Faith and Finance
Parker (Henritze) Morse '09 S'10 is vice president of the Sycamore Partners investment team. Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in consumer and retail investments. Parker has been involved in several consumer retail transactions including the take-private acquisition of The Jones Group Inc. in the Spring of 2014. The firm has more than $3.5 billion in capital under management.Parker sat down with Christian Union to share her story, and she reflects on Christian engagement and leadership in industries such as finance.
Christian Union Fall Conference Energizes Yale Students
Students involved with Christian Union’s ministry at Yale College displayed a penchant for prayer and a sensitivity to promptings of the Holy Spirit in the fall semester.
“There is a corporate sense of expectation for God to move in more profound ways,” said Clay Cromer, ministry director of Christian Union Lux.
By Dr. Craig S. Keener
Some kinds of church bodies accept only particular kinds of gifts, hence they amputate certain kinds of members. Other kinds of churches pile together the amputated members and celebrate that they are an ideal body. Yet ideally, a body that is whole welcomes all its members.
Some value teaching but disregard prophecy (1 Thess 5:20); some exalt tongues but resent teaching; and so forth. We need to appreciate all the gifts. By definition, gifts given by God’s grace are good. We just need to make sure that we use them in the right ways!
It is hard to believe how much of this semester has gone by already. We have had a very productive year so far, as our new ministry team has settled into their positions. Bible courses are going very well, and we have had far more freshmen men involved this year than in previous classes, which has been an immense blessing for our ministry. As students get busier leading up to finals, we pray that they would stay focused and continue to be involved in Bible courses even as it becomes more difficult with time constraints.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As our Bible Courses study Paul’s letter to the Colossians this fall, we are reminded again and again of Paul’s joy in the Church. He loves God’s people! This is reflected in all of his letters, even to the Corinthians! His letter to the Philippians is often called the “Joy Letter,” because of his deep love for the recipients reflected in his joyful, hopeful epistle.
Dear Prayer Partners,
I hope this update finds you well! Thank you for praying for our requests last month — God has been answering student’s requests on the prayer board, our alumni panel was a big hit, and students have been taking next steps of faith since the fall retreat, particularly in the areas of seeking God.
Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col. 2:6-7)
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
— 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
A common refrain that we hear about this point in the fall quarter is, “Sorry, I’m too busy this week!” or, “I don’t know if I can meet with everything I need to do.” And it’s true, the weeks prior to the end of the fall quarter are rough, and the students—especially the new freshmen—struggle to keep above the waters. Sometimes I’m tempted to break it to them that life doesn’t slow down after college either! But part of our calling as ministers on these campuses is not to compound the issue with more events and more obligation. Our calling is to point them to the One who sustains them, the One who is our very peace in the midst of the storm:
What a privilege to know a God who enters into our storms and reaches out to us with a strong hand! Join us in prayer this season for the work on this campus:
- Pray for strength and endurance as the students head into the final stretch of fall.
- Pray for the upcoming Thanksgiving break, that they are refreshed and reconnect with family.
- Pray for our ongoing Bible Courses, for community and fellowship to flourish through them.
- Pray for our CU team at Stanford: Abigail, Garrett, Jim, Justin, and Susan.
- Pray for Jesus to be lifted up throughout this campus through the words and loving actions of his many followers in Palo Alto!
We remain grateful for your prayers and your partnership.
In Christ,
Garrett Brown
Ministry Director
Christian Union Caritas
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
Richmond ’18 is a 1L at Harvard Law School
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
A Harvard College and Christian Union alumna plans to integrate her passions for faith and justice by pursuing a career in law. In August, Molly Richmond ’18 entered Harvard Law School with a sense of a calling to become a public interest lawyer.
Stewart Says She was Silenced Because of Religious Beliefs
By Francine Barchett, Cornell ’20
Jannique Stewart, a pro-life advocate, was disinvited from speaking at Cornell Political Union this spring. In a Facebook post, Stewart, who was scheduled to appear in April, said her right to free speech was violated and the cancellation was due to her “outspoken beliefs regarding sexuality,” namely, that sex should be reserved for marriage, and her affirmation of marriage as a male-female relationship.
Cornell Political Union (CPU), which seeks to promote “discourse with those from both ends of the political spectrum” and discuss “today’s most pressing political issues,” invited Stewart to speak about pro-life issues.
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
— Romans 12:10-13
A Med Student’s Exhortation to Live in the Moment
By Anna Delamerced, Brown ’16
Editor’s note: The following article is reprinted with permission from Cornerstone Magazine, Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design’s Christian literary arts publication.
In the spring of 2012, senioritis hit me. After reading my acceptance letter to Brown, I immediately began to daydream. Whether it was envisioning myself walking across the Main Green to class or chilling in the dorm lounge with my hallmates, I was preoccupied by thoughts of college. Before I knew it, prom and senior projects had become things of the past, and I stood next to my classmates at graduation. “Where did the time go?” I asked myself. I had been thinking about college so much that I had missed out on savoring my final moments as a high school senior.
This is something I’ve struggled with for a long time. Even at Brown, similar thoughts crept up on me. I loved many parts about college life: late night conversations in Perkins, studying at the Ratty with friends, singing worship songs on a Friday night. My faith grew exponentially through fellowship, prayer, reading God’s Word, and spending time with Him and my brothers and sisters in Christ. Still, it seemed like the pattern of wanting to move on to the next season continued.
Evangelism: Developing and Communicating Your Story of Jesus
On October 31st, CU New York had the privilege of hosting guest speaker Ken Fish for a salon focused on the topic of evangelism through conversation and testimony sharing.
Greetings from CU Vox,
We just started Week 6 of our ten-week term and our students have their mid-term exams behind them. We have 11 Bible Courses going this fall, all studying Colossians.
"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-5
‘Keep it simple, stupid’ was something I had never heard before I took a preaching class at seminary. I’m not sure if it qualifies to be one of the true “great” preaching mantras, or leadership mantras, but it gets its point across. Dr. Haddon Robinson, my preaching professor, used to say to us homiletical plebes, things like, “If it’s foggy in the pulpit, it’s cloudy in the pews!”, or “If you can’t say it in 25 minutes, you won’t know how to say it in 45.”
We’ve been encouraged with a full month of events, small group meetings and an array of initiatives both large and small. All of these reflect the on-going work of God in New York - a city not widely viewed as a hotbed of spiritual vibrancy, yet vibrant nonetheless with the Spirit working in individual’s lives, in and through churches, and with an increasing hunger for spiritual perspective and truth.
