Leaving....Driving & Arriving!

We have safely arrived in Washington DC at the Father McKenna Center, after a fun filled drive of jamming out to some classic hits. During our car ride we decided on a team name which was “Team Chairos”. Chairos is an ancient Greek word meaning; right time for something to happen - in this sense something constellates in ones life as a period of time set apart for the carrying out of some specific task.… Upon arrival, we unloaded the van and received an introduction regarding the history of the center, as well as a tour from a staff member, Ned. Our next destination was Georgetown where we attended mass around 5pm, which has now become the anticipated future residential destination for many of us. After mass, we headed back to the center to make a delicious meal consisting of tacos J

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Day three!

Father McKenna Center and Holy Redeemer Peace Meal Today we all went to the Father McKenna Center. We had the honor of taking a tour of the church above the father McKenna Center. We all had different tasks at the center including working in the kitchen, serving breakfast and lunch, and working in the pantry. I had the opportunity to work in the kitchen today with Ellen, Ryan, Hayley, and Father Shawn. We helped to prepare today’s lunch: cheeseburger Wednesday. We also made ratatouille that will be served tomorrow. After the Father McKenna Center we headed back to the Holy Redeemer Church to do a reflection letter for our future selves. After the reflection Hayley, Ryan, Josh, Elena, Mughiara, Liz, and myself all took a walk to Capital Hill. Once returned from our fun walk we all helped with the Holy Redeemer’s peace meal. We all got to interact with many of the other neighbor volunteers and all the individuals who attended the dinner. Today was a very fun ...

Safe Arrival Back in Erie

We have arrived back in Erie! After a week full of encountering new people and reflecting on our experiences at the Father McKenna Center, we have all returned safely to our home base. Thank you for following along with this blog of our trip. The implementation of our knowledge into our daily lives will not be an easy task, but we are well prepared to take it on. We all have learned so much through our experiences this week and are excited to share and show others what respect for human dignity truly means. Homelessness is an extremely complex problem in our country, and we have all struggled to grasp what the best response on our part should be. At the end of this trip, I have come to affirm that complex problems do not have easy solutions, and that solving huge problems like hunger and homelessness involve more than one person or one ABST group. However, the power of one is still strong and present everywhere- we experienced that through meeting amazing and inspiring individuals th...

Day four!

Day at Capitol Hill! Hey Guys! Today we got the honor and the privilege to go to Capitol Hill to meet with Representative Mike Kelly. He is the representative in Erie where Gannon is. We were able to tell him our experiences so far this week and the stories we have heard. We advocated for policies to help the homeless both here in DC and back home in Erie. He was able to tell us his feelings towards homelessness and poverty and his possible solutions to the issue. We would like to thank Rep. Kelly and his office for giving us the opportunity to talk to us during his busy schedule. We then got an amazing tour of the Capitol building. After that, we all walked to get lunch at District Taco and reflect on our time in the Capitol building. Then we walked to The White House to take a picture with the Gannon flag. After the picture, we all split up and went to different Museums. Being able to enjoy the amazing weather in the nation’s Capitol was a great way to relax during this busy...

Gannon ABST Washington, DC

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