May 30, 2024

He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:27-29

Some of the most impactful experiences of my life have been when I chose to step outside my own world and inhabit someone else’s experience. Two of the most significant examples would be a visit to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in 2014 and my cross-cultural trip to India during seminary. Each of these experiences stand out, but in differing ways- neither exposed me to the danger, and yet the privilege of my consciousness was undeniable as I made my way through life in someone else’s shoes.

I often reflect especially upon my three weeks in India, where our group traveled to Mumbai, then began visiting cities such as Bangalore, Tamil Nadu, Madras, etc., before finishing our visit in New Delhi (including a trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra.) We had a home stay in Trivandrum, in the south of India, where the jungle was within a car ride’s reach and each of my fellow seminarians and I learned about the world of a people living a life none of us could have imagined. I won’t go into significant detail, but both as a woman and a first- world born person I was shaken by life in that beautiful village we visited. To be honest, I needed that awareness, and I think all people would benefit from living life in another’s shoes- it would increase compassion, connection, and realign the compass of our understandings of racism, immigration and poverty.

On July 1-3, two churches in Catoctin Association- Christ Reformed UCC and Zion Reformed UCC (both located in Hagerstown, MD) will lead their youth groups on a Youth Mission Trip to Shepherd’s Spring Global Village in Sharpsburg, MD. This isn’t a visit just for these church youth groups- they are inviting your youth group too! Join them as they explore life in villages that capture the world spaces where Heifer International serves. This experience is one where technology takes a back seat to engaging life without distraction and privilege. For a brief time, you and your youth can occupy a world that is simpler and challenging in new ways.

I hope you might join us on this amazing and life-changing adventure. In doing so, I hope that we- both youth and adults- emerge with a clearer awareness of our position of privilege. I also pray that it will prompt within us the power of our ability to enhance the life of our Body of Christ siblings around the world, through understanding, compassion, and altruism. May God guide you to join us in this magnificent and challenging trip. For a contact email, please reach out to Rev. Dr. E. Scott Winnette at pastorwinnette@gmail.com