Graceland Students Serve as Summer Interns at Temple

For ten weeks during the summer, the average age of International Headquarters volunteers dipped slightly. Three Graceland University students took part in an internship to assist with the heavier summer traffic of visitors to the Temple. Eric Tripp, Manasseh Chibwe, and Jurgen Heijdenrijk learned of the opportunity through Graceland University’s campus ministries program and their involvement with the church.

The three-credit-hour course appealed to them for a variety of reasons. Eric, who had an interest in working for the church in youth ministry, was a Graceland representative for two years and wanted to continue meeting new people. Manasseh, daughter of Apostle Bunda Chibwe, saw it as a good opportunity to meet people and practice public speaking. Jurgen, originally from the Netherlands, was looking for a summer job and found the internship to be a good opportunity.

During their tenure, the three young adults worked in the Temple bookstore—the first summer interns to have done so—and at the reception desk greeting visitors. Their duties ranged from filling out paperwork to giving guided tours. Each gave several tours a day to groups as large as a bus full to as small as one person. All three enjoyed learning more about the heritage of the church and about the history and artwork of the Temple. Asked for a favorite experience, Eric said that he appreciated being able to “see people’s reactions when they first enter the Temple sanctuary.” Additionally Jurgen worked with Richard Betts, WorldService Corps coordinator. Splitting his time evenly between his duties as a tour guide and WSC, Jurgen’s extra tasks included working with WSC volunteers, preparing informational sessions on the international ministry program, and further development of the WSC Web page.

By the end of the summer, the three were happy to have learned more and shared with others the heritage of the church. Manasseh, who is now Graceland Student Government president, recommends sharing in the ministry of the Temple in this capacity to anyone looking for a unique summer opportunity. Eric now lives in Fulton, Missouri, and serves as Children and Youth minister for the Gateway Mission Center. Jurgen was glad to serve in his extra capacity with WorldService Corps and enjoyed learning more about the workings of the program. After completing two years of study at Graceland, he has returned to the Netherlands to complete his degree in religion.

To learn more about volunteering at International Headquarters or at one of Community of Christ’s historic sites, visit www.CofChrist.org/volunteers/default.asp, e-mail Volunteer@CofChrist.org, or call 1-800-825-2806, ext. 2020.

—Tom Anderson reporting