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Published: July 29th 2010
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Friends- I’ve tried, in as brief a space as possible to give you an insight to who I am as well as what my work will be in the next year. Its style is creative and informative. Once again, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or interests in COPS, the YAV program or my work with both.
Greetings,
As a recent graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, my life has been thrust into a space that is riddled with questions regarding my future. Several months ago I made the decision to serve as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) in San Antonio, Texas. For many today, transitions have become more and more common. Adjusting to new jobs, cities, communities and so on, can be a difficult process. Yet it is because I believe in change: social, political, that I am changing things in my life. As a 23-year-old college graduate, moving forward may appear as an impending and common trend. Yet, my ideas and understandings of what change is, and what it looks like are drastically different than they were four years ago freshman year. Now, I am looking
At the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
If you are interested in or curious to the formation of the WCRC please visit reformedchurches.org
It was a tremendous event for the international ecumenical community, and I was fortunate enough to be elected as a youth delegate by the PC(USA) toward an opportunity to serve as a Community Organizer with the organization Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) in San Antonio.
While studying Religion at St. Olaf, I donned new ideas, concepts, and theories like hats. Liberation theology became an end-of-term paper. The social and eschatological salvation found within the Passion was (assumedly) encompassed within my first semester senior seminar. A line quickly became obvious to me: There is a difference between change lived and change studied. And so, beginning freshman year and fueled by beliefs in the betterment of this world, I started working with the Northfield community. Social issues such as immigration, education, housing, and health care quickly became cemented in relationships, memories, and places.
This is where I am today: As I approach a year of service in San Antonio through the YAV program of the PC(USA) I am convinced that true social progress occurs through and within relationships. My work with COPS will primarily function in the West and South sides of town. COPS is an organization that operates under the goal of instilling local populations with the political and social know-how. This focus upon empowering marginalized and disenfranchised populations with power is an effective approach toward change in hurtful social systems.
Growing up in small-town Kansas provided me with the understanding that these issues are not restricted to certain cities or states. Much of our country is affected by poor access to health care, under-funded education systems, poverty and so on. My work in Northfield taught me the indifference to ethnicity, family history, or class position of these societal failings. This realization became obvious through my work as a translator for the school district, a supervisor for an after-school program, and as well as a director of a mentoring program for “at-risk” youth.
The YAV program functions on a network of support: financial, spiritual and emotional. Proper social change includes waves of impacts that extend far beyond the tangible and physical outcomes of donations made or social programs created. The relationships created between those who are supporting and those carrying out the projects entail investment: Churches often hear a YAV give the Sunday sermon; congregations offer time and energy volunteering with a YAV. This investment finds a foundation in the common desire to work together to create a more harmonious and equitable world: Social change is a process that crosses political, geographic, and ideological boundaries. This is evident in stories told, relationships built and letters sent. COPS is a non-partisan organization, and is passionate about empowering communities in their best interest. This means operating through a framework that upholds the cares and concerns of the community itself: not providing an agenda or political bias. All of my work as a YAV will be alongside members of the San Antonio community. This means empowering community members with political and social know-how and knowledge.
As a young man, I realize how much I have to learn in this world. However, I see potential within myself to create positive social change. Carried out correctly, this change will impact all of those involved within this process. It is a process that attempts to create a more equitable world that mirrors the love of God, demonstrated through the life of Jesus Christ.
If you are interested in becoming involved in this process: I’ll be sending out a blog, occasional email updates and letters, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the information below. I deeply appreciate all suggestions, comments, and interest in this work. I look forward to hearing from all those interested.
Peace.
Aaron Stauffer
620.228.2674
stauffer.aaron@gmail.com
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