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Christian Union: The Magazine
July 16, 2024
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

The last month at Harvard College has brought many changes, though not any changes that are out of the ordinary. As we send out the seniors that have shaped ministry at Christian Union Gloria for the past four years, daily life slows down and we are able to reflect on the last year and begin to plan for the next. It is truly a privilege to partner with students at Harvard as they navigate college life and to continue with them through young adulthood. As this is my first full academic year on faculty, I am especially grateful for the ways Christian Union works to not only raise up Christians who lead well, but also to continue connecting them and pouring into them even after they graduate.

May 9, 2024
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” - Romans 12:1-2

As we begin to wrap up the normal semester happenings at Harvard, I have been reflecting on these couple verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Our sophomore and junior Bible courses have been diligently studying Romans for the spring semester, and what a joy it has been to delve into the deep and all-consuming good news presented in this book! Our students have asked good questions and engaged in conversations about theology and practice that make me continually excited to revisit Paul’s message every week. I have especially gained encouragement from Paul’s reminder to withstand the pattern of the world and instead allow Christ to transform our minds - what an important message to remember in the midst of the times through which we are living!

April 10, 2024
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  - Romans 5:1

Spring is a time of beauty and blooming, especially signifying new life as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday. Praise God for the good news of the gospel, that through faith and repentance, we can be reconciled and have peace with God!

November 14, 2023
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  - Colossians 1:15-17

May this email find you well and rejoicing in Jesus as we are during this beautiful fall season here in New England. Thank you for your support of CU Gloria at Harvard. It makes a huge difference for our team and leaders knowing we have a team of friends like you praying for us and for the good work and fruitful ministry taking place through CU Gloria at Harvard.

October 12, 2023
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

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.” - Colossians 1: 3-5

We are grateful to have had a good start to the semester for CU Gloria at Harvard. Our student leaders came back from Pre-Retreat inspired and motivated to welcome the new Freshman class of 2027, and that’s exactly what they did. Through pizza parties, hangouts, weekly Church visits, Friday night Doxas and movie nights, our students befriended the new class of freshmen and welcomed them into Christian community.

September 6, 2023
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” - Isaiah 43:19

Happy Fall, dear friends! Our students have finally regathered after a long time of scattering over the summer. Pre-retreat with the student leaders was a strong and powerful way to kick-off the semester as the students reconnected with God, one another and made many plans to welcome the class of 2027. There were 28 student leaders at pre-retreat, and we were joined by CU Vox at Dartmouth as well, which was mutually encouraging! The week at retreat together was filled with worship, prayer, teaching and a lot of fun.

August 4, 2023
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9

Summer has been incredible as we work through the book of Joshua. The summer Bible study drew students together via Zoom and in person at the ministry office to eat dinner and study God’s word together. You can watch the Bible study on Joshua 14 here.

February 3, 2023
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Sad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is the child of God. - Phillips Brooks, Class of 1855, Harvard Overseer and Preacher

January 12, 2023
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. — Hebrews 12:28,29

October 31, 2022
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. — Hebrews 10:19-22

September 16, 2022
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Since late August, CU Gloria upperclassmen and CU ministry faculty have been pouring themselves out to welcome first-years and their friends into the community. Picnics, a dorm drop, a scavenger hunt in Boston, and our weekly lecture series (pictured below)—not to mention countless caffeinated beverages consumed in one-on-one conversations in and around the Yard. Our collective efforts, thankfully, have led to a happy influx of people (and not just freshmen).

August 12, 2022
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. — Hebrews 1:14

July 8, 2022
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Greetings from Cambridge,

I remember my first experience at pre-retreat in our first month on the job in the Fall of 2017. I was blown away as I witnessed dozens of Harvard students worshiping Jesus passionately and praying with an intensity I had rarely seen. I knew immediately this was a special community and that God was doing something spectacular here. I am grateful as I reflect on how the Lord has continued to sustain this love and zeal and spiritual fervor among the CU Gloria students.

June 3, 2022
“In Christi Gloriam”

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

God only knows how many people descended onto Harvard’s aged campus last week as the Classes of 2022, 2021 and 2020 were honored for their achievements. We thank God for the graduates who have aligned themselves with the original founders' intentions “for the glory of Christ.” Please join us in praying a blessing on these dear friends as they transition to the next chapter in their lives.

May 4, 2022
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

Greetings from Cambridge!

I have had the privilege of watching a lot of senior skits through the years, but the underclassmen who impersonated their beloved senior friends the other day were truly next level. In several scenes and for fifteen minutes their silly lines and exaggerated gestures wonderfully captured each person’s personalities and idiosyncrasies.

April 4, 2022
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Greetings from Cambridge!

The pace has quickened as we have crossed the marker into April and lean into the final lap. What an unusual and challenging race! When we gathered in the fall, only the senior class had logged more than one (normal) semester on campus. Student leaders, recognizing the need to gather and build a community, majored in hospitality and friendship. They prayed to reclaim what was lost. They believed God for growth – depth and breadth. They were determined to make the most of the time (Eph. 5:15-17).

March 4, 2022
“Today revealed to me even more that (this) is the community that I prayed and cried for when I first came to Christ. Getting to see it in full force today brought me so much joy. So thank you.” - Winter Retreat Evaluation

Gloria Winter Retreat 2022

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Greetings from Cambridge!

February 4, 2022
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Paul to the Church in Rome (Rom 15:13 ESV)

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Greetings from Cambridge!

January 6, 2022
The middle watch is past! Another year Dawns on the human race with hope and fear: The last has gone with mingled sigh and song, To join for ever its ancestral throng; And time reveals, As past it steals, The potent hand of God, the Everlasting, Guiding the sun, with all his blazing peers, And filling up the measure of our years, Until Messiah, Prince, to judgment hasting, Shall roll the darkness from this world of sin, And bid a bright eternity begin. — Unknown

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

On behalf of all of the staff and students involved in CU Gloria, thank you for your partnership in 2021 and a blessed New Year.

December 3, 2021
“Everything from quarks to quasars, butterflies to brain cells, was created so that you and I might delight in the display of divine glory. We alone can glorify God by rejoicing in the beauty of His creative handiwork and relishing the splendor of His revelation in the Person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ.” —Kelly Monroe Kullberg, Founder of The Veritas Forum; Editor/Co-Author of Finding God (at/Beyond) Harvard

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

In the Apostle Paul’s closing exhortation in his letter to the church in Philippi, he shared a final imperative. He told them to focus on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise” [Phil. 4:8 ESV]. This is no small challenge in a society convulsed with hard news. This plea follows his equally challenging instruction to give thanks in all circumstances as we wrestle with anxiety and frame and express heartfelt prayers to God. I can't think of a more practical chapter in the scriptures to bolster our mental health. It has been a joy to compare notes with students who have had their young(er) worlds turned upside down for nearly two years. As I share this update and reflect on the quote I shared from KMK, I must confess that I feel the need to engage with this prescription once again!