Philadelphia Youth Service Trip Journal
July 1, 2009 by The Rev. Esme Culver
Day 1:
Well we arrived in Philly this morning at about 9:30 (that’s 6:30 am in Portland) after stopping off in Washington DC/Dulles Airport for about an hour. We didn’t get much sleep between us…the flights were very full and the airports crowded, so we managed a little nap here and there. We were met by the Old First Reformed Church Camp volunteers who showed up with a big white van and five cars to drive us into the heart of the old city to Old First. If you want to know more about where we are staying, go on line and see the web site for , Philadelphia.
Larry and Lee Ann Snyder were already on hand to greet us and had thoughtfully brought in cereal, bagels, fruit and juice which we gratefully received.
We left our baggage in the parish hall….our home for the next six days….and started exploring Old First. History seeps from the halls and walls of the old Sanctuary and we enjoyed the added bonus when Nancy, one of our guides, led us on a guided tour and told us some of the history of the church….complete with an explanation of the old tombstones which surfaced during some renovation! There are hundreds of folks buried below, victims of scarlet fever that raged through the area hundreds of years ago.
It didn’t take long for all of us to find a mattress and claim our spots on the parish hall floor and it didn’t take long for all the girls to lay down and take welcome nap. Somehow, the guys managed to summon up a burst of energy to go with the basket ball and hoop they discovered out in the church courtyard!
Lee Ann offered to take us on a walking tour of the old part of town that surrounds Old First. We came to the Arch Street Friends Meeting House, built in 1804, which is still used for the society of Friends Yearly Meeting. We met a wonderful guide and long time member, Neil, who told us all about what occurs at a Friends meeting and told us about the testimony that all Friends live by: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality. We learned some facts about the Quaker hat…you kept it on for the world, but took it off for God. When you stood up to speak, off came the hat, when you finished an sat down…the hat could be replaced. The meeting allows a particular thought or meditation that is brought forth through the power of the Spirit that a Friend wants to share with the group. After sharing he meeting takes time to meditate on the thought until the Spirit moves another Friend to speak.
We plan to use this method as we share our experiences of the day…we’ll be Episcopalian Quakers as we say our prayers tonight!
As we begin thinking about our service project tomorrow, we remember a quote we heard Neil in answer to our question, “When does the meeting begin.” He answered, “The worship begins when you walk in the door. The service begins when you leave the building!”
After our visit to the Friends Meeting House, we visited Christ Church with its 200-foot tall white steeple reputed to be the highest in North America and rich Colonial architecture. Inside the church lies Bishop White, Rector from 17179-1836. Two of the grandest pews were rented by George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams , but Betsy Ross certainly didn’t get the best seat in the house…she shared her pew with a post!
We walked down old Elfreths Alley which dates back to 1690 and which housed the butchers, blacksmiths, candle stickmakers of that time, and today house their descendants who open their houses to the public once a year.
We did a lot of walking today…so many sights to see…the Mint, Franklin Square, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell….we plan to see as many as we can during the week when we are not working.
Making our way home, we came across the magnificent Glenna Goodacre sculpture, The Irish Memorial, who created the piece in 2002. The sculpture captures the plight of the Irish in the wake of deep famine during which a million Irish died. We see the desperate hunger move into hope and further into happy anticipation as the immigrants are welcomed to the shores of the New Land.
After a great meal of Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, we made our way home. After groceries had been purchased, some showers taken, gratefully laid down on our mattresses and tried to sleep.
Day 2
After a quick breakfast we set off on foot to catch the #23 Bus on 11th and Arch which would take us to Germantown to the Whosoever Gospel Mission Residential Program.
Getting off the bus, we were to look for the “Jesus Never Fails” sign and go in for our days work. The Mission is known as a rehabilitation house for men who have been struggling with drug, alcohol problems, been on the street, etc. The mission offers learning and training for the men who come to live there. Everybody works. The men receive counseling and tutoring, job training and are given food and shelter. After a period the men look for work outside or attend school. They can stay at the mission for three months while they search for outside work and, after they find a job, can stay for another three months to give themselves a good start. After they leave the program, they can stay in touch with the program for as long as they need or like to.
The mission has been there since 1892 and in 2006 suffered a huge fire. It’s taken $3million to rebuild. Part of the reason we were there today was to get the clothing for the Thrift Store ready for its reopening. We were met with mountains of hefty bags filled with donated clothing….we sorted, we folded, we discarded, we lifted and we ate lunch with some of the residents of the program, hearing their stories a couple of the guys played a little ping pong with them!
I leave it to the group to share their own personal observations and memorable moments from the day, but I can tell you that they all worked hard, even though still tired from the trip. Coming home, we saw an amazing sand sculpture along the way, and were delighted to see Larry and Lee Ann again, and ready to make a delicious spaghetti dinner.
After dinner we came together to share our thoughts of the day and to make plans for the coming day.
In: Mission Trips Youth