Every DOOR program city that Nancy Fowler has visited is distinct, but each Sunday night at six o’clock, youth groups gather to kick off their weeklong DOOR Discover experience.
Young adults at Barre Congregational Church (Vt.), where Fowler is the youth coordinator, have experienced five of the six cities through the DOOR Discover program.
Atlanta, Ga. –
Urban gardening is one way that DOOR Atlanta participants live out the gospel. Locally grown food preserves biodiversity, and creates community in neighborhoods otherwise known as “food deserts.” This is especially important for the homeless population who don’t have transportation to suburban grocery stores to buy produce.
Nancy Fowler’s daughter, Kristen, saw God at Mercy Church during her recent Discover experience. Mercy Church opens its doors to all, with homes and without homes, to worship in community. With the reminder “out of your comfort zone and into our context,” Kristen pushed herself to make connections. She found God in a place of no judgment, just happiness.
Wherever she went, Kristin and her church gave out what they call “caring coins.” The wooden coins were engraved with the phrase “You are never alone.” Although worthless by the world’s standards, the coins gave a different sense of worth to people that they met along the way. It told people that they weren’t alone, Kristen said.
Chicago, Ill.
DOOR participants in Chicago will see a broader, more systemic view of poverty. According to Krista Dutt, DOOR Chicago’s city director, Chicago’s transportation routes separate neighborhoods, largely by class and race. In response, Chicago DOOR participants work with organizations that have direct impact on larger issues of education, housing policies, and environmental justice.
Denver, Colo.
In Denver, Fowler saw God at work in the hearts of her youth group members, as they learned to stand in solidarity with the homeless. “From Charity to Solidarity,” is the theme for DOOR Denver’s 2013 summer program.
One afternoon, Fowler’s youth served lunch at a local church to nearly 800 homeless men and women. During the meal, a man asked for more soy sauce. There was none to be found, but knowing the taste of bland rice, someone from the youth group searched the entire building until soy sauce was finally found. For a moment, the youth group member stepped into the man’s shoes, and learned more about what it means to stand in solidarity with someone, however small that step might be.
“You may not see where this experience will take you,” Nancy Fowler reminded her youth group. “But it will affect you for years to come.” Months afterward, Kristen said that she still thinks about her own DOOR experience almost daily.
Hollywood, Cali.
A block from Paramount Studios is the Hollywood DOOR house. These star-lined streets may not seem like a community in need. But the disparity between the rich and the poor is not emphasized in any other city, quite like in Hollywood. “[Discover] teams are often shocked to witness thousands of homeless folks walking up and down the streets, many of whom are in their 20s and 30s,” wrote Matthew Schmitt, DOOR Hollywood City Director.
Miami, Fla.
In Miami, Nancy Fowler experienced more than beaches. In a city with 68 languages represented in schools and 71 percent of families speaking a language other than English at home, calling Miami “diverse,” is an understatement.
Miami’s contrasting cultures give participants a glimpse into the complex tensions between ethnic groups and classes. “An entry level job to one group of people may be seen as oppression, but to another group, it could be seen as an opportunity for advancement,” said Heidi Aspinwall, DOOR’s Associate Executive Director.
Without any context, DOOR participants may only see superficial characteristics, like the color of skin. DOOR helps participants understand these different experiences and expectations in deeper ways and see God at work in a situation that would otherwise be missed.
San Antonio, Texas
DOOR San Antonio emphasizes listening, in part because it’s crucial to the relationship-oriented Latino culture of the city. “It’s like going to another country,” Fowler said.
Fowler’s youth saw God through the people and stories they encountered in San Antonio. “Each person’s story is precious,” said Aspinwall. DOOR San Antonio respects the privacy of its individual partners, by choosing not to retell the stories.
As a whole, DOOR works to reconcile differences, so that larger issues of poverty, racism, and injustice can be challenged.
“What I appreciate about DOOR is the willingness of participants to begin by defining each other by what they hold in common. We cannot talk about differences until we have a common starting place,” said Glenn Balzer, DOOR’s Executive Director.
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
