Spiritual Life @ Bucknell

Elizabeth Addo ‘24

Today’s journey highlighted the multidimensional nature of community organization, painting a vivid image of varied ways to work towards social change. It revealed to me the complex connections between different facets of community organizing, how they connect, and more importantly how they do not communicate. This created different pockets of community work that rarely knew what the other was doing and could not necessarily collaborate on planning to help different communities. 

The day commenced at the intersection of policy and activism —the Baltimore Food Policy office—where, at precisely 10:30 AM, we encountered a dynamic group of five women deeply engaged in combating food insecurity through thoughtful policy advocacy. These women were policymakers who wanted to aid in local engagement through funded support for initiatives to combat food insecurities. Their knowledge of the Black Church Food Security Network and Reverend Brown’s community organizing was exciting to hear because this meant that two groups tackling the same problem knew and potentially worked with each other. Amidst the blooming and powerful partnerships, a cloud of disconnect loomed. Many of the community organizers do not know that there were policy advocates. In talking to the five women there was clear passion and understanding for food insecurity taking place in their communities and certain attempts to combat this. This work and the passion for which they attack their work were likely not brought to the awareness of community organizers. 

Continue reading “Disconnected by Location, connected by dedication “

“And do as adversaries do in law, strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.”
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
‘The Taming of the Shrew’

Hailie Miller ‘25 

Today was our last day in the Baltimore area and it was a nice day to tie things up. We started out our day with the Baltimore Food Policy office. Not only were we able to learn more about the issues facing people trying to make a difference, we are understanding what those issues are and how we can help. The women we spoke to at the office were super knowledgeable and seemed to have a lot of care for the job.

Continue reading “Learning in Community”

Defne Gumus ’27

“It is Allah Who has made for you the earth as a resting place, and the sky as a canopy, and has given you shape and made your shapes beautiful and has provided for you sustenance.” Quran, 40:64

Acknowledging the beauty of humans and the world, this verse from Surah Ghafir speaks to the concept of gratitude and recognition of the blessings given to humanity by Allah (SWT). It encourages us to reflect on the gifts of his creation and the responsibility to approach our environment with care. Going into the heart of bustling Baltimore with our Food, Faith, and Justice group unveiled a secret world where the soil nearly whispered encouragement to cherish and nurture our earth. As we dug up old plants and roots to cultivate new ones at Strength to Love II Farm, an abundance of life was revealed underneath the rich layers: Worms, slugs, beetles, crickets, and a singular green stink bug. 

Continue reading “Soil to Soul: Whispers of the Earth “

Ibrahim Ware ’24

“They are not believers whose stomach is filled while the neighbor to their side goes hungry.”

-Prophet Muhammad

Continue reading “Practicing Empathy”

Amma Boamah-Appiah ’25

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they aren’t true, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

When one goes into vulnerable spaces that they are not privy to, it is easy to see the narrative that the media portrays or that your eyes only allow you to see. It takes immersion and the removal of self to get an accurate depiction of the multidimensional story that should be told. Today, we went to Our Daily Bread, which is a soup kitchen. We were designated groups and I chose to be a server ​​for the purpose of being a newscaster. What do I mean by newscaster? I mean someone who is in the field, someone who observes and takes in information directly from the source in order to retell the story. First experience that I had in Our Daily Bread: there was a lady who came in and sat at my table. She was crying and seemed in a lot of distress, and as the empath that I am, I was not able to just sit down and watch her being distressed. I went up to her and asked her if she wanted a certain type of food and if she was okay. I went to get her food and I asked if she wanted me to pray for her and she obliged. As I was praying for her, I realized that I have so much to be grateful for.

Continue reading “The Danger of a Single Story”

Lexi Rhoads ’26

Who do you imagine when you hear the word change?

Growing up I learned that the world where I lived was in need of change. I did not know what kind of change or how it would happen, but I knew that someone had to do something. My family was constantly moving around and trying to survive off of my dad’s income as a taxi driver. We were relying on food stamps and WIC to make up for the low income we had. Due to this, once the food stamp card ran out, we  would turn to the resources in our community such as the food bank and soup kitchen. Hence, visiting and volunteering in the kitchen at Our Daily Bread was a full-circle experience for me. 

Continue reading “Who is change?”

Barbara Wankollie ’25

Being surrounded by people that share the same experiences, and are actively seeking solutions to solve social issues while promoting the importance of community, is always inspiring and a blessing to me. Today we had the honor of fellowshipping with the  Liberty Grace Church in Baltimore. Going into this experience I expected to see all of the amazing work Mr. Terris King II and the Liberty Grace Church are doing in the Black community surrounding food security and the ecosystem, but what I was not prepared for was how passionate they promote community or what I assume after our meeting “Family”. There were two things or instances that I connected to on a personal level. The first was the bowling center in the basement of the church and the sermon.

Continue reading “those “little” things”

Da’mirah Vinson ’26

Today we had the chance to go on a tour of the city with Terris King II. He showed us a couple of places where his Temple X Forrest School works with various plots of land to either clean up trash, plant new trees or whatever the kids of the school imagine the land to look like. One of the locations that stood out the most to me was the urban forestry behind the Ashburton Elementary/Middle School. Terris and the students from the school have been working with the land for about 4 years and their main goal is to keep the forestry clean. The area suffers from a lot of litter because it is a usual dumping spot, people often walk through, and it is public property. What is frustrating about the land is that every time the school works to clean up the area, it is filled with trash again.

Continue reading “Years and Small Steps”

Zoe Kemp ’24

It is almost impossible not to feel joyful when you are witnessing the Black Church Food Security Network in all its glory, hearing about its successful 250 congregation outreach, interacting with its staff including Executive Director Linneal, Executive Assistant Brahein, and fellows Shawne, Azaria, and Nash, and while helping unbox merchandise and organizing a space. You feel its mission at every step of the way, and perhaps you envision yourself with a successful mission of your own, if only for a brief moment. This is something Rev. Heber Brown mentioned while we were sat down for a delicious lunch after helping them organize a room piled high with boxes, and having a “detective session” with Rev. Brown in helping him brainstorm ways of connecting a community in Houston, Texas.

Continue reading “March 9, Visiting the Black Church Food Security Network”