This afternoon alumni from the Lancaster Urban Project (now called Sidewalks) gathered in the project’s home on East End Avenue in Lancaster. The project has grown and contracted over the years, originally begun in 2000 and having several fallow years before being revitalized in 2009. Today we had an alumna from the original summer team and a scattering of alumni from the intervening years.
We began with a simple reflection question: “What was significant for us?” We looked back to those summer we lived and served and learned in Lancaster city, and we remembered how our lives have been changed. Here’s what we said:
- It was in my summer in Lancaster that I first realized that Jesus cared about the poor.
- It was in Lancaster that my eyes were opened to the significant needs in the city, especially in education.
- It was in Lancaster that I discovered God’s heart for justice, as we studied the book of Isaiah. Especially Isaiah 58, when God tells us our worship is meaningless without justice in our lives.
- It was in Lancaster that my eyes were opened to the complexities of culture, and to realize that there is not a monolithic white perspective.
- It was in Lancaster that for the first time in my life, I was honest about what was presently going on for me.
- It was in that first summer project that I was introduced to the city of Lancaster, the place that became my home for the past ten years.
- It was in Lancaster that my eyes were opened to see the people around me, not just respond in fear to an unfamiliar setting where I was the minority.
Many life-changing things have happened in Lancaster through these urban projects. Our lives have been changed, and we live in those changes today.
Nine students move in this Wednesday. How will they be different because of this experience? They’ll be sharing their thoughts on this blog, so be sure to check back here during these next six weeks.
