I feel like I should be sitting in a confessional right now... "Father I have sinned. It's been 35 days since my last day of church camp..."
Or maybe AA... "Hello. My name is Erin Taylor & I have been church camp free for 35 days."
Today (pending I post this in the next 26 minutes) marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. (See, I CAN count!)
I can remember exactly where I was, whom I was with, the emotions I felt, and every detail of that day-- as many of us can. I was in 7th grade, wearing a navy blue polo shirt and khakis (don't look impressed that I remember that, we had uniforms) and had just got into the car with Kimberly, Casey, and their mom. Mrs. Selina told us what had happened and we all sat there in shock and confusion. I went to soccer practice, which was located about 5 miles from the Lake Charles airport (almost everything there is within that close of a proximity). Any time I saw a plane flying over me, I thought of the people on that plane. I thought of who I would call and speak to, knowing those would be my final words. I remember the fear that was overcome by pride and the discrimination that was overcome by sacrifice and selflessness. The memory that stands out the most is overhearing a conversation between some teenagers (they were roughly 17, I was 12) who said that we needed to find everyone who was brown or (insert a very derogatory word of your choice here because homeboy used all the ones in the book) and just kill them all. Even as a 12 year old, I knew that was an absolutely terrible idea. I knew that creating more violence and hostility was not the best solution and would just lead to more anger and fuel towards this “entitled” racism. I think that was one of the many signs foreshadowing the values I would develop and the career path I would follow (or attempt to follow).
Over the summer, I was given the opportunity to serve as a Peace Intern for Disciples Peace Fellowship. As a peace intern, I went to several camps around the country and spent time in dialogue and action with the future of our church, both professional and lay leadership, and began to see a different attitude than the one I experienced 10 years ago. I saw the deep potential of young leaders and their commitment to compassion and education over violence. At one point, someone said that they’d started losing hope for our world and for humanity. After this summer, I see so much hope and potential for our world and for humanity. I see a future that is limitless and does not know the barriers of race, religion, sex, gender, social status, or age. Instead these barriers turn into bridges and are used to enrich our communities and our one human family.
In the last 10 years I have seen the power of responding with peace and cooperation. In the last 3 months I have seen the power of youth whose souls are hungry for growing and tearing down those barriers. While I will never be able to completely describe what this summer has meant to me and how to put it into words, I am comforted in knowing that I don’t have to. Instead, I can see the action our youth and young adults are taking towards peace and know that those actions speak much louder than any words ever will.
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