Email: Alicia Wilson

Dear Friends,

The past month has flown by! It was so nice to be home for a short time and to see many of you over the Easter holiday. I was once again reminded of your overwhelming support of me in this year of service. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful church family encouraging me.

At the end of March all of the YAVs in Atlanta went on a weekend retreat to Calvin Center, a Presbyterian camp and conference center just south of Atlanta. The focus of the retreat was spiritual discernment. We had previously met with the retreat leader to begin learning a few discernment tools. For the retreat, each of us brought a question about our life to which we were trying to discern an answer. Throughout the weekend we learned a number of different approaches—using rationality, intuition, Scripture, nature, conversation, etc.—to help us see God at work in our decision making process. In addition, we had lots of time to hike, do the low-ropes course, and have a campfire. I left the retreat with much more clarity about where I want to be next year. After some further discernment, I have decided to go to Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall.

At church, we showed our second documentary film, “Waging a Living.” It follows the lives of four low-wage workers who are all working 40 or more hours per week and still struggling to support themselves and their families. For our curriculum during the past month, we read Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed, which also highlights the plight of low- and minimum-wage workers. Both of these discussions related directly to the work that I am doing at Central Outreach and Advocacy Center. Many of our guests have jobs and work very hard, but they still don’t make enough money to effect a permanent change in their situation. Without benefits, health insurance, childcare, and affordable housing, many people are stuck in homelessness and poverty. Even those who have housing are often only one paycheck away from homelessness, so an unexpected illness or decrease in work hours could cause them to be on the street.

In my time outside of work I spent a night at the Central Night Shelter during the last week that it was open for the season. I had a great time playing spades and visiting with the guests. I also attended worship at another homeless outreach center, went to the Atlanta Fair, and the Dogwood Festival.

I am delighted to hear from you at Alicia Wilson.

In Christ,

Alicia