Spring Break!

March 10th - March 13th

Please take some time to look over this page. Below you will find relevant information about our spring break trip to Memphis, TN. There will be important things like the schedule, a packing list, rules, and information on why we are going. Thank you so much for sending your student with us to Memphis, TN.

 
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OUR FOCUS: History

 

On spring break, your students will be getting a crash course in the role the Church played in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Memphis is somewhat of a sacred place for many people in this country. It is the home of the National Civil Rights Museum and the place of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. It is also where we hope to do three things as a community:

  1. Demythologize the sentimental narrative that has risen up around Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement.

  2. Listen and experience the story of slavery and America from the voice of those who are closer in proximity to the memory and pain of it.

  3. Help students understand the theological underpinnings of Martin Luther King’s activism and worldview.

 

SCHEDULE

Sunday

Departure: Sunday, 3/10/24 at 9 am from Church

Arrival: Sunday 3/10/24 at 7pm in Memphis, TN

Monday

Morning: Our group will do a morning trip to the National Civil Rights Museum.

Afternoon: Walking through Beale Street and enjoying downtown Memphis.

Tuesday

Morning: We will be going on an urban hike across the city and over the Mississippi River into Arkansas and back.

Evening: Attending a Memphis Grizzlies NBA game.

Wednesday

Departure: Wednesday morning at 9:00am from Memphis.

Arrival: Wednesday afternoon at 7:00pm at Redemption Church.

“Following Jesus involves leaving the comfortable place and going to a place that is outside our comfort zone. Spiritual displacement is what is called for. The dictionary says that to displace is ‘to move or to shift from the ordinary or proper place. As a ship at sea displaces water, so we are displaced when something greater than ourselves moves us in a new direction or state of being. For displacement to be a real discipline, it has to be voluntary. Voluntary displacement prevents us from being caught in the net of the ordinary and proper. It is the discipline essential to remembering who we really are and remaining in touch with our greatest gifts of gratitude and compassion.”
— Henri Nouwen
 
Henri Nouwen

Henri Nouwen

ARTS AND CULTURE

One of the most distinctive features of Memphis is the arts and culture of Memphis. Blues music traces its roots to the spirituals, work songs, and chants of African-American culture, and many of its best-known and earliest artists were African-American. As such, both Blues and Jazz music played an important role in the Civil Rights movement, which hit its peak in the 1960s.

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What to pack and what my student needs.

Below is a simple packing list that your student needs to bring. There is also a packing list of stuff of NOT to bring.

Meals and Money

  • We recommend sending $40 with your student.

    • Meal on Sunday on the way to Memphis

    • Meal on Wednesday on the way home from Memphis

    • All other meals are paid for.

What to bring

  • Bible

  • Pen

  • Journal

  • Snacks

  • $40

  • Toiletries

  • Bathing suit and towel

  • Shoes to urban hike in

  • Only 1 carry on size bag and 1 personal item/bag

What not to bring

  • Video game system

  • Weapons of any kind

  • Non-prescription drugs of any kind

  • Fireworks of any kind

THINGS YOUR STUDENT WILL BE SENT HOME FOR…

AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.

Rules

Your student will be sent home immediately if they violate any of the things below. If something happens, your student will be isolated to their room, you will be called, and you will be asked to drive to Memphis and come pick them up immediately (no matter the time and with no exceptions).

  • Sneaking out of the hotel.

  • Being in a girl’s room if you are a guy or a guy’s room if you are a girl.

  • Drug or alcohol use.

  • Conscious bullying or violence toward another student or self.

  • Sex or any kind of sexual manipulation or exploitation.

  • Conscious engagement in destruction of property or vandalism.

Pick up and Drop off

  • Your student needs to be at Redemption Church by 8:15 am on Sunday.

  • Your student will be back to the church by Wednesday evening. The time is always a little open due to how long it takes us. We will be texting you and letting you know the exact time ASAP on Wednesday.