Christian Union: The Magazine Summer 2019

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Christian Union New York: Report on Cities’ Conference Christian Union Day & Night: Making God Go Viral The Spiritual Climate on Campus: News from some of the nation’s leading universities

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table of contents

volume xvii issue ii

Christian Union

the maga zine :: summer 2019 4

in e ach issue Letter from the CEO / 3 Q and A / 10

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Stewardship News / 33

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4 Religious Freedom

summer 2 019 fe at ure sec t ion Professor Robert George / 6 Religious Liberty and Justice for All / 9 Q and A with Andrew Walker / 10

12 From the University to the City on the web

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cover photo: Cornell students (left to right) Desiree Wright ’21, Ingrid Winter ’18, and Synclair Gonzalez ’20 Photo credit: David Navadeh

36 The Spiritual Climate on Campus

updat e s fr om l e ading univer si t ie s The Columbia Witness :: Political Union Disinvites Speaker (Cornell) :: Sophomore Summer (Dartmouth) :: White Picket Fences and Race (Princeton) :: In Memoriam John Aroutiounian (Yale) :: News-in-Brief from each university, and more

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This magazine is published by Christian Union, an independent Christian ministry.

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“Why Suffering?” (Yale) / 14 Crossing Borders (Brown) / 16 Huddle Up (Penn) / 18 chris tian union univer sities Harvard / 20 Dartmouth / 22 Princeton / 23 Columbia / 25 Harvard Law / 29 Cornell / 26 Stanford / 27 chris tian union cities New York Christian Union / 30 c h r i s t i a n u n i o n d ay a n d n i g h t Making God Go Viral / 32

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Christian Union T H E

M A G A Z I N E

volume xvii issue ii summer 2019 editor-in-chief

executive editor

managing editor

Matthew Bennett

staff writer

field reporters

Patrick Dennis Tom Campisi Catherine Elvy Jon Garaffa

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INVEST IN TOMORROW’S LEADERS.

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art director

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production

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©2019 Christian Union. All rights reserved. Christian Union: The Magazine is published quarterly. Its goal is to encourage and inform Christian alumni, students, parents, staff, faculty, and friends about Christian Union’s work—and about other spiritual activity—at eight of this country’s most influential colleges, and in key cities.

Our desire is that this publication would inspire readers to seek God, to use their influence for the cause of Christ, to pray, and to give financially to Christian initiatives that are bringing about culture change for God’s glory.

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letter from the founder and ceo

Healing the Land

2019

and fasting 24 hours per day for the upcoming intervention. When the Healing the Land Team arrives, the villagers take off work and meet together from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily while the team leads them in prayer and repentance. In the evening, when the villagers go to bed, some team members stay up all night praying for the Lord to continue to work. This process repeats for 14 days.

We were privileged to visit about 10-15 villages on our tour, some of which had gone through the process as long as 15 years ago, and one that was right in the middle of the process. The experience was really inspiring to us all, and we plan to make changes to Christian Union as a fruit of what we saw and learned. It was incredible to see places where the kingdom of God is advancing so noticeably. We need Him to work in our midst just as powerfully. Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”

In the United States we still have the freedom to seek the Lord with this sort of intentionality, and that's just what Christian Union plans to do so that God will heal our universities and our nation.

Sincerely in Christ,

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“It was incredible to see places where the kingdom of God is advancing so noticeably. We need Him to work in our midst just as powerfully.”

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Matthew W. Bennett is the founder and CEO of Christian Union. He earned undergraduate and MBA degrees from Cornell, and launched Christian Union in 2002 in Princeton, New Jersey. matt bennett

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an you imagine the presence of God being so strong that even the ground we walk on is miraculously changed? 2 Chronicles 7:14 promises that if God’s people turn to Him with their whole hearts, He hears from heaven, forgives sin, and will “heal their land.”

For almost 20 years, I had heard reports about this happening in the Fiji Islands.

In May, I took 13 Christian Union associates with me to see this firsthand, and we were not disappointed! There are approximately 1,200 villages on the 220 inhabited islands of the nation of Fiji, and about ten percent, 120 of them, have gone through a four-week process that has radically changed them.

In village after village, we heard testimonies of a dramatic increase in fish, clams, mussels, and turtles. In two instances, coral reefs have come back to life! On land, we were pointed to crops that are growing in places they never would grow before, and yams that are twice the size they were before.

There were also fruit trees that bore fruit once per year but now bear fruit continuously year-round. Perhaps most remarkably, there’s a stream that had been polluted for forty years with a white, milky substance, which “healed” and became potable again.

All these miracles happened as a result of God’s direct intervention through a fourweek process led by a ministry called “Healing the Land,” which is comprised of Fijians who love the Lord and believe His promise of revival. For the first two weeks, Christians in the village pray together every night for two-and-a-half hours, anticipating the arrival of the Healing the Land Team, which is back at their base praying

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feature section :: summer 2019 Professor Robert George / 6 Religious Liberty and Justice for All / 9 Q and A with Andrew Walker / 10

Defending Religious Freedom

An enforced uniformity of religion throughout a nation or civil state confounds the civil and religious, denies the principles of Christianity and civility, and that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

— Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and advocate for the separation of church and state in the colonies

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The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Our founding fathers recognized how vital this freedom was in the establishment of a democratic society. In this special section, Christian Union: The Magazine presents insights on religious freedom from two of the leading voices, Princeton Professor Robert George and Andrew T. Walker, Director of Research at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

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roger williams, the founder of rhode island, looks out over providence.

feature section | defending religious freedom

What Is Religious Freedom? by robert p. george

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hen the U.S. Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, it recognized that religious liberty and the freedom of conscience are in the front rank of the essential human rights whose protection, in every country, merits the solicitude of the United States in its foreign policy.

Therefore, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, of which I served as chair in 2013, was created by the act to monitor the state of these precious rights around the world.

But why is religious freedom so essential? Why does it merit such heightened concern by citizens and policymakers alike?

In order to answer those questions, we should begin with a still more basic question. What is religion?

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Religion as Right Relation to the Divine

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In its fullest and most robust sense, religion is the human person’s being in right relation to the divine—the more-thanmerely-human source or sources, if there be such, of meaning and value. In the perfect realization of the good of religion, one would achieve the relationship that the divine—say God himself—wishes us to have with Him. Of course, different traditions of faith have different views of what constitutes religion in its fullest and most robust sense.

There are different doctrines, different scriptures, different ideas of what is true about spiritual things and what it means to be in proper relationship to the morethan-merely-human source or sources of meaning and value that different traditions understand as divinity.

For my part, I believe that reason has a very large role to play for each of us in

deciding where spiritual truth most robustly is to be found. And by reason here, I mean not only our capacity for practical reasoning and moral judgment, but also our capacities for understanding and eval-

uating claims of all sorts: logical, historical, scientific, and so forth. But one need not agree with me about this in order to affirm with me that there is a distinct human good of religion—a good that uniquely shapes one’s pursuit of and participation in all the aspects of our flourishing as human beings—and that one begins to realize and participate in this good from the moment one begins the quest to understand the more-than-merely-human sources of meaning and value and to live authentically by ordering one’s life in line with one’s best judgments of the truth in religious matters.

If I am right, then the existential raising of religious questions, the honest identification of answers, and the fulfilling of what one sincerely believes to be one’s duties in the light of those answers are all parts of the human good of religion. But if that is true, then respect for a person’s well-being, or more simply respect for the person, demands respect for his or her flourishing as a seeker of religious truth and as one who

lives in line with his or her best judgments of what is true in spiritual matters. And that, in turn, requires respect for everyone’s liberty in the religious quest—the quest to understand religious truth and order one’s life in line with it.

Because faith of any type, including religious faith, cannot be authentic—it cannot be faith—unless it is free, respect for the person; that is to say, respect for his or her dignity as a free and rational creature requires respect for his or her religious liberty. That is why it makes sense, from the point of view of reason, and not merely from the point of view of the revealed teaching of a particular faith—though many faiths proclaim the right to religious freedom on theological and not merely philosophical grounds—to understand religious freedom as a fundamental human right.

Since its establishment by Congress, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has stood for religious freedom in its most robust sense. It has recognized that the right to religious freedom is far more than a mere “right to worship.” It is a right that pertains not only to what the believer does in the synagogue, church, or mosque, or in the home at mealtimes or before bed; it is the right to express one’s faith in the public as well as private sphere and to act on one’s religiously informed convictions about justice and the common good in carrying out the duties of citizenship. Moreover, the right to religious freedom by its very nature includes the right to leave a religious community whose convictions one no longer shares and the right to join a different community of faith, if that is where one’s conscience leads. And respect for the right strictly excludes the use of civil authority to punish or impose civic disabilities on

those who leave a faith or change faiths.

From the perspective of any believer, the further away one gets from the truth of faith in all its dimensions, the less fulfillment is available. But that does not mean that even a primitive and superstition-laden faith is utterly devoid of value, or that there is no right to religious liberty for people who practice such a faith. Nor does it mean that atheists have no right to religious freedom. Respect for the good of religion requires that civil authority respect and nurture conditions in which people can engage in the sincere religious quest and live lives of authenticity reflecting their best judgments as to the truth of spiritual matters. To compel an atheist to perform

the ordering of one’s life in line with one’s best judgment as to what spiritual truth requires. Grave injustice can be committed by sincere people for the sake of religion.

The presumption in favor of respecting liberty must be powerful and broad. But it is not unlimited.

Even the great end of getting right with God cannot justify a morally bad means, even for the sincere believer. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the Aztecs in practicing human sacrifice, or the sincerity of those in the history of various traditions of faith who used coercion and even torture in the cause of what they believed was religiously required. But these things are deeply wrong, and should not be tolerated in the

Respect for a person’s well-being, or more simply, respect for the person, demands respect for his or her flourishing as a seeker of religious truth and as one who lives in line with his or her best judgments of what is true in spiritual matters.

But conscience has burdens proper to itself, as well. To understand the nature of conscience and the ground of its claim to

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What Is Conscience?

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Of course, there are limits to the freedom that must be respected for the sake of the good of religion and the dignity of the human person as a being whose integral fulfillment includes the spiritual quest and

Conscience has rights because it has duties; but in this age, with a large portion of the public, it is the very right and freedom of conscience to dispense with conscience. Conscience is a stern monitor, but in this century it has been superseded by a counterfeit, which the

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Just Limits on the Freedom of Religion

name of religious freedom. To suppose otherwise is to back oneself into the awkward position of supposing that violations of religious freedom (and other injustices of equal gravity) must be respected for the sake of religious freedom.

Still, to overcome the powerful and broad presumption in favor of religious liberty, to be justified in requiring the believer to do something contrary to his faith or forbidding the believer to do something his conscience requires, political authority must meet a heavy burden.

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acts that are premised on theistic beliefs that he cannot, in good conscience, share, is to deny him the fundamental bit of the good of religion that is his, namely, living with honesty and integrity in line with his best judgments about ultimate reality. Coercing him to perform religious acts does him no good, since faith really must be free, and coercion dishonors his dignity as a free and rational person.

freedom, we do well to turn to John Henry Newman, the great nineteenth-century English intellectual. Newman understood human beings as free and rational creatures—creatures whose freedom and rationality reflects their having been made in the very image and likeness of God. Newman’s dedication to the rights of conscience is well known. Even long after his conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism, he famously toasted “the Pope, yes, but conscience first,” as he put it in his Letter to the Duke of Norfolk (1875).

Our obligation to follow conscience was, he insisted, in a profound sense primary and even overriding. Is there a duty to follow the teachings of the pope? Yes, to be sure. As a Catholic, he would affirm that with all his heart. If, however, a conflict were to arise, such that conscience (formed as best as one could form it) forbade one’s following the pope, well, it is the obligation of conscience that must prevail.

Many of our contemporaries will be tempted to see in this their own view of conscience—as an interior, self-liberating referral of grave moral questions to our “feelings” or untutored intuitions as “autonomous” beings. But Newman, the most powerful defender of freedom of conscience, held a view of conscience and freedom that could not be more deeply at odds with such a view. Let Newman himself state the difference:

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feature section | defending religious freedom

eighteen centuries prior to it never heard of, and could not have mistaken for it if they had. It is the right of self-will.

Conscience, as Newman understood it, is the very opposite of “autonomy” in the modern sense. It is not a writer of permission slips. It is not in the business of licensing us to do as we please or conferring on us “the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” Rather, conscience is one’s last best judgment specifying the bearing of moral principles one grasps, yet in no way makes up for oneself, on concrete proposals for action. Conscience identifies our duties under a moral law that we do not ourselves make. It speaks of what one must

permissions department. His core insight is that conscience has rights because it has duties. The right to follow one’s conscience, and the obligation to respect conscience— especially in matters of faith, where the right of conscience takes the form of religious liberty of individuals and communities of faith—obtain not because people as autonomous agents should be able to do as they please; they obtain, and are stringent and sometimes overriding, because people have duties and the obligation to fulfill them. The duty to follow conscience is a duty to do things or refrain from doing things not because one wants to follow one’s duty, but even if one strongly does not want to follow it. The right of conscience is a right to do what one judg-

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Conscience identifies our duties under a moral law that we do not ourselves make. It speaks of what one must do and what one must not do. Understood in this way, conscience is, indeed, what John Henry Newman said it is: a stern monitor.

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do and what one must not do. Understood in this way, conscience is, indeed, what Newman said it is: a stern monitor.

Contrast this understanding of conscience with what Newman condemns as its counterfeit. Conscience as “self-will” is a matter of feeling or emotion, not reason.

It is concerned not so much with the identification of what one has a duty to do or not do, one’s feelings and desires to the contrary notwithstanding, but rather, and precisely, with sorting out one’s feelings.

Conscience as self-will identifies permissions, not obligations. It licenses behavior by establishing that one doesn’t feel bad about doing it, or, at least, one doesn’t feel so bad about doing it that one prefers the alternative of not doing it.

I’m with Newman. His key distinction is between conscience, authentically understood, and self-will—conscience as the

es oneself to be under an obligation to do, whether one welcomes the obligation or must overcome strong aversion in order to fulfill it. If there is a form of words that sums up the antithesis of Newman’s view of conscience as a stern monitor, it is the imbecilic slogan that will forever stand as a verbal monument to the “Me-generation”: “If it feels good, do it.”

Freedom, Justice, and Duty Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr., responded in his Letter from Birmingham Jail to those who criticized his program of civil disobedience as mere willful law-breaking: I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws.

Conversely, one has a moral responsi-

bility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

King turned not inward to his own feelings of being aggrieved by the law, not to the intuitions of his autonomous self, and not even to a claim of his own rights.

Instead he turned to “moral responsibility”—to obligation, to duty. He, like Newman, understood this as a duty to principles of justice we did not create, but to which we must respond. As the Declaration of Independence teaches us, prior to any laws made by men are the immutable standards of justice—standards by which we judge whether the laws are just and can rightfully command our obedience.

These standards, of the equal dignity of all human persons, of their equal freedom, and of the accountability of government to the people, apply not just to our own laws, but to those of other nations, as well. As the United Nations recognized in its 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, religious freedom is an essential principle of justice, in all nations and in all ages. Our Congress said the same in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. All of us have a duty, in conscience, to work for the religious freedom of all men and women everywhere. | cu is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Professor George previously served as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in addition to other governmental commissions.

robert p. george

This article originally appeared in Public Discourse (www.thepublicdiscourse.com), the journal of the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey. Reprinted with permission.

Religious Liberty and Justice for All “The liberty enjoyed by the people of these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights. While men perform their social duties faithfully, they do all that society or the state can with propriety demand or expect; and remain responsible to their Maker for the religion or modes of faith which they may prefer or express.”

—President George Washington (In a 1789 letter to the Quakers)

The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an unalienable right…It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage and such only as he believes to be acceptable to him.”

—James Madison, fourth president of the United States

“There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage.”

—Rev. John Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of Princeton University

“The fundamental basis of this nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount…If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State.”

—Harry Truman, thirty-third president of the United States

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—G.K. Chesterton, quoted from his book, Heretics

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“The old restriction meant that only the orthodox were allowed to discuss religion. Modern liberty means that nobody is allowed to discuss it. Good taste, the last and vilest of human superstitions, has succeeded in silencing us where all the rest have failed.”

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—Billy Graham, America’s Pastor

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“I do not see how anyone could study the history of America without recognizing religious influences that have helped mold this nation from the beginning…Time after time in our history there have been appeals to the ‘Supreme Judge’ in seeking to build a new nation. This idea of freedom as a right of all men everywhere is unique among nations.”

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feature section | defending religious freedom

The Equality Act Poses an Unprecedented Threat to Religious Freedom Q and A with Andrew Walker

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CU MAGAZINE: How would you define

CU: What are some of the dire implica-

religious freedom?

tions for religious freedom if this bill is passed?

ANDREW WALKER: Religious freedom entails the ability of persons to reach conclusions about religious truth on their own and to live out the implications of this truth unhindered in their lives.

CU: In articles and inter-

views you have called the Equality Act “the most invasive threat to religious liberty ever proposed in America.”

At its core, why is the Equality Act so dangerous?

AW: At its core, the Equality Act is not

viewpoint neutral. It says that progressive understandings of sexual orientation and

The Equality Act fails to differentiate between views that are morally repugnant from views that are culturally disfavored. The Christian sexual ethic may not be popular, but that does not mean it is wrong.

The Equality Act treats the Christian sexual ethic the same way that federal law treats those who would discriminate on the basis of race.

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ndrew T. Walker is the Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics and Director of Research at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is also an Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author of God and the Transgender Debate, as well as editor for The Gospel for Life Series, Walker resides in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife and three daughters.

Christian Union: The Magazine recently interviewed Walker on the Equality Act and its implications for Christians. In May, the Equality Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although many experts believe the bill has little chance of passing in the Senate, there is concern how the next one or two elections could shift the balance of power and usher in a scenario where the bill is passed into law.

Coalitions of Christian leaders and prolife and pro-family advocates oppose the

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Equality Act. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, called it “the most extreme LGBT bill ever written.”

Walker has voiced concern regarding how the Equality Act’s provisions add the categories of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of protected classes in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

gender identity are government orthodoxy.

By default, it must treat the historic Christian sexual ethic as a force for animus and discrimination. Any person, or any institution, on the wrong side of this orthodoxy will, by necessity, find themselves on the wrong side of government policy and cultural opinion.

AW: The ability of Chris-

tians to enter certain vocations would be severely hampered: education, medicine, social work, and counseling among them. To the extent that these guilds adopt SOGI standards, Christians will find themselves unable to comply and locked out of certain industries. Even more urgent, to the extent that Christian colleges and universities have moral conduct codes, they would be threatened by their students being unable to apply for government-backed loans and grants.

CU: Will the Equality Act create inequity for Christians and lead to intolerance for Christian beliefs and values?

AW: Yes, of course. The Equality Act fails

to differentiate between views that are morally repugnant from views that are culturally disfavored. The Christian sexual ethic may not be popular, but that does not mean it is wrong. The Equality Act treats the Christian sexual ethic the same way that federal law treats those who would discriminate on the basis of race. Since law is in the business of bringing about conformity to its expectations, the law will shape popular attitudes about what is acceptable and unacceptable, which means an increasing hostility to the Christian sexual ethic.

CU: In addition to infringing on religious freedom, how will the Equality Act affect children, families, education, and pro-life causes, and culture in general?

ic concept of what it means to be male or female. Any area where gender distinction plays a part in our daily encounters with the world will necessarily be impacted.

CU: How can the upcoming election impact passage of the Equality Act?

AW: The Equality Act signals the closing

off of the American mind to important debates about human flourishing. You cannot consider the Christian sexual ethic as an exporter of bigotry and animus and that not ricochet around the rest of the culture. The Equality Act treats moms and dads, men and women, as interchangeable realities. Gone would be the days where society can arrive at any stable, stat-

CU: What can Christians do in response

to the looming threat of the Equality Act? AW: Fundamentally, they can reject fear as a response to the cultural challenges.

Christ has overcome the world, and when Christians espouse fear, we betray our trust in a sovereign Creator. That is not a plea to passivity or indifference; it is, rather, about cultivating a posture of readiness and witness. Moreover, Christians should prioritize religious liberty as a first-tier voting issue because it implicates so many other issues—namely, the place of Christian arguments in an increasingly secular world. | cu

AW: The 2020 election will either hasten

or delay the pressure and possible passage of the Equality Act. Unless conservatives stiffen their spines, I am not optimistic that they will be able to withstand the rising tide of cultural pressure against them.

These are not issues where those with weak knees will rise to fight.

Chesterton House

n o i t a c i n d o e i t D a r b e l Ce A Center for Christian Studies at Cornell

Junius Johnson

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Joy Ike

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Andy Crouch

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Cornell University - October 3-5, 2019

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from the university to the city and beyond

Desiring a Spiritually Vibrant Nation by god’s grace, culture will be transformed as the lives of our future

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leaders and the universities they attend are impacted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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As students who are well-positioned to assume roles of influence learn to seek

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God, grow in their faith, and develop a thoughtful, Christ-centered worldview,

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they will be prepared to engage culture in a powerful way. This is at the heart of Christian Union’s work at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard,

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Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

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christian union’s ministry to its alumni and their peers, christian union

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Cities, develops networks of young professionals in key cultural centers, starting in New York City and Washington, D.C. This model was used by the Lord to bring

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vibrant nation. To this end, Christian Union Day & Night calls on believers to seek God wholeheartedly and to pray and fast for our nation.

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at the heart of christian union’s work is a desire to see a spiritually

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Circle in the early 1800s. Pray that God will bring similar change to the U.S.

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sweeping change to England through William Wilberforce and the Clapham

13 Columbia Students Ben Jaimes ’21 and Kyra Dawkins ’20 photo credit: sara beth turner

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“Why Suffering?”

Christian Union at Yale Hosts Forum by cassandra hsiao, yale

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answer to this question, and pointed out to the audience that answers can come in many forms—including compassion and empathy, alongside intellectualism. He then stated that the points he was going to make would, in some small way, speak to an aspect of “why suffering.”

Vitale focused his presentation on four people in his life. One was a childhood friend to whom he wasn't very nice—an anecdote to demonstrate that suffering is often caused by mankind. Though God could have forced Vitale to be nicer, God would not be all-loving in taking away our free will.

Vitale’s second anecdote recounted the way his parents fell in love—and what a different person he might have been if his mother fell in love with somebody else. Vitale wanted to demonstrate how such small chance encounters could change the future, and then connected it to the problem of suffering. “Imagine how radically who comes to In a spring semester forum, Vince Vitale shared how intellectualism, compassion, and empathy all exist would change if God play roles in answering the question “Why Suffering?” miraculously removed all vulnerability to suffering,” said Vitale. “I think one likely result is that none of Vitale, educated at Princeton (’04) and Oxford, us, or the people we love, would come to exist.” is the director of the Zacharias Institute. Along with His third point was about grace. It centered Suderman, he has been traveling across the country, around his wife, and how Vitale felt neither deserved giving lectures at churches and college campuses the other—and that was the beauty of marriage and alike. relationships. “What if, in His grace, God wasn’t At Yale, Vitale started by recounting an anecdote looking for someone perfect, but rather someone about his cousin, whose physical disabilities have whom He could love? And what if, in His perfect caused much suffering in the family. Vitale’s aunt grace, despite all our inadequacies and all our imonce asked him the question “Why suffering?” He perfections, He found himself with a love for us and found that his abstract intellectual answers fell short. a desire to create us?” asked Vitale.

Vitale then realized that there was no one singular

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On a rainy Friday evening in April, a hundred people gathered in Battell Chapel at Yale University to hear the answer to the pressing question: “Why suffering?”

Christians and skeptics alike have grappled with this question for centuries—how could a loving God allow for the existence of suffering? At a forum hosted by Christian Union, Vince Vitale and Michael Suderman of the Ravi Zacharias Institute presented some profound answers.

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reminder to stay intellectually hungry for God. “It’s Vitale’s last point included an anecdote about easy for me to become complacent in my search for his mother and her sacrificial love toward him to answers to these tough questions, and this talk was demonstrate that God is not distant, but suffers right an encouragement to continue digging for answers,” alongside us. “This is what Jesus did on the Cross,” said Lam. said Vitale. “He loved us enough to step down into The Q & A sessions were an opportunity not our suffering with us, even though that meant sufonly to provide answers, but also to express the love fering at the hands of those He had created.” of God. Suderman recounted times when people In the second half of the forum, Suderman and came forward to share their deeply painful sufferings.

Vitale fielded questions asked in person and through “There are things I have no words for on a fairly an online forum; questions about identity, existence, regular basis,” he said. At times, “I’m sitting there blame, free will, and favoritism emerged. In addition, listening and I hardly say a word. Sometimes, that’s Christian Union at Yale hosted a special session at its Pennington Center afterwards, a lowkey mingle providing students a chance to get to know Vitale and Suderman more As an undergraduate at Princeton, Vitale was a personally while munching on desserts. skeptic until a friend took him to a similar forum.

Students asked questions not only related Six months later, he gave his life to Christ. to suffering, but also myriad other topics: the importance of intellectualism in Chriswhat people need—for you to be there,” said Sudtianity, how best to observe the Sabbath, and pererman. “[Sometimes] what they want is to express sonal growth as Christians. The conversation pain, or to share pain, or to have someone share continued past 11 p.m., a testament to the level of their burden. Half of the battle to minister to someengagement students had with the speakers. one, at the end of the day, is relating to them wherFor Vitale, giving a talk at Yale brings him full ever they are.” circle. It is always a joyful occasion to speak at Ivy Clay Cromer, the director of Christian Union’s League schools, he said. As an undergraduate at ministry at Yale, praised the thoughtfulness that Princeton, Vitale was a skeptic until a friend took flowed from Vitale and Suderman during the Q & him to a similar forum. Six months later, he gave A sessions. “This type of personal touch is critical, his life to Christ. “When I speak on an Ivy League especially with a difficult subject like suffering. I’m campus in particular, I feel like I can see my former confident that everyone who asked a question felt non-Christian self in the audience. It’s such a privdeeply heard, appreciated, respected, and honored,” ilege to play a small part in some people’s journeys,” said Cromer. “I think they were both ambassadors he said, reflecting on the event. “God was taking us for the heart of God in how they answered questions, all on a journey together.” and if people left that night having experienced more Indeed, for Jessica Kong ’21, the forum struck of God’s heart for us in suffering, then that’s cera chord. “I came in with a lot of skepticism, espetainly positive.” | cu cially since the topic of suffering is something I’ve really been struggling with recently,” she said. Though she still has many pressing questions, she says she’s “still willing to pursue God and continue exploring this relationship with Him.” Stanley Lam ’21 felt that the forum was a good

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Crossing Borders Rodarte ’19 Challenges Classmates to Be Change Agents by tom campisi, managing editor

In her Class Day speech, senior Patricia Rodarte encouraged fellow Brown University graduates to go beyond borders.

Rodarte, a native of El Paso, Texas, grew up less than a mile from the Rio Grande, which marks the boundary between the United States and Mexico.

Credit: Shley Morse

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Patty Rodarte will take a gap year before attending the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

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derstand,” Rodarte told the audience.

She also gave a shout out to other Brown families like hers.

“The families of first-generation college students, many of whom are in the audience, transcend barriers every day. I hope you feel great pride as you see your children reaping the fruit of your sacrifices,” she said.

Rodarte said she sought to inspire fellow graduates to consider how they might use their influence to help those who are marginalized socioeconomically, culturally, and racially.

“I wanted my peers to think about the non-tangible fences in their futures, especially as they will stand on the side of privilege, in many cases, as Brown University graduates of the Ivy League,” she said. “I want my peers to look to others as measures of resilience and hard work, especially towards people who have been marginalized and overcome barriers every day. In the presence of fences of socioeconomic status and race, I want my peers to think about the role they have in that division—no matter the scale—and aim to remove that fence.”

As she looked back on her time at Brown, Rodarte expressed thanks for the role Christian Union played in helping her tear down some of the walls she had erected upon her arrival at the university.

She opened her speech by talking about the shared culture and interdependent ancestry and economies of El Paso and its “sister city,” Ciudad Juarez, Mexico—despite being separated by a 10-foot-tall fence.

“There is a constant movement of people across their ports of entry…” she “As a student from a low-income family, I had said. “Crossing borders is central to my region’s identity.” a difficult time acclimating to college. Christian A first-generation college Union helped make Brown a home for me; it student, Rodarte talked lovingly and proudly about her gave me a community where I could interact parents, who are pastors of a and become family with people from vastly small, Spanish-speaking church. Her mother is a Mexdifferent backgrounds than mine.” ican immigrant, homemaker, “As a student from a low-income family, I had and worship leader; her father works as a groundskeepa difficult time acclimating to college. Christian er in addition to leading the congregation.

Union helped make Brown a home for me; it gave “It is people like my parents, those who make me a community where I could interact and become up a large proportion of our country and the world, family with people from vastly different backgrounds whose resilience we must recognize and aim to un-

for which I hope to be prepared. But in this, God has given me a desire to be culturally competent and compassionate. God tells me not to lean on my own understanding, and instead trust Him with someone’s care and someone’s life.”

Copp is excited for what the future holds for Rodarte, especially as she considers the exhortation she gave fellow graduates on Class Day. “In her graduation speech, she reminded us all of the importance of welcoming and helping those around us, especially those who are ‘the least of these.’

I loved seeing Patty stand in front of Brown University as a powerful, confident, intelligent woman

Credit: Brown University

Patty Rodarte, Brown ’19, was a senior orator at commencement in May.

2019 :: christianunion.org

of God!” Copp said. “It was a moment to celebrate all that God had done in her life over the last four years, as well as to appreciate the blessing such a woman brought to our ministry.”

As she closed her speech, Rodarte challenged classmates to step outside of their comfort zones and use their Brown degrees to become agents of change.

“As we admire our first-year dorms once more, and wave good-bye to Bruno the bear, our goal must be to [have] conversations with people outside our circles, to share meals with those who don’t look like us, who don’t talk like us, and who don’t stand on the same side of the fence,” she said. | cu

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than mine,” she said. “More importantly, Christian Union gave me incredible mentors. The ministry fellows were a source of love, support, and listening during trying times. I could be vulnerable with them, because I knew the guidance they were to provide to me was rooted in God’s love.”

Laurel Copp, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Brown, was one of those mentors. She called Rodarte “a strong, compassionate woman who cares deeply about God and is serious about caring and loving everyone around her.”

“She is a beautiful example of Jesus at Brown, in Christian Union and the other communities!

Patty is thoughtful and fun, which allowed her to have meaningful conversations, even about tough topics. She has a disarming personality, an infectious smile, and a willingness to tell others about Jesus.”

With Christian Union, Rodarte served on the worship team and also helped lead the Seeking God team. Rodarte pointed to Christian Union Bible courses, led by Copp, as having a tremendous impact.

“The small group setting allowed our women’s Bible course group to laugh, learn, and be joyful in each other’s presence while immersing ourselves in the Word of God,” Rodarte said. “Our Bible studies were full of discussions, deep questions, and lots of colored pens as we processed and grappled with understanding God in a different lens.”

Future plans for Rodarte include attending The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University in 2020. Currently, she is taking a gap year before medical school in order to work, apply for scholarships, and seek funding opportunities for her education.

“I am trusting that God will provide financially if it is His will. I pray that He will give me the strength to approach this new financial chapter in my life,” she said.

Rodarte is also trusting God for the grace needed to be a doctor.

“I know that being a doctor will be difficult—the long hours and emotional impact are two aspects

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Huddle Up Ministry Director Mentors Penn Football Players by catherine elvy, staff writer

Since fall 2017, Christian Union Ministry Director Tucker Else has been steadily gaining ground in his outreach to Quaker athletes, especially to members of the football team. Given their hectic training and academic schedules, Else offers flexible discipleship sessions to players.

“Time is such a commodity,” said Else. “It’s pretty easy for these guys to live and sleep football and academics.”

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Penn quarterback Ryan Glover ’21 (left) celebrates with a teammate.

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For Else, ministry to athletes provides an opportunity for the sports enthusiast and son of a longtime coach to come full circle. Else played basketball at Northwestern College in Iowa after playing on both the basketball and football squads at Northern University High School in Cedar Falls.

“In high school, I was pretty heavily recruited,” said Else, who was a point guard during his freshman year with the Raiders before transferring to the University of Northern Iowa. His father, David Else, a former high school coach and principal and college professor, instilled a passion for football in his children.

With that background, Tucker Else relates readily to Penn student-athletes, including the four who

attended a weekly football gathering during the spring semester, plus four or so others enrolled in Bible courses. “There is a connection with football guys and basketball guys. That’s exactly what I was focused on when I was those ages,” said Else. “When you grow up in a sports culture, it does not ever really leave you.”

Recognizing the tremendous influence players can have on teammates and peers, Else frequently attends football practices and actively encourages athletes to use their platform for service.

“These guys are natural leaders,” said Else, who joined Christian Union in summer 2016.

As one element of their spiritual discipleship, Else exhorts players to serve the needs of their teammates, especially during the thick of the season. “It’s tough being a football player and student,” he said. “They really have two full-time jobs.”

In addition, the former pastor and attorney implores student-athletes to position themselves as role models, especially to underclassmen eager to burst onto the collegiate football scene.

Among Quakers, running back Dante Moore ’20 said his mentoring sessions with Else have intensified his faith, especially throughout the spring semester as the players studied Philippians. “I have grown stronger in my faith and purpose,” said Moore.

The men focused on actively practicing the spiritual game plan of Philippians 2. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves,” the Apostle Paul wrote. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Given the consuming nature of collegiate sports, efforts to model that strategic passage can pose formidable hurdles during intense personal seasons.

Like other collegiate players, Moore was forced to make the adjustment from being a top-tier high school player to sharing a spot in the middle of the Quaker pack. Still, the Egg Harbor Township (New Jersey) native has funneled his energies into helping his fellow players achieve their football dreams and serving as a faithful spiritual witness.

“It’s a sport that I don't ever want to give up,” he said. “I am here because I enjoy this.”

Not surprisingly, Moore, who has devoted portions of his collegiate summers to volunteering at a recreation league in New Jersey, plans to continue coaching when he adjusts to life as an engineer in 2020.

For some players, it is only natural to dream of a professional sports career. In 2018, a trio of Penn

In 2018, the Quakers wrapped up the season 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Ivy League. Fast forward to March, Penn’s 2019 season launched with a global start when the Quakers enjoyed a comfortable win in the Penn-China Global Ambassadors Bowl in Shanghai.

Returning players, like Isaiah Malcome, ’21, are looking ahead to the regular season when they kick off on September 21 against the University of Delaware. Penn is dreaming of a run at the Ivy League title.

“We should be looking pretty good,” said Malcome. “I’m glad that God blessed me with the opportunity.”

The running back is also grateful for his mentoring sessions with Else, whom he described as ex-

Recognizing the tremendous influence players can have on teammates and peers, Else frequently attends football practices and actively encourages athletes to use their platform for service.

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tremely honest. “He supports me a lot. He’s very flexible and outgoing,” said Malcome. “He’s kind of like a therapist. We get into a lot of things.”

The fruit of such interaction is why Moore eagerly encourages his teammates to pursue spiritual conditioning, even in the midst of the all-consuming world of college football.

The New Jersey native often reminds his teammates of the importance of Proverbs 27:17. Namely, “iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

Glover expressed gratitude for the Christian community and training that has become his lifeline.

The celebrated quarterback even called Christian Union the “best thing that’s happened in my entire collegiate career.” | cu

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football alumni earned spots on 53-man rosters as the National Football League entered week one. The combination gave Penn its most players on an NFL roster since the 1950s with the formation of the Ivy League as an athletic conference.

Given that legacy, “I would love to go pro,” said quarterback Ryan Glover ’21, who is part of a Bible course led by Else.

Still, even with the lure of pro sports action, the highly touted recruit from Atlanta concentrates on keeping each game in perspective. “I am trying to be the best quarterback I could be at this point,” said Glover.

During mentoring sessions with Else, the players probe the importance of unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ, even in the midst of the rivalry (and revelry) of Ancient-Eight showdowns. “We talk a lot before the game about playing for an audience of one,” said Glover. “You’re really only playing for Christ.”

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A Class Day Discourse Mwabe ’19 Exhorts Graduates to Go beyond Comfort Zone by catherine elvy, staff writer

next day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel received an honorary degree and served as the main speaker during the Afternoon Program for Harvard’s 368th commencement.

As for Mwabe, the devout Christian sought to highlight the importance of service to others and the pitfalls of exclusivity. “We tend to speak to people who look like us and think like us,” she said.

“God has created all of us differently. We celebrate the beauty of God’s creation by stepping out and trying new experiences.”

At Harvard, a major source of spiritual inspiration and growth for Mwabe came from her involvement with Christian Union’s Bible courses, leadership lectures, and other activities. “Being in Christian Union has helped me to see my faith as my own, but also as communal,” said Mwabe. “Your faith and your walk with God end up being central to others.”

Not surprisingly, Mwabe’s journey through the iron gates around Harvard Yard involved a culture shock, compounded by bouts of loneliness and During commencement exercises, Eunice Mwabe ’19 served as a student orator for homesickness.

Harvard College’s Class Day. At times, the experience amounted to more of a shell shock as Mwabe hailed from a Kenyan community where residents embrace of her experiences as a foreign student at Harvard. tight-knit families, churches, and neighborhoods.

Rather than operating in an echo chamber, the KenShe is the youngest of six children. Her mother is yan urged classmates to spend time with people an evangelist and a founder of God is Able Ministries, from a variety of backgrounds and seek out new and her father is a chemical engineer in Nairobi. experiences. Mwabe especially implored members “I was always surrounded by people,” she said. of the Class of 2019 to show empathy to the disad“People’s priorities (here) are very different.” vantaged and marginalized.

Though the prospect of sending their youngest Serving as a student orator is one of the oldest child across the globe for university studies was and most cherished traditions of Class Day and daunting, Philip and Margaret Mwabe welcomed Morning Exercises. The events traditionally are held the opportunity for their accomplished daughter. in Harvard Yard’s Tercentenary Theatre between “My parents were really excited. They have always Widener Library and the Memorial Church. valued education,” said Mwabe. “Pursuing excellence During Class Day, former U.S. Vice President has always been around me.”

Al Gore (Harvard ’69, L.L.D. ’94) also addressed After deeply missing the relational nature of life the crowd of approximately 1,700 graduates. The

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As part of commencement exercises, Harvard College selected a co-president of Christian Union’s ministry for one of its top honors.

Eunice Mwabe ’19 was one of two student orators for Harvard’s Class Day. During her address on May 29, she encouraged recent grads to interact actively with people of diverse backgrounds.

Mwabe, who served as co-president of Christian Union in 2018-19, penned her speech as a reflection

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Mwabe its coveted 2015 Dean Khaemba Intellectual Achievement Award. In 2013, Mwabe graduated from Alliance Girls’ High School, a national boarding school about an hour’s drive miles from her native Nairobi.

After a year or so of teaching at the prestigious African Leadership Academy, Mwabe plans to pursue graduate studies, probably in an area involving environmental science. “I’m guided by the Lord,” she said.

One thing is certain, Mwabe is likely to showcase her oratory skills and talents to continue to inspire her peers to invest in relationships and to point them to her Savior. “Eunice is bold and unashamed to live out her faith on campus,” said Renee Ghobrial, ministry fellow. “She has been a joy to have in our ministry.” | cu

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in her subtropical corner of Kenya, Mwabe decided to learn about “all of these funny things in America.”

For example, the typical American greeting of “How’s it going?” is not meant as a literal query. Likewise, U.S. denizens tend to value their personal space.

“It was very difficult,” said Mwabe. “Everything was very different.”

Still, Mwabe deployed her rich appreciation of community in her leadership style as a co-president of Christian Union at Harvard. The social anthropology concentrator encouraged fellow undergraduates to invest intentionally in the spiritual growth of peers and reflect Christian unity on campus.

“The people around me grew so much,” she said.

In turn, Christian Union ministry fellows expressed gratitude for Mwabe’s expanding roles within the organization. She has a “spiritual fervor and deep love for the Word, and it has been a joy watching her mature as a leader and woman of God,” said Anne Kerhoulas.

Ministry Fellow Christine Shin echoed those comments. “I’ve seen Eunice grow in her faith through her vision casting and in wisdom. She has spoken to the community at-large many times this year by exhorting her peers to holiness, repentance, and obedience,” she said. “She is very winsome, courageous, and uncompromising in her faith.”

While at Harvard, Mwabe participated in Harvard Africa Business and Investment Club, Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, and the Leadership Institute at Harvard College. Ongoing research interests include hazardous waste management, sustainable rural development, and issues involving engineering and society.

In addition to English, Mwabe speaks French, German, Dholuo, and Kiswahili.

In early June, Mwabe returned to Kenya with plans to head to South Africa in August for a stint as a teaching fellow at the African Leadership Academy. Before entering Harvard, Mwabe participated in the highly selective entrepreneurship program for two years. The Johannesburg institution even gave

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Showers of Grace in the Upper Valley Valenzuela ’21 Serves Migrant Workers

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by catherine elvy, staff writer

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Union offers her opportunities to view her faith A Dartmouth College student with a through an academic lens. “It fills a space that defiheart for the disadvantaged is helping nitely was not filled back home,” she said. “Most of dairy farm laborers in New Hampshire’s the people at home were not college educated. In Upper Valley. my mind, academics and Christianity were never Keren Valenzuela ’21, a native of Texas who is linked.” actively involved with Christian Union’s ministry In addition, Valenzuela at Dartmouth, plans to pursue has expanded her biblical a doctoral degree in Latin knowledge as she has transiAmerican and Caribbean tioned from studying ScripStudies in a few years and serve tures in Spanish to English. in community service organiAs one of the first in her famzations. As a prelude, the ily to attend college, ValenzuHouston native is a founding ela also has been touched by member of Fuerza Migrant a warm welcome from her Outreach (fuerza is Spanish for collegiate peers. strength). Student-led Fuerza Since arriving at Dartoffers English training, remouth, Valenzuela has been sources, and social events for a co-founder and member of workers. Recently, she played Fuerza, which is currently a lead role in throwing a baby seeking Dartmouth recognishower for a couple. tion. Participants help serve “Hanover is a very privithe practical needs of dairy leged area,” said Valenzuela. Keren Valenzuela ’21 is a founding member laborers by teaching them “There are populations of peo- of a student organization that aids migrant English, taking them shopple who need our help, just 50 farm laborers in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley. ping, and hosting social miles away. There are commuevents centered around barnities we can serve.” becues.

Students also help locate specific needed Farm laborers in the Upper Valley “just remind items, such as blenders and car seats. me of my community back home,” she said. “It’s “[The laborers] work 12-hour shifts,” said such a connection. It’s just natural.” Valenzuela, who Valenzuela. is of Mexican heritage, is a Latin American, Latino, As an extension of her efforts through Fuerza and Caribbean Studies major. and as part of a class project, Valenzuela even helped Through her involvement with Christian Union’s stage a baby shower in May for a young couple. ministry at Dartmouth, Valenzuela has developed Students involved with Christian Union stepped a greater appreciation for putting her faith into acforward to help raise money for the event by selling tion and the importance of deep fellowship. After T-shirts. Ali Reynolds ’20, head of the ministry’s matriculating at Dartmouth, she was pleased to community-service team, was instrumental in ordiscover a vibrant faith community in Christian ganizing practical aspects of the shower.

Union. “It’s been my main social circle,” she said.

“The baby shower could not have happened had “I have made incredible friends.” Valenzuela serves it not been for Christian Union,” said Valenzuela. on Christian Union’s Seeking God team.

About 50 people, including Christian­­­Union As well, Valenzuela appreciates the ways Christian

peers, classmates, farm laborers, and even Valenzuela’s professor, attended the baby shower at La Casa, a campus center for students studying Spanish cultures and languages. The event featured Mexican music, decorations, cuisine, and games; participants showered the family with diapers, baby clothes, a bath set, and a diaper bag.

After the shower, students involved with Christian Union came together to assist the couple in other ways, including a pie-throwing fundraiser.

Students helped raise another $385 to benefit the expanding family.

Dori Willeman, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Dartmouth, expressed gratitude for the efforts from Valenzuela and other Christian Union undergraduates.

“It was a great opportunity for the students to be involved,” she said.

Watching Valenzuela mature in her faith and vocational endeavors has been a joy for Willeman, who noted the undergraduate’s faith radiated to her peers and classmates during the baby shower efforts. Willeman also worships with Valenzuela at Christ Redeemer Church, where her husband serves as senior pastor.

In addition, Willeman is appreciative of the ways Valenzuela is building relationships inside the migrant-farming community and with regional farmers.

“It has allowed her to flourish in her faith, to engage, grow, and share,” said Willeman.

In the future, Valenzuela hopes to enhance the dignity of marginalized individuals and advocate for immigrants. In early 2019, she completed an internship with Cauce Ciudadano, a non-profit organization in Mexico City that helps steer young people away from gangs. In April, Valenzuela became a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow.

During the summer, she also began volunteering with the United Valley Interfaith Project, a community organizing group that seeks to deal with the root causes of social problems and improve lives within a variety of neighborhoods.

“My desire for social justice is so intertwined with my faith,” said Valenzuela.

Ultimately, Valenzuela wants to set an example by serving as a co-laborer with Christ. “To me, there is no question that this is what we as Christians should be doing. It’s such an integral part of faith,” she said. “For me, this is living in faith.”

As she motivates her Christian peers to join her in acts of compassion, Valenzuela likes to point them to the powerful words of the Savior in Matthew 25:40, “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.’” | cu

Two recent Princeton University graduates, a computer science major and an electrical engineering major, are eager and prepared for the integration of faith and vocation.

Moyin Opeyemi ’19 and Bryan Prudil ’19 each credited their participation in a Christian Union Bible course with giving them confidence to be salt and

light in the workforce. Opeyemi (computer science) is an associate product manager at Uber in San Francisco, while Prudil (electrical engineering) is a systems engineer at Raytheon in Tucson, Arizona.

At Princeton, the varsity soccer players were part of a Bible course geared toward athletes. Christopher Heslep, who was recently named director of Chris-

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tian Union’s ministry at Princeton after serving as a ministry fellow, said the two seniors were key members of the course, which was known for being a close-knit brotherhood.

“The young men in this Bible course stayed committed to one another and to making sure that they would encourage and strengthen one another along the way,” Heslep said. “There was honesty in the group, and a desire to see one another be challenged in their faith.”

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Moyin Opeyemi ’19

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Bryan Prudil ’19

every single person in his many Bible courses.”

Likewise, Heslep is appreciative of the leadership shown by both young men and has high expectations for each.

“Moyin is certainly one of the graduates who will transform the industry around him and will make much of Christ whatever he does in San Francisco and beyond,” Heslep said. “Bryan went from shy and quiet in the Bible course two years ago, to becoming one of the strongest students of the Word by the time he left us.”

In the spring semester, their Vocational Preparation Bible course, a ten-lesson study on “vocation and financial stewardship” developed by the ministry, helped prepare the young men for life after Princeton, they said.

“Christian Union has given me the framework to approach God’s original purpose for work and how to think about using our gifts to further His kingdom,” said Opeyemi. “The Bible course unit on vocation does not only show how faith and work can coexist, but how faith and work are mutually reinforcing when done in the original manner God intended.”

Prudil also cited Christian Union’s annual Nexus Student Conference as transformational. Nexus features an array of renowned plenary speakers and vocational panels and seminars.

“At Nexus, I was able to hear from very successful Christians how faith is integrated in their work.

This has really stuck with me … In our Vocational

Opeyemi, a native of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, was one of eight students to win the Spirit of Princeton Award, honoring undergraduates for positive contributions to campus life.

“Our Bible course meant everything to me,” he said. “The bond within it made my journey with Christ in college more fulfilling as I had classmates, friends, and brothers to speak directly into my life and support me along the way.”

“Being an all-athlete group, we all “Christian Union has given me the went through similar experiences framework to approach God’s original throughout our four years of college,” said Prudil, who hails from Northville, purpose for work and how to think about Michigan. “Having people understand using our gifts to further His Kingdom.” where you are coming from is unbelievPrep Bible course, Christopher made clear the imably beneficial and something that brought us realportance of finding a church after college and getting ly close together.” involved right away. He showed us ways in which Opeyemi and Prudil also credited the leadership we can be faithful Christians in different working of Heslep as crucial to their development for the environments … Overall, I feel much more confident last two years, both in Bible course and during onethan I was a year ago to face life after college as a on-one mentoring sessions.

Christian.” | cu “Christopher has a God-given gift for teaching Scripture that drew us to come back every week,” Prudil said. “We all loved him. He really cared about

"God Is at Work" Students, Christian Union Faculty Appreciate Ministry Center by tom campisi

also having a party next door,” explained Ligh. “Since we had better food and music, many of the party goers stopped in to say hello, grab a burger, and then head over to the party.”

In addition to hosting large events, the Christian Union Center was also home to Bible courses, mentoring meetings, prayer times, and counseling sessions. Ligh said students appreciate one-on-one meetings there, and not having to talk vulnerably in spaces like Starbucks.

Credit: Sara Beth Turner

Anne Marie Tehn-Addy ’21, Ministry Fellow Yolanda Solomon, and Jade Thompson ’21 at the Christian Union Center

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The Christian Union faculty is expecting an even greater impact this year when more renovations will be completed. Sara Mead, the ministry’s administrative assistant, and Ligh have been working to finish some of the final details before the pre-retreat in late August. The team will prepare for the arrival of freshmen on campus and another year of ministry on campus and at the Christian Union Center.

“One of the things I’m most excited about is starting a weekly Sunday night dinner, where we serve simple meals like salad and pasta, and students gather and break bread together,” Ligh said. “We are looking forward to using the ministry center in the coming year.” | cu

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When the Christian Union Center at Columbia University was dedicated last fall, the ministry’s Founder and CEO, Matt Bennett, said “generations of influential students, faculty, and alumni will be emboldened and equipped to carry revival and cultural reformation to the university and the world.”

The impact of the building was felt immediately; the consensus among the ministry’s faculty was that “God is at work in the new ministry center.”

Within a few days, Christian Union was able to engage more new students than in the previous year of ministry. At the close of the recent academic year, Ministry Fellow Ava Ligh said the Christian Union Center was a blessing that enabled students to experience a greater sense of community and provided a wonderful place to seek the Lord, study the Word, and grow together.

The Christian Union Center is located between two fraternity houses, one block from Butler Library, in the historic Morningside Heights neighborhood.

The building is divided into three units across five floors, plus a basement. Christian Union occupies the unit comprising the basement plus first floor and rents the other space.

The purchase of the facility was made possible thanks to a $700,000 matching gift by the BridgeHead Foundation and donations from 250 financial partners, including the Stover Foundation and Glen and Betty Jean Knecht. Christian Union currently has ministry centers at Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, and Yale, and is seeking to add more at other schools as funding permits.

Since Christian Union’s launch at Columbia in 2011, the ministry had leased office space and even held some Bible courses and events in the homes of ministry fellows.

One of the first big events in the new ministry center was a Christmas party in 2018. In May, an end-of-the-year barbeque drew students who associated with Christian Union, and a few other guests.

“During the barbeque, the football fraternity was

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A Semester of Service-Minded Outreach Christian Union Hosts Three Engaging Events by grace choi, cornell

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ture, as panelists shared their observations and experiences of the damage it inflicts. The event’s platform was used not only to decry the pervasive hookup culture, but also to emphasize the redemptive love and forgiveness that is found in Jesus.

In May, Christian Union hosted its spring “Grill Me for Grilled Cheese” outreach. Students across campus were invited to text in a question about spirituality, Christianity, or God in return for an answer to their question and a grilled Nutella or cheese sandwich delivered by Christian Union team members. The event set a new record for the ministry at Cornell; over 500 sandwiches were delivered to locations on and around the school’s campus.

Most of the texts came from students who responded to memes posted on a Facebook page, “Cornell: Any Person, Any Meme.”

The demand was so high that the event ended one hour earlier than expected due to a lack of sandwich ingredients. However, several volunteers stayed close to the comPhoto credit: David Navadeh puters answering every question until G4G Multiple outreach events throughout the spring semester reached Cornell’s finally concluded at 2 am. campus in big and small ways for the kingdom of Christ.

The night was full of challenges, joy, and great reward. Caroline Hinrichs ’22 admitted that, at first, she was apprehensive because she had up culture. A panel discussion and Q and A session little experience sharing the Gospel, but she sensed followed.

God’s presence in every encounter. Benjamin Hop“One of the biggest issues plaguing our campuskins ’22 added, “Grill Me for Grilled Cheese was es, and the broader culture, is the false view of sex one of the most rewarding things I did this semester. which treats people as objects for personal pleasure, Having deep conversations about Christianity with rather than as people created in the image of God non-believers is not something I was used to, but to be loved,” said Christian Union Ministry Fellow [this event] allowed me to do that and helped me Jordan Cooper. “Liberated gave us the opportunity grow as a Christian.” to speak about worth and identity in relation to the Student exec team members David Navadeh ’19 sexualization of our culture.” and Ji-ho Lee ’21 both commented on what makes Amanuel Sahilu ’22 commented, “Liberated made the event so special. me realize how systemic the problem of the hook-up The outreach “allows us to clear up misconcepculture is…I’d seen it around me, of course, but I tions about Christianity in an unobtrusive way,” was never convicted about it this deeply.”

Navadeh stated. “It’s wonderful to run into folks on The night initiated raw, honest, and convicting campus whom we met through [the event], and conversations on the real harms of the hookup cul-

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During the spring semester, Christian Union’s ministry at Cornell organized three different outreach events in an effort to serve the community and further God’s kingdom in big and small ways.

In March, the ministry hosted a screening of the documentary Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution to spark a conversation on the dangers of the hook-

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even more joyous to hear how this outreach event has impacted their lives.”

“Serving and loving strangers on our campus, vulnerably sharing the power and goodness of Christ to others, and creating friendships with other people in the ministry—it’s a process that offers an incomparable joy,” said Lee. “But, like every other worthy thing that we can do as hands and feet of the Church, it’s impossible without the strength, power, and victorious freedom that is offered by the Cross. Remembering, celebrating, and sharing that is what makes Grill Me for Grilled Cheese such a special thing.”

At the beginning of the semester, Christian Union’s student-run outreach team organized a bi-weekly “Mocha Monday” that offered free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to students passing through the lobby of Albert R. Mann Library. Many students

came to grab a quick beverage in between classes and stayed to have conversations about topics, including, but not limited to, Ithaca’s awful weather, the dread of finals or prelim season, and the theology behind the crucifixion. Gigi Wong ’22 stated, “Serving people coffee and [other] drinks and having conversations about God put me a bit out of my comfort zone, which I really appreciated!”

Several students also took copies of Mere Christianity, the Gospel of John, or The Case for Christ, which were made available at every Mocha Monday.

Amy Crouch ’22 loved Mocha Mondays because they were an “opportunity to bless others in so many different ways.” Ministry Fellow Jordan Cooper echoed this sentiment, stating that it was “a great opportunity to share the love of Christ on campus in a simple act of giving.” | cu

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It Takes a Village Mendonsa ’19 Inspires Stanford Students to Serve by eileen scott, contributing writer

to theological issues she faced in classes.

“Emily commits fully to lead others when she believes deeply in something, but is incredibly relational,” said Susan Brown, the wife of Ministry Director Garrett Brown. “Emily, by nature, is a

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gatherer because she sees value and worth in others and takes the time to get to know the newcomer as well as those in leadership alongside her.”

Mendonsa’s younger years were spent in Dallas, Texas, where her father, Dr. Bob Mendonsa, was an

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“God’s redemption is so powerfully visible at Naomi’s Village. The work that I’ve seen Him do in the lives of our children is a cornerstone for my faith.”

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Emily Mendonsa is a servant leader who is both “tenacious” and “tender,” according to Susan Brown, a Bible course leader with Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry to Stanford students.

Ever since she was a teenager, Mendonsa has had a passion for ministering to vulnerable and impoverished children through Naomi’s Village in Kenya, a ministry founded by her family. At Stanford, Mendonsa, who graduated in June, was active in Bible courses and responsible for recruiting fellow students to serve at Naomi’s Village on summer trips.

She credits her relationship with Susan Brown and the ministry’s rigorous Bible courses with providing structure as she pursued God during college.

She and Brown met every week for two years and talked about everything from Bible course content

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seen Him do in the lives of our children is a cornerorthopedic surgeon. Dr. Mendonsa also volunteered stone for my faith. [It] has challenged many of my his services at a hospital in Kijabe, Kenya, for exfriends from various faith backgrounds to see God tended periods and was accompanied by his wife in a new way.”

Julie, Emily, and her brother, Will (Columbia ’21).

This was the case for Susan Brown, who served Struck by impoverished children orphaned by on one of the trips. the AIDS epidemic, the family moved to Kenya in “I’ve been on numerous mission trips and spent 2008 and established Naomi’s Village the following a good portion of my life volunteering or working year. The mission of the ministry is to “glorify God with non-profit organizations, but none compare in serving Kenyan children by providing spiritual, with what I experienced at Naomi’s Village,” she physical, and emotional healing, that they may grow said. “Every child is to impact their world.” loved, welcomed, and “We moved to Kenya valued as a child of God, on my eleventh birthday,” despite being orphaned or said Emily Mendonsa, abandoned. Every child who lived there until she is seen as one who has graduated high school. great potential to impact “When we brought in Kenya and change the our first group of chilculture that perpetuates dren, I was 13, so I was the circumstances that still a child myself,” she brought them to Naomi’s said. “Our first group of Village.” children felt like younger A Stanford student siblings to me because, in who served at Naomi’s many ways, we really Village blogged about his grew up together.” life-changing experience.

As a surrogate older “I want to incorposister, Mendonsa helped Emily Mendonsa, Stanford ’19, was a key member rate the compassion and feed, bathe, and care for of Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry to Stanford empathy that is so presthe babies and did various students. ent in Kenyan culture chores, like laundry and into my own life,” he dishwashing, while wrote.

“I want to welcome others with the heart, spending many hours playing with the children. the joy, and the love that I was greeted with by all “I really miss being there day-to-day,” said Menthose I met on my trip, and, in particular, the childonsa. Yet, she still visited the village once or twice dren at Naomi’s Village. I want, in some sense, to a year while attending Stanford, and she brought live with a higher, more inclusive sense of purpose three different contingents to serve, including memand direction: to live not solely for myself, but rathbers of Caritas. er for the benefit of a global human community.”

Last summer, three students from the ministry Mendonsa hopes to return to work as a doctor served internships at Naomi’s Village. They particin Kenya one day. She would like to pursue her ipated as teachers, assisted with construction and medical specialty in general pediatrics or child and decoration projects, and, according to Mendonsa, adolescent psychiatry to explore how early life stress “helped fold endless amounts of laundry” that’s and trauma impact development, and learn what generated every day. can be done to mitigate the harmful effects of these “Of course, these trips also presented a unique experiences. That’s what “tender and tenacious” opportunity to learn about God in a different conleaders do. | cu text,” said Mendonsa. “God’s redemption is so powerfully visible at Naomi’s Village. The work that I’ve

Seeking God for Multiplication Ministry Director at HLS Has High Expectations by catherine elvy, staff writer

a strategic mission, pointing to the role of Providence through the medium of human managers.

At the end of the spring semester, Yim asked core students to consider the type of legacy they will leave at Harvard Law School. He specifically encouraged them to multiply as godly leaders.

“I would love to see mentorship multiply through the students themselves,” said Yim. “I’m here to support them.”

During the fall semester, Yim is planning on using student leaders to help facilitate three or more Bible courses, including one tailored to international students.

“Students reaching students is going to be crucial,” he said.

Also during 2019-20, Yim will guide Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard Law School to incorporate regular prayer and seeking God times. He is also chal-

Credit: Phil Anema

The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library

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lenging students to pray for tangible revival at Harvard.

“If we want to see revival happen at the law school, we need to dedicate ourselves to praying for it,” he said.

“We want to engage students in prayer here.

That’s going to be a focus.” Yim draws a direct connection between a prayer emphasis and the growth that will follow. “If we remain faithful to God’s Word and in prayer, why wouldn’t the Lord add to our numbers?” he asked, rhetorically.

Ultimately, Yim desires to “build a foundation that will far outlast me.” | cu

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Christian Union’s ministry director at Harvard Law School anticipates a season of fruitful expansion.

“I’m looking towards the 2019-2020 academic year with hopes for growth, both in numbers and impact,” said Justin Yim. Yim, who joined the Christian Union faculty in November, is focused upon inspiring student leaders in the ministry to drive growth by connecting with their peers. “Our growth will come from our core leaders reaching their immediate spheres of influence, their sections, and their friends in law school,” he said. “My gifting is in casting vision to my leaders and developing a cohesive leadership team around the vision.”

The longtime pastor in Central New York relocated his family to coastal Massachusetts during fall 2018 after sensing a divine call to spiritual service in New England. As director, Yim oversees Bible courses, luncheon lectures, and outreach efforts. He also mentors law students and other graduate students.

“Law students love to feed their minds,” Yim said. “I want to feed their hearts, as well.” While lawyers are being trained “to make decisions based upon their minds, Christianity is not just a matter of the mind, but a matter of the heart.”

Already, Yim has connected with incoming law school students during two admitted-students weekends in the spring. With the help of upperclassmen, Yim hosted breakfasts for the class of 2022, letting them know about the resources for Christian growth that are available at Harvard Law School through Christian Union.

“We welcomed them to the community,” he said.

During the spring term, Christian Union’s ministry offered an in-depth study on the book of Nehemiah to students from Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. The gatherings also featured dedicated time for dinner and prayer.

Yim selected Nehemiah as the core text for his initial study with law and government students; the account offers timeless lessons into spiritual and practical leadership. God raised up the Jewish official for

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“Courageous in the Ways of the Lord” Cities Conference Features James K.A. Smith, Vince Vitale by catherine elvy, staff writer

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t the Christian Union Cities Conference, scholar James K.A. Smith challenged young professionals to reflect upon whether they are pursuing faithful service or self-serving aggrandizement.

Ambitions can propel believers to fulfill spiritual callings or throttle them into idolatrous practices, he said.

Such insights illuminated the conference’s theme entitled Courageous in the Ways of the Lord. Held on June 21 and 22 in Manhattan, the event attracted alumni from top universities and young professionals from New York City and other metro areas. Plenary and breakout sessions emphasized topics related to faith and work, plus the conference allocated generous time for worship, prayer, and networking.

At a plenary session, Smith encouraged young professionals to consider motivations behind their ambitions.

“It is the goal or end that distinguishes good from bad ambition,” said Smith, a philosopher at Calvin College. “What are we looking for in our ambition? We live in an age where everybody is famous or hopes to be so. They are living for the hope of going viral.”

Scott Crosby, ministry director of Christian Union Cities, said the conference readily instructed and motivated young adults on ways to live out faith in the public square, despite cultural trends that erode biblical values. Crosby oversees Bible Courses, mentoring and networking opportunities, forums, and other enriching events tailored to professionals and graduate students in New York and Washington, D.C. Other plenary speakers for the June conference included: Vince Vitale (Princeton ’04), regional director for the Americas with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, and Adrian Mullings (Princeton ’04), an executive coach, consultant, and entrepreneur.

Breakout sessions dove into a variety of topics, including the interface between spirituality and mental and physical health; ways to listen to God while serv-

ing in leadership; and tools to deploy readily to reflect God’s kingdom in workplace settings.

Amanda Curtis, an intern with Christian Union New York, described the teachings as highly applicable to emerging professionals. “The ability to process our faith thoughtfully is part of the beauty in being created with free will and a huge part of God’s desire for us to seek Him,” said Curtis, Cornell ’19.

At times, “we can get stuck in our minds trying to understand deep theological questions to the point where we really struggle to engage with the world and other communities,” she said. “Each of these talks provided action steps and approaches for realigning our priorities, serving the Lord in our professions, and loving those around us as God would.”

Smith, editor in chief of Image journal, spoke about Augustine of Hippo, including how the ancient church father, better known as St. Augustine, served as a model for what he terms “sanctified ambition.”

Smith’s newest book, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts, releases in October. He described Augustine as “kind of like a Manhattanite about 1,500 years before Manhattan. He’s basically like a lot of people you hang out with.”

Smith told conference goers to weigh the nature of their ambitions. He also warned the audience that the opposite of ambition is not humility. Rather, it is passivity, timidity, compliancy, and sloth.

Individuals can be ambitious and humble, or they can be ambitious and arrogant.

“Ambition can become a form of idolatry. It’s lowering our sights. How many ‘likes’ are enough?

How many followers are enough?” Smith asked rhetorically. “What if we’re not wired to be liked, but to be loved by the One who made us?”

This year’s theme centered upon 2 Chronicles 17:6, which showcased how King Jehoshaphat’s “heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord.”

Among other plenary speakers, Mullings encour-

aged Christian professionals to use biblical perspectives as they evaluate their lives and career endeavors.

The former Princeton sprinter and record-setting hurdler cautioned young professionals against falling back upon worldly value systems and metrics.

In his plenary session, Vitale explained how evangelism, at its core, simply involves asking asso-

As they engage with peers and strangers, believers should realize that salvation truly could be at hand. Often an offer can be as simple as: “Would you like to join me in the Christian life?”

Just like the biblical example of King Jehoshaphat, modern believers are called to showcase spiritual courage and devotion, in witnessing and in everyday life.

Credit: Sehee Kim

Scholar and author James K.A. Smith encouraged young professionals to consider the motives behind their careers and personal ambitions during the Christian Union Cities Conference.

Such practices dovetail with some of the key values of Christian Union, especially ones to encourage young professionals to honor the Lord, step out in faith, and change the world. | cu

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ciates and neighbors to trust an infinite God who actively reveals His divine nature.

When it comes to evangelism, simple invitations can be incredibly effective, powerful tools. Vitale also highlighted how the Lord orchestrates circumstances and creation to draw individuals to Himself, a reference to Acts 17:27.

“Every time we step into conversation, God already has been revealing Himself,” said Vitale. “How many people do we walk by every day who just need an invitation?”

In addition, Vitale warned them to avoid purely intellectual debates when sharing their faith.

Rather, they should prompt listeners to ponder life’s bigger questions, especially ones regarding origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. Such topics can promote deep discussions on worldviews, human satisfaction, and eternal destinies.

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stewardship news

Making God Go Viral by whit hazelton

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n April 7, 2019, our team posted a short video to the Christian Union Day and Night Facebook page. Compared to our usual daily posts, the video was unremarkable. It featured a stock video clip of rain drops softly falling on a street, overlaid with the following quote from David Wilkerson, evangelist, pastor, and author of the book The Cross and The Switchblade: “When God calls you to something, He is not always calling you to succeed, He’s calling you to obey. The success of the calling is up to Him; the obedience is up to you.”

It was the type of content we typically post to Facebook twice daily as part of our strategy to mobilize Christians to pray for the spiritual transformation of America, expecting to reach some 6,000 news feeds out of the 100,000 people who have “liked” the page (Facebook’s algorithm delivers a given post to only about 6.4% of a page’s followers, on average). To our surprise and delight, in the days and weeks that followed, we watched as this simple video was liked, commented on, shared, and reshared by people far and wide, ultimately reaching 5.2 million people on Facebook, all without the help of any advertising boost. Just the thought that this concise call to obey God had been seen by so many Christians in America was energizing to our team. After all, if even one Christian was motivated by the quote to obey God, their act could have impacts into eternity.

A video we posted the very next day, April 8, featured the prayer found in Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Praise God, that video ended up reaching some 2.2 million people on Facebook through shares, comments, and likes.

It seems fitting that a quote about obedience not always producing visible success would be the

first to go viral. Indeed, when Christian Union Day and Night embarked on this strategy of posting graphics containing Bible verses, prayers, and quotes about three years ago, the performance data wasn’t exactly impressive. For starters, our Facebook page only had a few thousand “likes” (followers). Also, the fact that an ever-growing number of publishers were posting more frequently meant that those followers wouldn’t see most of our content anyway. We trusted we were following the Lord’s direction, but knew it would be challenging. We stuck to the plan.

As any digital marketer will tell you, there’s no easy formula for going viral. We don’t know if or when we’ll again see millions of people reached with a single post. Our posts have gone back to reaching moderate numbers of people. We’ll continue to post Christian quotes, graphics, and prayers, while looking for new ways to reach more people online with encouragement to seek and press into the Lord for revival. What we do know is that, as Wilkerson stated, the success is up to God. The obedience is up to us.

—— If you’re not yet connected with Christian Union Day and Night on social media, we invite you to follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts: facebook.com/cudayandnight instagram.com/cudayandnight twitter.com/cudayandnight is the marketing director at Christian Union Day and Night | cu

whit hazelton

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Maximize Your Charitable Giving

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or they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”

– 2 Corinthians 8:3-4 Since 2002, the kingdom work of Christian Union has been fueled by the generosity and spiritual infusion of partners across the nation. Through both current and legacy gifts, financial partners have equipped the ministry to impact the nation’s most influential students, young professionals, and prayer intercessors in the United States for Christ.

For 17 years and counting, God has called specific partners with a passion for profound spiritual awakening to give sacrificially to this ministry. With a plethora of potential worthy causes in which to invest, Christian Union is immensely grateful for each person who has partnered with us in the God-inspired mission to equip leaders to transform culture, permeate every sector of society with Christian values, and promote national revival.

Because we value each dollar given, we want to highlight three giving vehicles that can help maximize the impact of your gift and potentially offer tax-saving benefits for you and those you hold most dearly.

you can invest gifts of cash, real estate, or appreciated securities which benefit Christian Union and allow you to receive both income and tax benefits from that asset during your life and/or the life of loved ones. These strategic tools are powerful ways to maximize the dollars generated for the ministry, while also allowing you to provide income for yourself and your family.

Estate Gifts Remembering Christian Union in your will, either with a specific gift or a percentage of your estate, lets you maintain control of your assets during your lifetime and will provide a substantial gift to the work of the ministry. Estate gifts can be modified and revised at your discretion.

All of these legacy vehicles will position the ministry to be sustainable for generations to come. They can be harnessed to set up faculty and building endowments, fund Initiative priorities, and meet timely needs of Christian Union. To learn more about maximizing your giving, or to discover more about the national impact of Christian Union, please visit www.ChristianUnion.org or contact Dave Magnuson at (847) 508-7431 or David.Magnuson@ ChristianUnion.org. To God be all the glory. | cu

IRA Charitable Rollover summer

If you are over the age of 70, you have the opportunity to make a gift to the ministry by distributing funds tax-free from your individual retirement account. This rollover is applied toward your annual minimum required distribution, and is not included in your adjusted gross income (AGI). Gifts must be received by December 31 to be applied to your 2019 tax return.

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Life Income Gifts Through Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Gift Annuities,

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Prayer, Repentance, and Healing the Land in Fiji by sarah camp

“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

– 2 Chronicles 7: 13, 14

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ne small hand slipped into mine.

A second stealthy hand claimed my other hand. The young girls tugged me along the dirt path through the village, between small homes. Prayers and songs drifted from doorways. Cell phones served as our flashlights, guiding my steps only; the girls were sure-footed as they pulled and nudged me along. From the sky, heavy with darkness, stars erupted.

They dangled so seemingly low amid the lengthwise haze of the Milky Way I wondered if I might disentangle a hand, reach up, and snatch one, just one, drop it my pocket, to remember a sacred night in Vunibao, Fiji.

That night, in the open green space between their homes, the villagers gathered to partake in a night of repentance. A time of worship transitioned to prayer, but first everyone seated on the grass came forward, young and old, to be led in prayers of repentance by a pastor in a mummering baritone of rapid-fire Fijian. Now I was being led to a joyful meal with Fijian brothers and sisters in Christ.

The night of repentance has been enacted throughout many of the 200 inhabited islands that comprise Fiji (there are 300 islands in total). This village, like dozens of others, had heard of the Lord’s gracious work of healing relationships and the land itself in other villages. They invit-

ed a native Fijian ministry called Healing the Land to bring the formal process to them; to walk them through steps of teaching, repentance, and reconciliation that have, over the years, softened hearts, melted hostilities between denominations and clans, and been accompanied by often miraculous restoration of the earth’s natural abundance, along with other blessings in economic and social conditions.

In Vunibao, I was seated behind the chief on the stage, along with my fellow

transformation around the world.

Many Christians are familiar with his “Transformations” videos. These are accounts from communities that were once spiritually, socially, and, often, economically, broken—desperate. The videos recount the process of deciding to seek God together, as well as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that resulted. In these accounts, the power of God restores the natural environment, ushers in widespread change to the social fabric of the community, and fre-

Fiji is a land of staggeringly vast, undeveloped natural beauty.

travelers. Thirteen of us were ministry faculty or staff from Christian Union. We were joined by three new friends, representing Australia, Canada, and Singapore.

Our two-week tour was led by George Otis, documentary filmmaker, and his wife Karissa as an extension of Otis’ decades of relationship building, interviewing, documenting, and witnessing community

quently sees economic prosperity increase.

On our tour around Fiji in late May, we entered villages that had experienced such transformation. Most had been through the Healing the Land process.

One village was in the middle of the ministry’s multi-stage process. It was here, in Vunibao, that we, too, would enter the sacred space of their night of communal

repentance. Under the blazing stars of the southern hemisphere, the chief left the stage and stood with his people. The children formed the front row, adults scattered behind them, as expressions turned inward, villagers listening and responding in faith.

The Doorway Repentance is one element of the protocol developed by Healing the Land. Since 2003, the native ministry has been sending teams out by car, bus, boat, and foot throughout Fiji, as well as abroad, to communities ready for change. They bring curriculum and a roadmap to be followed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The ministry team prepares itself with intensive prayer and fasting before entering the village.

As our tour progressed, we learned about the content of the teaching that the ministry brings: the stewardship role humanity is given by God, how that role is abused through sin—and how the land suffers as a result. We also learned about the power of Jesus Christ’s atonement to cover this sin; and the power of the presence of Jesus Christ to bring transformation and healing. Healing the Land explains, “The Cross is the doorway to community transformation and healing.”

During and after this process, many villages have experienced extraordinary, sudden changes in the production of crops, availability of fish and other resources, and other phenomena associated with healing of the land and/or water sources.

Healing the Land Healing the Land ministry operates from a home church base in Nausori, Fiji. We had the opportunity to worship at the home church of this ministry; to commemorate

the passing of their giant of a founder, pastor Ratu Vuniani Nakauyaca, and travel with his son, Pastor Savenaca Nakauyaca—a powerful, Joshua-like successor; and to sit at the feet of the ministry to learn from their process, and to be led into communities that have been transformed by God.

Transformation Process Healing the Land spends a week teaching from the array of Scripture through which the Lord proclaims that the spiritual and relational condition of men and women have, because of their divinely given role as stewards of creation, a profound effect on the environment—for better or worse. But before this teaching can begin, the village must be desperate for God, and willing to come together in the process. In many cases, villages have heard the news about how God is blessing and changing a nearby village, and they want the presence and favor of the Lord, too.

The Healing the Land manual explains: “Community Transformation is a process of humility, repentance, forgiveness, and healing which leads to reconciliation with God and with fellow men. It is marked by a significant invasion of the Kingdom of God in a community.”

During this process, typical village life is put on hold. When Healing the Land arrives, they take a comprehensive look at personal and communal needs before God. The ministry team visits every home in the village. They help people identify and uproot sin and facilitate the repentance/reconciliation process both between the family and the Lord and with one another.

The people in the village repent of specific sins, pray, and fast for three days. Some

of the main issues being repented of were: idolatry (for instance, statues guarding the village that cast a pall of fear); witchcraft, which has often included cursing other villages; immorality; bloodshed; and fatherlessness.

The ministry process yields a new rhythm of community life. While denominations may continue to worship in their own ways on Sundays, deep affection and mutual support comes to mark their interactions. One additional day of the week (usually Wednesday) is considered “a second Sunday.” Joint prayer or ongoing prayer chains are maintained throughout the day.

Worship, and a shared day of fasting, until 3 p.m., also knits believers together.

Heaven Invades There is a high degree of what we call supernatural events among the villages during and after the process. For visitors like us coming after these events, there remains a strong residual effect of the “invasion” of the Kingdom of Heaven. We met men and women experiencing life more abundantly, characterized by increased love, motivation, compassion, humility, and even innovation. The overflow of blessing seemed so natural the casual observer might not appreciate the great change that has taken place.

What would it look like in our own culture for communities of people to unite and seek God together? What would we be led to specifically repent of and put away? What might result? These were just a few of the questions we took home with us to ponder as a result of our time listening and discovering, firsthand, how God is graciously at work in Fiji. | cu

the spiritual climate on campus

brown 37 columbia 41 cornell 4 4 dar tmouth 47 harvard 5 0

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Penn students Andrew Roberts ’20, Jackson Min ’20, and Charles Curtis-Thomas ’19 photo: cody min

reports from some of america’s most influential universities

The Spiritual Climate on Campus The following articles were written to keep readers informed about the spiritual atmosphere at some of America’s leading universities. Some stories will encourage you by highlighting ways God is working through other (non-Christian Union) ministries and alumni. Other articles— on news, trends, and events—are included to help motivate you to pray for these institutions, their students, faculty, and staff, and for all of the Christian ministries that work at these schools. ......................................................................................

BROW N | On Campus

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.”

After the internet increased access to porn, pulps largely dissipated. The Brown collection roughly runs from the 1950s to the 1990s.

As such, Christian alumni of near-

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est – 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

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hristian 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’s more than 4,600 (and growing) volumes of cheap, highly explicit paperbacks is one of the biggest collections – or possibly the larg-

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JOHN HAY LIBRARY PUTS EMPHASIS ON “GAY PULP FICTION”

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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Brown Expands “Pornographic” Book Collection

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the spiritual climate on campus

by Ivy League schools expressed concern over Brown’s plans for its trove of erotic paperbacks. One of them, George Taylor, a longtime minister in New England, noted that Brown

backgrounds and the Bible was integral to that.”

“It’s very concerning to me the way these schools are heading.”

In the 1990s, Brown started its

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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.”

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was founded to provide a wholesome Christian education in the region.

Indeed, Baptist clergy sought the charter for Brown to provide training for men of faith. In 1765, Rev. James Manning ran the institution at his parsonage and church.

During Manning’s administration, which lasted until 1791, the college produced 165 graduates, including 43 clergymen. The university’s motto is In Deo Speramus (In God We Hope). Historical records document how the bulk of the university’s initial and subsequent libraries’ books were spiritual in nature, including sermon series and apologetics.

“It’s too bad that Brown has strayed so far from its roots,” said Taylor, Yale ’68, MDiv ’71. “It’s a shame to see any of the schools such as Yale and Harvard stray from their roots. They all started with Christian

archive of gay pulp fiction. The university grew its assortment of taboo titles after bequests from Scott O’Hara, a pornographic film actor and writer, and James Jackson, a collector.

Succumbing to AIDS, O’Hara died at 36 in 1998. He left his lurid manuscripts and other papers to Brown’s gay and lesbian literary collection.

O’Hara wrote four books, including Autopornography: A Memoir of Life in the Lust Lane.

For its part, Brown claims the archive preserves one of the ways people with same-sex attraction “explored their identities” before widespread cultural shifts, according to WBUR. Still, public policy researcher James Agresti, Brown ’88, cautioned that studies point to a series of physical and psychological consequences associated with loose sexual behavior.

“The biblical commands regarding

sexuality and all other moral issues were put there for our benefit,” said Agresti, president of Just Facts (justfacts.com), a non-profit research and educational institute. “God made us with an innate desire for sex, and he gave us rules to ensure our happiness through it.”

“God loves us and wants the best for us. Documented facts repeatedly show that good things happen when we obey the moral laws in the Bible, and bad things happen when we don’t.”

Among other alumni, Rob Green (Brown ’89), a national director with Trail Life USA, expressed concern about campus trends that shun virtues, encourage sexual experimentation, and redefine societal norms.

Some students at Brown were “pushing that radical agenda before it was in vogue for the rest of the country,” said Green.

Alain Oliver, executive director of the Love and Fidelity Network in Princeton, New Jersey, said recent efforts to expand Brown’s collection of “gay pulp fiction” are distressing.

“Our entire culture is becoming pornographized, and it is changing the way everyone interacts with each other,” he said “By investing in these paperback pulp books, Brown is just cataloging the growth and spread of porn, and I’m not sure how specific of a record we need on that.” | cu

BROW N | On Campus

Embrace, Appreciate Each Season A M E D S T U D E N T ’ S E X H O R TAT I O N T O L I V E I N T H E M O M E N T

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.

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Ask Him: Lord, what are You teaching me right now?

Lord, how can You use me and refine me in this particular season?

Lord, I may not understand the reasons why I’m here right now, but would You sustain me and be my strength to help me get through this?

As a medical student now in the trenches of thirdyear rotations, I’m asking God to do just that: to help me embrace the season He’s placed me in right now. I’m clinging onto this verse: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) I confess that sometimes I still wish I could graduate already. But I now need to fight this mentality with gratitude, humility, and contentment

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in the Lord. This means surrendering to the Lord, understanding that He is in control. We must recognize that in every season, God is using that time and place in which He has put us for His glory and our good. He wants to

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dents, undergraduates, and postgraduates alike struggle with the similar feeling of wanting to move on. But, brothers and sisters, we can’t keep looking so far ahead that we become blind to what God is doing right now.

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If we keep living in the past or rushing towards the future, we will miss out on all the things God is teaching us in the here and now.

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n 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.

With certain classes, for instance, I sometimes found myself thinking: Why am I here? Sitting in a Barus and Holley room, staring at a stain on the ceiling, I dreaded lectures. Knowing I

wanted to become a doctor, I reasoned that I probably wouldn’t need to study physics for the future. I deluded myself into thinking, “Let’s just get this over with.”

But the truth was, I had been blind. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I failed to see God’s hand in all of it.

Looking back at those seasons of life, I slowly began to realize that maybe God had placed me in that physics class to help me be more in awe of Him and the complexities of His creations. Maybe He placed me there in that specific semester of sophomore year so that I could sit next to someone who would eventually become my study partner, and now, a friend that I still talk with to this day.

Though I know not everyone has shared this experience, I’ve seen stu-

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reveal more and more of Himself and transform us continually. If we keep living in the past or rushing towards the future, we will miss out on all the things God is teaching us in the here and now.

For medical students, this may mean fighting the temptation to move on to the next rotation. When I was on my surgery rotation, all I wanted to do was progress to the next one.

But I fought that mentality fiercely with Scripture and prayer. I prayed simply, Lord, please teach me and use me where You’ve placed me. Help me to love You and love others right here, right now. That same week, I met an elderly woman who was in need of a comforting presence. She had been in and out of the hospital for various medical conditions and lived alone.

She looked like she needed someone

to sit with her and listen, and I could feel God pushing me to be that kind of person for her.

For college students, here’s a call to embrace the season you are in, too.

Maybe you desperately want midterms or finals to be over (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing—maybe you do have tons of papers and exams, and you’re in need of respite and sleep). But what if He places someone right next to you in that class or in the library, and He wants you to share kindness and love with that person?

Perhaps, also, God is refining you and teaching you through these times of trial and fire. And He will never leave you nor forsake you. So, in any season of life, in any moment, He is with you always. There is respite and refuge for us right there, even in the hardest of times.

So, whether you’re rotating through a tough field or wanting to switch clinics, whether it’s cramming for a final in the SciLi or wanting to leave the cold New England weather for California, let’s embrace where God has called us, in the here and now. God has you. He makes all things work together for our good.

That includes making the bitter into the sweet, making all things beautiful in their time. Our mountain top moments, our deepest lows, and everything in between—God can and will make all things beautiful. This is the day the Lord has made. This is the season of life God has placed you in right now. | cu anna delamerced is a third-year student at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

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Catholic Community Hosts Commencement, Reunion Events

Khurana ’18 Disappointed with Medical School’s “Conversation”

The Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Catholic Community celebrated commencement and reunion weekend with a series of events on May 24-26. The ministry staged a reception for graduating seniors, their families, and alumni to share wine and cheese during a Saturday reception at Page-Robinson Hall.

As well, Brown-RISD Catholic Community hosted a Roman Catholic mass at 8 a.m. on Sunday at Manning Hall, ahead of the annual commencement procession.

A Brown University alumnus expressed disappointment with a medical school event billed as a “conversation” with physician Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Jay Khurana ’18 said the April 2 lecture was “not the ‘conversation’ it claimed to be.”

But, “given the varied opinions on abortion and rapidly evolving medical technology, this is exactly the kind of event in which an open forum for questions is imperative,” Khurana noted in an opinion piece

for The Brown Daily Herald.

“Conversations about these polarizing topics are essential at a university in which free discussion and critical thinking are at the heart of learning,” he wrote.

Khurana said campus constituents must also seriously consider divergent opinions held by those inside and outside of the Brown community, especially as technological advances improve.

Current cases demarcate the legality of an abortion based on viability. “Will the court’s point of viability change with advances in medical technology?” Khurana wrote. ““We must face these tough questions…”

COLU M B I A | On Campus

Bach Society Performs “Sacred” Spring Concert O R C H E S T R A , C H O I R E N S E M B L E C E L E B R AT E S 2 0 -Y E A R A N N I V E R S A RY

By Chris Bolton, Columbia ’19

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pertly balances virtuosity and drama with a smooth elegance. The pastoral second movement was especially beautiful, played brilliantly by soloist Madelyn Baker. Greatly underappreciated in the classical music world, the piece looks back upon the elder Bach’s woodwind mastery and ahead to the impassioned Sturm und Drang of Haydn.

The St. Mark Passion is a more mysterious composition; for one thing, its authorship is disputed by some, many of the choruses are incomplete (leaving us only with Bach’s German translations from Mark’s Gospel), and the music carries an eerie, fuThe Columbia Bach Society held its spring concert, "Bach to Bach," on April 27 at St. Paul's nereal tone throughout Chapel.

– no doubt foreshadowing the crucifixion. The perSince its founding in 1999 fragmentary St. Mark Passion and formance only featured the first three through its twentieth anniversary C.P.E. Bach’s Flute Concerto in D-mi- recitatives and chorales of the Passion, campaign this year, the student-run nor. The highlight, however, was J.S. which tell the story of Jesus’ anointing orchestra and choir ensemble has been Bach’s Mass in G-minor, which used in Bethany, his betrayal by Judas Isa major part of musical life at Columbia. Comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young musicians from New York City, the Bach Society consistently delivers stellar performances of sacred music from the Baroque and Classical periods. In the last five years alone, con- a musical technique, known as paro- cariot, and the Last Supper. But the certs have included selections from dy, to draw in material from some of piece was punctuated by the last solHandel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Bach’s lesser known, yet still magnif- emn chorus, “Ich, ich und meine Sünden” (I, I and my sins … these have and Mozart’s Requiem, among others. icent, cantatas.

C.P.E. Bach’s Flute Concerto ex- brought you this misery that assails The title of the 2019 spring conhe Columbia University Bach Society’s spring concert featured the music of its namesake, including selections that proclaimed Christ as Lord.

cert was “Bach to Bach.” After all, what better way to celebrate than with the music that inspired the society’s founding? The program included selections from Johann Sebastian Bach’s

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With this seasoned chorus and orchestra, the genius of Bach’s Mass in G-minor shone brightly, but God’s glory shone even brighter.

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you)—a tearful stream of remorse for having contributed to Christ’s unfathomable suffering.

With this seasoned chorus and orchestra, the genius of Bach’s Mass in G-minor shone brightly, but God’s glory shone even brighter. It is a highly polished, texturally variegated, and theologically deep setting, and Bach Society’s soloists did it justice. The Kyrie that opens the Mass is earnest, almost hurried, and sung with a sort of Lutheran repetition; evidently Bach

saw a very serious need for Christ’s grace and mercy. The Gloria section begins with similarly fervent offers of thanks and praise to God the Father, but the tone shifts with a melancholy oboe melody as the choir turns their adoration to Christ, the “Lamb of God, Son of the Father, Thou who bearest the sins of the world.” “Miserere nobis” (pity us), they plead, “suscipe deprecationem nostrum” (hear our prayer). Imagining the splendor and majesty of the Lord’s throne room,

Bach seems to say that, by virtue of His great suffering, Christ alone is able to receive our prayers. After its dramatic climax, “Thou alone art Holy … Thou alone the highest, Jesus Christ,” strings and woodwinds propel the choir to its simple, undramatic “Amen.”

How wonderful was it that a group of Columbia students (some Christians, many not) praised the living God through the Bach Society’s bi-annual concert. | cu

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COLU M B I A | On Campus

The Columbia Witness C H R I S T I A N J O U R N A L A D O P T S N E W N A M E , R E F I N E S M A N DAT E

By Lauren Curiotto, Contributing Writer

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community and introduce its new identity with the apt title, Dear Columbia.

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he Columbia Witness, the university’s Christian thought journal formerly known as Crown and Cross,

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The staff at The Columbia Witness, a Christian thought journal formerly known as Crown and Cross.

will debut its first issue under a new name in fall 2019. The upcoming edition will directly address the campus

Managing editor Sean Kim ’20 explained that the journal’s leadership team spent months carefully crafting

what they hope will be an invigorating revamp. The rebranding decision came after the team had a closer look at the original 2012 mission and vision statement and were surprised to learn that the journal’s messaging had drifted.

In an effort to produce a publication that would engage a more widespread audience, Kim and his team surveyed their peers’ reactions to potential new names.

“We wanted a name that was bold, and accessible to both Christians and non-Christians alike,” he said. The reactions to The Columbia Witness were positive all around. For non-Christians, the name sounded intriguing and did not bombard them with an immediate or overzealous religious tone. For Christians, the word witness held compelling connotations that reminded them of their greatest purpose on this earth.

Along with the name change, the journal’s new mission and vision state-

ments were tailored to reflect better its goals in a more succinct and approachable way: Our mission: To proclaim the life and power of God’s truth to the Columbia community and beyond through diverse Christian voices and ideas.

Our vision: A campus that recognizes the subversive character of Jesus and witnesses the reality of the Gospel.

Dear Columbia, the upcoming fall issue, boasts a striking front cover.

In the foreground of a dramatic black backdrop is a close up of a regal lion looking upwards; a fitting tribute to the Columbia University mascot. Traditionally, the journal has distributed approximately 400 print copies of each issue to students on campus, but the current leadership team has lofty goals of increasing readership through more targeted outreach and by hosting events that will bring the journal’s themes and topics to life. In April, the staff also

added a mobile site.

The fall print edition will introduce relevant Christian perspectives on topics like social justice, as well as defend often misunderstood Christian beliefs. One of the thought-provoking cover articles is entitled, “Reevaluating Hope at Columbia.” In that piece, Tosin Sanusi, a Nigerian student who had been raised to believe that an Ivy League education was the ultimate answer, shared her thoughts on how she built a firm foundation of hope, despite feeling misled and disappointed by what the world has to offer.

“The danger in expecting so many things out of Columbia is that …

Columbia is flawed. And so are we… [but] Regardless of what life throws at them, Christians have the full capacity to be content. It is belief in a God who is never changing and ever faithful that fuels all hope. And this hope, unlike that which Columbia provides, can remain everlasting.”

In “Seeking Acceptance,” contrib-

utor Canwen Xu wrote candidly about the pressures of feeling “good enough” when attempting to make your big break in the corporate world: “The rules are easy, but executing them is hard: look nice, but not flashy.

Wear enough makeup that it doesn’t look like you’re wearing makeup.

Form a personal connection with each person, and ask for their business card.

Hope they remember your name…

At Columbia, a job isn’t just a job; it’s a personality trait, a representation of a person’s existence.”

With articles like these, and a revised mission and vision, The Columbia Witness editorial staff is seeking to impac t b o t h C hr is t ian s an d non-Christians in a fresh way. The staff is a group of dedicated and passionate students who are focused on planting seeds that will far outlast their own time on campus. They are on mission—witnessing to the truth of the Gospel to the Columbia University community and beyond. | cu

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Spring Concert Is Jubilation!

Unforgivable?

Theory at Columbia University, and Margarita Mooney, associate professor at Princeton Theological Seminary. The event also featured a Q and A session and audience small-group discussions.

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Two professors discussed the philosophy of forgiveness at a Veritas Forum entitled “Unforgiveable?” at Columbia University on April 3 at the Roone Arledge Auditorium in Lerner Hall. The featured speakers were Michele Moody-Adams, the Joseph Straus Professor of Political Margarita Mooney Philosophy and Legal

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On April 28, Jubilation!, Columbia’s Christian a cappella group, hosted its spring concert at Lerner Hall. The theme of the concert was “Rise,” chosen by the group to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Seniors Elijah Schultz and Lina Tian performed for the final time as members of Jubilation! Founded in 1990, Jubilation’s name comes from Psalm 98:4, which reads, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” The group “exists as

a unified body that uses its talents to glorify God and bring joy to others.”

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COR N E LL | On Campus

Solidarity with the Persecuted Church CHES TERTON HOUSE HOS TS SPEAKER FROM OPEN DOORS

By Zachary Lee, Cornell ’20

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become a pastor first’ or ‘I should go to seminary.’ There is nothing wrong with those paths, but do not discount the place where God has you now.”

LeMoss shared how a Cornell diploma will “propel” students onto a global platform.

“God does not waste anything,” Vaughn assured, noting how God used the Apostle Paul’s formal training, education, and Roman citizenship to advance the kingdom.

Yet, the ways that people try to share the Gospel message have shifted. Vaughn highlighted how, in the 40s and 50s, Western missionaries would be sent across the globe to various people groups and countries. “[Today], a lot Credit: Matthew Orme, Open Doors Open Doors International supports the persecuted church around of Christians go into countries as business the world. people and use business as a method to present the audience to use their college de- the Gospel,” Vaughn shared. “If you grees and future influence to aid global think about it, the boss of a company missions. He weaved practical advice has more influence over his employin between touching anecdotes from ees than the pastor. A pastor of a his testimony, all the while expanding church may interact with an individthe students’ vision of God’s kingdom. ual 4-6 hours a week, but the employLeMoss hit the ground running er will interact with said person for by demystifying the fallacy that mis- over 40-60 hours a week! Who has sions work is set apart solely for those the greater ability to speak into that in vocational ministry or “super Chris- person’s life?”

These new evangelism strategies tians.”

“You can serve the Lord in what- are also accompanied by new forms ever capacity you’re in,” he said. “So of persecution. Vaughn, who has often we say to ourselves, ‘I need to served in countries such as Tanzania

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aughn LeMoss, the vice president of Open Doors International, a non-profit organization that supports persecuted Christians in over 60 countries, was the featured speaker when the Chesterton House at Cornell hosted its Friday Conversation Series on April 19. The theme of the evening was “Solidarity with the Persecuted Church.” LeMoss exhorted

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and Israel, has experienced the dangers firsthand—yet he is also impressed by the faith of fellow believers who risk everything, including prison, to share the Gospel.

“When you see the faith of these people, you come away different,” he said.

Open Doors supports the persecuted church through the distribution of Bibles, study materials, discipleship training, and other resources.

At the Chesterton House series, Vaughn shared practical ways Cornell students can be more missions-minded. He talked about how the Apostle Paul would be envious of the modern-day university because, while he had to go to the nations, “the nations have come to us.” Specifically regarding international students, Vaughn challenged them to be bold and unashamed when it came to sharing the Good News, and not to be afraid of judgement. Being set apart can be a powerful witness to others because it is in those discrepancies of worldview that the foundation for honest conversations about faith and Christianity can take place.

Samuel Cantillo, Cornell ’19, was inspired by Vaughn’s talk.

“Learning about how God provides for those living much more difficult lives than us is a humbling reminder that God has placed me at this university, not for me to be self-serving, but to be selfless towards the church and those around me,” he said.

Likewise, Ryan Meng-Killeen ’20 was struck by how “Christians aren’t

the only ones who suffer as a result of persecution. The church, both here and in persecuted nations, has a responsibility to love and welcome the people who come to explore Christianity, because those people are facing risks, too. Some seekers come from backgrounds where their friends and

family would ridicule them or worse if they knew they were exploring Christianity.”

Cantillo appreciated learning about the interdependence of the body of Christ, especially when it comes to the persecuted church.

“When someone becomes a Chris-

tian, they now belong to a local and global body,” he said. “This united body is called the Church, and although it is unified, it is not uniform.

Different parts of the body experience different struggles, and it is together that we are commanded to weep and rejoice.” | cu

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COR N E LL | On Campus

Political Union Disinvites Speaker

S T E WA R T S AY S S H E WA S S I L E N C E D B E C A U S E O F R E L I G I O U S B E L I E F S

By Francine Barchett, Cornell ’20

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jeopardized,” Baker told The Cornell Daily Sun. “And to prevent security risks we would have had to be able to afford security, and that’s not something we’re able to afford at this time.”

The controversy escalated when CPU board member Brendan Dodd ’21 resigned following the release of the organization’s statement. In an oped in The Cornell Daily Sun, Dodd said Stewart’s invitation was rescinded because of her religious beliefs, although he also disagreed with Stewart’s claim that her views were labeled as racist.

“Contrary to her characterizations in a Facebook post, Stewart’s beliefs were not likened to supporting slavery or denying the Holocaust. Nonetheless, this was a decision made primarily due to Stewart’s beliefs,” Dodd wrote. “CPU’s claim that her invitation was rescinded to avoid security fees is misleading; there were no in-

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would be offended by my beliefs and would not be able to focus or listen to my speech,” she said.

The CPU disagreed with Stewart’s comments and released a statement that appeared in The Cornell Daily Sun. “The accusations of discrimination that Jannique Stewart has levelled against the Cornell Political Union are false. We have never negatively characterized Ms. Stewart’s beliefs, nor have we ever attacked her character,” the statement read.

John Sullivan Baker ’20, president of CPU, told the campus newspaper that the organization’s primary concern centered around security for its members. But his explanation did, in fact, allude to Stewart’s “past advocacy.”

“We had discovered information [about] her past advocacy activities that could potentially lead to a situation in which the security of our members was

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annique 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.

In a Christian Post article, Stewart, a representative for Life Training Institute, said that the CPU notified her that her views were just as bad as anti-Semitism and racism. “Their concern was that many of the students

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dications that our event would be protested, and no security assessment ever concluded that the event would require protection.”

The cancellation of Stewart’s prolife talk is emblematic of a larger issue on college campuses regarding censorship, political correctness, and citing of security concerns for certain speakers, whether valid or not, and their associated fees, especially those who espouse biblical values or disagree with liberal viewpoints.

Despite the apparent bias against the expression of biblical views on sexuality displayed by CPU, some Christians at Cornell do not feel like their religious freedom is suppressed on campus. Some find more opportunities than not when they muster up the courage to speak about their faith.

Jeremy Kline ’22 said Cornell fosters a “sufficiently inclusive” community for interfaith dialogue.

“I don’t hide my faith,” the engi-

neering physics major said. “There were times during the school year when, if I hadn’t had a good conversation about spiritual things with a non-Christian for more than three or four days, I started to feel something was wrong. That’s how open people are to faith-related conversation.”

Abby Bezrutczyk ’20, editor-in-chief for the Christian journal Claritas, is used to tackling big questions about faith and enjoys opportunities for dialogue.

“I feel comfortable sharing my faith because it is a part of who I am,” she declared. “I have a copy of Claritas in my backpack that I can give to people if it comes up in conversation…”

Bezrutczyk, however, admitted that a bias does exist.

“There’s a general sense here that Christians are a bit silly for having faith, instead of trusting facts. Many also have misconceptions about Christianity, or hold grudges against it

because of how it is portrayed in politics,” she said.

As an environmental science major, she was troubled when her professor asserted that Christians do not care about climate change. That statement prodded her to dig into the Bible to encounter faith-based environmentalism. She left the experience with one major takeaway: “being a Christian in a non-Christian environment will sharpen you and make you confront your life of faith.”

Caleb Trieu ’22 was pleasantly surprised to experience a positive atmosphere during his freshman year and appreciates the Veritas Forum and other outreach events hosted by campus ministries.

“I kept hearing that [Cornell] would be a battleground,” the hotel administration and hospitality sophomore said. “But it turned out to be the opposite...I don’t feel threatened about my faith.” | cu

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Sharing Measureless Love through Music

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Measureless hosted its spring concert “Freed” on May 5 at Klarman Hall. The concert was a combination of a cappella music, guest performers, and testimonies about how God is working in the lives of members.

“The primary purpose of this concert is to spread the light, joy, and hope we have through Christ with the Cornell community,” said Ryan Kim. “With our concert being scheduled right before finals, we know that many students are

under much stress and anxiety. We hope that through our music— which speaks of God’s love and the hope He provides—students will be introduced to a relationship with Christ or grow closer to Him.”

From Machines to Wayfarers In May, psychiatrist Warren Kinghorn explored a holistic view of psychiatric medication during Chesterton House’s spring Beimfohr-Neuss Lecture.

Kinghorn, Harvard MD ’03,

delivered a talk entitled From Machines to Wayfarers on May 2 at Klarman Hall. Trained in medicine and theology, Kinghorn holds appointments with Duke Divinity School and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Duke University Medical Center. His work centers on the role of religious communities in caring for persons with mental health problems and on ways Christians engage in modern health care practices.

Chesterton House is a center for Christian studies serving the Cornell community.

D A R T M OU T H | On Campus

Sophomore Summer DARTMOUTH CHRISTIANS UNITE TO SEEK THE LORD

By Lauren Curiotto, Contributing Writer

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ach June, the entire rising junior class returns to Dartmouth College’s campus for what is known as Sophomore Summer. For ten weeks, students have the opportunity to try out new extracurriculars, gain momentum within their major in a more relaxed environment, and build stronger relationships with their class-

the academic year unite to build inter-ministry relationships. The joint summer fellowship is entirely student led. This year’s leadership team excitedly took on the responsibility for what upperclassmen described as one of the best opportunities to get to know other Christians on campus.

“I really like the energy that peo-

connect for deeper accountability, be able to share prayer requests on a weekly basis, and really invest in each other spiritually.” He outlined their three major goals for the 2019 Sophomore Summer: to promote bonding and lasting friendships among SCF participants who may not otherwise cross paths; to invest in each other’s

Credit: Michael Lin

Summer Christian Fellowship is a key component of Sophomore Summer for believers.

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faith walks by tackling the basics of Christianity, as well as challenging one another to be spiritually disciplined; and to take advantage of smaller group sizes to experiment with new ideas and formats for events and programs.

The SCF leadership team implemented a plan to provide as many opportunities as possible for everyone to get involved in a way that feels convenient and accessible. Events include Monday night prayer, Thursday night worship, Friday night gatherings, a lunch buddy program, and spontaneous social events. At the halfway point in their academic ca-

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ple have during Sophomore Summer,” said Leslie An ’21, a member of the SCF leadership team. “I like to say ‘hi’ to people when I pass by and stop to talk, and that openness is much more prevalent during the summer.”

SCF capitalizes on this openness by garnering the attention of Christians who are too busy with academics to participate during the year and by increasing outreach efforts to non-Christians who are interested in honest dialogue about Christianity.

Paul Leon ’21, a member of the SCF leadership team, said the goal is to “create a hub where people can

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mates. This summer session in scenic Hanover, New Hampshire is a welcome respite from the usual academic rigor. Despite the university’s modest undergraduate population of 6,300 during the academic year, students are often too busy to dedicate as much time as they would like to connect with their peers and venture outside their familiar social circles.

Summer Christian Fellowship (SCF) is an important part of the term for Christians and seekers. With an even smaller student body during the summer, Christian ministries that operate independently during the rest of

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reers, Sophomore Summer is a crucial time for students to plug in to Christian community and consider how to keep Christ at the center as their plans for the future come into focus.

The 2019 leadership team’s most notable innovation was to experiment with the ministry’s Friday night gatherings. The team quickly determined that this year’s cohort felt most engaged with intimate, participatory discussions, rather than the lecture-style events they normally host in the fall and spring terms.

These discussions generated dynamic exchanges, with the kind of passion that comes from a new be-

liever’s initial encounter with Christ, and challenged more mature Christians to contend with the apologetics aspect of their faith.

SCF has even drawn in students from beyond Dartmouth’s campus boundaries. Leslie An shared about a sophomore from a different university who had recently become active with SCF. After accepting Christ at a local church, this peer from another institution was invited to continue her faith journey by attending SCF events.

“She’s new to her faith, and she has so many interesting, raw, starting out questions. It’s really [helping] us to become more apologetic-oriented,” An

said. The leadership team noted how inspiring it has been to hear the more mature and theologically versed students step up to help newer Christians navigate this new terrain.

Although each member of the leadership committee joined for a different reason, they share the determination to lead the summer fellowship faithfully. They have transitioned in their college life from underclassmen who have been poured into, to upperclassmen who want to influence the dynamics of their student body. “We are resources,” said An, “and I don’t want to waste that at a time when people are particularly open.” | cu

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D A R T M OU T H | On Campus

Wheelock and the Ethics of Commemoration DARTMOUTH ROUNDTABLE DINNER FEATURES DR. HENRY CLARK

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

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n observance of the college’s 250th anniversary celebration, the Dartmouth Roundtable Dinner discussion focused on founder Eleazar Wheelock and the Ethics of Commemoration.

Dr. Henry Clark, the director of Dartmouth’s Political Economy Project, gave the opening remarks and launched a discussion for an audience of Dartmouth professors, administrative leaders, local pastors and professionals, and student leaders. The roundtable dinners are hosted twice a year by Integrare, a campus ministry.

“On campus, secular scholars often do not have a lot of encounters with people of faith who are thinking very deeply,” said Kent Dahlberg, the director of Integrare.

Clark began the evening by giving attendees a chance to ponder the ethics of commemoration, pointing out psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s dis-

fessor said that anything old enough to be commemorated passes through four phases: resistance, acceptance, celebration, and alienation, “which sometimes moves

tinction between slow thinking and fast thinking. The latter is prevalent on social media.

The ethics of commemoration calls for slow thinking, said Clark. The pro-

all the way to rejection.” He used the example of Christopher Columbus as a historical figure who has gone through all four phases, including rejection, in the United States—noting how the

nation once celebrated him with a national holiday that closed schools.

Regarding Wheelock, “few people, to my knowledge, would want to go all the way to the rejection phase in thinking about [him] and the college he founded, but it’s a sign of the times that there are at least four reasons, that I’m aware of, why some of our contemporaries feel an unmistakable sense of alienation about his project,” said Clark.

Those four reasons, according to Clark, are: • Wheelock altered his original plan for a Native American school and replaced it with one that catered mostly to English settlers.

• He was a slave owner, despite hailing from Connecticut, which generally did not have plantation slavery.

• Wheelock was a relentless religious proselytizer, which in our secular age exposes him to the charge of “cultural imperialism.”

• Though a man of the cloth, “he was an operator who sometimes had to make unedifying compromises with the ways of the world.”

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Pastoors ’10 Is Exec with L.A. Rams Former Big Green defensive back Tony Pastoors, Dartmouth ’10, has helped turn the Los Angeles Rams into one of the NFL’s top teams. Pastoors works in the front office as the vice president of football and business administration. In a Catholic News Service article following the team’s 13-3 loss to New England in Super Bowl LIII, Pastoors credited his coaches and mentors at TotinoGrace, a Catholic high school in Fridley, Minnesota, for “helping him grow as a man of faith and a football player” and giving him the fortitude to persevere through losing seasons at Dartmouth and with the Rams in his early years.

Groves ’04 Writes Untangling Emotions

2019 :: christianunion.org

J. Alasdair Groves ’04, the executive director for the New England branch of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), is the co-author of Untangling Emotions (Crossway). The recentlyreleased book explores how God designed emotions for our good, and how to engage properly with emotions like fear, anger, shame, guilt, and sorrow. Groves, who is the director of CCEF’s School of Biblical Counseling, wrote Untangling Emotions with Winston T. Smith, rector at Saint Anne’s Church in Abington, Pennsylvania.

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While acknowledging Wheelock’s faults, “we certainly need to stare these aspects of his and our past in the face, but perhaps not so intently as to lose all peripheral vision,” Clark said.

“Likewise, if we look closely at ourselves, I believe we will find some hidden affinities between Wheelock’s enterprises and our own.”

Clark credited Wheelock with having an inclusive agenda, “not dramatically different from what one would find emanating out of Dartmouth’s Parkhurst Hall, even today.”

The inspiration for Wheelock’s

departure from cultural norms at the time sprang from the Great Awakening tradition, which sought to “include every person in conversion, regardless of sex, race, and status,” Clark said. “It was a major influence in the lives of women, and female education was a noted priority of the first school Wheelock founded. One reason Wheelock conceived of an Indian school was in reaction against the chauvinism of many English settlers, more eager for revenge than reconciliation.”

At the roundtable, Clark presented a reading from noted global historian Jack Goldstone entitled, “1769 and the Rise of Machines: Mechanical, Scientific, and Political.” Goldstone will be a featured speaker when the Political Economy Project hosts its academic conference on September 27-28 entitled Dartmouth and the World: Political Economy in Thought and Action @1769.

“Dartmouth’s founding — like that of America’s science-based government and the origins of modern science-based engineering — was part of the movement that literally created the modern world and changed the position of Western Civilization within world history,” Goldstone wrote.

Like many fledgling universities at the time, and like the founding fathers, Wheelock had “a deep skepticism about established, inherited authority and a commitment to local autonomy, initiative, and popular participation in Church affairs,” Clark said.

He credited Wheelock with thinking in “entirely up-to-date economic, political, even strategic terms.”

“Wheelock was a man of his times not only in his demerits, but in his merits as well.” | cu

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H A RVA RD | On Campus

Tea for Two-Hundred G R A D U AT E S C H O O L O F D E S I G N M I N I S T R Y H O S T S F I N A L S ’ E V E N T

By Eileen Scott, Contributing Writer

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his spring, the Harvard Gradu- encounter the presence of God and ate School of Design Christian the meaning of His rest,” she said.

Fellowship offered a soothing cup of “Although two hours may seem like tea and encouraging conversation to a paltry sabbath, it can feel like an 200 students in the midst of final eternity to a student who is averaging projects, writing essays, and perfect- three hours of sleep, or less, a night.”

Kuong recalled the strength and ing drawings.

On April 27, ministry leaders joy she experienced during her first hosted a Finals Tea for their colleagues at the Graduate School of Design. The event, which began four years ago, is designed to offer calm amidst the academic storm and give students an appreciation for sabbath rest. It’s a critical gesture of kindness during a time when students can become so overwhelmed they are susceptible to depression, and even thoughts of suicide, according to event coordinator and design student Vivian Kuong.

The Finals Tea was spot on in providing respite that allowed sabbath peace to permeate the lives of students who often plow Harvard Graduate School of Design student Vivian Kuong coordinated a tea for students through busy schedules without who needed a break from finals and projects. much thought of the power of rest. Kuong helped transform the Stubbins Room of Gund Hall into a year at the design school when she sanctuary; candles burned in the dim- accepted a classmate’s invitation to ly lit room that was fragranced by join him in practicing Sabbath for fresh flowers. Acoustic worship music Lent.

Before that, “It was simply imposhelped to soothe frayed nerves.

Kuong, who completed her un- sible to think of a day (or even a few dergraduate studies at the University hours) of rest in the week,” she said. of California Los Angeles, said the tea “Practicing Sabbath is definitely has become a highlight of the semes- against the culture of the school. It’s an atmosphere where everyone is tryter and finals for classmates. “[The tea] has become a means by ing to gain as much as they can.”

However, after witnessing all that which our classmates have begun to

her friend accomplished while not working on Sundays, Kuong said she was encouraged to build trust and faith in God by putting aside work and resting in His presence.

“I understand my value and identity in Christ more and learned to honor God by not being a slave to the academic institution,” she said.

Fellow Graduate School of Design student Jessica Lim was glad to have a chance to share the power of sabbath rest with others.

“The Finals Tea is an opportunity to serve my classmates, my closest neighbors in this season at school,” said Lim, a native of New Zealand and alumna of the University of Auckland. “It’s an important moment we share each semester to remember that God’s will for us is not stress and anxiety. We can freely receive peace and joy from Him.” “Many of our classmates mentioned that it was one of the best events of the semester, and they really looked forward to it,” Kuong said, noting how students are, subsequently, more receptive to engage in conversations about Christianity and faith.

All in all, the blend of community, tea drinking, and pausing for sabbath rest created an atmosphere that calmed the anxiety of overwhelmed students and pointed them toward God’s sacred peace, a peace beyond all understanding, that is accessible during finals and beyond. | cu

H A RVA RD | On Campus

Walton Leaves Memorial Church for Wake Forest S C H O L AR S E RVE D F O R S E VE N YE AR S F O LLOW IN G D E ATH O F PE TE R G O ME S

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.

While serving as the Pusey Minister in Harvard’s Memorial Church, Walton oversaw a multimillion dollar renovation to the chapel, one of the most extensive to the building in its 87-year history.

In an e-mail to Harvard affiliates on April 29, President Lawrence Bacow (JD ’76, MPP ’76, PhD ’78) described Walton’s departure as bit-

125 master of divinity students preparing to enter pulpits across the country and engage in human services. In addition, he now serves as Wake Forest’s Presidential Chair of Religion and Society.

During Walton’s formative years, his family discussed current events, civil rights, and social justice, helping to form the foundation for his scholarship, theology, and social activism.

A religious scholar and ethicist, Wal-

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ton attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned a master of divinity degree and doctor of philosophy in religion and society. From 2006 to 2010, Walton was assistant professor of religious studies at the University of California, Riverside.

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tersweet. “Jonathan has dramatically altered spiritual life at Harvard through leadership infused with compassion and love,” Bacow wrote.

In July, Walton transitioned to his role as dean of Wake Forest School of Divinity, where he will shape about

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Jonathon Walton, Harvard University’s minister of Memorial Church, stepped down to become dean of Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity.

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arvard’s minister of Memorial Church has stepped down after seven years of service to become dean of Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity. Jonathon Walton, who also served as Harvard’s Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, is a highly-regarded scholar and author.

In 2012, Harvard appointed the Atlanta native to Memorial Church, where he succeeded the university’s beloved, longtime minister Peter Gomes ’68 after his unexpected passing. Walton began his stint on the faculty of Harvard Divinity School in 2010.

While at Harvard, he focused his research on the intersection of religion, politics, and culture, and frequently spoke out about social issues on campus and beyond.

After his departure announcement on April 28, Walton described his experiences in the pulpit at the center of Harvard Yard with fondness to The Harvard Gazette, the university’s official news outlet. “The Memorial Church embraced me and helped me to grow intellectually and spiritually,” he said.

To make the church more welcoming, Walton introduced a weekly coffee meeting for community members following Wednesday morning prayers and expanded the scope of speakers at weekday prayer services.

Likewise, Walton tried to make Memorial Church feel like a home, an undergraduate worshipper told The

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In 2012, the ordained Baptist minister succeeded Gomes, a Harvard fixture who showcased his wit to address contemporary issues from the pulpit. He died in 2011 after about 40 years of service as minister of Memorial Church. Walton’s appointment followed a yearlong search to replace the skilled orator.

a sermon on campus traditions and addressed graduating seniors about life outside Cambridge, according to an obituary.

Time magazine called Gomes one of the nation’s best preachers in 1979, and The New Yorker once commented on the cadence of his rich baritone.

While it may have been a daunt-

Walton focused his research on the intersection of religion, politics, and culture, and frequently spoke out about social issues on campus and beyond.

In his role, Gomes, Harvard ’68, was among the first and the last Harvard figures to address undergraduates. Also an ordained Baptist minister, he welcomed freshmen with

ing task to replace Gomes, Walton owned the post by highlighting Memorial Church’s history and expanding outreach to the wider community, according to the Gazette. An

avid sports fan, Walton also regularly attended Harvard athletic events and hosted tailgate parties.

Walton serves on boards for Princeton Theological Seminary and Washington University in St. Louis. A series of national and international news outlets have featured the versatile scholar’s research. Still, for Walton, ecclesiastical causes remain central. In 2018, as Memorial Church wrapped up its major renovations, Walton reminded worshippers that the historic building is “so much more than bricks and mortar” or a tribute to Harvard’s storied past.

“MemChurch is a vibrant, active community of students — students whom we are confident will help shape a more just, loving, and beautiful world,” he said. | cu

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Glendon Leads Commission on Unalienable Rights

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Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, a pro-life advocate and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will chair the U.S. State Department’s new Commission on Unalienable Rights. The diverse, bipartisan commission, which also includes Harvard sociologist Jacqueline Rivers, will advise U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on international human rights.

“It’s a sad commentary on our times that more than 70 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, gross violations continue throughout the world, sometimes even in the name of

human rights,” Pompeo said in a Baptist Press article. “The time is right for an informed review of the role of human rights in American foreign policy.”

“Do You Live Like You Believe?”

Ifeoluwa T. Obayan ’19, an opinion writer with The Harvard Crimson, challenged Christian students to a deeper faith walk and a greater witness with her article, “Do You Live Like You Believe in His Death?” The column appeared a few days after Easter.

“When I was younger, it was easy to associate Easter with bunnies, colorful eggs, scavenger hunts, and holiday-themed

chocolate because of mainstream culture…” wrote Obayan, a biomedical engineering and social anthropology joint concentrator.

“But, it wasn’t until I truly encountered God halfway through college and began to develop a personal relationship with Him that the message of Easter — unsolicited grace extended to me, a sinner — started to sink in deeper.”

P E N N | On Campus

Serving in Center City

P E N N S T U D E N T S V O L U N T E E R AT E M M A N U E L M I N I S T R Y

By Emily Solomon, Penn ’22

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Nahima Saliba, Penn ’20, appreciated the sense of community among volunteers and guests, and the joy that comes from serving.

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ost students cherish Saturday day and see if anyone has any dietary ate approach: “We believe that because mornings as a precious time restrictions. This approach makes God has come to dwell with us and to sleep in. However, for some un- everyone who walks through the door the world in Jesus, so too we, as a derclassmen at Penn, it’s a wonder- feel like a valued individual who is church community, are called to dwell in and serve the holistic ful time to venture into needs of the world.”

Center City to prepare Nahima Saliba, Penn and serve meals for the ’20, appreciated the sense Emmanuel Ministry at of community among volLiberti Church Center unteers and guests, and the City. joy that comes from servEvery week, Liberti ing.

Church opens its doors for “The warmth that the volunteers to serve over volunteers shared with one 100 individuals who are another was beautiful to experiencing homelessness watch,” she said. and food insecurity. On a Since September recent Saturday, some 2016, Emmanuel has Penn students arrived at partnered with Bethesda Liberti Church and were Project, a homeless serimmediately greeted by Chef Matt Solano (center) and volunteers in the kitchen at vices organization, to head chef Matt Soldano, Emmanuel Ministry provide on-the-ground who gave marching orders.

The instructions to “divide and con- respected and truly loved. Right be- services to their guests. This allows quer” ensures that the meal is ready fore the servers bring out the food, them to broaden their engagement to be served by noon when the dining one of the pastors at Liberti gives a with chronically homeless individuhall is filled with guests. At about short sermon and prays over the meal. als on a weekly basis by providing 11:30 a.m., volunteers from various The servers then bring out the hot them with toiletry donations and churches and organizations gather to pray over the meal, make any urgent announcements, and decide who will prep plates and who will wait tables.

The Emmanuel Ministry does not serve the food the way most homeless shelters do, through a food line that produces little interaction between food, delivered with a personal touch. other supplies. Twice each month, guests and servers; instead, food is Once the flow slows down, volunteers Emmanuel has a group of local denserved restaurant style. Waiters and can feel free to sit with their table and tal and podiatry students on hand waitresses start by introducing them- get to know their guests better through who promote good hygiene and refer individuals for treatment. Lastly, selves and learning the names of ev- conversation. eryone at their table. Then they The mission statement of Emman- a pastor is always at Emmanuel to announce the food options for that uel Ministry sums up its compassion- offer spiritual guidance and care for

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anyone—guests or volunteers.

In the last three years, Emmanuel Ministry has served over 3,000 meals and helped guests find housing through Bethesda Project Services.

Chef Soldano is the point person when the guests ask about housing.

Since partnering with Bethesda Project, over 200 people have been able to find temporary housing, and 25

individuals have moved to permanent housing.

“We make sure people are cared for holistically—mind, body, and spirit,” Soldano said. | cu

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P E N N | On Campus

Prayerfully Pro-Life at Penn

DIERKES ’20 IS A LE ADER WITH NEWMAN CENTER

By Lou Baldwin The following article originally appeared at www.CatholicPhilly.com. Reprinted with permission.

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here are almost 22,000 students at the University of Pennsylvania, of which more than 10,000 are undergrads. The university’s pro-life group, Quakers for Life, formerly Penn for Life, has maybe 15-20 core active members, according to a group leader, Theresa Dierkes, a senior majoring in nursing.

If that can be somewhat like John the Baptist, a voice crying out in the wilderness, Dierkes could take comfort in being one of three honorees at the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia’s annual Stand Up For Life Dinner last winter.

There were more than 1,200 committed pro-lifers in attendance. Her award was the John and Harriet Stanton Award, named for the Pro-Life Union pioneers.

Dierkes’ own pro-life passions could be genetic. Years ago, her dad was arrested while witnessing for life at an abortion clinic. She is number five of the eight children of Meg and Bill Dierkes and was home-schooled during her elementary grades, something she would consider doing for

her own children in the future. From there she went on to Merion Mercy Academy and while the teaching at the school was definitely pro-life, Dierkes was surprised to learn that many

logical in a Catholic school that there would be people who are not pro-life,” she said. “I would understand it in a non-Catholic school, but it was hard to grasp in a Catholic school.”

University of Pennsylvania student Theresa Dierkes, center, received the John and Harriet Stanton Award at the annual dinner hosted by the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia.

of the students were not, and simply would not even discuss it, which was frustrating.

“It is hard to understand where it was coming from. It just seemed il-

Her own personal commitment to the cause really solidified around her sophomore year in high school through a retreat at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. “During

Adoration, I really felt a calling to do something more for the pro-life movement,” she said.

That calling didn’t gel until she got to Penn and joined the Newman Catholic Center, of which she is now an executive board member.

Although music has always been part of her life, both as a singer and instrumentalist, she dropped out of Penn Singers to focus more on the life issues. With that said, music and song are still an important part of her praise and worship.

Over the years, she has made the annual March for Life in Washington many times. In January, she was part of a busload going to the march, com-

bining students from Penn, Drexel University, and the University of the Sciences.

Meanwhile, as a very hectic schedule permits, she witnesses before abortion facilities as part of Forty Days for Life, which can be distressing when women enter the clinic, but exhilarating when some change their minds.

“When you are praying outside, you may think you are not doing enough, but your prayers can make a difference,” she said. “It’s slow work and sometimes you think you aren’t making a difference, but you are.”

But you don’t have to go to a clinic to pray. At the university, she has

also organized a small prayer group that prays for women and the unborn at nearby St. Agatha–St. James Church.

As for the future, pro-life activity will continue. After college, “I want to go into labor and delivery nursing, or go into school nursing,” she said.

“You can do a lot in a school by approaching pro-life as a biological issue.”

If anything, she will be even more active. “In college, you have so little time,” she said.

However she approaches it, prayer will definitely be part of the picture. | cu

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Rupert Hayles

emotional intelligence, authentic leadership, and fruit of the Spirit. He also serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Organization & People Dynamics, Inc., an organizational consulting firm focusing on human and organizational development. His books include: The Church and Emotional Intelligence and Practical Strategy: Aligning Business with Information Technology.

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Rupert A. Hayles, Jr. was recently named Chief Operating Officer of Pillar College in Newark, New Jersey. A former pastor, Hayles earned an MBA in decision sciences and finance from Wharton in 1994 and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Regent University, focusing on

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Students at the University of Pennsylvania participated in a vigil on campus in the aftermath of the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.

The Office of the Chaplain, along with Penn Catholic Newman Community (newman.upenn. edu) and Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture (collegiuminstitute.org), invited students to attend a service on April 24 near the Benjamin Franklin statue. The gathering marked the third Penn vigil of the academic year to honor the lives of individuals killed in religiously motivated mass attacks. In the latest tragedy, suicide bombers killed at least 253 people and injured about 500 individuals at churches and hotels on Easter morning.

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Wharton Alumnus Named COO of Pillar College

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Vigil Held in Wake of Sri Lanka Attacks

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PR I N C E T O N | On Campus

White Picket Fences and Race

ACCL AIMED BOOK BY BECKER ’98 FOS TERS DISCUSSION

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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“This has just been a steady book,” National Cathedral School in Washmy Julia Becker's newest book on race is generating accolades said Becker, who noted White Picket ington, D.C., as part of a series on Fences has been used as reading ma- diversity in April. and nationwide interest.

As she encounters readers and White Picket Fences: Turning to- terial for churches, seminaries, and ward Love in a World Divided by Priv- even colleges. Becker also receives listeners of all ages and backgrounds, ilege won an an award of merit as part frequent emails from admirers who Becker explains that life behind a of Christianity Today’s 2019 book share how her poignant writings have white picket fence can both restrict and protect. It also can prevent awards. In the NavPress pubresidents from loving their lication, Becker explains how neighbors well. In a small she began reconsidering her town within North Carolina’s background as an Ivy-League Inner Banks region, Becker educated mother and wife. grew up within walking disSince the book’s release in tance of a local plantation, but October 2018, its narrative has without the full context of the resonated with readers in dihistory of slavery. verse corners of the country.

In addition to hitting the “I am called to communicate road for conferences and book biblical truth and ideas to spirtours, Becker also has particiitual seekers,” said Becker, pated in more than a dozen Princeton ’98. “I’ve spoken podcasts in recent months. In everywhere from Connecticut Credit: Eddie Bermel a blog, Becker noted that travto Colorado and down South.”

Amy Julia Becker ’98 has appeared across the nation eling across the country to Through White Picket discuss privilege and healing Fences, Becker shares the to discuss the concepts at the heart of her newest book, White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a divisions has underscored some charm of her comfortable World Divided by Privilege. key thoughts. “There is a deep childhood in the Deep South, fear of this topic, but an even her adult experiences in the deeper longing to address it,” she wrote.

Northeast, and the denials she has changed their perspectives.

Such concepts were not far from In April, Becker, an alumna of faced as the mother of a special-needs child. Husband Peter Becker, Yale MA Princeton Theological Seminary, was Becker when she penned a column ’11, is head of The Gunnery, a prep a featured guest at the Q Conference about her journey for a March issue 2019 in Nashville. Q Conferences of Princeton Alumni Weekly. She noted school in western Connecticut.

Robust interest in White Picket highlight talks on the state of Amer- she arrived at Princeton as a “stereoFences, in the shadow of ongoing ra- ican culture and the ways Christians typical student,” one who attended cial issues on the national scene, has can navigate the complexity of a boarding school and was part of a lineage of family members hailing from generated myriad speaking opportu- changing society.

In other events, Becker spoke to institutions like Princeton. nities for the seasoned writer. After During an African-American litoverwhelming response to the 240- 1,000-plus students during a chapel erature class at Princeton, Becker page book, the mother of three even service at Asbury University in Febreleased a supplemental guide with ruary. She also appeared at a parents’ began to consider the “norms of event and before the student body of whiteness as a social force pervading discussion questions in February.

my life and the lives around me.”

Such classes “upended the simple narrative I had been taught and had told myself about my hometown, my childhood, and my history as a white American,” she wrote.

As a result, Becker picked up a certificate in African-American studies from Princeton. “My view of the world had shifted through those classes, but my place in the world remained the same,” she wrote.

Since graduating from Princeton, Becker’s essays on faith, family, and disability have appeared in an array of publications, including The Wash-

ington Post and The New York Times.

Likewise, giving birth to a daughter with Down syndrome thrust Becker into new experiences that reshaped her perspectives, especially on the addictive esteem intertwined with intellectualism.

As an academic success story, Becker previously assumed people with similar strengths possessed superior value within meritocratic societies. Today, Becker readily reflects upon the cherished gifts, perspectives, and life lessons she has received from her daughter Penny.

Later, as a mother to a growing

family, Becker realized she needed to educate her children about racial injustice within the United States. Such steps led Becker to be more intentional — to speak about the “problems of whiteness with white audiences, and to invite people of color to take up leadership positions for which they were overlooked before,” Becker wrote.

Today, such efforts are serving as the foundation for timely national discussions. As a writer, Becker treasures her role inviting people into these conversations. | cu

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PR I N C E T O N | On Campus

“God’s Language of the Universe”

A G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T ’ S F A I T H J O U R N E Y T H R O U G H M AT H E M AT I C S

By Jon Garaffa, Princeton ’20

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this means there is a sense of ‘math as God’s language’…” he speculates.

While some in academia might paint the STEM fields as antagonistic to faith, he has acquired a greater appreciation of the God-given world around him, precisely because of his course of study. O’Dorney even thinks that math might help one’s contemplation of what is possible with God in heaven.

“One thing math can do is fuel our imaginations,” he mentioned. “You can imagine a being that can actually do infinite operations and can solve problems that no human can.”

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completed Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge, one of the most challenging mathematics courses in the world. Having received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program award in support of his research, O’Dorney is currently undergoing his doctoral studies under Fields Medal winner Manjul Bhargava.

To O’Dorney, there is a sense that math is necessary: since the starting assumptions that ground mathematics have not been proven to be consistent, they must be taken on faith. “Maybe

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rinceton mathematics student Evan O’Dorney’s accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary. Yet, even with his many feats, he gives all glory to God. A trailblazer among the next generation of mathematicians, O’Dorney credits his Catholic faith as the source of his exceptional work ethic.

While homeschooled in California, he medaled four times in the International Math Olympiad and won the Intel Science Talent Search at the national level. After graduating from Harvard summa cum laude, he

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At Princeton, O’Dorney is primarily involved with the Aquinas Institute, the university’s Catholic campus ministry. Within Aquinas, the students share his values and can discuss world issues with him from a faith

“so I can pray in union with them.”

Outside of the mathematics realm, O’Dorney is captivated by the world of classical music. A composer, he cites Bach and Beethoven as some of his greatest inspirations. Fittingly, his en-

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Princeton doctoral candidate Evan O’Dorney glorifies God through his amazing mathematical abilities.

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perspective. Since coming to Princeton, he has gained a new appreciation for Christian community. He welcomes the inspiration and encouragement that he receives from his fellow Catholics, especially given the challenges that come with his course of study. As an introvert, he especially appreciates the chattier personalities within the group that keep the conversation going.

O’Dorney also enjoys his individual devotions and practices. As part of his daily routine, he prays the Rosary alone or with a buddy, and reads the Bible alongside a devotional book.

He also finds it useful to journal and pray each morning and night. Although it is difficult to keep his devotions amid a busy and often unpredictable schedule, he holds firm.

“I know that there are plenty of other Christians around the world that are subject to time pressure,” he said,

deavors in music are also closely linked with his faith. “With classical music, you get a sense of progress toward heaven, a sense of things presented as a little bit askew and made right, and a sense of the triumph of truth, represented by the major triad at the end of the piece,” he explained. In addition, O’Dorney often hops on the piano to catch a break from life’s stresses. “All my life, the deeper need has been for peace and calmness,” he declared.

“That is almost always the main goal of my musical improvisation.”

As O’Dorney’s research begins to wrap up, his friends are eager to see how he can continue to glorify God in the mathematics community. Still, for him, math is but a foretaste of the splendor ahead in Christ.

“Math,” he said, “is certainly only a tiny fraction of what is true and what exists in the realms that God has created.” | cu

p r in c et o n ne w s - in - b r ie f

“Faith and Migration” On May 1, Manna Christian Fellowship, Princeton University Office of Religious Life, and the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice hosted the “Faith and Migration” dinner discussion with Andrew Fuys, Senior Director of the Immigration & Refugee Program at Church World Services. The lecture and Q and A session examined the role that Christian humanitarian aid organizations, like Church World Services, play in combating global refugee crises and serving the world’s most vulnerable migrant groups.

Gospel Ensemble Closes Year with Showcase The Princeton University Gospel Ensemble (PUGE) celebrated the end of the academic year with an exhilarating concert.

The student-directed group performed May 12 at McCosh Hall. The ensemble showcased a repertoire of high-energy spirituals, hymns, contemporary gospel, and a cappella.

During the concert, PUGE took time to pray for contemporary events and to celebrate seniors. In addition, Darina Kamikazi ’21 gave a testimony about God’s grace to her family in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, as a nod to the 25th anniversary of the horrific campaign.

S TA N FORD | On Campus

Stewarding an ‘Extraordinary Legacy’ D A L R Y M P L E ’ 9 8 I S N E W P R E S I D E N T O F C H R I S T I A N I T Y T O D AY

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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summer

2019 :: christianunion.org

Dalrymple even met his wife Joyce As for Dalrymple, the one-time s he settles into his new role as president and chief executive of- national champion gymnast grew up ’99 at Stanford, and the pair helped ficer, a Stanford University alumnus in the San Francisco Bay area, where to shepherd a Christian unity movehas expansive dreams for Christianity his father served in ministerial roles. ment across campus. The couple reAt Stanford, Dalrymple was active in cently settled near Wheaton College, Today.

In May, Timothy Dalrymple ’98 campus ministry and even served as where they reside with their daughters, assumed the helm of the global media president of the university’s Campus ages 10, 7, and 4. Joyce Dalrymple, organization founded by the late Crusade (Cru) chapter and ventured an Atlanta native who has spent much of her career as an attorney focused evangelist Billy Graham. Among his on overseas missionary trips.

Dalrymple described his under- upon immigration, is transitioning to aspirations for the magazine are commitments to rich storytelling and graduate days at Stanford as “pro- full-time vocational ministry.

As for Tim Dalrymple, the former foundly transformative” to his core thought leadership.

Dalrymple envisions Christianity spirituality. “I found myself in a col- Olympic hopeful earned a master of divinity from Princeton Today sharing the “most Theological Seminary and powerful stories of our age” a doctoral degree (’09) in while expanding its global Modern Western Religious reach and better reflecting Thought at Harvard Unithe diversity of the Amerversity. While in Massachuican church. Dalrymple setts, he served in graduate described the legacy of the and faculty ministry with publication as extraordiInterVarsity Christian Felnary, but the future as even lowship. more dynamic.

In 2013, Dalrymple “Christianity Today established Polymath, a possesses the legacy, the marketing and communicredibility, the resources, cations agency that supand the worldwide reach Credit: Courtesy of Timothy Dalrymple ports clients such as the to tell the story of the globTim Dalrymple ’98 recently assumed the helm of Christianity Museum of the Bible and al church in ways it has Today as president and chief executive officer. the American Enterprise never been told before,” Institute. During a term Dalrymple said upon the announcement of his appointment. lege fellowship surrounded by other from 2008 to 2014 at Patheos.com, Dalrymple succeeded Harold believers passionate about faith. It was Dalrymple served as managing editor Smith, who retired after 35 years with the first time I felt fully at home in a of the evangelical division, director of content, and vice president of busiChristianity Today, including a dozen faith community.”

Not only were they remarkably ness development. as president. Under Smith’s leadership, Given Dalrymple’s background in the organization reduced its print devout, many of Dalrymple’s Christian offerings and beefed up its digital peers also were extraordinarily talent- campus ministry, it comes as little content. It also implemented a process ed, ambitious, and intellectual. “The surprise that the seasoned believer to diversify its staff and expand its relationships I have made have been desires to cultivate deeper relationships with Christian leaders at research absolutely critical,” he said. interaction with the global church.

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universities and showcase talent from such institutions.

“We believe God has given us an expansive vision of storytelling for the global church,” he said. “The next generation of writers and thinkers will be part of helping us to achieve this mission.”

Christianity Today published its inaugural issue in 1956, several years after God planted a vision for the magazine inside the heart of Rev. Graham. Today, the organization offers a variety of Web sites and publications. Its flagship magazine, a leading evangelical publication for news and opinion, reaches millions of believers every month. The Illinois-based ministry’s mission is summed up in the phrase beautiful orthodoxy: “In a world in desperate need of truth, goodness, and beauty, Christianity Today strengthens the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beau-

tiful gospel.”

In February, Christianity Today’s board voted to appoint Dalrymple as president after a nine-month nationwide search. In a ministry video, Dalrymple reflected upon his life-altering decision to join the organization and relocate his family from Georgia after sensing a powerful divine calling.

Dalrymple was well-versed in Christianity Today’s “extraordinary legacy,” but his young family was comfortably settled in metro Atlanta.

During a solo nighttime prayer session, Dalrymple sensed the Lord saying, “My bride is beautiful, and she needs a storyteller.” With that, he seized a commitment to share the accounts of men and women across the globe who are “following the call of Jesus and doing self-sacrificial, world-changing things.”

Fast-forward to summer 2019, Dalrymple is excited about opportunities to “tell the most powerful stories

of our age” in a variety of formats.

While Christianity Today is rooted in print and online text, the media powerhouse wants to expand its reach via audio and video.

“I believe God is calling us to a soaring, historic vision,” he said.

Shortly after joining Christianity Today, Dalrymple reflected upon the poignant memory of hearing America’s pastor preach in San Francisco in 1997. Graham offered a straightforward Gospel presentation, one that was “unembarrassed, unapologetic, unadorned,” Dalrymple wrote for the magazine in June. During an altar call, hundreds of individuals came forward to embrace Christ as personal savior.

“The work of God is not about the fireworks of human talent,” Dalrymple noted. “It’s about faithfulness to a divine call.” | cu

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the magazine

Word Study Without Walls

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ReJOYce in Jesus Campus Fellowship at Stanford University hosted “Word Study Without Walls” this summer at the Oval on campus. Organizers of the weekly Bible study said it is “a great opportunity to enjoy fellowship, praise, God’s Word, food, and the beautiful outdoors all at the same time!” ReJOYce in Jesus Campus Fellowship is “a spirit-filled Bible study and fellowship group that seeks to challenge individuals to pursue a deep, personal relationship with Jesus and teach

practical steps to applying God’s Word to all aspects of their lives.”

Joy, Suffering, and the Pursuit of Wholeness On May 15, the Veritas Forum at Stanford University presented an event entitled “Living Well: Joy, Suffering, and the Pursuit of Wholeness.” Key questions included: When faced with illness and suffering, can we retain a sense of meaning and flourishing?; Or is our wholeness dependent on our health, our bodies, our fragile and fallible physiologies? Those

questions were addressed by Ray Barfield, a pediatric oncologist at Duke University, director of Duke’s pediatric palliative care program, and professor of Christian philosophy at Duke Divinity School, and BJ Miller, a palliative care physician at The University of California, San Francisco, senior director of Zen Hospice Project, a tripleamputee, and a leading figure on death, dying, and end-of-life care.

Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford, moderated the discussion.

YA L E | On Campus

“Easter on Cross” YA L E M I N I S T R I E S U N I T E F O R C A M P U S S E R V I C E

By Cassandra Hsaio, Yale ’21

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of such a large crowd. Riddle spoke about a time in the fall semester when she felt God’s presence and comfort as her hometown of Paradise, California, burned in the wildfires.

“I hope it was an encouragement to believers who feel far from God, to be willing to seek Him in their mess, and an invitation to people who

the lawn and lifted their hands to God. Even though it started pouring halfway through the event, nobody left—everyone shared their umbrellas and huddled under raincoats while still singing their hearts out, praising the Lord. Worship songs included: “Forever,” by Kari Jobe, and “How Great Is Our God,” by Chris Tomlin.

Credit: Yale Students for Christ

Yale students performed spoken word, shared testimonies, and led worship on Easter Sunday in the heart of Yale’s campus.

:: christianunion.org

“We sang songs of praise to God on Cross Campus in front of Sterling [Library] with all these residential colleges surrounding us; it was really huge. I hope God was pleased,” said John Park ’21. For Park, Easter is not a light-hearted celebration, but rather, a declaration in the midst of darkness of an amazing victory. “There is so much brokenness in our world, but because Christ died on the cross and rose again, we have hope.” | cu

2019

don’t know God to realize that there’s such richness of love and beauty in Him,” she said.

Jenna Shin ’21, who spearheaded the committee for the Easter service, said it was “surreal” to hear the familiar worship songs on Cross Campus and see her Christian friends bring non-Christians to the event. “I am so happy that all the ministries were able to come together,” said Shin.

It was a powerful sight to behold as hundreds of people gathered on

summer

or an early Sunday morning, Yale’s campus was unusually bustling.

Joy was in the air: it was Easter Sunday. Yalies and New Haveners alike put on their best—floral dresses, proper suits—and traveled in groups to various church services. In the middle of campus, a handful of volunteers from Christian ministries at Yale worked to set up a stage. For months, an inter-ministry student committee had been planning a public celebration to take place that afternoon dubbed “Easter on Cross,” referring to Yale’s beloved courtyard, Cross Campus.

Participating ministries included: Athletes in Action, Black Church at Yale, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, Christian Union, United Church of Westville, and Yale Students for Christ. The student committee poured their hearts into logistics, getting permission from Yale, reaching out to student volunteers, and spreading the word.

The one-hour program, held on April 21 in the afternoon, featured four student testimonies, a worship team, and a spoken word performance. The topics of the testimonies ranged from God reaching out in the midst of depression to supernatural dream encounters with Jesus. The student speakers were diverse in their faith journey backgrounds, from former atheists to Christians raised in the faith.

Serena Riddle ’21 was excited and nervous about giving her testimony— she had never shared her story in front

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YA L E | On Campus

A Magnanimous Soul IN MEMORIAM: JOHN AROUTIOUNIAN

By Kayla Bartsch, Yale ’20

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he first time I met John Arou- conference. His presence spanned across and a Young Friend of the New York tiounian was at an alumni re- all corners of campus –– he served as Philharmonic. John embraced his Arunion for the Federalist Party, my a staff columnist for the Yale Daily News, menian heritage in all things. He grew debating society within the Yale Speaker to the Yale Political Union, and up in the Armenian Apostolic Church, Political Union. He gallivanted into Freshman Counselor for Jonathan Ed- and studied its traditions and teachings with love throughout his life. John was our makeshift debate hall wearing wards College.

A double-major in Ethics, Politics devoted to understanding the dissoa black cloak, his signature hornrimmed spectacles, with a mischie- and Economics (EP&E) and History, nances between East and West in the Church –– ultimately convous twinkle in his eye. verting to Roman CatholOn the debate floor, he icism while retaining his commanded attention love for the Armenian by his unmatched eloChurch, John’s life itself quence and exuberance. served as a bridge between With a coy smile and the the two. His deep faith gargantuan lexicon of an guided him throughout accomplished polyglot, he his life and provided him ravaged the position of his with strength when life opponents, nonchalantly took an unforeseeable weaving in historical anturn. ecdotes about the bygone In January of 2018, Armenian Kingdom of Credit: Big Think John was diagnosed with Cilicia to accentuate his cancer. One of his dear point. John, however, John Aroutiounian was remembered as a Christian who made an impact on campus. friends and mentors, Prowreaked destruction in fessor Margarita Mooney, a manner so charismatic and so kind, that his opposition often John received his B.A. in 2015 before spoke of John that he “chose to suffer found themselves conceding with a going on to Oxford to receive his Mas- quietly, without a lot of attention. smile. ters in Classical and Ancient Studies John was a self-giver. He wanted to As evidenced by his debate perfor- in 2017. While John had an undeni- care for others. He didn’t want the mance, he wasn’t merely a bright stu- able passion for academia, his heart spotlight on himself.” After 16 months dent, but one of the brightest. In a was set on working in the world to of valiant battle, he passed away in seminar with John, the tenor of the class serve and protect the vulnerable. He the beginning of May. Mooney, a former Yale professor shifted from elevator music to a Vival- enrolled at Columbia University Law di concerto –– it couldn’t be helped. School, with a focus on global politics who is now an associate professor at He knew and loved several languages, and human rights, and with an expect- Princeton Theological Seminary, eulogized John at his funeral mass at St. including Armenian, Italian, Spanish, ed graduation date in spring 2020. and Latin. While an undergraduate at Born and raised on the Upper West Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. She Yale, John was deeply involved in spir- Side of New York City to Armenian described John as “a person for others. itual life on campus, including the for- parents, John was an ardent lover of Generous to an heroic degree. The mative years of Christian Union at Yale high culture. He was an excellent pi- creditor in almost every relationship.” and Vita et Veritas, the annual pro-life ano player, a connoisseur of the arts, Throughout his battle with cancer,

Mooney noted that John “had a soul and heart that desired truth, beauty, goodness and the infinite. As his sufferings grew, his faith grew, and therefore, his natural ability to love others expanded as well.”

Professor Mooney walked alongside John through the twilight of his life: “….Not long before he died, he told me how much he loved liturgy. To worship God, John said, was the most human thing we can do because to be in the presence of our Creator fulfills the deepest desires of our humanity. I went to Mass with John on March 31st. He was suffering so much that he could barely walk or stand. But he was there, worshipping God with all he could muster. It moved me to tears.”

While I only met John a few times, he left a bright and solid impression.

This was something particularly wonderful about John––he had the ability to impact the lives of nearly everyone he came across. Luke Foster, Columbia ’15, wrote of his close friend: “From taking me to a magnificent divine liturgy at St. Vartan’s, the only Armenian Orthodox cathedral in the United States, to latenight discussions of the spiritual meaning of ‘Brideshead Revisited,’ to eating giant vegan cupcakes during his Lenten abstention from meat, John was a rare soul who radiated joy without ever being saccharine, who displayed copious learning without a hint of pedantry, who loved Jesus without any pride in his own virtue.”

David Brooks, a columnist for The New York Times, well-known author, and senior fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, taught John while he studied at Yale. Brooks honored him with a telling Twitter post: “John Aroutiounian, one of my best and funniest students ever, dies of cancer at 26. Once, over coffee, he leaned over and said, ‘We’re so hungry!’ Spiritual hunger he meant.”

While John will be deeply missed, there is consolation in the hunger-satisfying hope of heaven. As Foster described, “While losing him early on in our earthly pilgrimage together has been a painful blow, I have every confidence that the saints in glory have witnessed his being welcomed among them with the divine commendation, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’” | cu

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Yale Honors Renowned Organist

christianunion.org

and cathedrals, and performance venues throughout the world.

During 2019-20, Jon Laukvik, one of the world’s premier organists, will take up Murray’s teaching duties as a visiting professor.

::

Church of St. Paul in Boston.

At Yale, Murray was involved in the Marquand Chapel music program and served as organist and choir director at Battell Chapel. Graduates of Credit: Robert Lisak Murray’s classes assumed Yale University Organist top positions in the Thomas Murray academy, in churches

2019

During graduation festivities, Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music honored the retirement of Thomas Murray, esteemed Yale University organist and professor in the practice of organ.

In 1981, Murray joined the faculties of the School of Music and the Institute of Sacred Music after an eight-year stint as organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral

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pa rt ing shot

||

Brown || Photo credit: Sara Beth Turner

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class of 2 y, it s r e iv n u d r stanfo Jose Reyes '19

bi, Kenya Hometown: Nairo edia Studies pus Major: Film and M t filmmaker on cam en ud st e tiv Ac : es Campus Activiti

h. My own father , and untimely deat ce en ol vi , rty ve po e her, accepted rienc e church by my mot ere many people expe th in wh high d a, ise ny ra Ke s in wa I up “ I grew to the U.S. to attend Thankfully, . ed ol ov ho m sc I n gh he hi W in s n. wa in my educatio ed at Stanford and passed away while I d was able to press on ctual aspects of the Bible. Then I arriv an , or vi Sa y m as ist Word to justify telle Jesus Chr -depth study of the my faith and the in in d , ne ed tio id es gu qu a r ly fo us y rio school, I se rses. I was read of wisdom. ian Union Bible Cou ’s unending wealth od learned about Christ G of ng di an rst my unde ar, I am my faith and solidify ng members. This ye di un fo its of e on e e daily m e at Stanford, I beca . Jesus strengthens m e ap es sh iti tiv ok ac to s its ita of ar C all d ength and grac executive team an As Christian Union ing. You need that str oversee the student tir I t t. ou en th id wi es rs pr he nt ot de e in an intellectually serv the stu love in my heart to Times get very hard . ts rd pu fo e an H of my St d e an lik s le, ro pu for this at a cam eat assurance. One lly gr cia of pe ce es ur r, so de a is lea lp istian e ever-present he strongest weapon when you are a Chr wing that God is th oject this year. The pr no y K ar t. en im pr nm y ro m vi be en ll our own wit at wi demanding ce. We cannot rely on t, will touch sting initiatives—th fa an d id an gu r er fo ay pr im r H ste g roles is to fo God and seekin h the Holy Spiri osal is calling out to ing that God, throug ay pr am I . m lis we have at our disp ge an kingdom.” y God’s mission of ev bring them into His to rd and strength to carr fo an St at s nd ts of thousa the minds and hear

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