“Day of Service” unites UPS students for the community

Campus Connection
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
at University of Puget Sound
By the Rev. David Wright

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?”
-Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 21, 2013, University of Puget Sound students, staff and faculty rolled up their sleeves and honored the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by turning their holiday into a day of service. With coordination provided by the Office of Spirituality, Service, & Social Justice, over 400 members of the Puget Sound community volunteered at 14 different service sites across the breadth of Tacoma, Wash. The service projects addressed a variety of needs within Pierce County and took place throughout the entire day.

In the morning, individuals built bookshelves for New Phoebe House; painted a new house in the Hilltop neighborhood with Habitat for Humanity; teamed up with Washington Conservation Corps for a shoreline cleanup; and played icebreakers with senior citizens at Franke Tobey Jones – an independent/assisted living community.

In the afternoon, folks from the Puget Sound Area prepared and cooked dinner at Tacoma Rescue Mission; prepped a greenhouse at L’Arche Farm and Gardens; and planted trees at Puget Park with Puget Creek Restoration Society.

Other service projects helped to address food access, environmental stewardship, services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and urban agriculture within the Tacoma community. The Day of Service was also incorporated into the day-long Spring Orientation program for our small group of mid-year freshmen and transfer students. These new students along with many Puget Sound community groups including Greek Life, Student Senate, Multicultural Student Services, LEAD sophomore leadership cohort, Lighthouse, the UPS Football team and the Kayak Club, as well as a handful of students and staff from University of Washington Tacoma all participated.

At the end of the day, Puget Sound students came together for a “soup with substance” reflection in Rasmussen Rotunda. While exchanging stories about the day’s events, they drew connections between Martin Luther King’s words and their own individual ethics of service. Two students, Kara Klepinger and Santiago Rodriguez, shared short reflections on the importance of volunteering in their personal lives and urged their fellow students to increase their involvement in the local Tacoma community.

After being mostly snowed out in 2012, this year’s MLK Day of Service returned with our largest turnout ever. Alongside programs like Alternative Breaks, Backpacks of Hope, Food Salvage, and the great work of the Community Involvement and Action Center, these are all ways in which Loggers give back to the community they call home for their college years. Plus, these programs are all connected to the extension of the ministry of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference – beyond the local church through the support of the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry as well as the Office of Spirituality, Service & Social Justice at the University of Puget Sound!

David Wright serves as the University Chaplain and Director for Spirituality & Justice
at the University of Puget Sound.

Citizen King (D4149) January 19, 2004-the 75th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s birth-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE features Citizen King, a documentary from filmmakers Orlando Bagwell and Noland Walker. The story begins on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, when a 34-year-old preacher galvanized millions with his dream for an America free of racism. It comes to an end almost five years later, on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.  To reserve this video now, e-mail The Regional Media Center.

Let Us Love One Another (D1020) “Friends of the Carpenter” is a ministry for the homeless. They operate a day center and wood-working ministry. The volunteers and participants enjoy faith-based community and develop relationships based on trust, love and respect. This short video tells the story of this ministry which is supported in part through the efforts of dedicated United Methodists who are engaging their mission field in Clark County, Wash. To reserve this video now, e-mail Ellen Johanson.

Download Channels 61 here! Women’s History Month, One Great Hour of Sharing, Mission u, Taking Steps Toward Ending Gun Violence, Hope for the Children of Africa presents: Fresie Chikomb, Musings: Take Now Authority, Elders: Spiritual Maturity.  To subscribe or to share your PNW church’s story, e-mail Channels.