Thu
May 20
2010
Mitch McCartney
Director of Communications and Development
Nebraska Synod, ELCA
I remember as a youngster growing up in central Nebraska looking forward to the field trip that my class would get to take at the end of the school year.
Heading into the year-end field trip, everyone was excited because it meant a day away from the stress of the classroom (as if being a third grader was really all that stressful in the first place). But the field trip always turned into something more than that.
Usually, we went somewhere that was completely different from our normal daily surroundings. Perhaps it was a museum where we could learn about our past, or the newspaper where we could learn about how the paper gets published, or a company where we could learn about how a product gets made. We always came away from the experience with knowledge and understanding we didn’t have before.
Along the way, we would meet people we hadn’t met before. We would get to see them in their environment, listen to their stories and hear about their experiences. We always came away with a new appreciation for others and perhaps a different perception of those we encountered that day.
And part of the experience was the time we would spend with one another. Yes, we sat together in class, ate together in the lunchroom and played together on the playground. But traveling together on a bus and spending time in a new place allowed us to see each other differently. We always came back with a different sense of community than we had when we left.
During the past several months, we have been dreaming about how we could engage our members in support of our Mission Field Nebraska ministries. Those ministries reach out to some of the vulnerable among us: those who are new to our country, those who are incarcerated and those with fewer resources.
As we talked about it, we discovered what we needed was an opportunity for people to go somewhere outside their normal daily surroundings where they could experience things they haven’t seen before… an opportunity for people to meet and listen to people they haven’t met before… an opportunity for people to spend time together serving, worshipping and developing a greater sense of community.
In other words, a field trip.
This fall, the Nebraska Synod is inviting you to be part of The Field Trip, a service/worship/fellowship experience in support of our Mission Field Nebraska ministries.
Beginning the morning of Friday, Sept. 24, participants will assist with various service projects at Lutheran Metro Ministries, Fontenelle Community Church and the Project Hope food pantry in north Omaha. Those projects will continue on Saturday, Sept. 25 and will culminate in a community meal with the people of Fontenelle Community Church and the neighborhood. The Field Trip will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 26 as we worship together at Fontenelle Community Church.
The cost of participating will be $115 per person, which will include housing and meals. For more information or to register, contact Stephanie Lusienski in the Synod office (402-896-5311). For more information about our Mission Field Nebraska ministries, you can go to the new Mission Field Nebraska website at missionfieldnebraska.org.
We’re planning on The Field Trip becoming an annual event at different ministry sites throughout the Synod, just like when we were kids. Let’s step out in faith and show God’s love to others. Let’s go on a Field Trip.
