September 2018

Dear Friends and Partners of Christian Union at Penn,

The weather is starting to cool down and a new season is imminent in Philadelphia. For all of us that means finishing our Freshmen Campaign and starting our Bible Courses. This semester we are studying Hebrews, one of the more mysterious books in the Bible.  But for all of its seemingly weird Old Testament references and complex logic, Hebrews is ultimately about a very simple theme: what it means to be human in the world that God created and is now redeeming from the curse of sin and death through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

For our students, questions about meaning lurk in various corners of their lives. Our seniors wonder how to choose vocations as those redeemed by Jesus and not by achievements. Our freshmen are navigating what it means to be defined not by a peer’s approval but by the Lord’s delight in him/her. So as we dive into this semester, we are once again reminded of how unique this season of life is for all of our students and are humbled to be a part of it.

We invite you to partner with us through prayer and ask that you would pray for our students, our campus and our team.  Pray that our students’ faith in Christ would mature and be fruitful (Hebrews 6: 1) and that our Bible Courses would be a place where this growth can happen.  Please pray for our Ministry Fellows and our student assistant Bible Course leaders as they lead each week, that they would lead with confident assurance that what they hope for is going to happen (Hebrews 11:1).  In particular, we ask you to pray for our freshmen students that they would plug into Christian fellowship through our Bible Courses and through the Brogram (our mentorship initiative).

The landscape of the Penn campus continues to change as new buildings are added and new students arrive.  Please pray that our campus would be hospitable to newcomers.  We ask that you lift up our Outreach and Community Engagement teams as they seek to lead our students in blessing not only the campus and but also West Philadelphia.

Lastly, we ask that you pray for our ministry team.  We often find our ‘gas tanks’ running a bit low this time of year after the intensity of our Freshman Campaign. Please pray that we would keep our eyes on Jesus and continue to run the race with endurance (Hebrews 12).  Please pray that the Lord would bless our families even as we spend time away from them.

Thankful for your partnership in prayer to the God who hears and directs us for ministry, and for your continued support. As the Spirit engages us together to make Christ known at Penn, our triune God is glorified.

Mae Trieu
Ministry Fellow
Christian Union at Penn