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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Mennonite Mission Network) – Rakes, mowers, shovels, paintbrushes, hands and feet were some of the tools youth and adults wielded during servant projects in Columbus.  

And in return, they were blessed with dance lessons, food, stories, a new knowledge of the city, and an opportunity to put the message they heard in worship to work.

Mary and Daniel Lacan, youth from Lombard (Ill.) Mennonite Church, were impressed by the call to a life of service put forth by Shane Claiborne, the Friday morning youth worship speaker. They saw their servant project as one opportunity to put their learning into action. 

Nearly 3,300 youth and adults participated in servant projects organized by Mennonite Mission Network during the Mennonite convention June 30-July 6.

“Servant projects are a way to thank our host community for hosting us, but also a way to learn more about Columbus and how God is at work in the city where we’re gathering,” said Arloa Bontrager, servant project coordinator and Mission Network Youth Venture and SOOP director.

 

At Faith Mission Shelter, a center providing comprehensive care and services for people looking to transition into new housing and job situations, 40 youth and adults helped to host an outdoor barbecue for residents and others. Faith Mission also has a kitchen that is open not just to residents, but to anyone who is hungry, so the group was prepared to feed up to 400 people at the barbecue.

 

They served food, played outdoor games like corn hole and cards, and talked with residents and staff members, sharing their stories with each other.

 

“This was a short project, but not small. A project like this reminds me of ways that I can serve in my own community. And really, I’m getting as much out of this project as the people from Faith Mission are,” said Aspen Schmidt, a youth from Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church in Wichita, Kan.

 

Deaconess and Deacon Clara and Stanley Cartwright hosted 90-some youth and watched as they cleaned out the sanctuary, garage, weeded and watered a community garden and helped with landscaping around their church.

 

Trinity Baptist Missionary Church, where the Cartwrights serve, is a church of 600, led by Pastor Dr. Victor M. Davis, that offers a plethora of ministries and services to the community.

 

“We have been so impressed with these youth that have come through and worked so hard. This helps us continue the work we’re doing,” said Stanley Cartwright. “It takes a community to raise a child, and it’s clear that your community has been teaching these children right, and this is a model of service that we want to take back to our own congregation.”

 

And in Urbancrest, a Columbus suburb, two groups of 30 volunteers were hosted by the Somali Bantu Community of Ohio. This community organization, made up of many immigrants from Somalia, partners with local colleges and government to provide English as a second language classes, neighborhood support and seminars that teach people about food preparation, hygiene and customs in the United States.

 

The first group of youth helped to pick up trash and sweep sidewalks in the apartment complex where the Somali Bantu Community is housed. On the second day, a different group got to partake in a picnic and outdoor party hosted by the Somali Bantu group. The group sampled food, played with children, and learned traditional Somali dance from members of the community.

 

Before they left, Abdukadin Matan, one of the leaders of the community organization, blessed the group from Gehman Mennonite Church in Adamstown, Pa., and Mount Joy (Pa.) Mennonite Church, and thanked them for their service on behalf of the church.

 

And for many groups and servant project leaders, it was this opportunity to learn from the communities they served alongside that meant the most.

 

As Bontrager said, “The Columbus community was exceptionally gracious in hosting us.”