The Vineyard is a really beautiful church, and I'm not just talking about the building (which, incidentally enough is lovely - it's a renovated warehouse smack-dab in the middle of the downtown). It's really incredible seeing a church that is so focused on living in community with any person who chooses to come to church. It's a place where the down-and-out feel comfortable going; it's not uncommon to have drunken homeless sitting in the back of church on any given Sunday. And the great part is, there's always someone willing to talk with them.
Our Urban Plunge was a really positive experience this year - definitely not as heartbreaking as last year - but one in which our students had their eyes opened to what exists in a city many of them live in. The first day they go on a 'Learning Tour' which is set up like the Amazing Race - they have clues to follow that lead them around the city and bring them to different ministries where they learn about issues like prostitution, gangs and community living. One of the coolest things I think they're asked to do is literally donate the shirt off their back to a shelter in town. As they're being shown through the clothing room, they're asked to exchange something they're wearing, and boy oh boy did we have some ugly sweaters show up at the end of the day. And 2 pairs of pleather pants... go figure.
In addition they're challenged to take someone out for coffee (they're given $12 dollars to do that and find dinner for the 3 people in their group; a real chance to experience what it's like to struggle to eat) and the stories that they come back with at the end of the day are incredible. It's really neat watching their definition of poverty change over the course of our Urban Plunge. You stop seeing poverty as a lack of basic needs (like money, food, clothes and a place to sleep) and learn that it's about powerlessness, hopelessness, dependance and social isolation. My favourite quote from the week was when one of the speakers said, "The way we think about poverty determines how we react to poverty". How very true. In two years of Outtatown my stereotypes have been really challenged and I hope that I am a better person for it.
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| Harvey teaching about poverty at the Vineyard |
The next 2 days were spent working with various ministries in the city. A big theme we ran across was the idea of community living. Which is space in which the people living together are inter-dependant and share a lot. It's been challenging to many of us to re-define what it means to live well and think about what we could/should do with our possessions. I don't know... I just love watching people break out of the mould of what the world tells us is important and find our own values.
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| the view from the top floor of the Vineyard |
Part of living in the downtown of any large city is exposure to ethnicity. For one of our dinners we took the students out for food that was, in some cases, way out of their comfort zone. But I'll say one thing about these guys for sure - they're willing to jump in! We went for Shwarma (Lebanese), Korean, Mexican and Indian, and everyone came back full and with a smile on their face. I have never eaten so much garlic at one time in my life, but the Shwarma was delicious!
At the end of our 3 days, we left the Vineyard and went back to our camp outside the city with our horizons broadened and better sense of what it meant to be a part of the world. Awesome.
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| sunset at the Vineyard |
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| plunged out and ready to go home |
Cheers,
Sandy
ps. you should check out our site blog as well: www.site2southafrica.blogspot.com (or go through the Outtatown website: www.outtatown.ca). One of my students put together a really fantastic video from the plunge.
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