Roots and Resilience Service Trip to Western NC
July 19-23
This weekend, youth from several progressive congregations around the Triangle are traveling to Western North Carolina to assist in recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene. CUCC will send three youth (Carmen, Elena, and James) and three adults (Santi, and two former youth – Gabby and John).
Our goals are:
- to give youth the opportunity to collaborate with other youth in meaningful work and to begin, continue, and deepen friendships
- to learn more about Hurricane Helene – to understand the storm and the flooding with more clarity, to sympathize more fully with those affected, and to recognize our shared responsibility in systems that make these storms more frequent and more destructive
- to participate in the important work of recovery
We will spend Saturday learning from experts (including our own Grady McCallie) about the storm, flooding, and climate change, and to understand better the importance of the work we’ll be doing with Mills River Partnership and Habitat for Humanity.
We’ll spend Sunday travelling and worshipping (at 5PM) with our sister church Circle of Mercy in Asheville. Their church will feed us a potluck supper after worship and then we’ll go to Mars Hill University where we’ll stay in dorms and enjoy breakfasts and suppers in their dining hall.
On Monday and Tuesday, we’ll divide into two groups, one will work on a Habitat for Humanity build and one will help with a river clean up. We’ll be working to bring some healing to both people and place.
Wednesday, youth will process their experiences with one another and plan the fundraiser to be held on Saturday, August 9, before heading back home in the afternoon.
We’ll share daily morning devotionals and evening reflections – drawing from scripture, poetry, and environmental justice voices.
We hope this service trip helps us to see that loving the Earth and loving our neighbor are inseparable acts of resilience and faith. We also hope to return home tired but transformed, bringing stories and questions that will help inform and inspire our own church communities to better advocate for sustainable policies, listen to marginalized voices, and more fully commit to environmental repair.
Please pray for us and for the other four church youth groups (Greenwood Forest Baptist Church, Pilgrim UCC, Umstead Park UCC, and Circle of Mercy).
Contact Pastor Santi Matthews at education.cucc@gmail.com with any questions you might have about this trip or about our Youth Program.