A Beloved’s reflection
EDITOR’S NOTE: Beloved in the Desert is a ministry that invites young adults between ages 21-29 to to volunteer in the nationwide network known as the Episcopal Service Corps. The members intern with local non-profits to end homelessness, hunger, and poverty in Tucson, live together in intentional community, and follow daily offices of prayer.
Hannah Hill is one of this year’s corps members. What follows is her reflection on interning with the Boys and Girls Club of Tucson.
Being a Beloved has given me many new opportunities, but by far the one I have enjoyed the most so far is being able to work at the Boys and Girls Club.
Working with children is not only something I am passionate about, but also something I am quite comfortable with. My degree is in children’s ministry, and for the past five years I have been running my own Sunday school program and working as the arts and crafts director for the summer camp that is run through the Diocese of Chicago. So, you can only imagine my joy when I was offered a position running the art room at the Steve Daru clubhouse.
My work thus far has been a combination of two of my favorite things: art and investing in the lives of children. Not to say that there haven’t been challenges! Although I have experience with children, I have never worked with kids outside of a church-related context. For some reason, it becomes much more difficult to explain why using kind words and not biting your friends are important when you can’t reference biblical principles.
I have had to learn to say many things in a different way than I may have in another context, but it has been a challenge that I have been glad to encounter. I have spent the last four years living and studying at a Christian university and diving into secular work has been a dramatic change. And a necessary one.
The Boys and Girls Club has given me the perfect opportunity to transition into the “real world.” Being able to do what I love while also adjusting to life as an independent adult in a secular society has, I believe, been the best possible thing for me to do at this stage in my life. I am grateful to the Boys and Girls Clubs; I am thankful to the Beloved in the Desert Program; and, I am thankful for the congregation at Saint Phillips. I have received support from all!
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to grow and learn and to do what makes me happy. I am only about halfway through my time here in Tucson, and already I have grown and become a better version of myself. I can’t wait to see where the next half of my service year takes me.