StreetFest History

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StreetFest 2010

Theme

"Beautiful Feet"

Coordinator

Christina Crider

"How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
‘Your God reigns!"

The theme for StreetFest this year is “Beautiful Feet” which is derived from the verse Isaiah 52:7. The passage describes the beauty of the feet of those who proclaim peace, bring good tidings, proclaim salvation, and praise the reign of God. The theme “Beautiful feet” was chosen for two reasons. First, we wish to urge students to develop beautiful feet, by proclaiming good news and working towards peace in their communities. And second, and more importantly, urging the students to recognize and show gratitude towards the people in the Grand Rapids community who have beautiful feet.

People with beautiful feet are those who have a willing heart and have taken action in pursuing service to their community. These people are walking in the mud of a community garden, the cement slabs of a city block or the overgrown grasses of abandoned homes. People with beautiful feet are those who work in the desolate areas, the developing and the crowded areas of the world.

People with beautiful feet see the potential of neighbors gathering in the community garden to plant fruits and vegetables, see the cement slabs of city blocks as canvases for local artist and children to draw on, and see the community pulling its resources together to revitalize overgrown grasses of abandoned homes.

We hope that StreetFest students will catch a glimpse of people with Beautiful Feet and see the beauty of Grand Rapids communities, so that they may be inspired to recognize their place in this community and develop beautiful feet of their own.

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Although in the same sentence as “do justice” and “love mercy” (Micah 6:8), “walk humbly” is not met with the same enthusiasm. God doesn’t gives us the option of walking humbly, he commands us to. The hope for StreetFest is that this idea of walking humbly will be explored and that students, faculty, and staff will commit to a new way of seeing and participating in this world.

Walking can be powerful- it was the pace from which Christ administered his love on the least of these in society. If we are to emulate Christ we must also walk- walk in order to notice the details of God’s creation, walk to create opportunities for meaningful conversations, but most importantly walk to be in stride with those who are struggling.

Humility can be applied many ways as well. First, as we walk through life we must be humble before Christ. Our savior left heaven to die for this spoiled world. He lived with prostitutes, prisoners, non-Christians, and by doing so showed that they were just as deserving of his attention and saving as anyone else. We must respect that this was Christ’s focus, and be humbled by the knowledge that we weren’t necessarily the type of people that were on the top of God’s list to see.

We also must be humble before others. Too often we elevate, spiritually, people with a well-rounded Christian education, people who have clear criminal records, those who attend fancy churches, and people who are gifted with the ability to thoughtfully articulate themselves. As we (should) know, none of these things make a person closer to God. Instead we should be humbled that the people we “serve” are just as connected to God as we are.

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The hope for StreetFest is that it will encourage conversation centered on the importance of place. It is aimed to promote care for place, located within a context of personal relationships and focused on attentiveness to particularity and otherness. In this way, “to embrace fully” serves to emphasize two specific points: For four years these students will be in a particular place, part of which involves the city of Grand Rapids. StreetFest serves to encourage students to engage the community in which they will be living. To promote interaction, exploration, and celebration! It is my hope that dialogue will encourage an attitude of excitement and a willingness to embrace Grand Rapids fully. Conversation will be aimed to foster consideration for future Service-Learning endeavors, promoting a spirit of openness and thoughtfulness.

The idea “to embrace fully” also refers to the individual student’s role within the larger web of interdependent members. For students to care for place, they must recognize their own position within the community and realize both their voice and responsibility. Acknowledging interconnectedness encourages participation as active citizens. The hope is that this service-learning experience will perpetuate a pattern where students continue to offer themselves to this place, through relationship and care.

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The words of this year’s theme, “renew, revive, restore” are adapted from the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle.” This is to emphasize not only the importance of environmental stewardship and care of this physical world but a care for others and the community. Unlike the words of the recycle slogan which have very different meanings, the words of this year’s StreetFest theme have the same focus with only slight nuances.

Together these words call us to seek the intended condition of a thriving community. They are a call to work against social injustice and to break out of one’s own comfort zone. As a part of the world’s brokenness we must work toward a renovation of both our own outlook and our relationships. In acting on these words we allow others to live well and do so in community.

Doing God’s work in God’s world calls us to renew, revive, and restore all things for Him. These three words are not ends in themselves, but they are the verbs that, when acted upon, move us toward His Kingdom where peace, prosperity, and joy are realized.

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The theme “Seeking the Well-being of the City” captures the essence of the mission of the Service-Learning Center. As we partner and involve ourselves with agencies, organizations, and churches across Grand Rapids, we hope to take part in and further the restoration and shalom-building that Jeremiah addresses in Jeremiah 29:7. We view our vocation as a life not of isolation, but of working towards justice in whatever community in which we may find ourselves, because, as Jeremiah notes, in its well-being, we shall have well-being. As we seek the welfare of the city, we find our own lives to be enriched. Through this striving for the actualization of community, we reap the inherent benefits of community. The reciprocity present in this relationship is directly tied to the signature distinction of service-learning: in which, in the midst of our service, we gain a unique and valuable education we never expected. We hope that first-year students will leave StreetFest with a small taste of the mutual exchange that service-learning is all about.

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This year's theme was chosen as a way to acknowledge and celebrate the restorative work which God has been carrying out through his people over generations. This restorative work, answering God's calling to make all things new, can be seen, in part, through the agencies and communities in Grand Rapids and their long standing relationship with Calvin College. By spending a day at one of these agencies, students enter into this song and have the opportunity to continue in this calling. Our hope is that students catch a vision during StreetFest to use their time at Calvin to enter into this movement that has encompassed generations of God's people bringing restoration to God's world.