Scroll: The Wabash Institute of Theology for Youth is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which seeks to encourage young people to explore theological traditions, ask critical questions about current issues, and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.
A total of 19 rising junior and senior high school boys from across the country participated in the first-ever Scroll program at Wabash.
Throughout the week, students went through an intense learning experience that included classroom instruction led by Wabash faculty, including Associate Professor of Religion Jonathan Baer (pictured), and visiting experts.
During this first institute, the focus was on how to think about poverty from a Christian perspective and what they should do about it. The group spent time at several local churches and participated daily in community service throughout Indiana.
Braiden Slavens '19 served as one of the Wabash mentors and Resident Assistants for the program.
Team-building activities outside of Martindale Hall, led by Director of the Writing Center Zachary Koppelman, encouraged the students to learn to trust and open up to one another, which made classroom discussions easier.
'I am so thankful for the education that I have acquired this week. I am very excited to apply these biblical principles to my life and see what the Lord does though me as I seek to alleviate poverty while spreading the good news!' - Blake Botzum
'The week has been amazing! I really appreciated the classroom portion and having the experiential learning opportunities by going out and doing service projects at places that deal with people in poverty was eye-opening and mind-boggling. I feel like we were really able to grasp what poverty is, what it does to people, and how we as young men can combat it in everyday life.' - Joshua Cochran
'Scroll has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my high school years. Living in a community that seems so distant from poverty and being able to experience first-hand the difficulties and experiences of certain individuals we've served has truly impacted both my spiritual and physical growth.' - Matt Mathai
Professor of Biology Eric Wetzel talks with the high school students about Wabash's Global Health Institute and what he has learned about global poverty through his travels.
Professor Wetzel discussed the power of building relationships with people in other countries and how to look at global poverty with a theological perspective.
'This experience has really meant a lot to me. I've been able to make great, lasting relationships with my fellow members and mentors. One thing I've learned about helping those in need is that donating money is simply not enough. That the best way to approach this topic is to start by developing relationships, then finding the root of the problem and helping them to get back on their feet by providing work opportunities or counseling. Bringing this newfound knowledge back home will, hopefully, make a lasting impact on my community.' - Thomas Kaifer
'I hope that the young men who participated in Scroll take home a deep conviction that Christian theology speaks powerfully to the challenging and complex issues pertaining to poverty and they can be part of meaningful and lasting efforts to address human suffering in this area.' - Associate Professor of Religion Jonathan Baer
'Scroll has been an amazing experience for a variety of reasons. It was awesome to get close to other believers that also want to help with poverty. Both professors did a great job teaching, but I feel like I learned the most when we went to our service projects. Experiencing poverty and the issues it can cause in a real life situation helped me grow in my faith and learn more about the problem.' - Eli Donovan, left
'Scroll has already allowed me to change my perspective on problems at home that have been prevalent for most of my life. I have already connected with friends in Maryland that run a food pantry near me and they have offered me a volunteer position.' - Tommy Halligan
By the end of the week, the students had become pretty close. And though it was hard work, fun was never far away.
Scattered across the Arboretum, 19 rising high school junior and senior boys worked on team-building activities. Some are blindfolded, depending only on clues from fellow participants to get to where they need to go. Others are being carried across imaginary lava, trusting they won’t be dropped.
While it might sound like a lot of other week-long summer camps, the first-ever Scroll program at Wabash College could not be more different.
Scroll: The Wabash Institute of Theology for Youth is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which seeks to encourage young people to explore theological traditions, ask critical questions about current issues, and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.
The young men arrived on the Wabash campus Saturday, July 22 and stayed through Sunday, July 30. For those eight days, the students went through an intense learning experience that included classroom instruction led by faculty and expert visitors. During this first institute, the focus was on how to think about poverty from a Christian perspective and what they should do about it.
“My sense is that the students found the classroom instruction helpful, but they were especially impacted by seeing poverty first-hand and learning from people whose lives had been transformed for the better,” Associate Professor of Religion and Scroll Director Jonathan Baer said. “I hope that the young men who participated in Scroll take home a deep conviction that Christian theology speaks powerfully to the challenging and complex issues pertaining to poverty and that they can be part of meaningful and lasting efforts to address human suffering in this area.”
The young men also spent several hours of every day in community service with organizations that serve people living in poverty or working to move out of poverty, including Trinity Life Ministry and Habitat for Humanity in Crawfordsville, IN; Wheeler Mission Ministries in Indianapolis, IN; and Merciful HELP Center in Carmel, IN.
“Scroll has been an incredible experience that will live with me for the rest of my life,” said Sam Vermette of Baltimore, MD. “It's necessary that everybody experience this type of thing in their lives, so that we may not only understand how blessed we are, but how much people need our blessings as well. Being at Scroll helped me understand God's grace in so many different ways and inspired me to take everything I have learned to make a change in the world.”
Subsequent summer institutes, from 2018-20, will focus on theology in relation to criminal justice, sickness and health, and oppression.
Funding for Scroll was provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. and paid for all expenses such as housing, food, books, and off-campus outings. Additionally, in order to offset wages from summer jobs, each Scroll participant received a stipend of $350.
Applications for next summer’s program (July 21-29) will open in January 2018.