Dumpsters and peace vigils new way of life

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–On a 95-degree day in mid-July, a grizzled peace activist and a fresh-faced novice protester stand in the sun with an eight-foot-high banner, hoping to shut down the Sandia Nuclear Labs.

A massive pickup barrels down Eubank Avenue past them, leaving a trail of thick, black smoke.

“That’s one of my friends,” the older activist, Chuck Hosking, says, a sarcastic smile on his face. The driver engulfs Hosking in a cloud of exhaust every Friday to register his opposition to Hosking’s peace vigil.

It’s one of the many stories Hosking has from his 30 years of standing vigil outside the labs every Friday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

His 20-year-old companion, Melanie Pilz, isn’t fazed. A native of Germany, Pilz finished a year of volunteering with Service Adventure, a yearlong Mennonite Mission Network program for young adults. Inspired by her service term, she stayed an extra month to learn from Hosking’s minimalist lifestyle.

In addition to the Friday afternoon peace vigil, she sits with him while he washes his clothes in a bucket, saving the water to irrigate his vegetable garden, helps him dig through dumpsters to find perfectly edible food that has been thrown out and asks him questions about his faith and his many years fighting for global equity alongside his late wife, Mary Ann Fiske.

The idea for the internship was sparked when Hosking, a longtime attender of Albuquerque Mennonite Church, spoke with the Service Adventure unit earlier in the year.

Pilz was intrigued by his life’s goal of fighting for global equity and demilitarization and his commitment to live on as little as possible and give away anything extra he earns working at a local college.

“One thing I was really impressed by was that Chuck was living on about $1,800 a year,” Pilz says. “That’s less than some people earn in a month, and he’s living on that for a whole year.”

When Pilz approached Hosking with the idea of a simple-living internship, he was surprised but readily agreed.

“I told her from the beginning this is going to be a student-driven internship,” Hosking says. “I have no syllabus; I have nothing to say to you. It’s all going to be your questions.”

Shadowing Hosking has forced Pilz to expand her comfort zone. At her first Friday peace vigil, they were confronted by a passerby who threatened to come back and beat them up.

She was also nervous she would be caught during her first time rummaging through a dumpster. But a few weeks into the internship she chose to continue plugging away, driven by a desire to live out the values she professes.

The internship came at a time when Pilz was trying to discern what she wanted to do with her life, she says.

In addition to interning with Hosking, she also spends two mornings a week delivering mail to homeless men and women at St. Martin’s Hospitality Center, one morning working with children at the University of New Mexico children’s psychiatric hospital, and four afternoons a week teaching kids Bible stories at an agency called East Central Ministries.

When she returns to Germany, she will start a six-week internship at a hospital, determining whether she wants to study nursing. She also plans to be baptized.

Pilz says her personal transformation has been influenced by the people at Albuquerque Mennonite Church, the congregation that sponsors the Service Adventure unit.

“I saw a lot of ways [they live] out their faith,” she says, “but what was outstanding for me here was especially the hospitality of the people.”

Hosking says he has been inspired by Melanie’s earnestness.

“She’s someone who takes her faith seriously and wants to apply it to her everyday life,” he says.

Back out in the sun, Hosking gives Pilz his most important piece of advice.

“Really grapple with what your faith values are and discern your life purpose, and try to do that before finding a life partner and before deciding on a career.”

While Pilz is not sure she’s discovered that purpose, she has a better grip on how to live out her faith.

“The idea of going out to serve God just makes sense,” she says. “It seems right to try to follow Jesus actively with your life. It’s about being conscious about how you live and what choices you make.”

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For immediate release.

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 Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.