Saying Goodbye to 2019-2020 Program Year Staff

I'm waving "see you soon" to the Darst Center with deep gratitude and a new perspective. My time at Darst has truly made me see Chicago differently. Our partner agencies have grounded me in an interconnected, communal view of our city -- in both its triumphs and its failures. I have learned so much over the past year about our burning issues and how they intersect and play out in Chicago. Most importantly, however, Darst has taught me not to get too caught up in the head-space of knowing every fact, but to let them be known in my heart and my gut. Early on, Rachel encouraged that it is only once we know things here -- in an empathic and bodily sort of way -- that we are moved to action.

Darst seeks to cultivate this more authentically than anywhere else I have worked. We do this when participants share in the burdens of hospitality -- cooking for one another, cleaning with one another -- and when we show up honestly in reflection. We do this when we acknowledge that what we prepare on our dinner plates affects our neighbors locally and globally. We do this when we sit in circle and hold true to the fact that each of us has wisdom to share with one another. We hold space to feel our interconnectedness, and how interconnection is not only true at Darst, but especially true in the work for justice in our world. 

To cultivate habits of relating to each other openly, vulnerably, and with compassion is not a form of naive niceties. It creates the space for deep conviction to be known and truth-telling to be heard. It paves the way for us to reimagine a world built on relationship at every level. This relationship must be at the heart of our path to justice. As I step away from Darst, in the chaos of the year 2020, I am holding the truth of that closely, and am grateful to have learned it here. 

~Claire DesHotels

My nine months at the Darst Center have become an extremely formative and joyful time in my life. Even though I left back in early June, it feels like I’ve been gone much longer and I deeply miss my fellow staff members. They are the ones who made my experience what it was. Their leadership, collaboration, affirmations, and jokes made me a better person and I will be forever grateful to them.

The retreats I led also fostered growth for me in ways I didn’t even suspect. Each group reminded me of how grateful I am to have grown up with an acute awareness of social justice issues, but they have also taught me that I still have a long way to go and can always learn more. On an individual level, many of the retreat members demonstrated wisdom beyond their years and shared powerful words in their closing reflections that made me pause and think on my own actions and life.

As I move on to my next adventure, I am realizing every day the things I miss about the Darst Center - the old, renovated convent building, the peace circles, the always-full refrigerator, the many, many stairs, and the laughs and words shared in the Programming Office. I will miss you, Darst Center, and all those who were a part of my time there. I hope some day in the future, God allows for our paths to cross again.

~Rose Rucoba

During my year at the Darst Center, I learned many different things. Things I had never expected to be a part of my job description, like how to fold a perfect fitted sheet, how to cook chili for 75 people in an hour, and how to hold space for reflection even after a 12 hour day, to name a few. But the most important thing I learned, the thread holding all my responsibilities at the Darst Center together, was the importance of hospitality.

The growth I saw within not just my retreat participants but also within myself would not have been possible if not for the feeling of being welcomed with open arms and open hearts that the Darst Center so wonderfully provides. This approach to connection with every person you meet, no matter who they are, is something I will take with me for the rest of my life.

~Samantha Wilson