Monday, December 21, 2015
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for stopping by the Detroit, Michigan ABST blog! The 2016 group is still getting to know each other but we'll start sharing our journey together soon. In the mean time, please take some time to read previous trips' blogs to get an idea of what we'll be doing.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Looking back and ahead
Hello dear reader! As unbelievable as it sounds, a week has passed since our time in Detroit. (At least, I can't believe it!) After something extraordinary like this recent trip happens in your life, there may be difficulties adjusting back to the 'normalcy' of the life that you had. In ways, it's been easy, but there are still perspectives and experiences that echo with me as I think back on the time I spent in Detroit.
First of all, I was changed by the city of Detroit. My recurring thought has been: How can a city that gets such a bad rap with its crime rate, unemployment statistics and imbalance of resources still have a positive (even life-changing!) impact on my life? Sure enough, I saw buildings with signs on them that said, "Say something nice about Detroit" and "Support Detroit" painted on trash cans and on vacant store windows. There was resilience, pride and hope.
I was also changed by the people of Detroit. They exemplified the spirit of a city that refuses to break. For the most part, everyone we met showed compassion, zeal, and hope in their city. They formed communities with each other to help the marginalized that they call their neighbors.
Lastly, I was changed by the companions that I shared this adventure with. They helped me and everyone grow and feel part of our team. We experienced joy, heartache, and love; and we became our own family. I'm proud and blessed to call them my friends, and brothers and sisters. I miss you guys already.
It's sad to think that this experience has come and gone, and will never happen again, even if we try to replicate it. But memories and relationships were formed; strong, secure and full of love. I will continue to carry them with me for as long as I am here. The best part of my trip to Detroit? I was hoping to create change in my own way, but along the way, what I created changed me.
For that, I am grateful.
- Nathan 😄
Saturday, March 7, 2015
vicTORI 😄
This week has been truly life-changing. It was a great learning experience for myself. With any experiences, there are some good things and bad things. Unfortunately, I was not able to be physically present as much as I wanted to be. Early in the trip I got sick and was not feeling well. I did not want this to affect the quality of my trip though. I tried to ride it out and decided on Wednesday afternoon it would be best to go to an urgent care. That was quite an interesting experience. I was put on quite a few medications, and started to fell better over the next couple days. The support from the group was so comforting and amazing, everyone started to seem like second family to me.
As I mentioned previously, this trip was made of highs and lows, well, one of my highs was getting the opportunity to sit and meet great new people at Earthworks over lunch. Meeting new people is one of my favorite things because you can learn so much, the possibilities are endless.
When we visited the Detroit Institute of Arts I found a quote there and it really stuck with me and I would like to share it with you: "What's The Best Way to Explore Detroit? You could pay attention to the many stories in the national media. You could peruse thousands of photographs of abandoned buildings. Go to a Tigers game. Take a bike ride. Or, you could talk to the people who know the city firsthand.... People who live, work, play, protest, create, and grow in this city."
My experiences in Detroit were so educational and life-changing it was such a blessing to be able to have such an amazing opportunity like this.
Peace,
Tori
Friday, March 6, 2015
Art Imitating Life
Sara the accompanier here to tell you about this evening's adventure!
We spent this evening at the Detroit Institute of Art. It had been in the news recently for being at the center of the Detroit Bankruptcy controversy--should the collection be sold to benefit the city's creditors? At this point that is being blocked, and thank goodness. It was a wonderful experience. It also echoed much of what we've experienced already in our trip.
Something we've been hearing from the beginning of the trip is that Detroit's biggest asset is its people. We heard it at Sacred Heart, at Earthworks, and at the restaurant. Tonight was no different. I was speaking to a security guard at the museum and he told me that what keeps him here is the people. That sentiment persisted throughout the evening. When a gentleman had to pass me in the hall, he was ridiculously polite. When I was sneezing, everyone in a 15 yard radius said "bless you." When I was in the elevator, the people I was riding with went out of their way getting to know me. Finally, there was an exhibit of portraits of average Detroit residents. The artist statement said, "my conclusion is that it's about people; it's about people empowered."
Another thing that struck me, both about the museum and the city as a whole, was its commitment to not succumb to the inertia that seems so likely to claim it. We saw it, of course, all week among the men and women at Earthworks. We saw it at the museum tonight as well. Every Friday night, the museum has free music. Tonight featured music written for the dedication of the Duomo in 1463. A city that didn't care would not go out of its way to find such a spectacularly talented musical group to preform historic music. And the venue--it was one of the original galleries with beautiful plaster crown molding and cornices and marble panels. The wall between the the original molding and marble panels, however, was covered with mural scenes from the city's history. That fusion of history and reality is Detroit.
Finally, the reaction of the wonderful students I have had the pleasure of accompanying this week gives hope for the city. On the way to the museum, they were excited but a little unsure--after all, how good can Detroit's museum be? After getting into the museum and seeing what it was like, I heard more than one student saying that the 3 hours we had would not be enough. As with just about every experience we have had this week, they are still talking about things they saw at the museum and will be doing so for the foreseeable future.
As we've learned this week, learning can take many forms in many situations. It can be in a classroom, it can be facilitated by a professor outside a classroom, or it can be with a community partner. It can be from people you trust, people you dislike, or people you at one point were uncomfortable with who earned your trust. It can be in the context of intentional explanation, self discovery, or spontaneous interaction with peers. It can happen in a garden, a museum, or an apartment. I have been privileged to see learning in all these situations and more this week. That experience was the true priceless masterpiece of this trip.
Father Solanus Casey Center
Wow. All I can say is wow. After our final afternoon with Shane and company at Earthworks, we finished our afternoon at the Father Solanus Casey Center. Venerable Father Casey was a Capuchin priest who took his vows in 1896; He helped establish the capuchin soup kitchen in 1929! He is in the process of canonization as a saint even... This guy meant business. Anyway, I was completely blown away by the gift shop first of all, then moving on into the chapel. When I entered the chapel, I was greeted by Brother Richard, one of the capuchins. He greeted me with a smile and I told him that this place was beautiful, I love seeing new chapels, and that I study theology. After casual conversation he offered to show the group and I around the chapel and talk about its history and origins. This place was incredible.... The wood work, statues, carpet, icons, sacristy, and relics were all so beautiful and moving. I even found 1st class relics of some of my favorite saints like Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Francis of Assisi, St Jude Thaddeus, and more. Needless to say I was blown away. Aside from me geeking over all the beautiful art, theology, design, and architecture, it was a very good way for me to connect with the Friars (the capuchins) who founded the soup kitchen who oversees Earthworks. It was a good way to make that faith tradition connection to the work we were doing this week. All in all, I was so taken aback by how awesome this place was, I could just sit in that church all night! It was a good way to cap off our last afternoon in Detroit, it was very moving and inspirational for me.. Peace!
Cody
Making hay while the sun shines!
From left to right: Megan, Josiah, Cody, Malik, Nathan, Kelly, Andrew, Evan and Maddie. Missing Tori and Sara because Tori wasn't feeling too great, but she's feeling better now! Keep her in your thoughts and prayers! And thank you Kurt for taking the picture.
Monkeys In a barrel?
From left to right: Andrew, Cody (in the barrel), and Nathan goofing around a little.
We're farming!
To back track, here's some pictures from our work at Earthworks yesterday:
Top: Some of the group harvesting spinach.
Below: Our group placing small green cabbage seeds in rows of soil.
Food & Love
Hey everyone!
This Thursday was filled with blissful joy! We started off our morning with some much needed meditation. We all sat there in a unified silence and felt a soul soothing calm overwhelm us. It felt amazing, letting go of everything and anything that distracted us from our main goals in life. Those goals being, embracing everyone from all walks of humanity into our caring family. Selfishly, I'd like to say Thursday personally meant alot to me. Everyone was open to trying Middle-Eastern food and of course I was excited to share my culture with everyone. It felt great watching everyone's faces radiate joy with every bite. I'd also like to apologize to Andrew... since I am a food pusher... and made him eat twice as much as he normally would. The food doesn't end there, we also stopped by a famous Middle-Eastern bakery (Shatila) and continued to stuff our faces. I feel blessed to be able to share my experiences with everyone in our Detroit family. Thanks for reading!
Love,
Malik
Thursday, March 5, 2015
It's cold!
Hello dear reader! It's Thursday, our 6th day in Detroit and its 12 degrees outside. Probably the coldest it's been during our time here. We're bundled up and keeping warm, ready for whatever the day has in store!
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Working @ the Greenhouse
Patrick (in the green hoodie) demonstrating how to properly prepare a bed of soil for gardening.
New Work and New Ideas
Today we began a different leg of our journey at a place called New Work. We began the day talking with Jarett who immediately welcomed us with warm coffee and introduced us to the people who would teach us a lot about New Work and ourselves. We began with learning how to make a leather bracelet with Blair and Anthony and how their business, New Work Leather, was a way for them to hold a non-traditional job. After that half of our group went with Dennis to inform other students of an upcoming special election dealing with rising taxes on gas. The other half stayed at the house and had a brainstorming session with Jarett about his project, Boots on the Ground, which would help to employ house-less veterans and those who had been previously incarcerated, by having them make boots to sell to the public. Once both groups arrived home and had some wonderful vegan chili made by Jarett, we began to have a conversation that really pushed the comfort level for our entire group. Emotions ran high and limits were pushed with all of us, but in the end when we left I believe that we all learned a lot. We learned that we are all brothers and sisters in our group. We all learned that we can depend on eachother in stressful situations. We learned that even though others may have radically different opinions than ourselves, we can still learn and take away something even from tough situations. Today, we learned about New Work, but more importantly we learned about each other and how when we stand together nothing can break our spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:13
Peace, Kelly
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Earthworks!
Hey followers! As we've become more busy, this has become less of a live-tweet and more of a... blog. Sorry you're not getting as many updates right now, but that just means we're preocuupied doing some pretty amazing things!
As you can see from
the previous posts, yesterday was our first day at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Earthworks Urban Farm. Earthworks, in a blurb, is an arm of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen devoted to promoting food access and self-sufficency for the Detroit Community. The Capuchin Soup Kitchen's two locations, just a few miles from each other, provide almost 3,000 meals daily to those who need.
The Earthworks program connects a community that typically relies on corner bodegas for their groceries back to the land, and promotes a healthy lifestyle for those who work and volunteer on the farm. The program provides an incredible amount of produce that is used in the soup kitchens as well.
We'll do our best to keep you updated throughout the day!
Evan
Monday, March 2, 2015
Inside the Greenhouse
Shane, our contact person with Earthworks, gives us a tour of the second greenhouse.
1st day at Earthworks!
Hello dear reader! Here's the inside of one of the greenhouses that Earthworks runs. Earthworks is the organization that we are visiting and helping out this week. More information to follow.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
First Full Day in Detroit = Full of God's Grace
Greetings friends and family readers of Detroit ABST 2015! Maddie Zurinsky here reporting on our first full day in Detroit and what a day it was! Our day consisted three main activities: Mass, the Detroit Historical Museum, and finally a tour of downtown Detroit.
We started off our morning by attending Mass at Sacred Heart Parish. The congregation was incredibly and overwhelmingly welcoming. It was absolutely beautiful. We all took away something very special from the Mass. Right after Mass we were invited to the community center of the parish for a brunch consisting of fried chicken, grits, scrambled eggs, and toast. Yum! With our food in hand we all went off and chatted with the different members of the parish. Each parishioner had their own unique story to tell.
Following our incredible and wonderful experience at Sacred Heart we headed off to the Detroit Historical Museum. The humanities majors in the van were very excited, while others were content! :) Some favorite exhibits from the museum included a live action assembly line of cars and the slavery exhibit.
After the museum we went on a spontaneous tour of Detroit. Our tour included visiting the GM Global Headquarters, posing by the Fist and the Spirit Detroit, and warming up halfway through by a random fire pit.
Overall, our first full day in Detroit was a complete success and full of God's graces! Keep watching for more blog posts, there will be plenty more to come!
God Bless! - Maddie
Trying to keep warm!
Here's our group trying to stay warm around a fire - right next to an ice rink!
It's fun to stay at the...
Nathan, Kelly, Megan, and Tori standing with statues of kids making the YMCA signs!
The Detroit People Mover
Here's our team riding the Detroit People Mover, a small metro around downtown.
"The Fist"
Hey there! We have spent the last few hours exploring downtown Detroit! It was amazing. One of the most exciting things we saw was "The Fist". Picture coming soon! Here's some info about it:
The Monument to Joe Louis, known also as "The Fist",[1] is a memorial to the boxer at Detroit's Hart Plaza.
Dedicated on October 16, 1986, the sculpture, commissioned by Sports Illustrated magazine[2] from the Mexican-American sculptor Robert Graham, is a 24-foot-long (7.3 m) arm with a fisted hand suspended by a 24-foot-high (7.3 m) pyramidal framework.
It represents the power of his punch both inside and outside the ring. Because of his efforts to fight Jim Crow laws, the fist was symbolically aimed toward racial injustice.[3] Graham referred to the sculpture as a "battering ram".[4]
Saturday, February 28, 2015
First Night
Getting ready to hit the sack after our first day here in Detroit - it's still freezing here... But we all had a great day full of good experience and good memories (some weird ones too lol). After our end-day reflection and discussion, I am feeling really good.. Feeling very connected with the whole gang! We are all so very excited to begin our week and learn a lot about Detroit, the world, and ourselves! Goodnight everyone, God bless!
Cody
The Main St. Grill
The restaurant we ate at for dinner! The food was great and the service was good too. If you're ever in Detroit... 😀
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