'Praying with Our Feet' by Young Adult Volunteer AmyBeth Willis

Originally Published in the April 2015 edition of Presbyterians Today in her column 'A Young Adult Volunteer's Journey.' Watch for her next column in the May edition of Presbyterians Today.

In early December I marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in the chilly air, joining thousands of others shouting: “We can’t breathe! We can’t breathe!” Marching alongside me were two YAV alumnae who attend Union Presbyterian Seminary and Marranda Major, another YAV in Washington. The march was one of numerous demonstrations across the nation that day to protest the deaths of black men at the hands of police officers. Together, we were praying with our feet.

YAV Alum Lauren Voyles and YAV Marranda Major
march for racial justice.

This was my second march in DC; my first came the day after Michael Brown’s killer, officer Darren Wilson, was not indicted. I was so rife with grief and anger that I needed to act. Two YAV alumnae and I marched through the city that evening, fusing our anger, frustration, and sense of loss with that of hundreds of others. During the march, I became aware that my anger comes from empathy, not experience. My white skin allows me to trust that a police officer won’t shoot me for merely walking down the street.

The Washington DC Young Adult Volunteer board decided that the YAV house should be in a neighborhood that reflects DC’s demographics, meaning that we six white women stand out on our block. The growing Black Lives Matter movement has reinforced our commitment to engage our neighbors. Do we know them beyond an occasional hello? Are we making a point to talk with them about their life experiences?

Black Lives Matter also inspired us to spend one of our community days discussing how civil rights leader Willie Baptist’s thoughts on nonviolent movements relate to today’s movement for racial equality. We were concerned about the mainstream media’s apparent bias against the current movement and therefore committed to reading news from perspectives of people of color. We discussed how to be white allies to the movement, particularly as young adults of faith.

Each of our placements touches on racial inequalities in this country: Emily Powers and Mallory Price work primarily with older black men who live on the streets. Marranda’s work with NEXT Church emphasizes the need for racial dialogue in the church. Emily Wilkes, a Lilly Fellow, engages mostly white youth at the Pilgrimage, a Presbyterian ministry of service learning, in discussions about race and urban poverty. The wide range of public policy issues that Jenny Hyde and I advocate for--through the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness -- are impacted by race.

After seeing the movie Selma, we reflected on the power of ordinary people to effect change. In 1965 in Selma, Alabama, people our age were at the helm, risking their very lives. John Lewis was 25 when he was almost beaten to death on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. His example, alongside thousands of others, beckoned us to question how much we were willing to sacrifice.

Our community has begun to learn about issues of affordable housing in our neighborhood through a local tenant organizer. The lack of access particularly affects people of color. On February 6, we toured our neighborhood, learning about the struggles to keep rents low. The next day, we attended the "Housing for All" rally in downtown DC to push for affordable housing in 2015.

In the coming months, we Young Adult Volunteers in the nation's capital will continue to discover what it means to pray with our feet, our voices, and our lives as we seek to live faithfully into our calling to "love mercy and do justice." Will you join us?

Meet our Spring Young Adults

A Celebration of Service Learning, Spring 2015

Washington Report to Presbyterians, Spring 2015

The Office of Public Witness believes that the formation of servant leaders and advocates is vital to the public policy ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Salome Boyd (Spring 2015) joined the OPW staff in January 2015 as an intern after completing studies in Regional Development and Innovation from Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. She came to D.C. with “the hope of learning more about how civil society can influence U.S. policies, and the approach the PC(USA) takes to achieve such social change. After only a week, [she] caught [her]self wishing [her] internship were longer than four months!” During her time in the OPW, Salome is focusing on issues of economic justice and is currently working with Publish What You Pay, as they research and push for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement a strong regulation for transparency within extractive industries. Next year, Salome will start a Master’s program in Public Administration in the Netherlands, after which she hopes to support grassroots movements to promote economic justice and increase corporate responsibility around the globe.

Nora Leccese (Spring/Summer 2015) is serving the policy placement portion of a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship* through the Congressional Hunger Center. Originally from Boulder, CO, Nora graduated from the University of Colorado in 2014 with a degree in economics and a minor in ethnic studies with a focus on community leadership. Nora helped found Boulder Food Rescue, a national organization that uses bicycle power to redistribute produce that would otherwise go to waste from grocery stores to homeless, food insecure, and low income individuals. She has conducted research on worker-owned cooperatives in Argentina and was a lead organizer in a campaign to divest Colorado University from the fossil fuel industry.

In her capacity as an Emerson Hunger Fellow, she served the first part of her Fellowship in a field placement at the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick, VT, where she assessed how local food infrastructure, such as cold storage and processing facilities, might better serve the needs of emergency food organizations (e.g. food banks, pantries, and congregate meal sites), with the goal of increasing access to fresh food for low-income Vermonters. In the OPW she is working to increase awareness of the root causes of poverty and to provide resources to congregations who want to deepen their knowledge about access to education, mass incarceration, and economic inequality.

Jenny Hyde continues to serve as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) through the National Capital Presbytery’s DC YAV site (2014-2015). Jenny hails from Massachusetts and is a recent graduate of Gordon College with a degree in International Affairs with a concentration in International Development. She is a member of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Easton, MA, and was a Young Adult Advisory Delegate to the 2010 General Assembly. At college, she was very involved in Gordon’s Residence Life program and the college’s Model United Nation’s team. In the OPW, she works on international issues, primarily focused on trade policy. When asked what led her to serve at the Office of Public Witness, she responded that she was “intentional in seeking a ministry in a new context, to see how the church wrestles with public policy issues and advocacy. I feel very blessed to be here.”

AmyBeth Willis also continues to serve as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) through the National Capital Presbytery’s DC YAV site (2014-2015). She grew up in Murfreesboro, TN, and graduated May 2013 from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, where she studied Sociology, Religion, and Spanish. She spent the 2013-14 year as a YAV in the desert of Tucson, AZ, working at Southside Presbyterian Church. Of her choice to pursue a second YAV year at the DC site, she said, “After a year of providing ‘direct services’ to people in immediate need, I wanted an opportunity to

engage in policy work and understand how policy impacts the day-to-day lives of people. How do we move from mercy to justice ministries? Here, I have learned about the amazing justice-driven and prophetic work of this office and our ecumenical partners. Our power is in our faith, the mobilization of people, and our commitment to do justice. The voice for justice and righteousness on the Hill would be so much smaller without people of faith. I have learned that this work is an uphill battle, but is worth the climb. It was hard for me to leave Tucson, but I knew this was an important next step for me. I have felt affirmed that God is calling me to this work as I discern where God is calling me next. I don’t know how this will manifest itself, although I could see myself doing more community organizing.”

For more information on Service Learning Opportunities at the Office of Public Witness, or to learn how to apply, please visit www.pcusa.org/washington/internship or email opw.intern.info@pcusa.org

Our fundraising efforts for service learning are ongoing. YAV Placements contribute a portion of Volunteers’ living expenses to the Presbytery. In addition, each Summer Fellow receives a modest stipend to help defray the cost of living expenses, which are considerable in DC . We need your help to continue offering these opportunities! Your gift could make the difference between a vocational dream and a lived reality. Please give generously to support our YAVs, Interns, and Summer Fellows.

*The Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program is a social justice program that trains, inspires, and sustains leaders. Fellows gain field experience fighting hunger and poverty through placements in community-based organizations across the country, and policy experience through placements in Washington, D.C. The program bridges community-based efforts and national public policy, and fellows develop as effective leaders in the movement to end hunger and poverty.

'More than Chicken Feed' by Young Adult Volunteer AmyBeth Willis

Originally Published in the January/February 2015 edition of Presbyterians Today in her column 'A Young Adult Volunteer's Journey.' Watch for her next column in the April edition of Presbyterians Today.

Running out the door of our Tucson house, my roommate Heather shouted to me, “Don’t forget to
feed the chickens!” Feeding our four hens was a fact of life as a Young Adult Volunteer in Tucson. The YAVs before us had purchased several hens and built a coop for them in the

DC YAVs on Retreat in the Shenandoah Valley

backyard; the hens were then left to our care. We kept a meticulous chicken schedule and alternated days of who would care for them. This was one aspect of the intentionality by which our community operated. Even though I didn’t want to feed the chickens that day, I did because I felt both responsible for and accountable to my community. The eggs I found under our hen Loquita were an unexpected bonus.

The commitment to a YAV year is threefold: mission service, simple living, and intentional Christian community. I’ve struggled with intentional community the most. We don’t just live together; we share every aspect of our lives. As a participant in a culture enamored of convenience, I’ve found that this kind of intentionality isn’t easy. In fact, it requires hard work.

YAVs make communal patterns of life a priority. We participate in weekly community days; we share meals; we pray together. We fill out chore charts and talk for an hour about who left the glass of milk that curdled in the sink. Sometimes coming home to my community feels as if I’m headed to my second job. We might have a meeting scheduled that I’d rather not attend. Or, my housemates are watching a movie, and I join them out of obligation more than desire. During my year in Tucson, I often complained about feeding the chickens. But I put my desires aside, because this intentionality is what creates the space to experience the bounty of community.

This abundance has filled my soul over the past two years, despite the challenges that come with community. One time last year, we met at 6:00 a.m. because we were too busy to meet at any other time. We quibbled over trivial matters that symbolized different values within our group, like whether to keep bikes in the house. When our individual expectations for community were not met, we felt hurt. But we carried on, because the joy and the sense of family we so often experienced were worth it.

We YAVs in Washington, DC, have just returned from our first retreat in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. There, we lifted our lives up to God as we shared our life stories with one another. It was an incredibly meaningful time of vulnerability that brought us closer. We cried, laughed, hugged, and were
present with one another for four days. We began to love one another in new, profound ways.

We nurture this love—God’s abundant love—in community. It flows through us as we care for those whom we serve. Our work in community is indeed love in action, which has the power to transform our relationships not only with one another but also with the world around us.

So I will keep choosing to love, especially when it’s hard. The chickens need to eat.

'Space at the Table: God Calls Us to Radical Listening' by Young Adult Volunteer AmyBeth Willis

Originally Published in the December 2014 edition of Presbyterians Today in her column 'A Young Adult Volunteer's Journey.' Watch for her next column in the April edition of Presbyterians Today.

On my last day in Tucson, I exchanged tearful hugs with my undocumented day-laborer friends in the parking lot of Southside Presbyterian Church. When I explained the advocacy work I was going to do in Washington, DC, they had one request: take their stories toWashington. They wanted policy makers to know about the blisters they developed during their desert journeys; about the husband and wife able to join hands only through the rusted beams of the border wall; about the hardworking Guatemalan man fighting for legal status.

YAVs AmyBeth Willis and Jenny Hyde

Each day that I go to my Young Adult Volunteer position at the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness on Capitol Hill, I carry with me the struggles of my undocumented friends, the laughter and smiles of fourth graders at Ochoa Community Magnet School in Tucson, and the fight for survival of my friends there who live on the streets.

The Child Nutrition Act, which funds the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefit program, is up for reauthorization in 2015. Our office and ecumenical partners are gearing up to make sure this important legislation passes unchanged. The Tucson mothers and children who depend on this program’s healthy food linger in my imagination. Where are their stories in the political discussion of our country’s need to trim the fat?

Our nation’s immigration policies, moreover, criminalize migrants seeking a better life here. I think of Enrique, who stayed at our YAV house after being released from detention. Because of our country’s immigration and refugee policies, he was forced to fight his case for asylum from a jail cell. Whose voice is louder on the Hill: lobbyists for private prison corporations like Corrections Corporation of America, which fill prison beds for profit, or the voice of my courageous friend?

Nationwide, a broad base of groups, including our office, is fighting for legislation that would increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Those in opposition say a higher minimum wage would kill jobs. But what about Southside’s neighbors who can’t afford rent, despite working full-time jobs?

As people with immense power and privilege, we must listen to these stories. Already I am acutely aware of how easily the stories are lost in the halls of power. My undocumented friends are called illegal, and families who benefit from WIC are accused of gaming the system. In these frames, their humanity is lost. It’s easy,then, to understand why our nation’s policies exploit and endanger the most vulnerable in society.

That’s why the stories matter: they exemplify the effects of social structures that oppress and bind. As followers of Christ, we are called to undo these chains, and we have the power to shape policy that would create more kingdom-like systems. The Bible is God’s story of liberating us all from suffering and death; we are called to join with God in this work.

This month, we are reminded that the mere story of the arrival of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was a threat to Herod’s imperial power. How do we share stories with the power to transform oppressive structures, without presuming to speak for the people whose stories we tell? How do we get in the way of the very structures that lift up our voices and not theirs?

Here’s to the strength, grace, and beauty of my friends in Tucson, who are willing to share their stories. Help us all, O God, to listen.

Washington Report to Presbyterians August 2014

The Summer 2014 Washington Report to Presbyterians went into the mail at the end of August!  

Click here to view or download the complete Washington Report to Presbyterians (PDF document).

THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE PC(USA) OFFICE OF PUBLIC WITNESS INCLUDES:

Reverend J. Herbert Nelson Joins Workers and Faith Leaders in Demanding Better Jobs for Low-Wage Workers

On Tuesday, July 29, 2014, the Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, II, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Director for Public Witness, joined with workers and other leaders in the faith community… in an action of nonviolent civil disobedience to urge President Obama to improve jobs for millions of workers. Read more.

Advocacy Training Weekend: Save the Dates April 17-20, 2015 – “Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration & Systems of Exploitation”

Come to Washington, DC, April 17-20, 2015, for the 13^th annual National Gathering of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice titled, “Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration and Systems of Exploitation.” …The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is proud to sponsor and collaborate in planning this conference that seeks to build a movement to shake the foundations of systems of human exploitation (Acts 16). We further invite you to arrive early and attend “Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day,” an opportunity for Presbyterians to gather, reflect, educate, network, fellowship, and be in prayer together. Together we can build a movement to Break the Chains!  Read More.

The Office of Public Witness at the 221^st General Assembly

The staff members of the Office of Public Witness were busy at the General Assembly (GA), which took place June 14-21, 2014, in Detroit, MI… It was a busy week for us. Even as we supported the commissioners, advisory delegates and corresponding members with our prayers and expertise, J. Herbert Nelson also made five speaking appearances. We all had a great time connecting with old allies and new partners for justice all over the place – from the Exhibit Hall to the committee rooms to the Plenary floor. Here are just a few highlights…

Meet our 2014 Summer Fellows: A Celebration of Service Learning

Kyle Cristofalo, Anne Fyffe, Alissa Rashid, and David Clifford. Click here.

Welcoming PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers

Jenny Hyde and AmyBeth Willis. Click here.

Click here to view or download the complete Washington Report to Presbyterians (PDF document).

Meet 2014-15 YAVs

Welcoming PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers

We are delighted to join with National Capital Presbytery in welcoming the first class of PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) to the DC site. We are fortunate to be the placement for two of the five YAVs coming to serve during this inaugural year. Join us in welcoming our two Young Adult Volunteers:

Jenny Hyde hails from Massachusetts and is a recent graduate of Gordon College with a degree in International Affairs with a concentration in International Development. At college, she was very involved in Gordon’s Residence Life program and the college’s Model United Nation’s team. Whenever she has the chance, she enjoys writing everything from poetry to political op-eds. She loves kayaking, coffee, Aristotle and talking about Jesus.

“My name is AmyBeth Willis. I grew up in Murfreesboro, TN, and graduated May 2013 from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, where I studied Sociology, Religion, and Spanish.  I spent the 2013-14 year as a YAV in the desert of Tucson, AZ, working at Southside Presbyterian Church. I am passionate about the connection between my faith and justice work, especially in the realm of immigration, advocacy, and education.”

Come visit the OPW this year and meet these fabulous YAVs!

Our fundraising efforts for service learning are ongoing. YAV Placements contribute a portion of Volunteers’ living expenses to the Presbytery. In addition, each Summer Fellow receive a modest stipend to help defray the cost of living expenses, which are considerable in DC. We need your help to continuing offering these opportunities! Your gift could make the difference between a vocational dream and a lived reality. Please give generously to support our YAVs, Interns, and Summer Fellows. Give online here.