Young adults explore social justice in nation's capital
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Lakisha Lockhart (left) and Aarendy Gomez, United
Methodist Board of Church and Society Ethnic Young Adult interns, attend
the 2008 Young Adult Ecumenical Forum in Washington. UMNS photos by
Kathy L. Gilbert.
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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Jun 23, 2008 | WASHINGTON (UMNS)
Juliana Abe, a native of Côte d’Ivoire, is exploring a different culture
and country while she works for the rights of Africans and
African-American people around the world.
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Juliana Abe, a native of Côte d’Ivoire, is working at TransAfrica Forum on human rights issues.
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She is also enjoying getting to know her new "family" – The United Methodist Church.
Abe is one of 12 young people participating in the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society's Ethnic Young Adults Summer Internship in
the nation's capital. Young adults passionate about social justice and
active in the denomination are selected annually from the church's five
ethnic caucuses to participate in the summer intern program.
The 700,000-member Côte d’Ivoire church was formally received as a
United Methodist annual (regional) conference at the 2008 General
Conference, the denomination's lawmaking body, held in Fort Worth,
Texas, April 23-May 2.
"We have different ways of worshipping in my country," Abe says. "We
have very big choirs, lots of instruments, drums. ... African people
like to dance during the service. It is not the same here in
Washington."
Brothers and sisters
Abe is working at TransAfrica Forum, an African-American human rights
and social justice advocacy organization that promotes diversity and
equality in the foreign policy arena, according to its Web site. All the
young adults in the intern program are placed in nonprofit and
nongovernmental organizations in Washington, for two months.
"We are all different but we are all brothers and sisters in Christ,"
she said. Abe is a doctorate student at the University of Abidjan in
Cocody, Côte d’Ivoire, and is active in the Cocody United Methodist
Church.
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Melekaufusi Pepa, an intern from Hawaii, is working for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
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Included in this year's slate of interns are young adults from Gambia,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Philippines. "This is the
most international group we have had," said the Rev. Neal Christie,
executive at the board. Christie oversees the interns and was an intern
himself for the social action agency in 1984.
Jose Carlo G. dePano, a recent graduate from the University of the
Philippines, said he is interested in seeing how problems are addressed
in the United States so he can help his country gain social equality. He
is active in The United Methodist Church in the Philippines.
"In the Philippines the government says we have equality, the government
says we are in a democratic country, but there are a lot of political
killings, a lot of poverty issues that are not resolved," he says. "They
are offering short-term solutions for long-term problems." DePano is
working in the Board of Church and Society's communications office.
Arianne Reagor, from Washington state, is learning about "making laws
and harassing senators and Congress people," she says, laughing. She
works with the Rebecca Project for Human Rights and is learning about
how drug use affects families, schools and communities. She said she is
also learning about the racism and sexism of the prison system. She
attends George Fox University in Oregon.
Range of assignments
Other interns and their social justice assignments this summer include:
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Jose Carlo G. dePano is a recent graduate of the University of the Philippines.
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Lakisha Lockhart, a student at Claflin University in South Carolina.
She attends Trinity United Methodist Church in the North Georgia Annual
Conference and is placed with the NAACP.
- Kelsey Williamson, a student at Sterling College in Kansas, works with People of the American Way.
- Melekaufusi Pepa, a student at the University of Hawaii
Manoa. She represents the California-Pacific Conference and is working
for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
- Mayzara Garcia, a student at the Florida International
University. She attends the Iglesia Metodista Unida de Coral Way United
Methodist Church and is working for the Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice.
- Luke Eastin, a student at Illinois Central College. He is
active in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference and works with the
National Council of Churches with a focus on eco-justice issues.
- Jonathan Kim, a student at Emory University, Atlanta. He is from the North Georgia Conference and works with Jubilee USA.
- Ilunga Raissa Kiboko, a student from Central Methodist
University. She works with the Faith and Politics Institute and
represents the Iowa Conference.
- Aarendy Gomez, a student at Huntingdon College in Alabama.
She is active in the Alabama-West Florida Conference and is placed with
the Latin American Working Group.
- Joseph Aubee, the 2008 senior intern who works with the
National Council of Churches and the Board of Church and Society. He is
an African from Gambia, studying at Shepherd University in West
Virginia. He represents the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
Rare opportunity
The students are housed at United Methodist-related American
University and attend church together every Sunday. They meet for weekly
evening devotions and Bible studies. They will also travel to New York
to visit the United Nations office of the Board of Church and Society.
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Kelsey Williamson, an intern from Kansas, is working with People of the
American Way.
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In addition to their assignments, the interns participate in weekly
seminars that explore issues that concern different racial ethnic
communities.
"The EYA program has provided me with an opportunity that very few
people are blessed to receive, which is the opportunity to step out of
my comfort zone and meet new people with different backgrounds and
traditions, from different countries, and with different views,"
Lockhart said. "It allows us all to come together and focus on the one
thing that binds us all together no matter what our age, ethnicity, or
gender ... God."
* Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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