Three minivans. Sixteen MLC juniors. One MLC sophomore. Three MLC professors. What do you get when you put these things all together? The MLC Urban Ministry Field Trip!

The MLC Urban Ministry Field Trip has been in existence for three years. This trip is an opportunity for SEM sophomores and juniors to break free from rural Minnesota and get a taste of inner-city Milwaukee ministry. The purpose is to explore possible interest in urban ministry student teaching and full-time teaching in these schools. There are several inner-city WELS schools, but this year ’s trip focused on St. Marcus, Hope High School, Risen Savior, and Garden Homes.

On Sunday, April 9, a small crowd gathered in front of Augustana/Concord. The Urban Ministry Field Trip was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Six hours later, as they randomly wandered side streets in Milwaukee looking for St. Marcus Lutheran Church and School, they were ready to get out of the vans. Upon their arrival, they were warmly greeted by the faculty and staff of St. Marcus. The students had the wonderful privilege of attending the Sunday evening worship service at St. Marcus. Then they met their host families and headed to Pastor Ski’s house for food and fellowship.

Bright and early the next morning, the seventeen students and three professors gathered with the St. Marcus faculty, and then were sent off to visit classrooms. During the day, the students were able to observe many grades and many teachers. They also had the opportunity to ask both the elementary and middle school principals questions about St. Marcus. Being able to do this gave the students an idea about the philosophies and practices of St. Marcus. A portion of the group also visited Hope High School on Monday to take a tour and ask questions.

At the end of the school day, the MLC students were able to attend the tie ceremony at St. Marcus. Students are recognized for their honor roll achievements by the color of tie they wear as part of their uniforms. When a student reaches honor roll or high honor roll for the first time, a tie is presented to them in front of the fifth- through eighth-grade students and teachers. Students are also recognized for maintaining honor roll status or showing great improvement in their grade point average. This ceremony was an amazing experience for the MLC students.

After school was over at St. Marcus, the students loaded up the vans and went to Risen Savior to help out with Youth Haven, an after-school program. They were able to teach the story of Christ’s resurrection to the students there. They also enjoyed a delicious meal provided by Youth Haven for everyone in attendance. After supper, the MLC students met their new host families and went their separate ways.

On Tuesday, five MLC students accompanied Dr. Pfeifer and Professor Leyrer to Garden Homes, while the other twelve students stayed with Professor Loomis at Risen Savior.

At Garden Homes, the students were given a tour of the building by the vice principal, after which they could visit classrooms as they pleased until 11:00. They received a warm welcome in each classroom that they visited.

At Risen Savior, the MLC students were paired up and picked the classroom that they wanted to observe for the morning. Some students stayed in one classroom all morning, while others observed in several classrooms. Risen Savior’s school is unique in the fact that it is only three years old, and it only goes through fifth grade. Their plan is to add one grade each year, and they are currently building. It was awesome to see how the Lord has blessed their ministry!

Around 11:30, it was time for the MLC students to say good-bye yet again and to pack the vans for the return trip to New Ulm. Along the way, the students had the opportunity to discuss their experiences and observations in the schools that they had visited. The majority of the seventeen students were interested in learning more about urban ministry in Milwaukee and elsewhere. These students were extremely grateful for the opportunity to visit the inner-city schools.

MLC has recently put together an Urban Ministry Task Force to explore options to get MLC students involved in urban ministry. These options so far are Urban Ministry Early Field Experience, Urban Ministry Field Trip, and student teaching in the urban schools. Teachers and principals from the inner-city schools have also been on campus to speak to students about urban ministry. There are also several summer opportunities to work with inner-city children. For more information on these opportunities, contact Dr. Pfeifer or Professor Leyrer.

Sarah J. Fritzler is an ECE Science Junior Amy B. Biedenbender is a SEM English Sophomore

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