Reflections on Summers of Service
On Tuesday, September 26, the 2017 summer interns in Lived Theology gave final presentations on their partnerships with the community, wrapping up this year’s summer internships in lived theology. This year’s cohort included Megan Helbling (Col ’18), Sarah Katherine Doyle (Col ’18), and Joseph Kreiter (Col ’17).
Megan Helbling
“Intentionally incorporating others’ stories into our lives is the best way to make our theologies as comprehensive as possible of the entire Kingdom of God.”
Megan is a University of Virginia student majoring in English and religious studies. As a summer intern, she worked at The Haven, a multi-service day shelter for people experiencing homelessness in downtown Charlottesville. Read her final project here.
Sarah Katherine Doyle
“Community living can be messy. But using our senses and our breath to re-engage in the present, particularly at Magdalene, means re-engaging with a community of survivors at a vast range of phases in their recovery processes. It means re-engaging with glory.”
Sarah Katherine is a University of Virginia student majoring in English and religious studies. As a PLT summer intern, SK served women who are survivors of trafficking, addiction and prostitution at Magdalene, a residential program connected with Thistle Farms Social Enterprises in Nashville, Tennessee. Read her final project here.
Joe Kreiter
“It is my hope that I can help to improve the material stakes of underprivileged residents of the Bay Area, if even only in a small way, to lighten their load a little bit so that they, too, can find some time for rest.”
A recent University of Virginia graduate, Joe double majored in East Asian studies and English. For his PLT summer internship, he worked with Urban Adamah, a Jewish community farm in downtown Berkeley, California, which seeks to integrate Judaism, organic farming, mindfulness and social action to foster love, justice and sustainability. Read his final project here.
To read the intern blog comprised of each student’s reflections over the summer, click here.
The Summer Internship in Lived Theology is an immersion program designed to complement the numerous existing urban and rural service immersion programs flourishing nationally and globally by offering a unique opportunity to think and write theologically about service.