Confirmation Reflection

My family is Catholic and raised me as Catholic. I have been in classes at my church since pre school and continued to be in them all the way through sophomore year. In Catholicism, teenagers who have had their first communion go through three years of middle school Faith Formation and two years of high school Faith Formation before they can be confirmed. Being confirmed means that you confirm that you want to be Catholic and that you believe without a parent or guardian making you.

Mr. Culley and his wife started this ministry seventeen years ago. They knew there was a need and decided that if they were so heavily burdened to act then they should lead the way in addressing the need. Over time, Mr. Culley and his wife have experience cut backs from some organizations due to funding. They have also experienced a shortage of volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. Culley have been able to overcome these obstacles, they have reached out to local businesses and churches, and this has helped to fill the gaps in donations.

The agency I participated at for my ten hours of service learning this semester was the Plain City food pantry. The food pantry is located on 156 W Main St, Plain City, OH 43064. There are many people that run this agency. A couple names are Phyllis and Jane. I participated March 2nd from 9:30 to 11:30, March 3rd from 9:00 to 12:00, April 4th, from 9:30 to 11:30 and April 6th from 9:00 to 12:00.

Over the past few months as we participated with the “Big Brothers Big Sisters” program, we divided into small groups in order to focus on different aspects of the organization during this project. The project included three main groups: social media, public relations and group planning. The first group was responsible for social media around campus. The second group managed public relations, which made flyers and used other media resources to spread the word throughout the campus. The third and final group focused overall group planning with the kids. This included different activities and parties for the children. As a class we were to plan and coordinate two functions that included the Big Brothers Big

“Christ’s call on you as a student is a calling to meet the needs of the Church, both for its own life and the life of the world” (Hauerwas). He urges students to appreciate the four years they spend on a college campus and to use it as a ministry that will ultimately better the kingdom of the Lord. He suggests meeting the needs of the church is by furthering our education. Thus, the Church has a job to do: to explain why belief in the risen Lord actually makes sense” (Hauerwas). It’s very important for Christians to be able to explain logically why we believe. “You may at least make someone think twice before he rejects the risen

During this semester's service learning project, I chose to serve at a community organization called Church On Wheels, Breaking Bread Soup Kitchen. Every night Monday through Friday Breaking Bread opens its doors to the community and provides a meal at no cost. Their mission statement is simple: To carry the gospel of the Lord through feeding the hungry and helping those in need. With this Christ-like love to His people, every night employees and volunteers come together to provide a meal that does not only feed them physically but nourishes the soul of everyone that enters the doors. Within the city of Midland, Texas you will find a diverse culture and community. Due to the recent oil boom, many families found themselves struggling to put a meal on the table. Breaking Bread saw the need in the community to open the doors every night to see that no one would go hungry in our town. With a commitment to see that the poor and needy are served with the love of Christ. On any given night you can expect to find

Each of us will show we are leaders by being positive role models for these young people by showing them we genuinely care about them and their futures. We represent the service component by taking time to work in an organization that is in need of volunteers. We recognize that this is not a faith-based organization, but we chose to act on our individual faiths by doing God’s work and serving others. We will demonstrate the pillar of learning by working with children from different backgrounds than we grew up in. Also, we will encourage the children to learn through mentally stimulating activities in a fun

The group chosen for our project was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill branch of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (UNC FCA). This organization’s main purpose is worshipping Jesus Christ through participating in athletic and charitable activities. We chose UNC FCA because our group is fairly diverse with our religious preferences, and we all felt we could benefit from understanding more about not only Christianity here at the university level, but also how UNC FCA blends both sports and religion together. We believed this organization would be heavily centered on sports, but in reality a majority of the members are not athletes. In fact, some members told us this is a common misconception. One of the members, senior Dustin

3. Barbara G. Wheeler and Anthony T. Ruger, “Sobering figures point to overall enrollment decline,” Auburn Center for the Study of Theological Education, accessed 14 May 2016, http://www.intrust.org/Portals/39/docs/IT413wheeler.pdf.

On the last Thursday of every month, a few of the Young Adults from Harvest City Church volunteer to go to Carrall Gospel Mission and serve the homeless at downtown Eastside. These people are made up of drug addicts, ex-convicts, prostitutes and people with mental health problems. First, We have a short sharing session by the leaders of the mission, and afterwards we serve the homeless dinner. The purpose of this mission is not only to engage the impoverished, but also to give back to the community. Listening to the homeless talk about their lives, I have learned to be more content with what I have and not to take anything for granted. Moreover, I have learned that reaching out to others can have a lasting impact on their lives and also on

Every summer, I have the opportunity to serve through the summer lunch program. Area churches volunteer to provide lunches for students in Frisco ISD who typically receive a free or reduced lunch during the school year and who may or may not receive lunch everyday during the summer without this program. One week each summer, we help prepare sack lunches and then deliver them to a Frisco ISD school. We are able to hang out with the students, color with sidewalk chalk, and play games. It is a great experience.

God calls us to serve and to do everything with love (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 16:14). As a Student Affairs (SA) professional, my main goal is to help students discover their calling and equip them to better serve the world while integrating their faith. Smith (2004), states why it is important to serve as a mentor during a critical adult faith development stage. In The Council for the Advancement of Standards and Higher Education (CAS), CAS has incorporated faith, spirituality and religion into the standards and competencies that they advocate for individuals working as educators in the student affairs field ( Smith, 2004). In the CAS masters-level graduate program for student affairs standards (2004) the authors spoke to the essential need to incorporate spirituality.

Our mission: is to eliminate youth homelessness in the Riverside area and to provide them with the education and resources to reach their full potential as caring, responsible, citizens.

My organization is an elementary school consisting of just under 500 students from pre-k – grade 5.

In spring of 2016, my youth group and I began planning a trip to a neighboring city. This wasn’t just any trip however, we were going on a mission. Each of us there were bound and determined to