“You’ll learn soon, at LifePieces, we are a Family”
This sentiment has not only been said to me more than once in my first three days, but it also echoes in the actions, the art, the language of apprentices and staff of LPTM alike. The most illustrative piece is the names by which we address one another. I am still getting used to is the formal “Sister” and “Brother” or “Aunt” and “Elder” used to address teachers, senior mentors (former graduated apprentices), interns, and apprentices. I am not “Ms. Sarah” but “Sister Sarah”. While still foreign on my tongue, I am excited nonetheless to keep practicing until it feels at home in my vocabulary.
And the family does not stop there.
The art is collective. The apprentices collaborate on one piece, deciding together what they want the piece to represent and look like. They pull from a barrel of scrap pieces of canvas used by apprentices ten years ago — they are even family with apprentices long gone and graduated from the program.
The teachers and other staff embrace the children in long, warm hugs when they first enter the room. Lingering beyond just a polite greeting. They get down on the apprentices’ level and look into their eyes while they ask about their day, their family, and school.
Even the school that houses LPTM on the fourth floor embraces LPTM like family. The teachers recognize the shield of faith that is my work badge and immediately warm to me. It’s as if the LPTM shield of faith is a ticket into an extended but deeply interconnected family.
And they embrace me into their family. I am a white girl from Chicago suburbia via Waco Texas. I will never know what it is like to live in Southeast DC. But my “outsiderness” that I was so afraid of coming into this experience, they have embraced. One of the staff told me on my first day that they want the apprentices to see themselves outside the context of being an African-American male growing up in Southeast DC. The world is larger than what they see everyday and they are invited to participate in it. That’s why they are teaching each class about a different country this summer. That’s why in one class, there are posters on the wall of people from different countries, with different skin tones, and some with disabilities.
Thus, it is hard to feel anything but at home at LPTM. I know the summer will bring challenges as more (and new) apprentices are added to the classrooms as a new session of programming begins. But right now I am enjoying all of it. I can’t help but the passage in Matthew 6 when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. He said:
“Your Kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven”
I think the family LPTM has created is a piece of what God intended for earth and mankind. It is family on earth, as it is in Heaven.
So glad you are loving it Sarah!!! Can’t wait to see you in the city!
Sarah,
You entries are so beautifully written! I love hearing about your experiences in DC, LifePieces sounds not only like a wonderful organization but a perfect fit for you! I hope everything is going well with your roommates and living situation, and that you have got the commute down! Can’t wait to hear more about your work!!
-Kylie