Welcomed by Communion

One of the nicest coincidences of the first month here in NOLA has been that for the first several weeks of my adventure, it seemed like everywhere I went, it was communion Sunday. The day before I went to national orientation, a fellow YAV and I visited St. Charles Presbyterian Church, and we got BOTH sacraments: a baby was being baptized, and we had communion. The next Sunday, we did communion to finish out our week at Stony Point. Then, my first Sunday back I visited Jefferson Presbyterian Church with all six of us, and we were greeted with more communion! And to top it all off, my first day of work with Lakeview Presbyterian, we served communion to the homeless as part of the Program of Hope.

First Presbyterian of Beacon, NY where we were commissioned!

Communion can be a very spiritual practice, one that reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made. The act of communion involves literally welcoming all to the table. The combination of spirituality and community involved in the eucharist represents beautifully my first month in New Orleans: what I have felt is Welcomed.

A battle I won

I was nervous that the kids I help tutor would shy away from befriending yet another volunteer destined only to stay in their lives for a year. But the kids I work with Monday through Thursday have been smart, hard-working, and happy to have me in their lives. I can already tell I'll be playing a lot of four square this year!

I was scared that living with five other people would be suffocating. But I already feel so close with the other residents of the "Big Green House." I was able to share a lot of my past in my "This Is Me:" a night where I cook one of my family's home-cooked meals and tell stories. I like telling stories, and my housemates were patient as I rambled on about the time Kobe Bryant looked at me, and they were understanding when I told them the truth about my depression driving me away from school and even God.

NOLA YAV's clean up nice!

And thankfully, in the beginning of this YAV year, I feel welcomed. Welcomed into my work placements; welcomed into my crazy, goofy, emotional house; and welcomed back by God onto a path of faith and grace.


I think being amid this year of intentional community has pushed me to reexamine some of these common spiritual practices. I love when we can find new personal meaning in very old traditions. I hope any of you reading feel just as welcomed to the table as I have recently.