Reflection authored by Jan Brown, Parishioner and local AMOS

I remember when I was doing my graduate work at Drake.  My professor required that we work in teams to complete an assignment.  I hated it!  I was accustomed to doing my own work and my grade was based on my individual effort.  Working on teams required me to get the “team” grade which was always lower (I thought) than if I had done the entire assignment on my own. 

When I complained my professor reminded me that in the real world, we would have to work with others in most circumstances. 

Later, I found this to be true.  I was responsible for organizing a legislative campaign for my state dental hygiene association.  The legislation we sought was to allow the hygiene profession to regulate itself rather than the dental profession.  It was not right that dentists were allowed to regulate our practice when they were also our employers, in most circumstances.  It was a very direct conflict of interest.  It involved enlisting the help of the dental hygienists throughout the state to speak with their individual legislators and explain the problem with the current system.  Of course the dental profession had a lot more money that we did to influence the legislative leaders.  Instead, the hygienists pooled small contributions from many people,  We also helped the legislators who were in support of our efforts to win in their districts.  We walked many towns and passed out campaign material.  We made phone calls for them.   And then, during the session, we appeared in mass at the Capital to remind our legislators of the importance of our request.

 I can’t tell you the joy I felt when a dental hygiene colleague shared the conversation she had with her legislator.  They were overjoyed because they felt they had made an impact.  They loved sharing their experience.  It was more joyful for me to hear their experience than if I had had the conversation myself. 

The legislators we helped didn’t forget how we helped them.  They passed the legislation to allow us to create our own dental hygiene committee that was responsible for our profession.  We couldn’t have had that impact without a team dedicated to making it happen. 

During the last 4 or 5 years, I have been a part of AMOS (a mid-Iowa organizing strategy.  We have an amazing team with many different abilities.  Our purpose is to listen to our community members and try to find ways to  improve the lives of families that live in our communities.   We have had several successes including two bills in the legislature to improve services for adults and children with mental illness.  We continue to work on funding these bills, so they can be implemented.

 OLIH AMOS created a lengthy needs assessment of Ankeny looking through the eyes of those who live in poverty.  We have used that assessment to make others more aware of the fact that Ankeny does have poverty and there are needs that should be addressed.  Due to that research, five other churches in Ankeny have joined our efforts.  All five churches were involved in addressing the city council regarding the sewage backups that occurred 2 years ago after a heavy rainfall.  This summer we have observed many public work projects being done to improve the sewage systems in the older parts of Ankeny.  This year, OLIH AMOS is working on racial equality and what we, as a church community, can do to improve the lives of those who are different than ourselves. 

The book “You’re Amazing” states “in order to develop a deeper relationship with God, we must build a team around us like Jesus did - which sometimes takes a lot of humility.  Being on a team shows us that it is not all about us; it’s about what we can do together.”  Jesus formed his team of 12.  “Am I on Jesus’s team?”

BONUS MATERIAL:

Watch for our Lenten offerings as we delve into racial equality! Want a jump start? Check out the US Bishops document Open Wide Our Hearts condensed version or full version