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Modeling service at any age
In a church committed to becoming more mission-centered, Mennonite Church USA members are experimenting with ways of incorporating service into each stage of their lives, from childhood through the golden years. Once the domain of young adults seeking to serve before beginning families and careers, voluntary service can now happen at any age. Many mature adults also want to share their life experiences with others. In 1991, the SOOP program was created to permit adults to serve through short-term mission. From five participants the first year, the program has expanded each year since 2002 to more than 200 individuals. (SOOP is a joint program of Mission Network, MCC Canada and Mennonite Association of Retired People). SOOP can customize assignments SOOP allows those wanting to serve flexibility in their choice of location, time and length of service, and the type of work they do. Arloa Bontrager, SOOP director, senses a new trend developing, with an increase in families expressing interest in serving with their children. “We are happy to work within the time-frames of active people’s lives to permit them to share their gifts in blessing others and being blessed in return,” says Bontrager. “A new area that SOOP wants to promote is encouraging younger families to use part of their vacation time to model a life of service so their children learn that mission is for all ages, not just a launching pad or an after-thought at either end of family and careers.” Doing service in their 50s Carlton and Joan Widrick of upstate New York, both in their early 50s, served in Waco, Texas, this spring. Their two-week SOOP placement provided them with an opportunity to warm up, enjoy different foods, sights and sounds, and put their hands to use. “As dairy farmers, we are not able to leave the farm very often,” Carlton said. “When we do, we want it to be a time of service, encouragement for others, and refreshment for ourselves.” The Widricks worked with World Hunger Relief, Inc., a 40-acre Christian farm that teaches sustainable farming techniques to school children, interns and international mission workers. Carlton did repair work, plumbing and machinery maintenance while Joan did cooking, cleaning, gardening and data entry. “We feel we are too young and have too much ambition at this point in our lives not to incorporate service with traveling,” Joan said. They plan to spend part of next February in Brownsville, Texas. One assignment leads to another The desire to help others and see new places also attracted Paul Steiner to SOOP. After the death of his wife a little more than a year ago, he looked for ways to continue the life of travel and service they’d led. Together, they had visited all 50 states, Australia and many Canadian provinces and European countries. Steiner’s first SOOP assignment in October 2006 left him hankering for more. So in January, he left his home near North Lima, Ohio, to travel to Hesston, Kan. For three months he did everything from collecting data for Hesston College’s centennial celebration to constructing a greenhouse for native Kansan plants. Choosing to serve a few months each year allows Steiner to be back in Ohio during the summer to tend his orchard and garden. He is already planning his next SOOP term. In this issue: Features Highlights Viewpoints |
