Program: Living with Purpose: Louisiana
Location: New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA
Director: Amelia Arthur
Web Site: www.edola.org
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The purpose of this program, hosted by Episcopal Community Services of Louisiana (ECSLA) is to equip young adults to be effective leaders in our complex world, through hands-on service, community building, and spiritual formation. The Living With Purpose Fellowship is one program containing two houses, one in Baton Rouge and one in New Orleans. Orientation is combined, as are our monthly workshop days, where we get into deeper spiritual formation and social change trainings and seminars. However, each house has its own rhythm of life, chapter meetings (once a week), and chaplain. Baton Rouge and New Orleans are 80 minutes apart, so on weekends the houses usually visit each other. In the course of the year, participants will also engage in discussions, seminars, and trainings designed to add greater depth of understanding of their community, their work, and their faith. The spiritual formation curriculum exposes Corps members to different spiritual practices, and educates through reading books together, journaling, and discussion. You will be challenged!
Housed in downtown Baton Rouge at St James Episcopal Church, LWP Baton Rouge has a variety of impactful site placements, including O'Brien House, a substance abuse facility; Kids' Orchestra, a youth orchestra combining at-risk and private school children; and Volunteers In Public Schools, an agency that recruits, trains, and coordinates volunteers for public schools. The apartment is fully furnished, with brand new bamboo floors and granite counter tops. With 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths, members will share rooms. The kitchen and living room are spacious and Fellows have access to all the buildings on the St James campus, including the chapel and the gymnasium (St James owns a block and a half in downtown BR!) St James is located 3 blocks from the Mississippi River levee, two blocks from the Baton Rouge River Center, and the Shaw center, and 6 blocks from the state capital building.
Participants serving in New Orleans work with creative programs started in the wake of Hurricane Katrina: rebuilding homes, revitalizing communities, and working with young people. At each site placement, participants will develop their leadership potential and gain concepts, skills, and orientations essential for effective community engagement. The program is built upon proven service opportunities and the involvement of thousands of young volunteers with issues of poverty, justice, and community building in post-Katrina Louisiana.
ECSLA welcomes passionate, adventurous applicants between the ages of 18-30. We are looking for those willing to work for social justice by serving those in need, to live in intentional community according to principles of cooperation and simplicity, and to engage in group discussions and personal discernment. We encourage spiritual seekers of all kinds to apply.
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