CONWAY, Ark. (November 30, 2012) - Twelve Hendrix students spent part of Winter Break on a week-long mission trip sponsored by the Hendrix Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling.
The group served among the urban poor of San Francisco through the social programs of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church featured in the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. Truly diverse in many senses of the word--ethnically, economically and spiritually, the church has a model out-reach program that includes meals for the homeless, after-school care for children, programs for senior citizens, activities for youth, and an HIV-AIDS clinic. Students expected to help serve more than 1,000 meals a day to the homeless and to assist with each of the other programs throughout the week.
"This was the third time I've taken students to serve at Glide. It continues to be a place that offers so much ministry, hope and healing for broken people," said Hendrix Chaplain Rev. J. Wayne Clark, who led the trip, along with his wife and Hendrix education professor Rynette Clark and assistant student activities director Brent Owens. "I am always amazed how many times I see the face of God in the people we serve and work with."
" It is also wonderful to see the line we draw between them and us dissipate as the Hendrix students start seeing a homeless person as a friend and a person rather than someone to fear and avoid," Clark added.
Student participants were:
- Emily Barrett '14
- Christina Cole '13
- Peter Hanneman '14
- Mitch Harle '16
- Brittany Hearn '15
- Anthony Hollingsworth '14
- Martha Kellems '15
- Erin Murchison '13
- Taylor Pate '16
- Melissa Rooney '16
- Laura Wagner '14
- Susan Warren '16
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country's "Up and Coming" liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country's best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.