News > March 20, 2008

By Katie Phillips | Staff writer

Over spring break four different groups of university students traveled to three different locations in the United States, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. All of the locations were host to university students seeking service experiences.

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Volunteers included undergraduates, students of the Babcock School of Management and students from the Divinity School. The three locations in the United States included New York City, Arkansas and New Orleans.

Sixteen Divinity School students accompanied the Reverend Doug Bailey to New York City for Spring Break.

Their goal was ministry work in the impoverished areas of Lower West Harlem and other districts in the city of similar poverty lines.

Bailey is the assistant professor of urban ministry at the university and executive director of the Center for Urban Ministry in Winston-Salem. He called the trip an “urban missionary pilgrimage,” because “one can go on a trip for observation; pilgrims go on a journey to be changed.”

The group included participants from The General Theological Seminary in New York City and four auditors also from the New York City area. Before the students left March 8 for the city, 14 hours of classroom work was required.

Said to be a multi-cultural immersion, students participated in a variety of volunteer activities over the week.

They began with learning and ministering in Lower West Harlem, which included participating at the largest soup kitchen in the nation.

This was located in the Chelsea–Hell’s Kitchen area. The trip included time studying with renowned black pastor and theologian, Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood.

Students also dedicated time at Exodus Community, a place where men and women can go to transition back into society after spending time in prison.

Lastly, the students made a trip to St. Paul’s Chapel, located near Ground Zero. This occurred on March 11, the day that St. Paul’s was holding a special commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the Madrid train bombings by terrorists.

The group participated in a number of worship services, including those at the Metropolitan Community Church and the Riverside Church.

The former hosts a predominantly gay, lesbian and transgender congregation.

Riverside Church is now home to an alumnus, the Reverend Lee Hill. He currently serves as the associate minister for youth and young adults. Hill said he was inspired to delve into urban ministry by a similar trip he took with the university four years ago.

Ten sociology students have returned to Stephens, Ark. after taking a course in Social Stratification in the Deep South this past summer. Dr. Angela Hattery and Dr. Earl Smith were the two faculty advisers accompanying the students who volunteered at a local high school.

Aaron Miles, a junior and political science major, learn from the experience of working with underprivileged youth

“The search for one’s self is never complete until he or she has extended that search beyond the next individual, learning more about themselves while delving into the lives of others,” Miles said.

The service trip was open to all students but especially those who have previously taken the mentioned course. Benny Cooper, a senior sociology major, was one of the student leaders of the trip. Posted on the Arkansas blog, Cooper writes of the experience.

“This trip embodies why I live each day and yearn to make a global impact within the education system. I would