Harvard
March 12, 2018
SpokenWord Highlights from Nexus 2018
Over the last weekend in February, nearly 300 students, from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale, gathered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for Christian Union's Nexus 2018 conference. On Saturday night, a team from each school competed in the Christian Union SpokenWord competition that required teams to memorize and present any selection of scripture passages in a spoken word style. The presentations were powerful, creative, and inspiring. A highly energetic audience spurred each team on, and after jubilantly celebrating the top performances, performers and audience together broke into a playful dance party to cap off the joyous celebration of the power of God's Word!
Watch the top three finalists, below, as revealed at Nexus 2018:
October 4, 2016
Religious Liberty and Justice for All?
Van Oss Writes about Wheaton Case for Harvard Law Review
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Religious liberties are woven into the fabric of the United States.With deep admiration for that principle, a Harvard Law School student addressed concerns over the status of such freedoms when he penned an article for the Harvard Law Review exploring some of the key issues in the recent Wheaton College v. Burwell case.
Given his concerns for government interference in the operations of faith-based entities, Trenton Van Oss took on the complex topic for an article that appeared in January.
The Wheaton alumnus of 2013 is an active participant in Christian Union's ministry at Harvard Law School.
June 8, 2016
The Faith of Freshmen
The environment at the nation’s leading universities is often academically intense, sometimes highly competitive, and highly secular. Prospective students and families considering the pros and cons of attending one of the nation’s top ranked schools are right to wonder if it will be difficult for freshmen who are Christian to stay strong in their faith. However, despite the real challenges they face, Christian students reflecting on their experiences report a wealth of opportunities to grow in their faith. June 2, 2016
Guilty by Association: The Disturbing Implications of Harvard’s Blacklist
On May 6, 2016, Harvard University announced “members of independent, single-sex, off-campus organizations will be blacklisted from Rhodes and Marshall scholarships and banned from leadership of on-campus organizations or athletic teams.”April 29, 2016
Faith and Vocation
Nexus Conference Networks, Inspires Students and Professionals
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
Nexus: The Christian Union Conference on Faith and Action explored the convergence of culture, career, and Christianity for 317 students from some of the nation's most influential universities.The Omni Hotel in New Haven, Connecticut, just a couple blocks from Yale University, was home to a weekend of vibrant worship, continuous and intercessory prayer and engaging messages from powerful plenary speakers on April 1-3. Students from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale attended the conference, which offered insight, inspiration, networking, and practical advice on discerning God's purpose for life, campus, and career.
March 5, 2015
Meeting God at Harvard
Why Harvard is Anything But Godless
Many Harvard professors and students are oblivious to the level of religious devotion that exists at their university. In fact, most people, Harvard affiliated or not, are unaware of the profound faith that can be found on campus, erroneously considering the school to be fairly “irreligious.” However, according to Stephen G. Mackereth – a talented new writer for The Harvard Crimson, and a Christian Union ministry member – Harvard is anything but godless.Mackereth highlights his own faith experiences at Harvard and explains how this precipitated a close relationship with God. “Though I came from an Anglican family, it was here that the old creeds and old hymns to God in the Highest first really came to life for me. Since then, I have been an active member of the Christian student community on campus,” he writes.
February 21, 2015
Defending the Right to Worship
Scholar Exhorts Attendees at Harvard Catholic Center Event
Exercising the constitutional right to "authentic worship" at Harvard was heralded this fall with a lecture from noted scholar Father Peter Stravinskas.The Harvard Catholic Center sponsored the event, entitled "Give Me Freedom (Religious) or Give Me Death."
Stravinskas, editor of The Catholic Answer magazine and books such as The Catholic Response and The Catholic Church and the Bible, exhorted attendees to refute the bifurcation of religious freedom by a secular culture.
Stravinskas spoke about how society is seeking to replace authentic Christian worship and expression with a more politically correct and passive version of religion.
The right to assemble is tolerated, but the freedom to live out your faith with actionable belief and works is disallowed.
September 15, 2014
Harvard Debate
Can There be Good without God? Nate Otey '15 and Corinne Tu '13 Present Case for Necessity of Creator
"If we're going to have a discussion on ethics, let's be ethical in giving up our seats and moving forward so that others can sit," exhorted moderator Jordan Monge in Harvard's Science Center Auditorium C. Typically used for large science lecture courses and having a seat capacity of 350, Harvard students of all faith backgrounds (and no faith backgrounds) crowded into the auditorium, leaving it completely filled—including the entirety of the floor space and standing room in the back.
It is estimated that 430 people were present at the fall semester debate hosted by Harvard College Faith and Action (HCFA) and Harvard Community Humanists, Atheists, and Agnostics (HCHAA). Harvard College Faith and Action is a leadership development ministry supported and resourced by Christian Union.
June 1, 2014
A Christian Network Springs Up at Harvard
The Answer to the Lack of Faithful Communities Is to Create Our Own
In certain circles, an open display of Christian faith in public may be received negatively. At a bar, a party, even and perhaps especially in academia, Christians are often fearful that discussing their prayer lives or church-going habits will shuffle them into the “small-minded” category among peers and colleagues.
BioLogos web editor Emily Ruppel recounts the story of one Harvard astronomy student’s brave decision to leave her studies to pursue ministry, which sparked an entire network of Christian scientists to come together in community—men and women who were accustomed to staying quiet about faith in their particular sphere of influence, the hard sciences.
BioLogos web editor Emily Ruppel recounts the story of one Harvard astronomy student’s brave decision to leave her studies to pursue ministry, which sparked an entire network of Christian scientists to come together in community—men and women who were accustomed to staying quiet about faith in their particular sphere of influence, the hard sciences.
May 29, 2014
A Christian at Harvard
Cherish Connelly '14 Reflects on Her Growth
I'm majoring in psychology with a secondary degree in neurobiology. As a science concentrator, I'm often asked, "How can you believe in God?" I've been involved with Christian Union for four years and in that time I've developed the knowledge needed to answer that question tactfully, respectfully, and in a way that presents the Gospel.Observing neurons in a microscope is an amazing sight; I love seeing how billions of tiny neurons control behavior, emotions, even senses. To me, it gives evidence of God. These tiny cells in our brain control everything the body does. I would argue, only God could design that efficiency.
March 17, 2014
Transformation at Harvard
While Harvard has drifted from her spiritual heritage and become highly secular, God is still at work. He is stirring up the hearts of Harvard students. If you care about the spiritual climate at Harvard, you will be encouraged by what God is doing in and through the lives of students involved in Christian Union's ministry there, as of spring 2014. (5:21)October 23, 2012
Christ at the Apollo
Harvard Student Damaris Taylor uses Talent Show to Shine the Spotlight on Christ
A founding member and active participant in Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Harvard, Damaris Taylor ’12 has learned to leverage his gifts and leadership skills for Christ, including his tremendous gift of singing. In fact, Damaris takes advantage of every opportunity to influence others for Christ. For two years, he has performed songs that express his faith in Jesus Christ during Harvard’s Night at the Apollo Talent Show. Taylor’s heartfelt worship stood in marked contrast to step teams, bands, and an oratory entitled “Love and Lust.”
