THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2008
NEWS
3A
RELIGION
Students volunteer at new church Faith community part of housing homeless, needy
Marla Keown/KANSAN
Johnathan Wilson (left), Paola sophomore, and Justin Meier, pastor of River City Church, sit outside the latest addition of Meier's homeless-shelter program called the New Direction House. The New Direction House, 2245 Rhode Island St., has four bedrooms and enables the program to take care of four to six families. Meier's program is 18-month long and focuses on teaching vocational skills, budgeting and domestic skills to the families in the shelter.
BY CALEB SOMMERVILLE csommerville@kansan.com
Almost 2 years ago, pastor Justin Meier started the New Direction House for the homeless and those in need by inviting an alcoholic man and his wife who were trying to save their marriage to live with Meier.
Meier recently started a church, called River City Church, to coincide with the house. Some university students volunteered to help with both the church and the house.
Meier was sent to Lawrence by Midwest Church Planting, which works to create emergent service churches around the United States. Emergent churches work to reach the "unchurched" or "post-churched."
"We are a faith community for people who have been burnt by the church," Meier said.
Meier came specifically to Lawrence to start a church and started the New Direction House first, because he believed that the church was always meant to serve and take care of people.
River City Church has some unconventional practices.
Besides meeting at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Centennial Elementary School, 2145 Louisana St., the "faith community," as Meiers called it, also has discussions during the sermon, interfaith dialogues and sings Dave Matthews Band and U2 songs for worship.
Meier said that River City Church was "trying to minister to people the way we think Jesus originally started out."
The New Direction House is in Meier's home, and they share living space and responsibilities.
The shelter features an 18-month curriculum that focuses on vocational training, budgeting and even hygiene. Once people 'graduate' the shelter, Meier said they should have enough money to buy a car and pay
first month's rent, a deposit and utilities for a place to live.
Both the New Direction House and River City Church are run entirely by volunteers.
Meier met Johnathon Wilson, community service chair for Delta Tau Delta fraternity, while judging a debate contest a few years ago. Now, Wilson is the public relations director for the New Direction House and River City Church.
Wilson started getting involved with the shelter and church to fulfill community service hours for his fraternity, and because he knew Meier.
"I see his vision." Wilson said.
The public relations work that Wilson does includes everything from talking to people to just hanging out. He also started a Facebook and MySpace page.
Wilson is also trying to get the Greek community involved with the church and shelter.
As the community service chair for Delta Tau Delta, Wilson requires the fraternity members to do 12 hours of community service per
details
River City Church meets at 5 p.m. Sundays at Centennial Elementary School, 2145 Louisiana St.
www.rethinkfaith.org
semester.
Wilson and other fraternity members helped do some painting, cleaning and cleared out a room in the New Direction House for a family to live in.
During River City Church's first service on Feb. 17, Wilson and his fellow fraternity members helped set up and tear down the church equipment.
Meier said that he ho
"We're not your typical church," Meier said.
ped the church would appeal to young families and college students.
—Edited by Jared Duncan
>> AIR FORCE ROTC
Cadets step up to the L.I.N.E.
BY MARY SORRICK msorick@kansan.com
Retired Maj. Mike Langley discusses the use of L.I.N.E. techniques while demonstrators show how to use the techniques in a knife fight. L.I.N.E. is primarily used for self defense. But Langley, a certified L.I.N.E. instructor, told AFROTC cadets that in a real fight, L.I.N.E. combatants would not pull any punches.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Grab and twist. Pull, Break.
L. I.N.E. training was the first hand-to-hand combat lab AFROTC
These were among the hand-tohand combat maneuvers students in the University of Kansas Air Force ROTC program rehearsed Tuesday night.
For two hours in the martial arts room of the Robinson Center, 60 cadets practiced wristlocks, headlocks and chokes on each other as part of training in the Linear Infighting Neural Override Engagement, L.I.N.E., system of self-defense.
"We try to build some fun stuff in," he said. "They all think combat is cool."
L. I.N.E., originally developed for the Marine Corps, imprints reflexive techniques and motions of self-defense in members of the military who learn the system.
Capt. Corey Edmonds, the active duty officer who oversees cadet activities, said the ROTC students appreciated the chance to do something active.
Some leadership labs, like meetings about proper dress and the finer points of a salute, are mandatory. But the ROTC staff also has the freedom to choose more engaging labs, like Tuesday night's training.
cadets had completed in at least four years, Booth said.
Matt Booth, Medicine Lodge senator and AFROTC public affairs officer, said the training qualified as one of 15-weekly leadership laboratories AFROTC students must complete this semester.
Stephanie Langley, Leavenworth junior, played a role in bringing L.I.N.E. training to the AFROTC by suggesting it to last year's staff.
She said the Air Force was trying to integrate more hand-to-hand combat into its training.
"This isn't about starting a fight," she said. "it's about what you would do if you got in a fight."
Though the training's primary purpose was self-defense, Ret. Maj. Langley told the AFROTC cadets that, in a real fight, combatants using L.I.N.E. would not pull any punches.
Langley's father, Retired Maj. Mike Langley, is a certified L.I.N.E. instructor. He was one of five instructors from Fort Leavenworth working with the cadets on Tuesday.
"If I burst your Achilles tendon, gee, I'm really sorry. But that's my job," Langley said to the cadets.
University cadets had only a two-hour taste of L.I.N.E. training, which usually requires about nine weeks to complete. But John Sebes, Lansing freshman, said that was enough to learn some useful techniques.
"I don't want to have to break someone's arm, but it's nice to know that if someone starts choking you out, you have an option," Sebes said.
Booth said the AFROTC's next big event would be Alumni Weekend on April 15. Cadets will also participate in an annual parade and drill competition at Memorial Stadium on May 3.
— Edited by Samuel Lamb
Town debates indictment measures of Bush, Chenev
charges of violating the Constitution.
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Victers in this southern Vermont town decided Tuesday whether to approve a measure calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on
The symbolic article seeks to have police arrest Bush and Cheney if they ever visit Brattleboro or to extradite them for prosecution elsewhere — if they're not impeached first.
"Our town attorney has no
legal authority to draw up any papers to allow our police officers to do so" said Town Clerk Annette Cappy, "but the gentleman who initiated the petition got the signatures (and) wanted it on the ballot to make a statement."
Associated Press