Cultural Engagement
My definition of Cultural engagement is going into my community and teaching the gospel of Jesus. I believe in going out in my community and doing what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” (NIV) I believe it is important for all Christians to go into their community because we are commanded to be witnesses of our Lord. We are all ministers of God and should go into our communities and reach the lost for Jesus.
I love volunteering for Rock the Block. It has really opened my eyes to the needs of my community. Rock the Block happens three times a year. Easter, Back to School, and Christmas. Easter we give out groceries and turkeys or hams, that has been donated. We have face painting,
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By the time we were done with the week we had reached more kids than could have come to the event itself. God was able to divide the church up into small groups around the city to different schools and communities. It says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV) Some of our staff members went out into the community to pass out the backpacks and pray with them, but I was not with them because I was at home helping a friend homeschool her grandson. In 2014 Christmas Rock the Block where we are able to hand out Christmas presents for the kids and food with so many getting a ham or turkey. My family and I were at the beverage truck handing out the drinks as people came up wanting them. I was able to talk to the people and find out if they have any prayer needs. Some of them that want to be prayed for, I got to take time out and pray with the …show more content…
I arrived early for prayer before the event started. Our associate pastor led us in a small devotion and explained what the event was all about. After the devotion and explanation, we went to our stations to get ready for the event to start. I used my talent of artistry in face painting which I could pretty much draw whatever the child or adults wanted on their face. I used my creativity to draw different characters like Hello Kitty, dogs, Spiderman, and other things. I was always friendly and enthusiastic to everyone that sat in front of me. I was sitting in the bleachers and when the altar call came some of the people wanted prayer in the bleachers. So, I prayed for them
Last semester, I planned my first outreach event at the church. We had bounce houses, face painting, food, games, and candy. I worked so hard to get this put together and even members of the church used their own money to purchase things to make this event happened. There was door to door evangelizing going on in the surrounding neighborhoods to get the word out, and there were only two people in the community that showed up. Two people.
This experience was really out of my comfort zone. It was hard to be an outsider and not prepared for what was to come and not speaking one of the languages used to understand the entire service. This service learning project gave me the opportunity to try a new church and gain a deeper respect for a different religion. Everyone at the service was very educated on speaking the sacred texts and participating in the rituals practiced. I hope to have gained a better understanding for those who are new to religions and are nervous to come to a worship service. I will make more of an effort to be welcoming and accommodating to those who are new to our church.
Throughout the fall semester I did community service at a thrift shop and soup kitchen in Lawrence. There I experienced things I have never encountered before in my life. These experiences have taught me a lot, and have truly made me look at America's underprivileged, in a new light.
...varied greatly. In addition, they were exceedingly sympathetic not only towards me and my fellow State University student but to the world in general. They prayed for the well being of not themselves or their community alone they prayed for peace in the world. I agree with much of what was said in the service even though I do not share their faith. Nonetheless, I find their values and their love for God admirable. I did not feel like a stranger amongst them I felt like I was making friends with people I would have probably never dare to approach before. That is the most valuable I obtained; to have an open mind and an open heart to others because regardless of how different we may be, there is always something precious we can learn from each other.
For a long time, the popular belief about anthropology was that it was the study of “far away” or “exotic” cultures. After my 10 weeks in Professor Michael Perez’s Anthropology 101 class, I now know this to be anything but the truth. My immediate thought’s for a cultural event to observe were reflective of these misconceptions – I considered an Indian wedding, a winter festival, a family friend’s Quinceanera. Nothing stood out to me.
A few of the most important elements of culture that I identify myself with would be language and values and beliefs. Language is the medium in which societies all over the world can communicate with one another. For example, in Ecuador, the language of Spanish is the means in which everyone can communicate with one another and share their beliefs and values with one another. Language allows us to be able to pass down culture from one time period to the next, which is called cultural transmission. This is vital in order for societies to learn from other’s previous mistakes and be able to succeed and learn. Thus, enabling societies to begin to value certain aspects of life or have beliefs, such as providing equal opportunity to everyone regardless
When I found out that I had to do seven hours of volunteer work I immediately knew that I wanted it to involve children. I attended the volunteer fair that was held earlier in the semester and signed up for programs such as Louie’s Kids and Wings for Kids. Unfortunately I could not volunteer for either of these programs because they were not in walking distance of the college and I did not have transportation. A couple weeks after that I saw a flyer advertising for “Reading Partners.” I attended an informational event that they held and signed up to volunteer at Memminger Elementary, which is about two blocks from the college.
The most memorable place I have ever volunteered was an organization called Let’s Start located in downtown St. Louis. The program works with female addicts and past addicts, that have been convicted of drug related crimes, to start a new life. It started out as a class assignment that I had to go get a certain amount of service hours but I soon feel in love with the program. My job while I was there to play the children and help them with them with homework if needed. There were a few tuesdays where not a lot of children would show up and a few of the helpers were allowed to sit in on the
A cultural assessment interview is very important when taking care of patients or their families who may be from a different culture than the nurse’s. In order to be able to better take care of a patient, we first need to know their own interpretation of disease and illness within their cultural context, values, and beliefs. Since I am Indian and my culture is a mix of the Indian cultural beliefs and my religion Islam, I was looking forward to this interview so that I am able to learn more about different cultures using my assessment.
According to Gay, culturally responsive teaching is employing previous experience, performance style of student, and cultural knowledge for the purposes of making learning more suitable and effective for students (Gay, 2000). In other words, culturally responsive teaching practice is using cultural experiences, perceptions of ethnically, and cultural features of student to facilitate when teaching. Furthermore, culturally responsive teaching practice teaches through and to the strength of students. Culturally responsive teaching practices is necessary in connecting the cultural knowledge of students, style of performance, and previous experience to the knowledge of academic with the goal of legitimizing what the students already know. Therefore,
I have always been involved in groups that perform community service projects. In fact, I was recently elected to as VP of Public Relations of the Student MOVE group. We are a group of 12 individuals that are the advisory committee for all of the community service organizations on campus, but we organize many alternative activities and events. I even did a service learning project for my Spanish class last semester with Cynthia Wells. I attended the Spanish mass every Sunday, and I was a greeter. I learned their culture and rituals while still attending the usual Catholic Mass.
...really enjoyed. I felt like I was close with them. The people of the congregation stood up to shake each other’s hands and hug each other. Many of them were saying a specific phrase, “peace be with you.” Everyone was just walking around with big smiles on their faces greeting each other. I really enjoyed this moment because it was something we used to do in my church before the pastor changed.
Cultural Appropriation versus Multiculturalism In today's society, there are many different cultures that individuals identify with. Culture is very important to many people and is something that helps define who we are. When different cultures are respected and appreciated, it is a beautiful thing, it can bring individuals in society closer to one another. Ideally, this understanding of one another’s cultures can lead to multiculturalism.
I also had the privilege of helping with the Meals on Wheels non profit organization. My grandfather used to be a Meals on Wheels recipient and he would share with me how he enjoyed looking forward to their company and a hot meal daily. I volunteered because I wanted to give back and help someone else’s loved one in the same way. It was very rewarding delivering hot meals to people who didn’t have the means of getting one as well as being there for them to talk to. Overall, it was a very humbling experience, it made me realize just how blessed I am and how much I take for granted daily.
Numerous amounts of people would come to receive bags of food and select some clothing if they needed some. Particularly during Christmas time, the children that would come would receive some books, toys, and a stuffed animal. At these service events, I had made three very important observations. My first observation was the gratefulness of those who came. The adults, especially those who had to wait for a long time because of the sheer numbers of people that came, remained patient and orderly. Some of us can’t even be patient when the drive thru at a fast food restaurant becomes a stalemate. These people could worry less about time. They were grateful for simply being able to receive some goods that could help provide for them and their family. As for the children, the toys that they received weren’t necessarily desirable in the perspective of a privileged child. However, these kids knew how much their parents sacrificed for them. They were appreciative for any of the toys they received. For fortunate kids, they can expect that their parents will buy them a gift for Christmas. Yet, others can only hope that their parents can get them one small gift. Thus, they cherish anything they receive, something that all of us should do. The second observation I made was that we made sure to evangelize those who were there. In Matthew 4:3, in response to the