Greetings from Penn!
Hope this finds you well.
Things on campus have gotten progressively more interesting. Students are in finals, we are wrapping up the year with “see you later” hugs, and the protest encampment is bringing a lot of attention.
Each time we send students off, whether they are seniors or returning students, it is always with a sense of rejoicing in their next steps, but also mixed with a hint of sadness for the faculty, as we will not see students as often during the summer. During the last Philia of the year, I charged seniors with the same message I would tell my own children, giving them five things that I would want to leave them with: 1) Following God is the best thing one can do with their life, 2) be quick to forgive, because we are forgiven in Christ, 3) Take courage and be bold in your faith--the world needs it, 4) stand firm in your God-given convictions, and 5) endure until the end. With these exhortations, we prayed for and sent off the seniors into their God-given callings.
As seniors head toward commencement, campus is also experiencing the Gaza encampment. Many on campus feel that they are forced to choose a pro- or anti- Palestinian or Israeli stance on the issue. Talking with my students, the majority of them are more grounded in a Biblical worldview about the issue, having compassion for all lives lost, while also wanting to minister the gospel. Just days into the encampment, we led students to pray and do outreach across from the encampment.
During our time in outreach, the Lord was gracious to minister through us. We were able to minister to two students who were directly involved with the encampment, having conversations about what it means to love your enemies and also telling them about Jesus and the gospel. We were able to pray with one student who said they were just afraid of what was happening on campus. One of our students who joined us said, “I’m glad we did this. This was my opinion all along but I was afraid to say anything like this until now.” Lastly, this was also encouraging to the wider body of Christ on campus, as many would show gratitude and say they were encouraged by our outreach. The Spirit of the Lord was truly working through us! Lastly, we are hosting a Cornerstone Partner reception event during alumni weekend on May 18th at 4pm at our CU Martus office -- 3675 Market St. Philadelphia, PA, 19104. Would love to have you join us to meet current students, hear what God did this past year, and see what is ahead for the future. Register here.
Please join us in praying:
- The gospel to advance at Penn like it did at Thessalonica (2 Thes 3:1)
- That our seniors would, like the apostle Paul, finish well in their faith (2 Tim 4:7)
- That the Lord would continue to use us as bold witnesses for the sake of his name.
Thank you for developing and connecting Christian leaders at Penn!
Grace and peace,
Cory Lotspeich
Cory.Lotspeich@ChristianUnion.org
Ministry Director, Christian Union Martus
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