Serve Well Blog

Register now for the 2012 Conference Guest Days! (May 26th and 27th) 

As someone who has worked on organic farms, let me tell you: transplanting is a risky job. Your baby plant has set roots in a warm and humid greenhouse, is pulled out, and shoved firmly into the earth. The soil is different! The lighting, strange. The neighbors, unfamiliar. The biggest danger is shock. A plant will wilt and wither from the inability to fit into its new landscape. The effect might be temporary. It might be permanent. And yet more often than not, the leaves unfurl and the flowers bloom and growth occurs: ripe, green, glowing growth.

In the few years since graduating from college, I have experienced some damaging transplants of my own. I have moved four times, traveled stateside and abroad, tried several jobs, made friends and left them, gone home and said goodbye again. After trying a term of service in the Dominican Republic developing environmental education, I spent a full season interning at an organic farm in Colorado. While neither 'transplant' held me for more than a years' time, the experiences certainly contributed to my growth. I am not sure there is such a thing as a perfect place. One half of my soul pulls me to keep searching for it anyway. The other half of my soul encourages me to embrace settling in my roots around the imperfections.

But roots can take shape in other ways. Relationships take root in my heart. My spiritual learnings and discoveries create deep-rooted ideals and beliefs. While at times I can feel uprooted or face a challenging transplant, I can remain grounded to people, to causes, to choices, actions. This is where the Krista Foundation comes in. They are the tomato stake that supports my gangly green service limbs. The Krista Colleagues are a network of supporters to remind me that, in spite of the risks, I can still be grounded in a community based on nurturing a service leadership that inspires social justice.

This Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28) the Krista Foundation is putting on a conference with a theme I can relate to: Growing in Service Leadership: Rooted for Life. If you're at all like me, your very being resonates with the idea that serving our community stretches beyond a single event or commitment; it is simply a way of living that filters through to everything you do.

Come on Saturday or Sunday as a guest to support and connect with the Krista Colleagues. Come to participate in workshops that tackle practical, personal, social, and timeless issues in the world of serving our communities. This year, I have the opportunity to co-lead a workshop about how to live simply and eat well. Anthony DeLorenzo, a colleague from 2008, called me on the phone and we buzzed like bees with ideas and excitement about how and what to bring to the workshop. This is what it's all about: the exchange of ideas, the thrill of moving forward, the beauty of dwelling in place, and the humble commitment to intentional choices. The connections we foster lead to the most universally shared attribute of living things: growth. We live because we grow. And we grow when we give thought, intention, time, and love to the causes and communities rooted in our souls.

I hope to meet you at the Conference!

Register now for the 2012 Conference Guest Days! (May 26th and 27th) 

Originally from the town of Anacortes, Washington, Dave Stalsbroten moved to Seattle with a passion, for "seeing young people mature to live in genuine, whole-hearted relationship with Jesus." Motivated by values of reconciliation, generosity, and justice, he followed a sense of call to serve with AMOS Health and Hope, a Christian NGO that offers preventive healthcare to underserved communities. In rural Nicaragua, Dave managed donor communications and logistics for short-term delegations from the U.S.

Currently in a major season of transition, Dave just finished planning his wedding (Dave with his new wife Abby at left), and is working on building his professional résumé. Dave is an entrepreneur and connector at heart. He knows his service experiences have stretched and strengthened his skills. Visiting our office earlier this month he asked, "How am I supposed to distill these profound service lessons into business world one-liners?" His question is the launch point for a workshop we'll offer at our May Conference. What wisdom can you offer Dave? (PLEASE ADD A COMMENT BELOW)

Due March 20th

Dear Krista Colleague Nominators and Foundation friends!

DO YOU KNOW A GRADUATING SENIOR OR ALUM BEGINNING OR CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN SIGNIFICANT VOLUNTEER SERVICE?

Please nominate young adults heading out or currently engaged in long-term volunteer or vocational service to become a 2012 Krista Colleague, including a $1,000 Service and Leadership Development Grant.

Nominations are due March 20th. Click here for Nomination criteria, Online Nomination form, Downloadable form in Doc or PDF.

• Every year, we welcome a new cohort of "Krista Colleagues". Each joins a multi-year ecumenical Christian mentoring community and receives a $1,000 Service and Leadership Development Grant.
• New Krista Colleagues engage in supplemental training as they begin extended volunteer or vocational service with the service organization of their choice (examples include PeaceCorps, Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteers, AmeriCorps, etc.)
• After concluding their assignment, Krista Colleagues participate in a debriefing retreat, and engage in ongoing peer-mentoring and leadership development through the Foundation.

Please complete online nominations, or download the Doc or PDF and email to our office.

Questions?
Call 206-382-7888 or email our office if you have questions regarding a candidate's eligibility (acceptable income range for vocational or volunteer pay, duration of service, Pacific Northwest ties, etc.)

Please click the "share" button below and forward this to community members who may know potential nominees.

Related Documents

2012 Colleague Cohort nomination ad Download (743Kb, pdf)

In a small office on the campus of Indiana University, Kirk Harris stares out a small window. This is where he spends most of his time these days. He finds his life, starting a Ph.D. in Political Science, feels quiet--a "night and day" difference from the sounds and smells of the past five years. In 2006 Kirk sat at a table surrounded by the passionate voices of tribal and community leaders who shared stories of hardship and betrayal amidst a violent ethnic and religious conflict. Despite deep differences, they were gathered on common ground, to nurture peace and rebuild their countries. Kirk, a Krista Colleague who served in Kenya as a Young Adult Volunteer with the Presbyterian Church, served with an organization that facilitated Muslim-Christian dialogue between these competing ethnic and religious groups. He remembers and cherishes the friendship and solidarity of "being welcomed by people who are very different from me, of being drawn outside of myself in pursuit of a common calling."

At that time, he wrote to the KF: "By participating in these discussions I am now able to analyze violence and peace more comprehensively, taking into account country-specific obstacles to the resolution of conflicts as well as cultural and theological nuances that affect how they unfold." But the depth of complexity left him longing for an even deeper understanding.

To hone his thinking, Kirk wrote an article on reconciliation in The Global Citizen journal. He seized an opportunity at the Mennonite Central Committee United Nations Liaison Office in New York, focusing on Congo and Sudan. After two years, Kirk moved to Khartoum to work for the Sudan Council of Churches in on behalf of MCC. In each position, Kirk was humbled by the issues the communities were facing. In his search of a better framework, Kirk applied to a Ph.D. program.

Graduate school has brought new opportunities and challenges for Kirk, whose goal is to reinvest his degree in service of the people he served in Africa. "I am continually reminded of what I was doing a year ago-working with Sudanese churches who are trying to heal their country in the wake of conflict and stave off new violence." As he seeks to integrate his experiences, cultivate community, and steward his education, Kirk has come to see that "balancing the tension of the mind and heart will take time, and that God's grace, which has sustained me through service, will also sustain me in learning." He reminds himself: "Only 5 and ¼ years to go."

Know someone who has wrestled with the culture shock of transitioning from service to grad school? Share comments or encouragements below.