A Villager’s Dream of Sustainable Faith
Returning to academia after a 20-year career in graphic design was both daunting and a point of contention. I thought I understood my purpose. My former life came with obstacles and challenges, sure, but I was fine. My foundation was solid, and my path appeared clear. This feeling was called comfort, but God had not called me to be comfortable. He called me to be willing—willing to step out into new territories of opportunity and embrace challenges that stretched my thinking and transformed my priorities.
We are all capable of the change we seek, and we must not let the distractions of unyielding thoughts—“I can’t, I shouldn’t, or someone else will do it”—lead us into a place of complacency.
In ministry, my primary focus has always been centered around our youth: I aimed to construct youth centers that would creatively shape the minds of middle and high school students through literature and the arts. Upon my arrival at YDS, I did not expect to alter my outlook on ministry. In fact it has expanded.
Bauer Hall Habitués
My vocational desire has moved beyond the artistic realm and into an ecological stance. The reason for this unexpected change is the new YDS Living Village, the eco-sustainable campus complex that represents a unique moment in YDS history. Since August I’ve been part of the first group of residents to live there in Bauer Hall, the residential wing of the Living Village, with about 50 other “Villagers.”
Bauer Hall is a dream realized, a structure with the potential to spark change not only in New Haven but globally. It’s a place where a new life for its residents begins, prioritizing ecological resources in its design with solar panels and a recycling water system. With its 49 units, beautiful wooden hallways, ceilings, and stairways, Bauer Hall does not skimp on even the minutest details. Each room is adorned with an oversized window (or two) flooding the space with ample natural light, thereby reducing the need for vast amounts of electricity. Multiple lounges, sitting areas, and community kitchens provide a safe space that is warm and inviting. Though YDS has other equally comforting communal spaces filled with laughter and conversation, I often find myself returning to the calming walls of Bauer Hall between classes, prepping for my next academic adventure.
A Sustainable Sense of Home
During the October reading week, a friend visited me. When the door of my studio apartment opened, she immediately said, “Sheena, this is so nice and cozy. It looks better in person than in pictures.” In mere seconds, she felt what I felt, a sense of home and security—amazing!
In the first chapter of Genesis, God forms the earth, and, in the beginning, that world was filled with His glory with no intention of dissipating. Yet here we are today, desperately trying to find our way back to the earth’s pureness—God’s original intent. With cries of climate change and the need to manage the natural resources around us more effectively, many of us are left asking ourselves, “What can I do to show my appreciation for the beauty that surrounds me daily?” From the changing seasons to the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, God remains the supreme authority of earth’s natural beauty. However, the beauty around us has become corrupted with pollution, miles of concrete structures, electrical overload, and the traffic of impatient drivers struggling to get where they need to go, only to do things that they may or may not enjoy doing. The world is suffering from the destructive desire to gain rather than to sustain.
A New History Begins
I now realize that my time at YDS is not just about studying the practical and ethical dexterity of an inspirational minister who will preach the word of God but learning how to do so in a sustainable way. I now understand that this newfound appreciation and practicality were part of God’s overall plan. The fire has been ignited, yet it is up to each of us to see that the blaze is never extinguished.
I find inspiration in knowing that we, as an ever-changing society, are destined for better. We are all capable of the change we seek, and we must not let the distractions of unyielding thoughts—“I can’t, I shouldn’t, or someone else will do it”—lead us into a place of complacency. Sustainable living should not be just a pilot program. It should be a goal—an ongoing practice that surpasses the superficial and pricks the heart of the unconcerned. YDS has accepted the challenge of change and restoration, which will lead to a future where new generations of students, faculty, and staff will not only embrace it but seek ways to expand. Along with other residents of Bauer Hall for the 2025-26 academic year, I am thrilled to say that we were the first to reside here and that a new history began with us. Here’s to a long life of sustainable, regenerative, and ecological living.
Sheena Lefaye Crews ’28 M.Div. is an award-winning designer as well as former senior creative director at Catholic Charities USA. A graduate of the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C., she has also been creative director for the Unashamed Youth Ministry at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden International in Maryland. She is the founder of Know Your Worth youth ministry, where she continues to serve as a mentor and storyteller. She hopes to open Know Your Worth youth centers nationwide, offering music, design, fine arts, theater, culinary arts, sports and recreation, science, peer tutoring, college prep, and lifestyle redemption programs.