ohio.

From the Mosque we went back to the Restore (after getting a little lost, but what’s a trip without some adventure?) and made some new friends, a few from other universities and some community members that came to donate their time after work. Luckily this time Coady had some actual trained help with him and we were able to do more and help more people.

For dinner we went to Summit United Methodist Church, where Pastor Lucy and a few students and other church member hosted us with lasagna and cake! We learned a little about the Methodist faith and had conversations about service: why we do it and how it could be better. Several people shared stories about experiences that made service special to them.

My personal purpose for doing service is to maintain balance.  I’ve been very privileged in my life: I grew up in a great family, and I was given every opportunity to succeed, and now I feel obligated (in the best sense) to help others who were not given the advantages I was, through no fault of their own, to achieve their dreams. I also believe that I have a tendency to get wrapped up in my own “problems” and when I do, I’m miserable, but if I have an opportunity to step back from that, and to see the problems of someone else I’m reminded of my privilege.
Later we talked about the ways in which service could be improved both for those being served and for those serving. Bob spoke about the tendency of people who do service to place themselves as the hero in such situations, while not allowing people to “become the heroes of their own narratives”. I think that’s a good point—that we can’t really do good without helping others to do good for themselves, and giving them agency in their own lives.

All in all, it was another great day. We’re all pretty dead tired, but still found time to discuss our own beliefs or lack of beliefs in God, and I think we’ve all been enriched by our discussions so far. I know I have.

Tomorrow we begin working on a house, which will be a new experience for all of us. I look forward to having a real impact on the lives of the family that will live there, and hop that we will be filled with new lessons to further enrich us. But now, I have to remind myself not to become “the hero.”

(oh, and Pastor Lucy gave us play dough, and we made this)

~Madeline Steele Stockwell