Koinonia community members reflects

on 10th Anniversary of Oklahoma City bombing

By Sarah Clausen, Koinonia

     It’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the Oklahoma City bombing. As I think back to 1995 I remember that I was a young teenager in Ohio who was not really aware of what was going on in the world, or aware of how something such as a terrorist attack could forever and completely change a person’s life.

     Even in 2001, as a junior in college, I still wasn’t aware of how a tragedy like the attacks on Sept. 11 affects not only the individual, but the community as a whole. As I reflect on both of these events, I’m struck by the way God has led me to be involved in a community of faith that has stood strong and grown out of the sorrow of loss.

I am currently the servant community coordinator at Koinonia, working with both Highland Lake programs, as well as our New York City programs (Koinonia NYC).

     This summer I will be working with the Synod-to-Synod Servant Event Exchange, a program that pairs high school youth from the Metropolitan New York Synod with youth from their partner synod, the Arkansas Oklahoma Synod. The group will meet in New York City the first week of July to serve with and learn about various food ministries in the New York City area.

They will also have an opportunity to reflect and process through the events of Sept. 11 and the ways different communities of faith responded. Then, the first week of August, the entire group will meet in Oklahoma. We will be working with the Oaks Indian Mission, a home for at-risk youth, located in Oaks, Oklahoma. There will also be an opportunity to visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and to share in reflection about that experience.

      The 15 youth that were selected from the Metro New York Synod are already strong leaders and role models in their churches and communities. My hope is that through the experiences they will share this summer they will emerge stronger in their faith, but will also gain a sense of what it means to be a servant of God not only to those less fortunate than themselves, but also what it means to be a servant and a support to each other. I’m excited about the chance to get to know these young people better as we serve together this summer.

       Being a part of the Synod-to-Synod Servant Event Exchange is also, I hope, a chance for me to grow in my faith. As I work with Koinonia NYC (a ministry that came out of the need to respond to the events of Sept. 11), I know that I have become connected to Sept. 11 in a way that I never thought I would. I know I will never fully understand what it felt like to be a New Yorker on Sept. 11t and the days that followed. However, I have been touched by the stories I have heard and the things that I have seen.

       As we travel to Oklahoma in August, because of my experiences here in New York, I will have a greater sense of respect for the victims of the bombing and for the people who were affected by it. In both 1995 and 2001 I would have never thought that I would end up where I am now, but I know God had reasons for this. I am continually learning what it means to serve in a world that is full of so many needs, like hunger and homelessness, as well being in a world that is torn by violence and war. I pray that I, as well as the other participants of the servant event exchange, can see how to be a beacon of light to those who need it most. Please keep the youth and adult leaders of the Synod to Synod Servant Event Exchange in your prayers as we prepare for our upcoming ministry together.