Shannon- Tupac- Day One

Although we weren’t yet volunteering today, I learned some valuable lessons about diversity and acceptance. Today we went to the Sunday service at the church where we are staying. It is a church that is accepting of people with all different backgrounds and beliefs that is focused on unity and equality for all. The congregation was more welcoming than I could have ever imagined.  Everyone wanted to hear about who we were and what we were going to do for the rest of the week. Different families signed up to provide us dinner for the entire week and the church provided food for the rest of our meals from their food bank.  I have never felt more comfortable with people I was meeting for the first time. These people knew very little about us, yet they offered anything that they could to make us feel more at home. I guess this is what people mean when they comment about “Southern Hospitality.” We went to brunch with the congregation after the service at the restaurant across the street and learned a little more about Reverend Paul, the man who so generously allowed us to stay at the church. He spoke to us about how the mission of his church was to be accepting to all types of people and that his church took in many people who had been turned away by others who were afraid of something different. He told us that many of the people in his congregation were a part of the LGBTQ community in Atlanta which is much larger than any of us knew. He was very open with us about his own life struggles and his hopes concerning a future of equality for all. This was an amazing start to a week focused on diversity and acceptance.