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Chloe Lucas

When we read accounts of Jesus’ daily life, His radical compassion consistently resulted in action. Jesus didn’t stand back and watch people suffer, rather He took time for those in need. Recently, God taught me how to respond to the unhoused population with a life changing week of ministry in downtown San Francisco. I recognized how deeply God’s heart must break for His people sleeping on concrete in the rain. God also continually broke my heart open for all our fellow image-bearers. My resulting desire was to bring a new ministry to our local community, and I am excited for the execution of this project through the Steinfeldt scholarship. 

My ministry is simple. I will be selling reasonably priced shirts paired with a small care package, especially around campus. Every shirt boldly states, “Compassion=Action.” I aim to provide my peers with an easy way to give several items to a neighbor in need either nearby or in their hometown, all while encouraging intentionality behind each personal interaction. 

Above all, my goal is to encourage my community in steps of action to make our unhoused neighbors feel seen and cared for. There is such power in initiating thoughtful interactions and striving to give what we can. Overall, we must simply strive to love people well. To conclude, this ministry belongs first to our Father, and I look forward to witnessing what He does through this opportunity.

Cherri Nelson-Owusu

"Use your freedom to change as many lives as you." -Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Take My Hand

My heart has always gone out to the oppressed and those who have been wronged by the law or by a family member. People don't think nurses in their work can fight for peace and justice, all they do is take care of people and help others get better, but that is far from the truth. As a nurse, peace and justice are necessary for those who have been hurt and wronged by the healthcare system. I hope to provide my community with better opportunities and a community center where they can find peace and justice for where they have been wounded. Within the black community, we have experienced turmoil after turmoil, disease after disease, and pain after pain. I want to bring reprieve and bandage the wounds of the hurt. 

I had the experience of working with homeless outreach in my church, and I could see the people around me fight for peace and justice for themselves. Many of the people we encountered had been wronged and thrown out on the street for one reason or another. We had to encourage them as much as we could, knowing that it would be hard to find avenues for them to get back into society. The quote at the beginning of the essay is something I have been carrying with me since reading the book Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez about a nurse fighting for peace and justice for poor black men and women whose rights and choices were taken away by a system that was supposed to be looking after their health. I want to do better for my community and with my freedom I aim to do just that.