I was a part of USC in the year 2013-14. I lived in the 5&9 house and my work assignment was at Women’s Bean Project (WBP). As a part of my service there, I supported in the online shipment of products that were carefully and beautifully packaged by women participants, who came with a history of chronic unemployment, with a hope to learn some basic job readiness and life skills to be able to reintegrate in their communities through WBP.

Working with women participants at Women’s Bean Project who came from different backgrounds of life from being chronically impoverished to living in a half-way house was something that had a profound impact on me about my understanding about life and vulnerability. It was encouraging for me to see the women at the Bean Project coming with hope every day at work despite of all struggles, endurances and misfortunes that they had been through in their lives. The experiences that I had during my service term with USC is uniquely valuable which still echoes in my life and place where I work.

Erin, shown canoeing on the Shenandoah in Virginia, is still trying to log as many river hours as they got in as a USC volunteer at cityWILD in 2013-2014. Their favorite USC community memory was rafting through Brown's Canyon on the Arkansas with a full boat of 5&9 housemates (and a few Ogden members along for the ride). Well.... that or the lively, inspirational whiteboard messages our poetic housemate Deepa Singh would write for the house! The best takeaway Erin learned in the 5&9 house is that any new group of people must give each other space to be themselves, time to develop their unique community vibe, and trust that showing up as real, honest, compassionate humans is enough to make magic together. Creating community is hard, noble work. You won't regret the effort.

I was gifted with the experience of teaching the women and girls of Metro Denver during my year at Urban Servant Corps. The values of USC prepared me for the next steps in my journey as I then moved on to study liturgy and literature at Yale University (MAR) and the Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (ThM). I am now surrounded by the love and energy of four boys whom I teach at home. I am humbled by the opportunity to be the author of the picture books God Counts: Numbers in His Word and His World and Taste and See: All About God's Goodness (2022).

During my year with USC, I worked in outreach for Urban Peak. During the spring, a colleague and I led field trips around Denver for our clients. One such trip took us up I-70 to go hiking. Unbeknownst to my colleague and me, one young man had collected rocks for each of us as a way to commemorate the experience. It meant a lot this young man to get out of the city, to feel free and safe in God's creation, if only for a bit. I often took for granted the chance to leave the city, but not this young man. This small hike was worthy remembering. It turns out that your work can mean much to others than you realize. I still have the rock.

Now, I am an assistant professor of Lutheran Studies and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbia, SC.Recently, I completed a PhD at Princeton Theological Seminary, writing a dissertation on Martin Luther's preaching and ethics. My wife Mary and I are the proud parents of an energetic, hilarious toddler named Max.

My USC experience, both the USC programming and my professional development at DenUM, increased my awareness of racism, poverty, food justice, homelessness, and other social justice issues. The organizations I support, my political stance, the way I use my resources, and the discussions I'm involved in have all been shaped by that year.

I learned that "faith" could include doubt and questioning. What a gift!

I've had some pretty remarkable experiences in my 67 years. That year was one of the best.