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With Thanksgiving behind, the Christmas holidays ahead, and the semester coming to a close in a few weeks, we are grateful for the Lord’s hand that has guided CU Lumine this academic semester.
The month of November was a busy one for CU Lumine. Our weekly Thursday night Illumina’s created a space for students to grow in their faith and invite friends that were seeking God. We had speakers teach on a range of topics from “How to Hear the Voice of God” to “Is the Bible Historically and Scientifically Reliable?” Each lecture was followed by a post-event—a vibrant student question and conversation time that would go late into the evening. Along with our Illumina’s, we were also able to host multiple student fellowship gatherings from pumpkin painting to our annual Friendsgiving celebration before the students went home for the break.
We praise God for partners like you in supporting the work He is doing through Christian Union Lumine at Columbia. The students have reached the halfway point of the semester and are finishing up their midterms. It’s truly hard to believe how fast this semester is going!
The familiar words (above) spoken by the Apostle Paul to the saints in Philippi ring true for my heart towards you as well. Your faithful support (financially and through prayers and encouragement) have made it possible to reach so many incoming freshmen and new to in-person Columbia sophomores this past month.
What a year this has been so far, particularly for university students. Columbia University announced it will reopen for new students and returning students for the Fall 2021 semester. There are already signs of life on campus and in NYC as students are slowly coming back and moving on to campus.
“This felt like I was back home.”
Those words were spoken by one of the football players after our CU Lumine Grilling/BBQ event at the ministry center on the last Sunday of July. We had over 30 students gather for one final summer event to celebrate what God did during our summer Bible courses as we studied the Gospel of John.
And when they had eaten their fill, he [Jesus] told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. (John 6:12-13)
We’ve been studying the Gospel of John for Bible course during the Summer A session. A few weeks ago we touched on Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000. We examined how the gospel combats a scarcity mentality — “I’m not smart enough. Not good looking enough. Not wealthy enough. I just don’t have enough!” Jesus used a little boy's lunch to not just feed thousands, but after they all loosened their belts from eating more than they should have, there were 12 baskets leftover. Jesus lovingly shows us how God has come to do more than we possibly could ever dream or imagine. Only Christ can make slaves into sons/daughters, sinners into saints, debtors into heirs.
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
“...Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:10-11)
We are officially in the Summer A Semester and have restarted in-person and online Bible courses for students. We are studying the Gospel of John and the above passage is from John 2 after Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding in Cana. This passage led to a fruitful discussion about Jesus bringing overwhelming joy to those who obey and follow Him. In the midst of so many changes and unknowns this past year, it was an encouraging and timely truth for the students to remind their own hearts of how Jesus seeks to bring and give eternal joy to His followers.
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from Christian Union Lumine at Columbia! We praise God for partners like you in supporting the work He is doing through this ministry.
The Spring 2021 semester is officially over along with final exams. The last week of April was graduation and it was a beautiful sight to see seniors in the graduation gowns walking all around campus and Morningside Heights. Of course, graduation was not held normally this year, but I was encouraged to see our students make the most of this important moment.
Greetings from Christian Union Lumine at Columbia! We praise God for partners like you in supporting the work He is doing through this ministry. As I am writing this, the seasons have changed here in the Big Apple: it is 60 degrees and winter is officially behind us. The students are out connecting with their peers in person, hanging out on the steps of Low, and finding themselves exploring the city again!
The spring semester classes will be coming to an end around April 15th and finals will begin shortly after. Pray for the students as they come to the end of their semester and start mapping out their internships and summer plans.
We praise God for partners like you in supporting the work He is doing through Christian Union Lumine at Columbia. The students have reached the halfway point of the semester and will be gearing up for finals in a month. Due to the pandemic, this is a shorter semester with classes concluding mid-April.
We are encouraged by the students involved in CU Lumine Bible courses, Illumina (Leadership Lecture Series) events, outreach events, or times of prayer. We see God’s transforming hand at work in their lives as He grows them into His image.
