This week I would like to take a minute to say thank you to the mom and pop of PSAB (Philadelphia Student Activities Board), namely Caroline Sharp and Phil Hobbes.

Thank you for providing the pancakes. Every other Wednesday, you provide us with pancakes and an opportunity to catch up with the Messiah community mid-week. You guys know how to do pancakes. You don’t just give us the regular old flapjack with some syrup on the side. Its berries, peanut butter, chocolate chips, cherries, and spices… a topping to satisfy every possible craving. Thanks for our pancake time together, where we can break from studies and exchange conversation, a laugh, and empathy.

Thank you for the weekend activities, which are frequent and thoughtful. You taught us to be children again on the skate rink. The guided field trips through independence hall and to various museums challenge us to become educated about Philly during our stay here.

Thank you for taking us out to ethnic restaurants! I especially appreciated the Pad Thai and Malaysian tea from Banana leaf, but the Continental cuisine comes in close second.
Also, the Insomnia cookie order, although not ethnic, was greatly appreciated. You have opened my eyes to a new world of delivery delights.

Lastly, thank you for planning a trip to Reading Terminal Market and a Phillies game on my birthday! You said it was not planned like that, but I suspect different. ;D

Mom and pop PSAB, you have been an active force in unifying our MCPC community and my Philly experience would not have been the same with out you. Keep up the good work!

For the Theology course I take here at MCPC, I am required to visit a number of different urban churches. So far there are three that I have discovered of particular interest: the Epiphany Fellowship, the Circle of Hope, and the Free Quaker Meeting House. Each of these places offered a new idea to consider and presented me with an opportunity to comparatively evaluate my own religious practices.

1. Epiphany Fellowship combines post-modernism and hip hop culture to battle the traditional western/American Christian “religious” practice. Their Urban Outreach is real and alive, and the church body is immersed in the local community. The congregation is comprised of North West Philly residents, including a large number of students. I was engaged by the Pastor’s a message which was biblical, conversational, and applicable. The Fellowship is aimed at making believers and re-shaping the North Philly community.
-http://www.epiphanyfellowship.org/pages.asp?pageid=44184

2. The Circle of Hope church has a different aim audience (largely hipster 20s-30s) however the message was comparable. They strive to break down the traditions and rules of religion and make faith a personal relationship with our Creator. The church community has an interesting system, consisting of: required small group study, a large time for fellowship and service on Sunday evenings, and organization of a small thrift shop out of their church building.
-http://circleofhope.net/blog/about/

3. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) believe that each person can be in unmediated communion with the Holy Spirit. Ideally this principal greatly shapes how the believer acts, and specifically, treats other people. Also stressed is God gives every individual their own beliefs. They are one of three Pacifist Christian Sects (along with Brethren in Christ and Mennonite)! -http://philadelphia.about.com/od/travel/ss/independence_2.htm

I found the emphasis on personal relationship, in all three of these churches, to be undeniably sanctifying…
Thank you, Urban church, for the reminder of how much our Lord longs to know, guide, and speak to me. May you continue to grow, touch lives, and bring people into His mighty presence.

Beach? Ski resort? Road trip? No… this year my spring break consists of going back to visit my old pals at main campus. As I get ready to embark on my Grantham vacation, I remember how it has felt, since freshman year, to return to Messiah College. It always feels like going home.

There is a proverb that says- home is where the heart is. Does it follow then that since we each have one heart, we must only have one home?

When my family life was turned upside down over a year ago, I realized that the house where you grow up is not the only place that can be your home. From that day forward, when I longed to go home, it was not my house that I was drawn to but one of my other homes. My church is my home; there I have a second family. It is the people, the familiarity of place, and the solidarity of the community there that has made it my home. Another place that I find home is with my best friends from high school. Sharing our lives, our time, and our love that has withstood many trials over the years has earned their friendship the title. A last place that I call home is, as mentioned, Messiah College. The Messiah community guides and challenges me in my faith walk, inspires me academically in unexpected ways, and, most importantly, loves me for who I am as an individual. Messiah is probably the place I have felt most free to be true to myself- in community and in close relationships.

This year, I wonder if coming back to Philly campus will prompt those same emotions of comfort, joy, and overall warmth that I get on the ride up Grantham Avenue. I feel like Philly wants to become a home for me. The city extends its arms of culture, people, and opportunity out to me. Whether I will let those arms embrace me, and enter the door to a new home, is a decision that my heart must make. I find and receive love in Philly, but is this place more than just a temporary residency? Can it be a new home?

At first, when I moved into Messiah College Philly Campus, I was taken by surprise that our apartment complex is located on a Temple fraternity row. On our block there are three fraternities, (AEπ, TKE and KE), and a Jewish coalition of some sort. I thought our placement was by coincidence. Maybe Messiah just happened to buy property in a Greek life residential area. However, as I take a closer look at the two different types of communities, I start to realize that maybe we are more alike than we know.

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A few minutes ago I started writing out my first blog, and then I realized that I have not yet introduced myself… My name is Kelsey. I am a Biology major, Psychology Minor with the hope of becoming a Physician’s Assistant. I chose to come to MCPC this semester for a few reasons. One reason was: God has bestowed upon me a deep desire to use my life to serve the poor. My hope is that encountering the urban poor will help me to decide if this is the field where I am called for ministry. Another reason was I am drawn to the city- the excitement, opportunity, diversity- I find this lifestyle intriguing. A last motivation for coming was to get out of Grantham for a while. In Grantham, I love the people, the classes, and the beauty of campus. But, at the same time, I was tired of running that same path around campus, of watching countless movies in the dorms, and going to Daybreak each Sunday. I was ready for my next adventure!

It has been three weeks since the semester started, and I am already considering how I could work out my schedule to stay another semester. The funny thing is I can not place my finger on why I am so undoubtedly infatuated with this experience. Perhaps it is because I have become at home with the close knit community of MCPC students (and faculty). With in weeks I feel a sense of family- of belonging, security, and safety- with the group of friends that I have here. Or maybe it is because I am enthralled by the people that I meet, bump into, and even notice from afar. Or, it could even be, because I am enticed by the options, entertainment, and unique dining that is suddenly an eight minute subway ride away. Whatever the case, all I know is that I find joy here everyday. I never expected such a blessing.

But living here has already presented challenges along with its pleasures. What do you say to a homeless man begging for money? “God bless you” is often my first instinct but what do I give? How can I help? Another challenge has been meeting so many students without faith. Out of the Temple students that I have met so far, I have found it most common that my peers are jaded or even resentful because of some “religious experience” in their past. Can I try to be like Jesus- can I love, feed the (spiritually & physically) hungry, and offer Truth like He did? I hope so…

This has been a really crazy time to live in Philadelphia. The Phillies won the World Series and the election happened. Outside the city, that probably meant that people sat in front of the TV a lot, maybe called a friend or two with the news and looked at online articles. In the city, it meant that everyone took to the streets in a chaotic mob.

It started when the Phillies won the game that got them to the World Series. As I walked out of my building (admittedly not even knowing that there was a game on) the game must have ended and suddenly there was a rush of people coming out of every building and running around in the streets. People were flocking to my street corner from blocks away, looking for other people to celebrate with. Cars beeped their horns, police stood by to make sure the mob didn’t take a turn from joyful to destructive. For the next two hours people chanted, ran back and forth across the street and gave each other hugs and high fives.

When the Phillies won the World Series, it was even crazier. People flooded the streets, all running to the Center City/ City Hall area. I walked part of the way but it’s pretty far so I turned back after awhile. From what I’ve heard/ seen in videos is that some people went from a friendly celebration (with thousands of other people) in the street to suddenly having a destructive nature. Cars were overturned, trash fires were lit in the street, street lights were unhinged and torn down, a couple windows were accidentally broken with bottles, after which people yelled “free stuff!” and looted the store. Police got a handle on every situation that started, but it still looked a little like a war zone down there and I’m sure the people who had property damaged were a little less thrilled about the Phillies. Here is a video of that night:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNpCry3grh4

On election day there was an excited hum throughout the city. A lot of classes were canceled so that people could go out and vote/volunteer. There were about 3 helicopters circling above to get footage of election lines, but movies have made me associate helicopters with city evacuations and monsters so it gave me a sense of urgency. That night, when Obama was announced as the next President of the United States, there was another mass movement to the streets. This time, it didn’t seem to concentrate in any one area. There were smaller mobs all over the city yelling “OBAMA!” and “YES WE DID!” People were crying, calling people on their phones, hugging each other. Cars all around the city were honking their horns. Standing outside there was a loud roar all around the city of people celebrating. This celebration didn’t seem to get out of hand like the Phillies one did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY9GWhPT0Mc

It’s getting a little chilly in the city! Well, some days are chilly. Some days are still pretty warm. Rumor has it the guy from Sweet Home Alabama (Josh Lucus) is on Temple’s campus today encouraging students to register to vote. It’s the last (or almost the last) day to register to vote, so I hope everyone is ready! I’m going to guess that one of the reasons people my age don’t vote is because they have to vote through an absentee ballot if they are too far away from home. I have to do that this year and I’m finding the process a bit annoying. I’m still going to do it obviously but I’m sure there are many other people my age out there who are too lazy to figure out how to do it. Sad, I know. Especially since this is such an important election. Well for anyone who is too far away from home to vote, you can go to this site to find out how to register for an absentee ballot. You have to do this ahead of time, so do it now!
http://www.govoteabsentee.org/?gclid=CLTZmOqKk5YCFQOeFQod5UWXEw

I lost my umbrella over the weekend. It was a very sad moment, stepping off the subway, the doors closing behind me and realizing it was still sitting on my seat. I turned back, wondering if it was possible to get back on, but subways have a schedule and the doors rarely stay open for more than a few seconds. I watched it ride away, and I like to think that some poor old woman found it and was able to stay dry in the rain.

On the way back to MCPC, I boarded the subway once again and was surprised to see a bag underneath the seat I chose to sit in. I picked it up and peaked inside. All I saw were some papers and a cell phone charger along with a pair of glasses in their case. Relating to the bag owner because of my recent umbrella loss, I took the bag with me when I exited and carried it back to MCPC. I looked through some of the papers, trying to find a name or phone number. There were multiple addresses, probably a work address and home address, some bank information including a check book, a pay stub (from a production company, which I particularly noticed being a film major myself) and finally a phone number. I called him, explained that I had found his bag. He was so surprised, and said he would be on Broad Street in 20 minutes to pick it up. Apparently his car had been broken into earlier that day outside of work, and that bag was one of the items stolen! I guess the robber left the bag on the subway once he realized there wasn’t much to sell inside. Still, the man was very thankful I had contacted him and also seemed extremely surprised that he had his bag back. I made a new contact at a production company in Philadelphia and will hopefully ask him sometime about life after college in the film industry. It’s funny what opportunities you can find to meet new people and make connections in the city!

Hello, I am Krista, a new MCPC blogger. I am a senior Communication/Film major and this is my first semester at the Philly campus. I’ve had really interesting experiences since arriving last week. Growing up in a safe suburban neighborhood, I was led to believe that cities were dirty, scary places. That if you lived in a city, you had to be on the lookout at all times to avoid being mugged or shot. Imagine my shock when I discovered how comfortable I am in this city after only living here a few days. It has been easy to find my classes at Temple, since the campus is much simpler to navigate than I previously thought. Instead of an intricate weaving of subway tunnels, I found that there are only two subway routes to choose from: north and south on Broad Street or east and west on Market Street. Could living in a city be this easy? I had prepared myself for the worst in vain.
Have you ever heard a song that you hate at first, but the more you listen to it, the more you like it? Eventually it becomes a song of comfort because it is so familiar. Well it has been the same experience with the Philly campus. Freshman year I visited for a weekend with my Intro to Film class since all film majors are required to spend one semester here. At the time I was not officially a film major, so I was happy that I did not have to live here. It seemed so unfamiliar since I’ve had very limited experiences with cities in general. As the weekend went on, I decided that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have to take classes here, but I still didn’t want to do it myself. There have been several visits to the City of Brotherly Love since that first impression and each time I grew to like it more and more. Now, here I am thinking about the possibility of living in or around Philadelphia after graduation. I guess you never know how much you’ll like something until you give it a try.
Krista

April is coming to a close, and it is getting colder in the city!
Things are pretty complacent around here, everyone’s finishing up some final papers, getting ready for finals week, solidifying summer plans etc. It seems as though there is no reason to look forward to the summer this year, so I have not been acknowledging the fact that I must move away in about two weeks. This semester in Philadelphia has been wonderful, and leaving just as the trees begin to bloom while days grow longer is quite a tease.
May I stay?

(This entry is SO LIVEJOURNAL2006)