Lacy Morris of First Presbyterian Church in Springdale will be volunteering for a year in Denver in the YAV program, A program of Presbyterian World Mission, General Assembly Mission Council. She will be working in a women’s shelter called The Gathering Place, and as part of her service, she hopes to share the gift of songwriting as a tool of self discovery and overcoming hardships. Part of moving toward that effort is raising funds, awareness of the program, and your prayers, so she and her church will be hosting a benefit concert, where Lacy will share some of the songs she has written and will share with you more about the program and what she will be doing. Light refreshments will be provided and donations will be accepted. We hope you will join us for a fun afternoon of music and well wishes, and will help us send Lacy off with the funds and encouragement she will surely need for the year to come.

Dear family, church family, extended church family, friends, and so on,

(I’ll just call you family, because that is what you will become by being involved with this mission.)

My name is Lacy Morris, a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Springdale. Recently I served as the Presbytery of Arkansas Young Adult Advisory Delegate to the General Assembly in Minneapolis in 2010, and while there I discovered the Young Adult Volunteer Program aka, YAVs. I followed up on this program after leaving General Assembly after realizing they weren’t the same thing. (Easy to get confused right?) I had heard of the program before, having worked at summer camps with YAV alumni.

Having felt a call into ministry in Junior High, but along the way discovering that ministry is a much broader term than serving only behind a pulpit, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to serve, learn, and grow. The motto of the YAV experience is “a year of service for a lifetime of change.” From the stories I’ve heard from alumni of the program, I gather that that is exactly the experience I am getting myself into and exactly the experience I am looking for.

I made a pretty drastic changed in college, switching from a BFA Musical Theatre degree to a BA in Cultural Anthropology. At the time, and still a bit today, I feel that it’s just another way of studying the same thing: people. In both degrees you have to get on the level of other people. Post graduation, I discovered teaching, the one thing I was determined to stay away from in my early college education. As a substitute teacher, I fell in love with being in the classroom, and found a particular joy in special education. See, my life has been filled with change, but all guiding me in a particular direction. I have the same passions of music and the arts, and also in people, but I have a particular joy for young people, and I’ve seen the beautiful ways that all of the above can intertwine.

When I was trying to decide with which locations to interview and possibly serve, my main criteria were opportunities to work with children. I also wanted to find a way to integrate my passion for music and teaching to help women and children. Songwriting has helped me through many situations in my life and has often been the thing that kept me going, so I wanted an opportunity to share that gift and pass it along.

Having narrowed it down to 3 sites that I felt satisfied these goals, I was chosen to serve in Denver, my third choice. Then, I was given another change, but also a blessing. I had been a bit blind sighted by my intention to work with mostly kids, through youth programs and/or school environments, I blocked out other opportunities. Then, I had a great interview with a lady from The Gathering Place in Denver, a women’s shelter for women and their children. In this position, I will have the opportunity to work both on the behind the scenes side of things and also directly with the women and their children. So, this position took what I wanted and gave a little twist that only the Lord can muster. I hope to find opportunities to share with these women who have suffered homelessness and abuse the gift of songwriting. I know the power and healing that music can have.

All of this is a pretty longwinded introduction to say: I’m going to Denver and I need your help! I’ve already, with the help of my church and many members and friends raised a little over half of the $6500 that I need to raise. You can help me make it the rest of the way by donating any amount. And, it doesn’t have to stop at just $6500 total! What ever extra is raised will go into the pot to help my fellow volunteers.

I’m very excited to go to Denver, and I can’t imagine how much I will learn and grow, because I’ve already seen that God can sometimes take our second, third, or any choice but number one and show us how that is really the best choice. If you are interested and willing to donate, pray for, and/or keep up with my experience, there is a flyer below to tell you how to do so.

Peace, love, and music,

Lacy Morris

Lacy Morris, YAV Denver

Friday, June 29, 2012

Benefit Concert Invitation

Letter