How to reconstruct your mind in one week, five easy steps

This week was wild, and I am thankful for it.

As a Micah intern in the LifeTogether program, I have a wide array of learning and activism opportunities available to me. I never thought that one week could bring so many of them together. Between my work placement as ESL Program Coordinator for the Irish Immigration Center, my leadership role in the progressive Christian worship community downtown called The Crossing, and a tip from an in-the-know fellow intern, I have gone nonstop for the last six days. Such is LifeTogether.

On Monday, I attended a training in how to help the learners in my ESL program advocate for themselves and ask pique questions in order to play a role in making the decisions that shape their and their families' lives. The organization which gave the training is called The Right Question Project, and I am grateful to have a supervisor wise enough to know how useful their help can be (and was.)

On Tuesday night, I attended the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries' 43rd annual Meeting and Awards dinner, whose theme was "Social Change and the Spirituality of Hope: Dialogue and Action in Interfaith America." Christian, Muslim, Quaker, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist leaders all spoke on their faith traditions and how to apply them to the world and its current challenges. I met a group of intentional community-ers who also live in Brookline at the Kavod House and got a dinner invite from them. Mingle, network: check.

Wednesday night was more relaxed. I helped out with a regularly scheduled class at the Irish Immigration Center, and had the privilege of helping to teach for about 15 minutes.

Thursday brought Transcriptions, a transgender open mic night hosted by The Crossing. The event included poetry, a comedic routine, vocal and instrumental performance, memoir-style narrative, confessions and more. I can't quite explain the atmosphere of the event - strange, real, warm, catharsis and support are five words that come to mind. I had to leave at quarter past ten when Ms. Transgender New England was rocking out while being recorded by Emerson students for a documentary. That was awesome in iteslf, and I was sad to go. Then I heard that there were five interviews with the night's performers after I left. Fellow intern and relational evangelist at The Crossing Justin Harvey told me that the night kept up its delightful and enchanting spirit until half past eleven.

Friday night put me in front of an entirely different stage as I watched an operatic performance of The Crucible, assistant directed by another of my fellow interns. It was truly haunting as it was set in a large, old gothic church and brought up what I saw as some of the same issues of justice and relevancy that the LifeTogether program is exploring this year.

Today, Saturday, I took it easy. After having circled around from advocacy training to interfaith celebration to transgenderism to an excellent opera, my mind is ready for another sabbath in the weekend.