Each year, the nine Houses of The King’s College each adopt a project that enables them to serve the people of New York City. In the past, these projects have ranged from raising funds to combat sex trafficking, tutoring and ministering to inner-city high school students, and volunteering in various shelters throughout the city. This year, students decided to change the process for this aspect of student life. Read on for a message from freshman Jake Bedlion, the new City Engagement Director.

---

This past summer the presidents of the King’s Council voted to remove City Engagement as part of the house competition. The final vote was not reached quickly or easily as each president weighed the pros and cons of keeping City Engagement in the competition. The primary concerns voiced in those discourses were that, as part of a competition, service and charity can become contrived, self-congratulatory measures rather than expressive of the nature given by God. Additionally, the presidents felt that there was no adequate criterion for judging the effectiveness of a project – the number of meals served to the hungry is easily quantifiable, but how do you count the number of souls saved?

Although they wanted to move away from the potential pitfalls of “competing for good works”, each president strongly desired to keep City Engagement at King’s, and after voting it out of the competition, the Council formed a committee that would propose a plan for its future. The committee proposed that a coalition be formed in which each house selected a representative that would help govern City Engagement for the student body. They also suggested the coalition be led by a director appointed by the Council.

Each house will maintain its own service project. The City Engagement representatives will help organize and execute their house’s project. Additionally, the representatives and the City Engagement director will select one house project each year to be expanded into a school-wide project. Hands-on service will be emphasized in the individual house projects as well as the project of the year.

This model allows for houses to build long-term relationships with organizations as well as foster unity around a common goal. The school-wide project will also provide incentive for houses to think objectively about their projects, since the project will be chosen based on criteria set out by the representatives.

Removing the competition from City Engagement will incite service born out of the Spirit rather than institutionally imposed obligation or desire for material reward. It gives students the opportunity to opt-in their level of involvement, which will in turn produce healthier service.

For the remainder of this semester, I will be seeking out and working with house representatives to continue or begin projects in each house. The coalition will begin meeting this month. Their first task will be to create a mission statement as well as some guiding principles for next year and the years to follow. By the end of the spring semester the coalition will have chosen a project of the year for the 2010-2011 school year. Since we are still early in the process, we welcome any new ideas proposed by members of the King’s community, including faculty and staff. If any opportunities come your way, kindly contact me using the information below.

Jake Bedlion
City Engagement Director
jake.bedlion@tkc.edu