Energized after Annual Meeting

By April Mays on 11/11/2011 @ 05:25 PM

Energized. If someone asked me to describe how I feel after Annual Meeting in one word, that would be my answer. Although I was physically exhausted after early morning business meetings and late nights bonding with the other young adults, I have new energy for the work that lies ahead.

When I applied to be a Program Assistant for FCNL I knew some about lobbying and what I would be expected to do. I did not realize how quickly our work could seem so daunting. I suppose it is because I came in with the naïve attitude that I personally could create change and that change is possible with quick tangible results. Although I still believe change is possible I no longer believe it will happen as quickly as I once did or that I can do it alone. One comforting thing that came out of Annual Meeting for me is seeing the massive amount of support we have behind us from all over the country.

In the short amount of time I have been at FCNL, I have started to see the work that we are doing as never ending. In fact, it can seem next to impossible, to be honest, to create change with the constant political turmoil. It was at Annual Meeting that I realized that I am not alone in this effort to make change. FCNL is much more than the nearly thirty employees that staff the building. Of course I did not feel completely alone before. I know I have a great support in my fellow Program Assistants and all of FCNL’s employees but it can still feel as though one is alone in the world when it is a few against Capitol Hill.

It was also fantastically comforting to know that many have been faithfully working for change longer than I have been alive and that they have not given up. I am a very logical person, at least I like to think so, and therefore I did not think Capitol Hill would magically improve the second I set foot in D.C. However, I did have this idea that I just need to put on my gloves, pull up my boots and make some change happen. After being here for two months I now see that is not exactly how it works. Change happens but it is not so quick and to the point as I would have liked to think. But FCNL has made change, made a difference since its creation. It is through deliberate faithful action that this change has come about.

This weekend reminded me that my task is not to fix all the problems in this country or world but to continue on this journey toward change that FCNL has been on since 1943. Annual Meeting gave me the support and energy I needed to keep working toward “a world free of war and the threat of war”, “a society with equity and justice for all”, “a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled”, and “an earth restored.”