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Students Warm Locust Walk with Cider Outreach
by eileen scott, contributing writer
Christian Union at the University of Pennsylvania put “campus kindness” into action this fall by giving away hot cider to students on their way to class on Locust Walk, a centrally located pathway. There were no strings attached to receive the hot beverage. Yet, if students chose to sip their drink and discuss faith, leaders were there to engage. The outreach was part of the ministry’s on-going campus kindness effort, which also includes book giveaways and welcoming bags for freshmen.
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
— Matthew 25:49
As we close out Week 7 of the Winter Term, here are a few prayer needs from Dartmouth.
Midterms have begun, student schedules are packed and it’s still winter, but there is an excitement in the air with what God is doing at Columbia University through Christian Union Lumine. We are seeing higher turnout for our Leadership Lecture Series nights, impromptu prayer gatherings among the students and a feeling of community and togetherness even in the midst of all the transitions. Thank you for your continued prayers for the work on this campus. Here are ways you can be praying for us this month:
—Romans 5:1
Greetings from cold Cambridge!
We are about a third of the way through the semester and our students are looking forward to Spring break, which is just a couple of weeks away. This week in our Romans study with the Juniors and Sophomores we were in chapter 5. What a wonderful reminder to all of us of the reality of our new standing before God. We have been justified by faith. We were made right with God by trusting in Jesus. And as a result, we can now have peace with God. A peace that cannot be quenched or conquered by anything life throws our way.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Having returned from Ski Safari, the Spring Semester is now well under way—we are now in our fourth week of classes. Our students, true to form, have begun the Spring Semester with both intensity and excitement. This same intensity and excitement has been on display in our students’ spiritual lives—the Melrose Center has been bustling with students studying Scripture and praying with one another. This Spring our students are studying different material in Bible Course, based on their class year. Our seniors will be doing vocational preparation, as they look to enter the workforce; our juniors and sophomores are studying one of the most influential books in the Scripture—Paul’s letter to the Romans; and our frosh, in turn, are completing two studies—one on the Seeking-God Lifestyle, which lies at the heart of Christian Union, and another on Christian sexual ethics. The Spring semester is always an exciting time for students of seeing how God’s word applies to many aspects of their lives.
The rhythm of the semester has commenced, with mid-terms, clubs, and activities now in full force. One of the challenges for our students this semester is to “seek first the kingdom,” in the sense of taking 2 set times per day of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship. We’ve noticed that students are looking for structure, not in the rote sense of going through the motions, but in developing habits. As a few of our students prepare to participate in the Broad Street Run (a 10-mile race here in Philly), they have to set aside times for training. Our running the race of faith requires time set apart for training as well. Would you pray…
Dear Prayer Partners,
As always, we give thanks to God for your ongoing support. As I write this, we are looking forward to an outreach event this afternoon: a screening of the film Emanuel and conversation with producer Dimas Salaberrios, a long-time friend of Christian Union. While the event will already have taken place by the time you are reading this, please pray that the conversation would continue and that hearts would continue to be stirred and drawn to the Lord by the film's powerful witness to the Spirit of forgiveness.
“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”
-- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
The above quote from Lewis’ remarkable sermon, given in Oxford in 1941, is part of the argument to raise our understanding and practice of what it means to live out the job description God gave us in Genesis 1 and 2: to honor God, steward creation, and bless others. It's not always obvious to us that we’re made in the very image of God, and we certainly struggle with seeing others in that way.
A CU New York Lunch & Learn featuring Olga Statz
On Friday, February 21, 2020, CU New York was honored to host Olga Statz*, Acting General Counsel at the City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, as the guest speaker for a Lunch & Learn. Olga began her talk on Man’s Laws but God’s Justice: Learning to Stay in Our Lane with a personal recollection of a moment early in her law career. For the first time she felt the true responsibility expected of her as an advocate, recognizing what it meant to stand between a defendant and the full weight of the State. At this moment Olga was confronted with this underlying truth: the secret of a lawyer’s ability and power lies in process. To this point, Olga emphasized the importance of understanding our roles as professionals and as humans, of understanding our authority in Christ and God’s authority over our lives, in understanding how to submit to Christ and to submit to the procedural standards of our justice system.Subscribe Today
