30 Jul
Session Two came to a close this morning. We woke up to delicious waffles as everyone finished their last-minute packing. To be fair, some folks were ready to go before bed. Caitlyn kicked things off early and headed for the airport before 9 a.m. Everyone else trickled out before 11 a.m. They left like clockwork; however, the fun isn’t over. Session Two certainly stays in touch through Facebook and likely through text messaging.
29 Jul
This morning, we went to the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio for our final morning serving others. Some built tables, others painted, two students organized towels/sheets, Laura sanded furniture and another group prepared printed information for donors. It was a very productive morning and the Samplarians worked hard in the hot, humid weather.
Dr. Fout answered Samplarians’ questions about a variety of subjects for our final class. The students really liked class this week – a theme for this session. They really dug into theology and had a lot of reflective questions. It was fun to watch them learn and grow.
We ate dinner at Piada, then returned to the apartments to say farewell to Nicole; her family picked her up early for vacation. We shared our prayers for her and wished her well on her continued journey.
The evening ended in Schenk Chapel as we shared our gifts with one another. There was Irish stepdance, a piano medley, hand-made keyring, a story, a few written items, photo with frame, cartoon drawings, cards from Missouri, a word web, crosses from El Salvador, a call story, hugs with words of encouragement, a song and poem, a rap and footwashing. It was an emotional night and ended with communion.
Afterwards, the Samplarians cleaned the apartments and watched School of Rock. It was a grand evening of bonding and readying ourselves to say good-bye.
28 Jul
It’s the last Thursday of Sampler – which means it was time for our trip to Springfield, Ohio. We went directly to Un Mundo Cafe, a fair trade coffee shop located inside the Heritage Center of Clark County in downtown Springfield. We relaxed, chatted and learned a little bit about fair trade practices. Then, we met with Susie, the co-director of the Ark North (Childrens Rescue Center, Inc.). The Ark ministry serves kindergarten through 6th grade students after school. They serve more than 500 kids per week and have three locations in Springfield.
Ferncliff Cemetery was the next stop on our journey. Pastor Ruth encouraged the Samplarians to consider how they wanted to impact the world. She asked them to take 30 minutes, walking and exploring alone, considering three questions: What’s your passion? For whom are you compassionate? What do you want for your five word epitaph? (Pay attention, Session Two readers!) The cemetery is huge – and that almost feels like an understatement.
Mike and Rosy’s Deli was the next stop on our journey through Springfield. It’s a great local restaurant with lots of sport memorabilia and delicious sandwiches. After lunch, we went to Wittenberg University and met with mentors Bob White, Rev. Ron Green, Rev. Leslie Fox and Rev. Jim Christian. Counselors made a trip to Schuler’s Bakery and returned with a variety of delicious goodies for everyone. The Samplarians returned from visits with their mentors and we learned a little about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Next, they took a tour of the campus and we posed for our traditional photo with Wally Witt.
We wrapped up our grand adventure with dinner at Ha Ha Pizza in Yellow Springs. Ha Ha uses organic food, so it was an allergy-friendly place. The food was pretty good and some of our Samplarians were excited about whole wheat crust. Then, we made our stop at Young’s Dairy. The Samplarians played with the baby goats and a couple of kittens before enjoying some ice cream.
27 Jul
Our Samplarians lead Wednesday Eucharist this morning in Schenk Chapel. They wrote prayers, played the music and read lessons for the gathered community at Trinity/Bexley Hall. Worship started at 10:45 a.m.; Luke lead with the Cross,Caroline and Caitlyn accompanied him as the Torchbearers. Claire was the assisting minister for Pr. Ruth, who gave the sermon today. Joel and John welcomed everyone to chapel, ensured they received the materials they needed and assisted with the offering and bringing the host to the table. Alexis, Morgan and Evan read the lessons for the day (and made it through the entire creation story). Rachel, Nicole and John played a variety of music for the service.
We had our second class with Dr. Jason Fout today. We discussed suffering and evil from an assortment of perspectives. I was impressed with the answers the Samplarians gave to his questions. They really pushed themselves to the limit! Multiple students said class made them think too hard – and that was a good thing!
We spent our evening with Alfred Tibor in front of the Promise for Life sculpture at Trinity. Rather than talk about the Holocaust, Tibor shared his adventures as an artist and talked about how he came to live in Columbus. It was entertaining and he engaged the Samplarians (as well as other community members). We were doubly blessed with one student from the inter-faith dialogue and one Samplarian from session one! It was a lovely evening.
26 Jul
Summit’s Trace Healthcare Center was our service destination for the day. We played cards, painted fingernails, danced, sang, watched daytime television and chatted with a variety of senior citizens. The Samplarians jumped in with both feet, loving the folks they met and listening to some pretty entertaining stories. In fact, the senior citizens didn’t hold back and really gave our teens a run for their money in card games and checkers! We returned the the seminary for lunch before students hustled off to meet their mentors.
Sister SallySister Sally of the ELCA Deaconess Community spoke to us this evening about her call within the church. She shared a lot of historical information about her roster. The Samplarians happily received some printed information (as well as keychains and pens). We ended with a Blessing of the Hands service in Schenk Chapel.
25 Jul
Summer Seminary Sampler made its way to the Ronald McDonald House this morning to serve families with ill children. Due to the rain, the house experienced some flooding and our Samplarians were ready to help clean up the mess. We toured the facility and discovered how generous some Central Ohio folks are. We also learned about how far pop tabs go – they pay quite a bit of the house’s electric bill each month. So – if you aren’t saving your pop tabs, you should start!
For our last week of class, Bexley Hall Seminary professor Dr. Jason Fout lead our first discussion on religion. He specifically focused on why the term “religion” is a useless term. It fired a few of our students up – they were visibly annoyed or aggravated, but they claim they loved his challenges. In fact, they were talking about the class throughout the night!
The Rev. Dana Schroeder was our speaker for the evening. He is the Director of the Department of Chaplaincy and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at OSUMC and a CPE Supervisor. He talked with the Samplarians about life as a hospital chaplain and lead an exercise on values in decision-making. The session seemed most helpful for those interested in chaplaincy as a career.
24 Jul
We worshiped at The Church at North Pointe (TCNP); Trinity Lutheran Seminary professor Kevin Dudley and his wife, Gail, pastor this congregation. It’s an African-American ELCA congregation on the north-side of Columbus. It was a different experience for most of the students. TCNP is infinitely more affective in their worship than the “typical” Lutheran service. I watched several Samplarians dance, clap and call out during music and prayer. The experience was pretty awesome.
We spent the afternoon hanging out at the apartments, taking time to decompress and relax. The plan was for some students to play softball and afterwards, we’d go to Jacob’s Porch for their evening service. A storm rolled in toward the end of the afternoon and it ruined those plans. So, we spent the evening hanging out more and enjoying excellent fellowship.
