Stephanie Vogelzang

Summer Fellow 2008 - Faith in Public Life

The Beatitudes Society Fellowship afforded me the opportunity to live and work in Washington, DC for the summer. As a person who enjoys dialogue, discussion and debate this allowed me to be surrounded by people of a similar cloth. You might say that the Fellowship helped me catch a severe case of "Potomac Fever". It is rare to find a place that allows you to have frequent conversations and interactions, both casual and professional, that engage your mind and focus your world view. The District was that place for me this summer as I was constantly challenged by the people I lived with, the people I worked with and the people I met.

These experiences were not constrained to the alabaster surroundings of our Nation's capitol. My internship at Faith in Public Life sent me to Denver, Colorado, where I helped organize and plan a founding event for "We Believe Colorado". This event celebrated the founding of the organization, where over 300 religious leaders of different faiths endorsed the new organization and committed to pursuing shared values and the common good in public policy discussions. The people that I met and the ideas that came from talking and interacting with them were truly extraordinary.

However, these relationships and ideas were not confined to the exceptional trips outside DC, but also occurred during the routine, everyday, activities of the office. As I spent more time amidst my co-workers I was amazed as the diversity in both perspectives and opinions.  I developed relationships over lunches and meetings, where I was given the opportunity to truly understand a person who came from a different perspective than I did.  This was the most rewarding aspect of the internship and fellowship: the everyday people who I met that helped me become a stronger advocate for Christ's work in politics.

Strengthening the progressive Christian network for justice, compassion, & peace