By Kinnick Driscoll
Sunday’s Transcript:
Last Sunday, Kinnick Driscoll shared his experience at Simpson Youth Academy. At both worship services Pastor Brian told us why Kinnick was nominated by Broadway for SYA and Kinnick talked about his experience. The conversation went a little like this:
Pastor Brian: A couple of weeks ago, we sent one of our youth, Kinnick to the Simpson Youth Academy (SYA) for an intensive week of spiritual and leadership development. I was really excited about this program and I was really hoping that it would be as exciting for him as I thought it was going to be. You know how that goes. The first time somebody does something and you think, I think this is going to be good. I'll be disappointed if it's not. Kinnick texted me the first day he was there to tell me how excited he was about being there and going through this program and learning more about developing as a leader and developing spiritually. We sent him because we were already aware of his leadership skills and spiritual gifts. Even as he was going through this program he was part of leading.It was just great to see.
I wanted you to have a chance to hear a bit about his experience from him since we are the church he went to represent. Now, Kinnick is excited about the opportunities to bring some of what he learned back to us. So I'm going to invite Kinnick to come up and share a little bit about his experience.
Kinnick: Thank you. SYI was an amazing camp. It was on the campus of Simpson College. We discussed faith and justice in society and we really got to dive deep into what the Bible says about current issues and how we discern how we understand and deal with things like mental health and climate change. We were able to consider these things by studying with this amazing professor. Her name was Dr. Angela Cowser. We also got to go into the community to places like an all-natural farm to discuss climate change and the Iowa State Capital to talk about why politics doesn't really represent Christianity. Then we visited an unhoused revival center in the center of Des Moines where they help people who are unhoused get back on their feet with jobs and low cost apartments.
I also met some amazing people and I learned some amazing things. I had a very valuable time discussing how we can act on the not so amazing things in this world and really use what the Bible says and what we know as Christians to do better things for the world. Thank you.
Below are frollow up questions sent to those who attended SYA with Kinnick's answers.
- How was the SYA summer residency? What was most impactful for you?
The SYA Summer Residency was an amazing experience. Not only was I introduced to new people, but I was also able to experiment with new ideas. The impact of meeting all these new people that shared my ideals meant so much. I was able to have meaningful conversations with others about these beliefs and how they could be better represented in the world. Plus, the amount of open time given to us allowed for these conversations to be more in depth, making sure everyone was heard.
- What goals, ideas, or commitments are you taking with you back into your life from the residency? What elements of faith, leadership, community and justice would you like to apply in your church, school, etc?
One of the goals I will bring back from the residency is changing my approach from service based to justice based assistance. While doing service can be good at times, if justice is not taken, the issue will continue. I also want to commit more time getting to know more people, as shallow relationships with others doesn’t allow me to learn about the necessities in their life. I plan to take my faith and use it as reasoning for change and justice in my community, school, and anywhere that needs it. Not only will it help change others lives, but also change how I see mine.