A Renewed View of Service
Last winter when I heard about the Peacebuilders Initiative, it wasn't the service aspect that grabbed my attention at first, it was the part about it being a one-week overnight retreat. I was a sixteen year old who had never been away from her family for more than a night or two, and I saw this as my chance to go out on my own and explore. I applied and was excited to be accepted. However, I soon began to wonder what I had gotten myself into: three-hour theology sessions? Yoga classes? And worst of all - the dreaded 7:30 a.m. wake-up calls. I went to the orientation feeling nervous, and as I looked around at all the people that I would be living with for a week, I wondered, "Will I be able to find friends among these strangers?" As that fateful week in August drew closer, my apprehension grew. I began to wish I didn't have to go as I realized all of the things that I would have to give up to go attend this camp: movie nights with friends, dance competitions, visits to the pool, my best friend's 16th birthday, and the other things that you do during the precious last few weeks of summer vacation. As I lugged my suitcase into CTU with my mom on the first day of the retreat, I realized there was no turning back.
I can honestly say that it was the best week of my entire life.
Every assumption that I had made about the program turned out to be wrong. I got used to the early morning alarms, I actually learned something from the theology sessions, and I found out that although yoga is hard, it's actually pretty fun. I found friends too. Everyone at Peacebuilders Initiative from the directors, Angie and Bart, to the mentors, to the participants were so welcoming that I had no problem finding my place within the group.
Even my views on service changed. Everyone has one thing they love to do. It can be music, sports, dancing, or art. I discovered that community service was my "thing" through Girl Scouts in sixth grade. I had always found myself drawn to service, but I had never defined why I enjoyed participating in service activities. Through Peacebuilders and our daily theology sessions, small group reflections, and visits to ministry sites, I learned that religion is not all about the Bible and Church. A large part of our faith, a part is often overlooked or dismissed, is helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Our Catholic faith teaches us that we should not walk ahead of the less fortunate, but instead walk with them, helping them along the path to better their situations. Before I participated in the Peacebuilders Initiative, I did service because I thought it was a good thing to do. Now I do service work because I understand that it is an important way that I can not only live my faith, but also act my faith.
My biggest assumption, however, the one about me being "all on my own" was proven wrong the night of the reconciliation service. The image of all of us sitting on the floor, right where you are sitting now, is still vivid in my mind as I am sure it is in some of yours. It hit me then - I was in no way here on my own. Looking around, I did not see fifty separate individuals sitting there; I saw one body. Whether you were the one crying, praying, hugging, or passing out the Kleenex, you were part of the powerful force that we created that evening. It was at that moment that we truly fused ourselves together as a community.
We then took that dynamic force back into our homes, parishes, and schools and tried the peace building process for ourselves. I am sure that many of you thought the same thing that I did, "How am I, a sixteen year old, going create peace?" We came up with awesome plans and ideas, however, we soon found out that it was going to be much more difficult than we had anticipated; whoever thought doing something so good could be so challenging? We were committed though, and we overcame many obstacles to create our own peace projects. Our projects affected both our parish and local communities as well as our worldwide community, each having a unique impact on the people involved. Some examples of these are Emily's San Juan Diego Outreach Program, which focused on creating a relationship between her high school and a local grammar school; and Liz, Katlyn, and Kevin's Peacebuilders Outreach, which linked together the various service clubs in his school. These two programs directly benefited the students in their own high schools. Other programs such as Lisa's STOP Organization, which addresses neighborhood violence; and Lauren and my Great Diversity Challenge, which provided cultural diversity education through a pen pal program, benefited their surrounding neighborhood communities. Other programs have the potential for worldwide impact, such as Erin's 30 Hour Famine, which uses the experience of true hunger to promote hunger awareness; and Jeannine's chapter of Amnesty International, which aims to protect human rights worldwide.
If we take a step back and look at ourselves, it is amazing how much we have changed and what we have accomplished in the past year. Through prayer, scripture reflection, and liturgy, we have grown in our spiritual lives and our commitment to live in solidarity with the under-served in our communities. We have far surpassed our own expectations as well as those of others that were set before us at the beginning of the program. I am reminded of a passage from Jeremiah that I heard earlier,
"Do not say 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all whom I send you and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord". Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms."
I think that we are all are more like Jeremiah than we know. Like Jeremiah in the passage, we have discovered that we are no longer just teenagers; but instead, that we are Peacebuilders. As Peacebuilders, we have been appointed to go back to our communities and continue spreading Jesus' message of hope for a better tomorrow. As Peacebuilders, we have learned that we are never alone in our mission of spreading peace, and that we carry the love and support of the entire Peacebuilders community and Jesus Christ, with us, wherever we go. As Peacebuilders, I challenge you to embrace what the future sets in front of you. Remember that, as Cardinal Bernardin said, we are no longer the future; we are the now. From the wise words of Fleetwood Mac "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow/Don't stop it will soon be here/It'll be here better than before." Just because the Peacebuilders Initiative is over, I will not stop thinking about what you can do to improve the world around you. I invite you to join me in taking the wisdom, friendships, and support that we have gained from this program and use them to continue to make all of our tomorrows better than before.
