Students reflect on their church neighborhoods

Choral music teacher John D. Smucker writes the following:

Where do you see Jesus? At school, at home, and at church are obvious answers for me, but what about in a poor neighborhood or outside of our comfort zones? If you are like me, you spend most of your time at work or at home. My house in Goshen is in a nice neighborhood with a wide socio-economic mix of families: some speak Spanish, English, or both. Young children play at the park across the street, and older folks often walk by our house on their way to the canal.

Recently I assigned my junior-senior choir at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen, Ind., to walk in their church neighborhoods for an hour each week for four weeks. Along with this assignment each student read the Feb. 17 issue of The Mennonite, in which senior Juanita Klassen observed a common theme: "that in order to really help people and understand what they are going through, we need to meet them where they are at, and learn about their stories and struggles." At the same time of this assignment, our Spiritual Life Week speaker, Shane Claiborne, shared stories of his work and life experiences "loving God, loving people, and following Jesus" in his neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pa. So each student had food for thought as they walked and reflected on their own journey of faith. Following are reflections from four students:

Senior Mary Roth (Berkey Avenue Mennonite) says, "I wasn't too thrilled about this assignment initially. I suppose I fit into the large percentage of Christians who live a narrow faith-one of comfortable worship and individual relationships. But as I've been walking through low-income neighborhoods I have recognized some interesting observations about how I relate my faith to the world."

Junior Harrison Beachey (North Goshen Mennonite) says, "Perhaps if people had closer relationships to the people in the community they would be more willing to help."

Junior Sara Klassen (Hively Avenue Mennonite), who walked and talked with her mentor, says, "We concluded that to fulfill the service this assignment inspires, it would be best to be a constant presence in the neighborhoods explored. In order to not be seen as outsiders who don't belong, but rather as people who simply want to be a part of the community regardless of income levels, footsteps must be laid every week alongside the construction of relationships."

Senior Elyse Morgan (Trinity United Methodist) says, "As I walked I began to wonder about my place in the world and what I was supposed to do as a member of God's Kingdom. How am I supposed to make a difference? As a teenager, people are constantly watching to make sure that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to. I have begun to realize that I don't have to do what other people want. What I want, and God wants for me, must always include love. I want to show others a glimpse of God's love."

I often write quotes on the board of my classroom to challenge and provoke thought. During this assignment one of these quotes was: "only five percent of the music is on the page. The rest is your life." I wonder if we can apply this to more than music? Can we say, "only five percent of Christianity is on the page (Bible); the rest is your life"? I think this is what my students have just taught me about sharing Christ's love.