4/12/2018 0 Comments Spring FeverIt’s April, and supposedly spring despite the chilly temperatures; however, I will say that after visiting the Boston YAVs this past weekend, I have gained a greater appreciation for DC weather. All-in-all, life is going well in the nation’s capital. March was a busy month with Pilgrimage spring break groups and Lent consuming the majority of my time, but now that it’s April, I feel like I can breathe again. I have always loved spring. Growing up in Mississippi, we had a field of daffodils in front of our house. The bright yellow flowers contrasting against the relatively gray gloom of late winter always brought me joy. We had several different varieties of the flowers so we had blooms from January through Easter. In DC this joy has not faded; I pick the flowers and put them around the church. I walk around the Rock Creek Parkway behind the Church of the Pilgrims where the hills are covered with these fragrant yellow harbingers of spring. I am now going to the gardens and museums that I had postponed visiting until the flowers bloomed. I have also embraced the most famous of DC’s flowers, the cherry blossoms. Here in DC it is cherry blossom season. In November, I took a ranger led tour of the National Mall where the ranger explained the origins and history of the Japanese cherry blossoms in DC. As spring approached, I kept updating peak bloom time (based on NPS “cherry blossom watch”) on our house calendar so that my roommates and I could wake up before the tourists and take in springtime in DC. On Easter after sunrise service at the Lincoln Memorial, I walked around the tidal basin and took pictures of the cherry blossoms (way too many if you ask Sarah Jeanne, one of the Boston YAVs) just before they reached peak bloom. I even bought a new Metrocard just because this one had a picture of cherry blossoms on it. This Saturday is the Cherry Blossom Parade and I plan on braving the tourists to attend. All of this to say I love spring and am discovering new and beautiful ways to love this city I now call home. The District of Columbia continues to surprise and amaze me. On our one real snow day, I went to a mass snowball fight on the National Mall with a few hundred new friends. I have heard Mayor Muriel Bowser speak six times explaining why she loves this city. I have made connections with the participants of Charlie’s Place, a service organization for those experiencing homelessness, where I volunteer on Tuesday mornings. Many of the participants call me Mississippi, which seems to me harder to remember than Sam! When I went with the other DC YAVs to talk about the YAV Program at First Presbyterian Arlington, one of the members at the Church of the Pilgrims told me how much he had missed seeing me that Sunday. Now, when I walk down the street, I am asked for directions instead of being asked if I am lost. I have built community, explored this city, struggled with public transportation, and seen what it means to be a “church” in the middle of the city. DC residents are fighters; they constantly face displacement, a rising cost of living, taxation without representation, and disparities between the beliefs of the city and the current administration. Maybe it’s the spring flowers that have renewed my optimism, but I want to keep watching DC fight for its people who love this city for more than just the monuments. I have begun looking for jobs and opportunities that would enable me to stay here when my YAV position has ended. (If you have any job leads, I would not be opposed to assistance). Ways you can continue to support me along this journey:
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1/29/2018 1 Comment It's all about Community, Right?This week I got to eat dinner with two of the Asheville, North Carolina YAVs and I realized that the problems I was stressing over were not exclusive to Washington DC. One of my biggest takeaways from attempting to live into the YAV core tenets (Intentional Christian Community, Simple Living, Cross Cultural Mission, Leadership Development Through Faith in Action, and Vocational Discernment) is that intentional community is hard. As someone who appreciates functional systems, I encouraged the creation of systems to ensure cooking, cleaning, shopping, and house meetings occurred regularly and efficiently. Unfortunately, I looked past the very different personalities living in the house, and the house turned into a group of acquaintances living decently together in the machine I created. There were few moments of compassion, bonding, or community building that occurred. When we realized this during our YAV retreat the last weekend of October, we made moves to finally increase the trust needed for a real community to flourish. We named our house Britney Spears (because Britney Spears and Presbyterians are anagrams) and drafted a community covenant (Some lines have been removed because they contain inside jokes that may not make sense outside of our home): We the residents of (REDACTED) in the land of Washington in the Federal District of Columbia, in order to successfully live in intentional community, have agreed upon and established the following items to serve as the year-long community covenant for the House of Britney Spears. As a Christian community we understand that a covenant is a solemn agreement between the members of a community to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel and is therefore stronger than a mere contract. We recognize that peoples are strongest when in community and therefore we agree to share responsibilities that are beneficial to the good of the house including, but not limited to: Grocery shopping, meal preparation, house care and wellness, respecting and cleaning personal and communal spaces, payment of bills and expenses, and attending weekly meetings. Members also agree to the planning and participation of community building activities that encourage exploration of this great city, the care for houseplants (as they serve as an extension of God’s beautiful creation), and the upkeep of a communal calendar. To be at our best, we must communicate honestly and compassionately, share our needs with one another, work through needs together, respect boundaries and personal space, ask for help openly and freely, never devalue one another, and mutually encourage during this year of discernment. Finally, we address that the communal house seating system exists and will continue to exist in a state of anarchy, the name of our heroine, Britney Spears, shall never be taken in vain (For if she can survive 2007 we will survive this year), (REDACTED), (REDACTED). In testimony henceforth on this First day in the month of December in the year of our Lord two thousand and seventeen, the signatures affixed of the residents and the site coordinator commit to this covenant in order to Eat, Live, Love, and Laugh together as one community. We also had more parties, planned bonding events inside and outside the home (bar trivia, zoo lights, Christmas card pictures, ice skating, brunch, cooking a meal together for the Georgetown rotating shelter, board game nights, etc.), and have truly attempted to live into our covenant and make the DC YAV community as successful as possible. No system works perfectly (especially when it is established for four 20-somethings who are still discovering their place in this world). We argue, we experience external stressors, we get frustrated, but we are truly in a better place than we were in September/October. Intentional community is hard, even when I was surrounded by communities of like-minded people in college. Now I have to work toward successful relationships in my house, my job placement, and my social life. It is easy to want to give up at times and I get frustrated when progress doesn’t occur as fast as I would like, but I made a commitment to live into intentional community. It would be a disservice to my time in DC if I just did what was easy and avoided the challenging aspects of my life. Ways you can continue to support me along this journey:
11/9/2017 3 Comments Here I am, Lord“Being Called” has always been an interesting concept to me. In my life I have almost always heard it referring to how someone realized they were meant for ministry. Even though I have been working at a church for two months now, I still do not plan to attend seminary after this year. However, since being in this new city, I have begun to dive deeper into my exploration of God’s calling on my life. So here I am in the nation’s capital. New city, new job, new church, new housemates. The newness I have felt during this move has been overwhelming at times. I thought I was pretty adept at handling change, but every change brings with it new challenges and new opportunities to learn and grow. I already love living in the District. There is an energy that flows through this city and makes everything seem a little more hopeful. Everyone is passionate about something, and that is incredibly inspiring. My placement at Church of the Pilgrims is going wonderfully. I love this church, and I feel at home every time I see the tower as I walk down P-Street and every time I stand in the glow of our sanctuary’s stained glass windows. The people here are fascinating and their love for this church community is contagious. My first week here I was tasked with reading Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life. This book in essence explores the art of using the examen method to examine your life and to build meaningful relationships with those around you (It’s a short, easy read that I highly recommend). I am going to use this method to give a short review of my first couple months in Washington DC. What has given me life during this time?
What has been life draining these couple months?
Ways you can continue to support me along this journey:
8/18/2017 3 Comments Mr. Russell Goes to WashingtonI’m coming to you live from Okay Yeah! my favorite place in Oklahoma City. This coffee shop helped me maintain my sanity multiple times during my tenure in this city. On Monday I head to Stony Point, NY, for YAV orientation. After months of prayer and preparation, ready or not here I come!
One of the things that initially drew me to D.C. was the opportunity to be placed at Church of the Pilgrims/The Pilgrimage. I felt like this would allow me to use my gifts to truly serve others. This community also seemed like a place where I could belong. Speaking to the church staff during my interviews reminded me of the close-knit church communities I’ve been a part of in the past such as First Presbyterian Church Pontotoc, First Methodist Pontotoc’s Youth Group, Camp Hopewell, SIFAT, Cornerstone Methodist Church in Tupelo, First Presbyterian Oxford, and Ukirk Ole Miss. Due to my unpredictable work schedule, being a part of a loving church community is something that was absent in my life while in Oklahoma City. I recently discovered that I got my wish and will get to serve this unique congregation while in DC. I get to work with some incredible people over the next year from church staff to groups from around the United States who come to volunteer around the city. This summer I took a chance to reconnect with friends, family members, and places that have meant a lot to me and made me into the man I am today. I have been a part of many loving communities in my life and I am so thankful for everyone who has loved me up to this point. I loved returning to Camp Hopewell and using my unique skill set to provide campers with the best possible week at camp. I truly love camp counseling and while returning was not part of my initial life plan, God has a way of surprising you. I was challenged by my campers and coworkers and I believe that camp prepared me for my year of service as it prepared me for college back in 2012 and 2013. Going to a new city is not new to me, but it never gets easier. Change is difficult and while I am excited about the possibilities the nation’s capital offers, fear and anxiety are a constant presence. This move has new challenges, the greatest of which being I will miss the birth of my nephew Reece. I applied to YAV before I learned the exciting news and actually considered turning down the offer to serve in DC. After talking with Alex and working at one of my special places (Camp Hopewell), I decided that change is good and God will be with me on this journey. Alex and Holly will just have to be prepared for many a Facetime call from me. If you are reading this and wondering how you can help me on my newest adventure: · Pray for me and for the people with whom I will live and serve this year. It will be a year of growth, change, and adventure and your prayers would be so appreciated. · Follow my experience by reading or following my blog! I will be updating periodically with stories of my time in DC and would be excited to read your reactions in the comments section! I am new to blog writing, but I will try to stay on top of it and hopefully my posts will improve and be interesting to my readers. · Send me mail! I love receiving letters, notes, and packages. As a camp counselor, I learned to appreciate the art of snail mail. It helps me remember how blessed I am to be connected to so many wonderful people. If you want to send a card or a note just ask me for my address. Another goal of mine this year is to do better about respond to the mail I receive, so I would love to write you letters back! · Contribute to my fundraising efforts! Each YAV is asked to fundraise at least $4000 to help finance their year of service, but going above and beyond is fabulous and helps the program immensely. You can donate online at http://www.presbyterianmission.org/donate/e051477/ by entering the amount that you’d like to donate and then adding “Sam Russell” to the comment box that will appear when you’re asked for your billing address, or by sending a check made out to the PCUSA to Presbyterian Church (USA) Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700 Pittsburgh, PA 15264. On the memo line, include my name and the number E051477. If you’re interested in learning more about the organization(s) I’ll be working with, here are the links! http://www.thepilgrimage.org/ http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/ With much love, Samuel Claiborne Russell |
AuthorMy name is Sam Russell. I am 23 years old and determined to discover more about the world and my place in it. I love exploring, travelling, learning, and enjoying nature. In May of 2016, I graduated with honors from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) with a degree in business administration. Following graduation, I spent a summer working in Skagway, Alaska (If you’ve never been to Alaska I highly recommend it) before accepting a front desk job at The Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City. Since a young age, I thought I had my entire future as a hotel manager/owner figured out. However, now that I am in the “real world,” my goals are changing, putting me in a period of vocational and spiritual discernment. I believe that adventure is all around us and that we must embrace it and grow from it to become who we are meant to be. Being a Young Adult Volunteer in Washington D.C. is the next step on my journey, and I can’t wait to see what this incredible city has in store for me! Archives
January 2018
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