This month’s trip to DC to visit the Church of the Savior was a fantastic example of the JSC value of co-creation. We were presented over and over again with examples of people and communities living counter-culturally. Ray McGovern, for example, actively and publicly questions dominant systems and structures that manipulate and oppress. Becca Stelle, who spoke with us about her work to help reintegrate ex-prisoners into society, is very much situated within co-creative processes as she works with an intentionally interracial and inter-class ecumenical church community to make church a place of action, justice, and peace. It was so empowering to see people putting the principles we’ve learned in Servant Leadership to use in the world. Instead of thinking about them as good, but abstract, ideas, I now have concrete examples of how power with, attention to inner life, discernment, and focused compassion are used to make change in the world.
–Rebecca Ogus is working at Habitat for Humanity of Orange County this year with the A Brush with Kindness program that helps low-resource homeowners with home maintenance and safety.
Co-creation is one the 5 JSC values we focus on during the service year. Here’s the JSC definition:
Co-creation: I hear a voice of truth above the clamor of the dominant culture, a voice that asks me to question my culture’s assumptions and beliefs. As a servant leader, I align my life with this truth and engage with others to be co-creative instruments of justice and peace.