July 17, 2006

CityVoices readers,

This mid-summer issue of CityVoices marks a change in publishing format (again). For one, we're now SCUPE's CityVoices. As the official publication of SCUPE, you'll be hearing much more about the academic and ministry resources available through the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education in Chicago. In future editions of SCUPE's CityVoices, you'll learn about the people, programs and visions that are helping train and educate tomorrow's urban church ministers. Look for opportunities that are particularly geared to your own church and community needs.

Secondly, SCUPE's CityVoices will now be published on a bi-monthly basis, six times each year. Three editions each year will be print publications (in addition to our regular emailed versions). If you want to make sure that you receive our printed edition focusing on what's happening here at SCUPE, please send a quick reply to either roger@scupe.com or roger@cityvoices.com with the words - SEND PRINT EDITION along with your correct mailing address.
I look forward to hearing from many of you!

With this edition, we are offering you stories of some of the best urban service opportunities for young adults. We feature an interview with Mohan Zachariah, most recently director of MissionYear, the urban mission organization founded by Bart Campolo. You'll find Mo's words both informative and challenging for you or anyone considering how to best serve God in the city on a short-term basis.

In addition, short descriptions of Jesuit Volunteer Corp, Lutheran Volunteer Corp, Mennonite Voluntary Service and Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteers follow. You'll find lots of similarities in each program. They're decidedly urban, and they're almost entirely a one-year commitment to Christian service. One year isn't a long time, but a committed volunteer servant can accomplish much and learn even more for the long haul.

Also note our review of Robert Linthicum's "Building a People of Power," one of the best urban publications of 2006.

Roger Johnson - SCUPE's CityVoices
roger@scupe.com

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MissionYear: "A Lot Can Happen in One Year"

(Mohan Zachariah is Executive Director of MissionYear - a national urban ministry operating in Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta and Oakland. Founded in
1997 by Bart Campolo, MissionYear describes itself as "a radical opportunity for Christian young people to put into practice the simplest and most important commandment of Jesus: "Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.")

Q. -- Mo, explain the basics of the MissionYear program.

It is one year of urban mission service for 18-29 year-olds. Our recruits live in a rented house nearby their community service site and their church.
Each recruit has a job and a worshipping community right where they live.
Here in Chicago, MissionYear teams are located at Rock of Our Salvation Church in Austin, New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, Lawndale Community Church and New Life Covenant's church plant in Pilsen.

Q. -- This sounds like an expensive program. How do people pay for their year in any city?

Our recruits raise about $9,600 for salary and living expenses each year.
They live simply with only $17.50 per week for groceries, and $70-$80 per month for living expenses. We cover rent, transportation costs and books for our classes.

Q. -- Is the primary goal a young person's growth, or service to the church and community?

It's about the work: church and community. We don't exist just for the development of young people. But individual growth is a by-product of our program. We take discipleship very seriously. In each city we have a city director who is a pastor for our team members. At the end of the year, some people will say, "MissionYear changed my life!"

Q. -- What can your people accomplish in only one year?

We've arrived at the mentality that a lot of things can happen during one year! Certain teachers were with you for only one year, yet they had a great impact on your life. We maximize what our people can accomplish during their one year. They can teach somebody how to read. They can aid a nonprofit organization in big ways. A lot of our people are tutors and teachers' aids in public schools. Some lead Bible studies in their churches. MissionYear alumni will frequently remain in their communities and stay involved in one way or another.

This fall, we are developing a program for MissionYear alumni to go to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to serve in some very specific relief tasks.
We'll
have at least 10 people serving in that region. We want to head toward providing more of these "second-year" opportunities of service.

Q. -- Mo, talk about recruiting MissionYear volunteers and opportunities for service in other cities.

We get calls all the time from people wanting MissionYear to come to their communities. It's hard to meet those needs, simply because it's hard to recruit people. 30 people per city is our optimal number. If pastors in a new city called and asked for 8 or 12 people, we'd have to say we couldn't do it unless we recruited enough people. Also, there would have to be sufficient local start-up funding and a city director on-hand. One way we do work is to use our experience and our handbook to train local organizations in other cities to do a "MissionYear-type" ministry of their own.

Q. -- Where do you see the MissionYear model for service and training headed?

We've always wanted to grow quickly rapidly with thousands of young people.
But it just hasn't happened that way. Instead we've worked with 30, 60, 90 or 120 young people at a time. We still want to grow, so that we can be in more cities each year.

We want to do more of this because it's good for the neighborhoods we serve.
In years to come, we'll begin to form communities and create new models of ministry. Our alumni are key in all of this. We may grow by providing "second-year options" for our alumni.

Q. -- Mo, what does a local church get out of the MissionYear team's involvement?

It's a very tangible thing. We ask team members to be at the church service on Sunday and one other church gathering during the week. Our team members will be part of a church choir. They'll teach Sunday school. They may be part of a Wednesday night Bible study. They get involved in a variety of things, just as other lay people. MissionYear teams are not on church staff.
They are members of their local church.

Q. -- Where are you recruiting people from? Christian college campuses, or elsewhere?

They come from a lot of Christian colleges, with our founder, Bart Campolo, and his father, Tony Campolo being the major recruiters. We'll also work through InterVarsity and Campus Crusade contacts on secular campuses.

Q. -- Most mission and student programs seem to be dominated by young women.
Why
is that so?

I don't know. I think within America's Christian culture, if you want to do ministry and you're a young male, then you go the route of pastor, and that's it. I don't know if young men have seen enough good models of ministry other than being pastor of a church. You can be in lay ministry, you can move into a neighborhood with another job, and have a ministry.

Q. -- Where are you MissionYear alumni going after their year of urban service?

Some are going to seminary, a few into overseas missions, some go into community development. We've got other folks who stay right in their neighborhoods in Atlanta or Oakland or and continue to work at their community service site. They take a job in the neighborhood.

Q. -- Where would you like to see MissionYear go in the next two or three years?

I'm excited about our alumni possibilities. We do amazing things with our teams during their mission year, and then we don't have anything for them once that is over. We tell them to go to CCDA or World Vision websites. But we want to start providing concrete opportunities for people. That's why I'm so excited about our new opportunities for alumni service in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. I'd love to see our program grow not just with first-year people, but with second-year service as well.

Q. -- Could you partner with a church denomination in training their young people for urban service through MissionYear?

Absolutely. We already have a relationship with the Presbyterian Church
(USA) through their Young Adult Volunteer Corp. In Atlanta the funding for some of our married couples ministry comes from the YAV program. Our Gulf Coast program will be a partnership between MissionYear and the Young Adult Volunteer program. MissionYear does a good job in training and deploying people.

Contact: Mohan Zachariah, MissionYear, 2520 S. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60608, (888) 340-YEAR, info@missionyear.org, http://www.missionyear.org

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Jesuit Volunteer Corp

Each year, more than 300 young men and women nationwide make their commitment to one year of service with Jesuit Volunteer Corp. This commitment is lived out in a variety of ways - the most important is how the volunteers practice the interconnected values of social justice, spirituality, simple lifestyle and community.

For Jesuit volunteers, the commitment to the integration of these four values doesn't end when they finish their year of service. Formation in these four values is a significant reason why the thousands of former Jesuit volunteers form a vibrant community around the country.

Jesuit volunteers serve as teachers and staff in Jesuit educational institutions. They may also serve in social ministry and pastoral ministry capacities at Jesuit parishes and Jesuit apostolates. Placements are offered by the five domestic regions of Jesuit Volunteer Corp (JVC) and Jesuit Volunteers International.

Jesuit volunteers serving in the East work and live in cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore where poverty, racism, addiction, abuse, and unemployment are prevalent. In the Midwest, JVC serves in Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis, putting volunteers to work in the day-to-day struggles with homelessness, hunger, domestic violence, substance abuse, and illiteracy. Jesuit volunteers in the Southwest live and serve in metro areas like San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. Southwest volunteers are introduced to the complex problems of urban life, including lack of affordable housing, racial tension, poverty and hunger.

Americans need adequate housing, quality education, good jobs and affordable health insurance. Each year, Jesuit Volunteer Corps supports the service agencies and schools that help meet those needs. JVC is looking for talented and dedicated people who have a desire to answer the call to apostolic service as Jesuit Volunteers.

Jesuit Volunteer Corp is founded in the Ignatian tradition. Jesuit volunteers draw inspiration and direction from the traditions of the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556). He sought to integrate a life of prayer with active work to further the Reign of God. Ignatian spirituality is realistic. A Jesuit lives as a contemplative in action. His life involves prayer, retreats, community gatherings and a renewal of vision. Like Jesuits, Jesuit volunteers are invited to share the same elements that make up the spirituality of the Jesuits.

Jesuit Volunteer Corps welcomes women and men 21 years of age or older who have a college degree or applicable work experience. A volunteer's year is full of new experiences. Faith, flexibility and a sense of humor are essential!

Contact: Jesuit Volunteer Corp East, 801 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, (410) 244-1744, jvceast@jesuitvolunteers.org, Jesuit Volunteer Corp Midwest, P.O. Box 21936, Detroit, MI 48221,
(313) 345-3580, jvcmw@jesuitvolunteers.org; Jesuit Volunteer Corp Southwest, P.O. Box 40039, San Francisco, CA 94140,
(415) 522-1599, jvcsw@jesuitvolunteers.org; http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/

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Lutheran Volunteer Corp: To Preserve, Nurture and Sustain Life

Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) is a year-long service program for people 21 and over seeking to unite faith, social justice, community living and simplicity. Volunteers are matched with non-profit organizations in metropolitan areas across the United States. They work full-time in positions ranging from direct social services, to political advocacy, community organizing, education and activism while living in intentional community.

LVC serves in: Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle, Tacoma, Washington (DC), Wilmington (DE) and Oakland. In each city, Volunteers carry out their vision of caring for the earth and working for justice for the oppressed, integrating faith and action, sharing life in intentional community and supporting the church as it works for freedom and justice.

Begun at Luther Place Church in Washington, DC, in 1976, LVC developed the one-year program - "a year of service, a lifetime of commitment" - based on Micah's biblical question of what the Lord require of me, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with my God. By 1984-85, LVC had expanded to Jersey City and Chicago. Subsequent years saw growth and expansion to Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1991 and Seattle and Tacoma in the mid-1990s.

Lutheran Volunteer Corps long-range plans include: deepen an understanding of the organization's core tenets (social justice, intentional community, sustainable living and simple lifestyles) and an engagement in community religion in the pursuit of justice and peace.

Contact: Lutheran Volunteer Corp, 1226 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 387-3222, lvcrecruitment@lutheranvolunteercorps.org;
http://www.lutheranvolunteercorps.org

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Mennonite Voluntary Service: Rooted in the Spirit of Jesus

Started in 1944, Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) is the oldest continuing voluntary service program in Mennonite circles. Thousands of Mennonites and increasingly people from other denominations have served people who are marginalized in America over the past five decades.

Mennonite Voluntary Service invites people young adults from a variety of backgrounds to walk with the disadvantaged people. In either one- or two-year terms of service, volunteers participate in local neighborhoods and faith communities, live simply in shared household where relationships are affirmed and have the chance to serve as an extension of a local congregation. MVS provides placement for men and women, recent college graduates and retirees, as well as some families.

Contact: Mennonite Voluntary Service, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22802, (866) 866-2872, info@ MennoniteMission.net, http://www.mennonitemission.net/Work/Service/MVS/

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Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteers: Opportunities for Christian Service

The Presbyterian Church USA offers exciting opportunities for service in 18 ministry sites, both at home and abroad, many of them urban or urban-oriented. All sites are communities of need. They range from the Santa Cruz Reconciliation Project in California, to Dwell Atlanta in Georgia, to Miami's D.O.O.R. Program and Village Youth Ministry in Alaska.

Specific job descriptions depend on the needs partner organizations and the skills of Young Adult Volunteers. In their placements, volunteers work with their church or organization right along with developing their own Christian community. They meet regularly for prayer and Bible study with other Young Adult Volunteers. Funding of this program is shared by the Presbyterian Church USA and the volunteer's own supporting congregation(s).

Contact: Young Adult Volunteers, Mission Service Recruitment, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202, (888) 728-7228 x2530, msr@ctr.pcusa.org, http://www.pcusa.org/msr/youngadult.htm

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Must Read!

"Building a People of Power: Equipping Churches to Transform Their Communities," by Robert C. Linthicum, Authentic / World Vision, 2006

Those who know Bob Linthicum, realize that this is the kind of book he's wanted to write for many, many years. "Building a People of Power" is about the Bible and God's principles, city churches, and the potential for unleashing the power of organizing within churches and their surrounding communities.

Bob is a true believer in the gospel, and the gospel of community organizing. That becomes very clear in a quick reading of the book's first chapters. He quickly introduces his readers to his over-arching theme of
shalom: a biblical, spiritual, societal and economic principle for the kind of community God wants for his people. An ever-fuller understanding of shalom is unveiled throughout "Building a People of Power," stemming from both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.

In many ways the culmination of a career of thinking, organizing, teaching and preaching, Linthicum's book is at once theological and practical. Some of his most demanding and instructive comments are saved for the book's final chapter: "Building a Church of Power" in which he focuses on local churches and community organizing. In closing, Linthicum states, "God's people are called by scripture to practice charity toward the poor (Deut.
15: 10-11) and are to advocate the cause of the powerless before the systems of power (Jer. 22: 13-27). But the greater emphasis throughout the Scripture is commitment to the self-determination and self-initiative of the poor."

To purchase "Building a People of Power," contact Sue Wier at Partners in Urban Transformation, partnersoffice@sbcglobal.net, (661) 821-0656. Price is $20.

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September's SCUPE's CityVoices:

In our next edition we'll bring you to date on academic developments in several SCUPE programs, as well as featured classes for the fall and winter and how you can register for these excellent urban resources. You will also hear from SCUPE's President, Dave Frenchak.

Once again, to receive the print edition of SCUPE's CityVoices, please send a quick reply to either roger@scupe.com or roger@cityvoices.com with the words - SEND PRINT EDITION along with your correct mailing address. I'll look forward to hearing from you!

Roger Johnson, Communications Director - SCUPE 200 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 726-1200, roger@scupe.com