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)
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.
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.
‘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.”
"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
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Though Paul and the Colossian church were strangers, they still prayed for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. So it is with us. As you pray for us, we are praying for you. And we are thankful for your partnership in this ministry. It is our joy to serve with you and alongside you for the sake of the Kingdom!
“… if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard …” Colossians 1:23
Dear Prayer Partners,
Praise be to Christ Jesus, the only sure foundation upon which we stand here at Yale! This semester, we're seeing in Colossians how the only way to continue in the Christian life is the same way that we began in the Christian life—by grace, through faith!
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.
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5)
What has struck me most this quarter as we revisit Colossians in Bible courses and one-on-one meetings is the relationship of faith and love to hope which Paul here describes.
John Hay Library Puts Emphasis on “Gay Pulp Fiction”
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Christian alumni from Brown and other top-tier universities were disturbed, but not entirely surprised, at the news of the university’s plans to expand and catalog its massive collection of “gay pulp fiction.”
Brown University plans to catalog its massive collection of gay pulp fiction, and the John Hay Library’s curator of literary and popular culture collections would like to add “more books that cover the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum.”
Brown’s more than 4,600 (and growing) volumes of cheap, highly explicit paperbacks is one of the biggest collections – or possibly the largest – of any, according to WBUR.org. The radio station noted that most of the books are “straight up pornography,” but others are categorized as “sexual lifestyle guides.”
In July, Boston’s NPR news station reported on the university’s efforts to catalog its pulps. The majority of titles are geared to same-sex attracted men. Once finished, Heather Cole, the John Hay Library’s curator of literary and popular culture collections, says she is “interested in adding more books that cover the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum.”
A panel discussion on what it means to be a Christian in the field of finance
On Thursday, October 24, Christian Union co-hosted a Finance & Faith Forum with partners The King's College and Gordon College. This panel of distinguished speakers shared their insights as to what it means to be a follower of Christ in the financial services industry. They spoke to some of the unique challenges Christians in the field face, including navigating finance culture and Christian ethics.
