Friday - Architectural Jungle Gyms and Deaconesses

Friday was another full day. We spent our morning at the City Museum, an abandoned shoe lace factory that was renovated and repurposed into an architectural jungle gym/maze. This museum was created by architects and artists who used various materials given to the project, from school buses and planes to sheets of metal and concrete. There are tunnels, slides, climbing apparatuses, caves, castles, aquariums, and even an organ. The urban missioners had a ball exploring the magical space and using their imaginations to maneuver around the fantastical maze like museum.

In the afternoon we took a detour by the Gateway Arch and then arrived at the Deaconess Anne House. This Episcopal Service Corps (ESC) site is home to 7 young adults who are discerning their callings in life while living in intentional community together and working at local non-profits. The Episcopal Service Corps members greeted us as we arrived, told us about their life at Deaconess Anne, and took us on our tour of their home. After our introduction to this ESC site we got down to business continuing our theme of weeding as well as painting the some of the front porch and working to clean out and plant in their garden. 

After all of our work projects were finished we shared a soul food meal with the ESC house members. For many of our urban missioners this was the highlight of our day, as they conversed and reflected on their time in the St. Louis. The urban missioners and ESC members a like shared what they learned about the black lives matter movement from intentional dialogue they have experienced with advocates for the movement (especially from our panel members who had met with the urban missioners the night before). The urban missioners were also able to learn more about the ESC members work in non profits and life in intentional community (praying, eating, and sharing lives together for one year).