“There’s a song lyric from a hymn I remember from several churches ago that says, “We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called to serve one another and walk, humbly with God”
I’m fairly positive this lyric is based off of the verse from Micah 6:8 that says, “What does the lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” ‘
To read more about Emily’s thoughts, continue to her blog here!
Hello!
My name is Madi Keaton, and I am a recent Messiah College graduate who is serving at the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project (a legal aid clinic that represents Pennsylvania’s low-income utility and energy customers) and the Community Justice Project (a legal aid clinic protecting the civil rights of low-income Pennsylvanians through improved public benefits, affordable housing, better pay, and more). As someone who wants a career in environmental justice (and is leaning more and more towards law school every day), being able to work on cases to fight for basic human rights like access to water or a home is a dream come true.
I grew up about 50 minutes from Harrisburg, which means that the most common question I get from family and friends back home is, “Harrisburg? Why didn’t you choose a Service Corps location further away, like Boston or LA?” The truth is, I love Harrisburg. Having grown up in the middle of nowhere, Harrisburg is unfamiliar, daunting, and exciting. Throughout my time at Messiah, I traveled to Harrisburg frequently for my internship at the YWCA, hung out with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club, and attended concerts and ate at restaurants. I had an unusually strong affection for the city and knew in my heart as I got closer and closer to graduation that I needed to find a way to stay there just a little longer.
In my free time, I like to do anything involving nature, music, or art. I love going on long hikes, gardening, and tending to one of the many plants occupying my room. In the fall, you’ll see me scanning the ground and fallen trees for identifiable mushrooms and in the spring, my eyes will shift towards treetops looking for birds. I was raised in a musical family, singing and playing guitar and performing in musical theater. If I don’t listen to music within a span of 24 hours, I get noticeably agitated. I listen to everything from 1950’s country to 12-minute-long sitar recordings to mumble rap, and please don’t ask me what my favorite song is because the answer you’ll get is a 50-way tie. My family also owns a pottery shop, so I grew up with a love for creation. I like to paint with watercolors and make jewelry, as well as sew, crochet, and craft just about anything.
I am incredibly grateful to be a part of this year’s Sycamore House and am looking forward to getting to know my housemates and the members of St. Stephen’s Cathedral!
Hello readers!
This week, we’ll be having a new post every single day.
You read that right, a new post from your favorite Sycamores every day this week!
This week, we’ll be focusing on our work sites. We’ll be sharing what we love most about working there and what we’ve learned so far. Our first work site is CONTACT Helpline, where corps member Emily Hibshman is serving as the volunteer coordinator. Read more below the cut.
I am not really sure how to put into words what my community at Sycamore House really means to me. When I applied to the Episcopal Service Corps, I knew that I would live in an intentional community and spend a year of service, but I had no idea that this community would come to mean to me as much as they do in as short a period of time as it has been. It has been three months since I moved to Harrisburg. I have known my housemates for only three months (with the exception of Bea who went to college with me), but we are already such a tight knit group, and have been since our first month in Harrisburg.
Sycamore House Service Corps 