It was, indeed, a “Mission of Brotherly Love.”
A few dozen Minnesotans – seventh-graders through college age, along with adult chaperones – spent four days at the end of July at St. James Lutheran Church, Castor Avenue and Pratt Street in Northwood.
The visitors were from a tiny town of 2,000 in southeast Minnesota where there are more cows than people and where they don’t have the trash and homelessness that plague Philadelphia. They primarily came from Rushford Lutheran Church, along with other congregations and a variety of denominations.
The group stayed busy, performing service projects and community beautification at St. James, St. Mark’s Frankford, the Historical Society of Frankford, Faith Assembly of God, Tabor Lutheran Church and Old Zion Lutheran Church.
“Our students loved interacting with local people,” said Kristin Burdey, youth director at Rushford Lutheran.
The out-of-towners had plenty of time for fun. They visited the Liberty Bell, Boathouse Row and the Rocky statue, ran up the art museum steps, had lunch at Reading Terminal Market, played some basketball and volleyball and spent a day in Sea Isle City and Ocean City, where the water is a lot warmer than Lake Superior.
The trip down the shore included a memorable walk on the Ocean City boardwalk and prayer and hymns in the Atlantic.
“Devotions in the ocean,” Burdey said. “Very cool. It was such a wonderful experience for everyone.”
The Rev. Paul Andell, pastor at St. James, was delighted to welcome the group.
“It was a wonderful group of kids who came,” he said.
Annika Bakkum-Ekern, who turned 20 during the trip, said she and the others were fortunate to be able to witness a big-city culture that’s a lot different than what they are used to. Her duties included work in a food pantry and removing trash.
Cassandra Boyum, 19, spent meaningful time at St. Mark’s, helping feed sandwiches and fruit to the needy, restocking the food pantry and hanging clothes to be distributed to the community, adding that she gained new insight into the plight of the homeless people she met.
Mackenzie Rasmussen, 15, helped paint a fence at the Historical Society of Frankford, among other chores.
“It was great meeting people here,” she said. “They were all really nice.”
Madison Ingvalson, 16, spent time at Tabor Lutheran, clearing leaves and packing meals, as one of her service projects.
“It was a really amazing experience,” she said.
Sebastian Escobar, 16, served food to the homeless, pulled weeds, filled school backpacks and cleared overgrowth at the historical society. He expects to take part in future service projects.
“The kind of stuff we did guided us in the right direction to serve,” he said.
Siri Corson, 19, loved the teamwork she saw among members of the church youth group. Highlights for her included pulling weeds at the historical society and providing food for kids and playing a giant game of Duck, Duck, Goose with them at Faith Assembly of God.
“It was really refreshing to see how the young people bonded,” she said. “We were all so eager to jump in and help out people. Everyone was willing to give.” ••
