Monday, July 25, 2022
By Ashlynn Caldwell | July 25, 2022
Today was another day of exploring Kentucky and meeting communities built around faith, history, and good people.
This morning we started with a bus ride from Louisville to visit Camp Nelson near Nicolasvillle, KY. Camp Nelson is a Civil War camp that recruited soldiers, processed and stored supplies for US Army Troops, and was filled with stories and struggles-told and untold-by all sorts of people from many backgrounds…
US Army soldiers and commanders had stories: taking over farms and resources for the benefit of the Union, building the second-largest town in Kentucky in a matter of months, then destroying it when the war ended.
Civilians who worked to run the camp had histories and families to worry about, Black enslaved people doing forced labor, then being sent back only months later to enlist and gain freedom had stories-many that have gone unremembered.
We learned and explored the complexity of Kentucky’s culture and history, and about layers of hatred and racism that existed during that Civil War and that have shaped Kentucky’s history.
After the tour, we headed to Lexington, KY, to enjoy some pizza and escape rooms in our smaller groups. No matter the outcome of the games, we worked together and connected with each other, building the community that we’ve been traveling with this week, and beginning to understand our places in the ‘group project’.
Before heading to the church we stayed at tonight, we met with the staff at Lexington Theological Seminary, learning a little about Kentucky’s history and about the joys and struggles of being a Lutheran in Kentucky.
Next we moved to our home for the night, St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Richmond, KY. The sweet congregation welcomed us happily in for a potluck dinner, stories about their lives, and some great banjo music to accompany stories of the Underground Railroad, shape-note singing, and geology that has sculpted the music we hear today.
We experienced a lot throughout the day, from encountering new people, to conversing with fellow travelers we haven’t talked to, to telling jokes and playing games with old friends. We continued the “group project,” figuring out our places and contributions to the community, and are still opening up to learning and exploring the world and people around us.
