We are EXCITED about our remodeled building, soon to be completed....
Please excuse our mess! Use the EAST (set back) door on Univ. Ave to stop by!
Vespers (5:30 pm) and Student Meal (6:30 pm) begin Sunday Sept. 5. Please join us.
QUEST TRIPS
Quest Info Session
Thursday, September 16, 2010 6:00PM to 7:00PM
Hear about exciting opportunities for domestic and international travel with the Quest program! Learn how to get involved with trips heading out over winter and spring breaks, and following the spring semester. Quest trips focus on far-flung destinations that offer insights on pressing global problems and opportunities to connect with your group and those you'll meet along the way. Come for the information and the international snacks, and find yourself embarking on the journey of a lifetime!
The conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland doesn't make international news like it did in the 1970s and 80s. However, violence still surfaces and the potential for conflict can be seen in territorially painted curbsides and images of gun-toting militia men in cities such as Belfast.
Dr. Bob Enright, a educational psychologist, developed forgiveness education curriculum for gradeschoolers in the hope that teaching about forgiveness would positively affect areas of conflict. He proposed the idea of introducing this curriculum into the Belfast schools to the leaders of both the Catholic and Protestant militia groups and they agreed that he might bring his curriculum to the schools. Dr. Enright started a non-profit, the International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) to support his forgiveness curriculum projects.
Quest to Northern Ireland partners with IFI to study the idea of forgiveness and make contact with schools in Belfast. The trips have painted needy schools, shared forgiveness curriculum with children in Ireland, and explored the realities of long-term conflict.
The Crossing's first Quest trip to Mexico was a joint venture with INESIN (Instituto de Estudios e Investigacion Intercultural), an organization focused on an ecumenical approach to reaching peace and stability in the region.
Anne Roulet is the International Trip Coordinator for INESIN and shehelped organize our trip so that we spent half of our time working and the other half learning.We helped build a house for INESIN and also took classes in on-the-street Spanish, privilege and solidarity, community vs. individualism, Chiapas conflict history, Mayan spirituality, globalization and migration.
Of course, it wasn't all hard work and learning.We also had the opportunity to visit ruins, attend various church services, go to a traditional fiesta, and attend a play.The week was jam-packed and helped expand our cultural awareness.
During Spring Break 2009 (March 13-22), a group of UW-Madison students traveled to the cloud forest of Costa Rica to do volunteer work (ecological restoration, sustainable agriculture) in the community, explore the remarkable ecosystems and landscapes, and reflect on our relationships with the people, wildlife, and places we encounter. The goal of the trip was to help each of us grow in our capacity to cultivate a deep "sense of place" both in the far-flung places we visit and in the landscapes we call home.
We met as a group several times in the months leading up to the trip to get to know each other, to learn about different spiritual and religious approaches to cultivating a sense of place, and to talk with experts on Costa Rican ecology and culture.
Quest to Israel/Palestine--2003, 2006, 2009 Quest IP was the first Quest trip. It was created to involve students in the reality of our world, provide them an opportunity to visit a historical region, explore issues of conflict, and develop spiritual practices that would enhance their faith. Students visited a school that serves Jew, Christian, Druze, and Muslim children outside of the Galileean village of Ibillin. The founder of the school, Archbisop Elias Chacour, has been nominated 3 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
This year's trip group added homestays with Palestinian and Jewish settler families and its motto was "a mi. Check out their blogspot for reflections on their trip--www.questip.blogspot.com.
Quest to Kenya- The Jirani Project Winter Break 2011
Want to have an amazing experience while helping others in Africa? Apply for Quest Kenya: The Jirani Project!The Jirani project is a socially sustainable organization in Kenya that helps orphans and underprivileged children receive an education and a better life. On top of working with the Jirani Project, we will be doing volunteer work in the local community and will even go on a safari!
Volunteer with the Jirani Project through BadgerQuest over Winter break 2011!
Apply Now at www.Badgerquest.org!" (Applications will be accepted until the trip is filled.)
Quest to Cambodia--2010 We plan on working with The Cambodian School Project, a privately run, non-profit corporation formed to assist poor children and their families in rural Cambodia. As rural farm life becomes a less viable occupation, it becomes crucial for children to learn to read and write. We will help build schools with basic sanitation and assist in programs aimed at helping the poorest families become economically self-sufficient. We also hope to engage in Christian/Buddhist dialogue.
Join us in this journey that will be both educational and service-oriented.
"Belonging in the Badlands: A Wilderness Quest"--2009 The quest group travelled to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and the Black Hills of South Dakota from May 27 to June 5, 2009. They re-built fences, dug trenches for water systems, and discussed conservation issues with renowned wilderness advocate and park ranger John Heiser. They camped under the North Dakota stars, visited historic and sacred Native American sites and had many campfire discussions about American wilderness, conservation on the Great Plains, and what it means to belong in a place both spiritually and ecologically.
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