Dear HCFA friends and family,
There has been a welcome stillness in Cambridge this past week as we have been covered by two snowstorms. My mind always runs to Isaiah, when God promises, “’Come now, let us settle the matter. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” What a provoking image of our good Father clothing us in the righteousness of his Son.
The spring semester always jumps into motion as students return and we begin Bible courses the first week they are on campus. Freshman will split their semester between Seeking God and Sex and Spirituality manuals, sophomores and juniors will spend time in Acts, and seniors will work through the Vocational manual as they begin to move away from college life. It has been a seamless transition beginning the book of Acts as we studied Mark in the fall and students can see the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus followed by his commission of the church to continue his ministry. Bible courses continue to be the source of much toil and joy for the ministry fellows as we wrestle through difficult passages, theology and questions, but it is unspeakably rewarding to see students begin to understand and grab hold of the gospel, apply scripture to their lives, and grow in their understanding of the story of redemption. Please pray for fruitful discussion, regular attendance, and an increasing hunger for the word.
Usually this weekend we would be heading north to New Hampshire for our winter retreat, but sensing the need to breathe new life into our retreat, our executive team has created an entirely new local event that we are calling the Winter Summit. The purpose of the summit is to help our community dig deep into ways that we can take ownership of our faith through cultivating spiritual habits in our lives. By developing spiritual disciplines, we want students to experience the grace and love of God in deeper ways in their personal lives, and then better share that grace with those in our immediate communities, our campus community, and with the rest of the world. We will have several speakers coming to discuss social justice, evangelism and spiritual gifts, and an afternoon of action where we will practice what we've been learning in the Cambridge community. We still have time for sign ups so pray that the Lord would lead students to put aside this weekend to grow in their love for Him. Pray that the Spirit would be at work, leading students to worship, repent, and grow in community with one another. We will be doing “texts for Chick-fil-a” in the afternoon, an event that invites anyone to text a student in HCFA with a question about faith, god, or religion. The HCFA student will bring a Chick-fil-a sandwich to their room and answer their question. Pray for boldness for our students as they share the gospel with other Harvard students. Pray that HCFA would be a community that constantly desires to invite people in and that we would be a hospitable place for non-believers.
As always, we are grateful for your involvement in this ministry! Thank you for your ongoing prayers and desire to see the gospel spread at Harvard.
Sincerely,
Anne Kerhoulas
Christian Union Ministry Fellow
Harvard University
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Harvard, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
