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Christian Union the magazine :: spring 2020

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Christian Union New York: Os Guinness Speaks in Manhattan Christian Union Day & Night: The Nationwide Forty-Day Fast The Spiritual Climate on Campus: News from some of the nation’s leading universities

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Commencement for Caritas (Stanford) / 20 The Voice in the Water (Cornell) / 22 A New Identity (Penn) / 24 chris tian union univer sities Columbia / 26 Yale / 28 Princeton / 30 Dartmouth / 32 Harvard / 34 Harvard Law / 36 Brown / 38 chris tian union cities New York Christian Union / 40

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©2020 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.

Given the level of wickedness in the United States and elsewhere, it should not be surprising that God is bringing judgment.

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3 were called to repent by Jesus Christ.

Because we live in a culture where few read the Scriptures, it can be easily forgotten that, in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying to the apostles. In Acts 12, Herod was struck down because he refused to give glory to God. The Christians in the city of Corinth were judged

by God with illness and even death because of the ungodly way they were taking the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).

Given the level of wickedness in the United States and elsewhere, it should not be surprising that God is bringing judgment.

Jesus wanted to make sure that we understood judgment correctly. In Luke 13:15 (when He notes how Pilate killed a number of Galileans and how eighteen died when the Tower of Siloam fell), Jesus explains that the survivors were not any more righteous than the dead. The current pestilence disproportionately affects men, elderly, and the obese. This doesn’t mean they are more guilty than others, but as Jesus said, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

My prayer for every person in America during this crisis is that we would take time to examine ourselves and repent of all sin so that we are fully aligned with the one and only living God. Yours in Christ,

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A Call To Repentance

his pandemic has surprised me in ways that I had not expected.

Who would have thought that a worldwide pestilence would produce so little self-examination in the church of Jesus Christ? At best, there has been lip service to repentance, and most of the time it’s not even mentioned as a necessary response to COVID-19. Many Christian leaders seem to view themselves primarily as comforters, and not so much as shepherds who are entrusted to provide needed correction, so that the flock of God prospers.

In the ESV version of the Bible, the word pestilence (which means “disease”) occurs 52 times, and is connected to sin and the need for repentance 49 times. In three instances (two of which are in Psalm 91), it is not clear, from the context, regarding the source or purpose of the pestilence.

In all these cases, pestilence is brought by God and not by Satan. God would never allow Satan to have that much authority.

He allowed Satan to harass Job and his family, but that was on a small scale, not a matter affecting many thousands of people.

In response to the pestilence mentioned in Ezekiel 38:22, the Lord (in the next verse) says, “So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Therefore, one should assume that this worldwide pestilence is from God, and, as a result of sin, He is calling us to repentance. It is possible this is not the case, but the burden of proof should be on the person who claims otherwise, given the history in the Scriptures.

This reality may seem harsh, but it’s worth remembering that five of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and

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Matthew Bennett

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feature section :: spring 2020 ‘Turning from Our Wicked Ways’ / 6 Zooming in / 8 John Piper / 10 Q and A with Professor Timothy Flanigan / 11 Shock and Awe / 14 Our Refuge and Strength / 15 Christ and Crisis / 17

:: christianunion.org

—2 Chronicles 7:14

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

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Responding to COVID-19

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feature section | responding to covid-19

‘Turning from Our Wicked Ways’ Christian Union Day and Night Leads National Fast by catherine elvy, staff writer

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ChristianUnion.org/ coronavirus

ican Christian history. Such events include the Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s; the Second Great Awakening of roughly 1795 to 1835; the Third Great Awakening, which included the Businessmen’s Revival of 1857-58; the Pentecostal Awakening of the 1906; and the Jesus Movement of the 1970s.

Hetzler echoed similar sentiments regarding repentance during a video devotional in April. “One of the primary purposes of the Bible is to bring correction,” said Hetzler, also the pastor of Bethesda Grace Church in Midtown Manhattan. “Be a person who is open to rebuke, and you will become more complete. You will be equipped for every good work.”

Bennett urged American believers to

heed God’s urgent call for His people to examine individual and national conduct.

“This is a time to repent for the United States,” said Bennett. “This is what the Lord expects of us. We need to turn to God and repent of everything that is displeasing to Him.” Christians need to respond with humility, prayer, and sacrifice during the unprecedented global pandemic. “May we not miss this time and may this nation return to Him,” said Bennett. “We’re grateful for all of those seeking the Lord. We’ve had thousands of people across the country joining us.”

Ultimately, “He hears our cry together.

We need prayer more than ever during this time of national crisis.” | cu

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For updates on COVID-19's impact on Christian Union, go to:

As part of a recurring theme, Bennett urged listeners to center their foci and priorities upon seeking God. Likewise, he cautioned against the sins of self indulgence, and spotlighted the myriad ways Western believers are lovers of pleasure, rather than God. In contrast, members of the early church were faithful to gather for morning and evening prayers as an extension of their spiritual zeal. “You cannot be what you are called to be without these times with God,” he said. “You need to be strong in the Lord.”

Bennett also showcased the nature of prayer and repentance in paving the way for revival. Extraordinary seasons of prayer involving humility and repentance preceded each of the Great Awakenings in Amer-

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MINISTRY DURING A PANDEMIC

Over four thousand people, from cities and towns across the country, fasted and prayed with Christian Union Day and Night in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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video devotionals via its Web site, e-mails, YouTube, Facebook, and other social media. Day and Night’s Facebook page had 80,000 views per week during the pandemic.

“We’ve seen good receptivity,” said Whit Hazelton, Christian Union Day and Night’s marketing director. “People acknowledged the sinful condition of our land. They are eager for spiritual awakening. We are asking for a move of the Holy Spirit.”

Hazelton also noted that many people have sent in testimonies about how participating in the fast has encouraged them and strengthened their faith.

“We need God to help us through this trying time,” he said. “This could be an opportunity for a new Great Awakening.

We’re ripe for spiritual renewal.”

In a series of video devotionals, Bennett called upon believers to repent of sins besetting the United States, including self-indulgence, greed, sexual immorality, unforgiveness, and idolatry. He also highlighted the overarching imperative for contemporary believers to honor and fear the Lord.

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hristian Union Day and Night their wicked ways, then I will hear from recently called believers across the heaven and will forgive their sin and heal United States to an extended time their land.” of prayer, fasting, and repentance in reIndeed, the Old Testament includes sponse to the COVID-19 pandemic. various accounts of God miraculously inDuring the spring, tervening on behalf of His 4,700-plus individuals people after they humbled signed up to fast and inthemselves and confessed tercede in the wake of the their sins. global health crisis.

As for contemporary Though the fast originalbelievers, we are likewise ly was scheduled to run called to examine ourfor 40 days starting on selves genuinely and reMarch 18, Christian pent of individual and Union Day and Night collective sins. “This is extended instructional what we are to do when programming through there are calamities that May to support more Chuck Hetzler, senior associate come upon the country or leader with Day and Night concerted prayer. our families,” said BenIn launching this ininett. “God is amazingly tiative, leaders with Christian Union Day merciful.” and Night highlighted examples of lengthy Dr. Chuck Hetzler, senior associate fasts throughout church history, especialleader with Day and Night, echoed those ly in response to plagues, pestilences, and sentiments. other plights. Many of the major figures “We want to take God at His Word. If of the Old Testament, including Moses, we will draw closer to God, He will draw Nehemiah, and Esther, committed to eloncloser to us,” said Hetzler, who holds a gated fasts. doctorate in New Testament. “Our foreChristian Union Founder and CEO fathers in the faith here in America knew Matt Bennett called for believers to respond those promises, and they put those to the to the coronavirus outbreak with sincere, test. He will do it again if we will unite, if deep groaning, and prayer. “We believe we will pray with fervency and persistence this is what is needed at this time,” said according to God’s Word.”

Bennett, Cornell ’88, MBA ’89.

In 2016, Christian Union launched Day “Our hope is in our God who can turn and Night to mobilize Christians to pray all of this around. God is sovereign, but fervently for sweeping spiritual transformaHe has elected, out of His sovereignty, to tion in the United States. Nearly 22,000 let us play a role in seeing things change.” people have committed to pray fifteen minBennett highlighted the powerful words utes per day as part of an ongoing intercesof 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who sory effort for a powerful move of God. are called by my name humble themselves, In response to the coronavirus, Day and pray and seek my face and turn from and Night released morning and evening

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feature section | responding to covid-19

Zooming in

Christian Union Faculty Transitions to Online Ministry During Pandemic by tom campisi, managing editor Nova, is “encouraged by the way God is using this season.” He has been impressed with how students are serving in community, and even noted how incoming freshmen have joined some online meetings.

“Though we may be far away, God is still at work, still doing amazing things at Princeton,” said Nova Ministry Director Christopher Heslep. “He is preparing our students for the time when they come back—that we could continue to build his family here.”

Christian Union Lux gathered virtually for an Easter sharing and song event.

means of communication is your voice (over the phone) or your facial expressions (over Zoom). Additionally, the Bible course comes to them, there is no travel time/ distance, and there are fewer extracurricular activities vying for students’ attention.”

Christian Union faculty at Stanford and other universities called “online fatigue” a real challenge.

“Virtual community is not the same as face-to-face connection, especially when you’re dealing with college students who are on Zoom all day because of classes,” said Yolanda Solomon, a ministry fellow at Columbia. “Zoom fatigue is a real thing.”

tured Dr. Jo Vitale, dean of students at the Ravi Zacharias Institute. Vitale—who spoke on the topic “Is God Sexist?”—dealt with the misperception of the Bible being misogynistic and addressed so-called “problematic” passages in the Bible.

At Princeton University, Christian Union Nova, in addition to hosting virtual Bible courses and its weekly Leadership Lecture Series, recently presented a training seminar for its evangelism team on a Saturday.

“The Gospel is still going forth,” said Ministry Fellow Jayne Babij.

Darren Saint-Ulysse, an intern with

Likewise, despite great challenges and uncertainty, the faculty of Christian Union Universities is exhorting students to seek God fervently and trust Him for the future.

In a video devotional based on John 21, Brown talked to Stanford students about how Jesus challenged Peter to shepherd His flock when He met with His disciples on the shore of Galilee.

“It’s a call to both intimacy and mission,” Brown said. “We are all in the midst of an uncertain, unique time. I believe that our call is the same: use this as a time to seek Him in deeper intimacy, and discover new ways to step out on mission.” | cu

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Solomon lauded a core group of Columbia students with Christian Union Illumina who have shown leadership during a difficult season.

“They have responded by leaning into community and coming up with creative ways for students to connect ‘virtually,’ spiritually and socially, with 24-hour prayer nights, a Holy Week fast, testimony nights, and video game and bingo nights.”

Another highlight at Illumina was an online Leadership Lecture Series that fea-

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tality of Caritas’ students who opened up their homes to internationals during the shelter in place time. Woyak said leading a Bible course over Zoom has its drawbacks, but also a few positive features.

“It’s challenging to not be face-to-face over a meal or cup of coffee, one-on-one or together as a Bible course,” he said. “The kind of deepening of friendship that can happen in those settings doesn’t easily transfer to Zoom. However, the listening element is almost enhanced when your only

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shelter in place, from fear, anxiety, anger, grief, loss, frustration, and impatience, to gratefulness for a time to rest, reevaluate priorities, and reach out to God. “Facing an uncertain future is a big challenge that brings a great deal of stress,” Kovoor said. “However, I strongly sense that God is birthing something very precious during this transition. It is a sacred time offered to us to seek Him fervently and connect with each other in new ways. This waiting period has been a very sanctifying process. I am very encouraged by those who are allowing themselves to be pushed to seek after God even more in this alone time. One of my Bible courses has been regularly trying to memorize scripture and the books of the Bible together. Others are striving to be witnesses for Christ in their homes, some reaching out to their non-Christian friends to share the hope one has in Jesus in the midst of this pandemic.”

Credit: Sara Beth Turner Garrett Brown, ministry director Chitra Kovoor, a Christian Union ministry fellow, for Caritas, Christian Union’s minissaid, “God is birthing something precious.” try to students at Stanford University, noted the pastoral challenge of leading students through “a fairly catastrophic for our hubris and pride, and it has forced change of rhythms and freedoms.” He everyone to consider transcendent things called the initial transition to virtual minrather than just the rote ‘get good grades, istry “quite jarring,” but found the students get a good internship, get a return offer, to be hopeful, engaged, and still very hard make a living, and live happily ever after.’ working.

We know that the materialistic way of life “Our students are incredibly adaptive, is not God’s way, but it is the air we breathe, and they have the advantage of being digand God, in His grace, has stripped away ital natives—they were born into an online many of the idols that we trust in.” world,” Brown said.

Chitra Kovoor, a Christian Union minJustin Woyak, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Yale, said students have existry fellow at Stanford, praised the hospipressed a wide range of emotions as they has brought a renewed sense of awe and repentance in the things of God. “Students (and all of us, really) have been forced to acknowledge that razor thin veneer of thinking we are in control,” Else said. “When we were reminded in March that there is much completely out of our control, it forced us all to our knees in repentance: for taking God for granted,

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n the blink of an eye, the collegiate academic year was relegated to online courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. No campus life. No spring sports or activities. No May commencement.

In the midst of the chaos, Christian Union Universities transitioned to an online ministry—Bible courses, Leadership Lecture Series, and mentoring sessions were hosted online via Zoom and other portals.

Ministry fellows were there to provide continuity by shepherding students and offering counsel to those grieving over what was lost.

While the new season of ministry definitely has its challenges, it has also presented some silver-lined blessings, according to Tucker Else, Christian Union’s ministry director at the University of Pennsylvania.

“We have settled into a sense of normalcy, but we definitely miss meeting in person,” he said. “And there are the big existential challenges: When will this end?’

Will life ever go back to being normal?

Will students be able to return in the fall?

How does this affect internships/jobs?”

When Penn’s on-campus semester was cancelled during Spring Break, students with Christian Union Martus began gathering online. Bible courses were connected, and a Leadership Lecture Series (LLS) was organized. The ministry’s Seeking God Lifestyle team hosted a 24-hour prayer session, which continued weekly.

“Our students have prayed, corporately, in a way that we’ve never prayed before.

It has been a concerted season of prayer,” Else said.

The ministry director also noted the resiliency of students and how COVID-19

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feature section | responding to covid-19

Coronavirus and Christ

Q & A with Dr. Timothy Flanigan

by john piper

interview by tom campisi

‘Behold the Kindness and Severity of God’

e steadfast love of the Lord never Th ceases; his mercies never come to an end; t hey are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, sweet and bitter. Naomi did not sin when she said, “The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20). That was true. And it was spoken at the very moment when all her fortunes were about to change.

This is not a season for sentimental views of God. It is a bitter season. And God sent it. We know this, because he “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). All things.

Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from our heavenly Father (Matthew 10:29).

Nature is not sovereign. Satan is not sovereign. Sinful man is not sovereign. God rules them all (Luke 8:25; Job 1:12; 2:6; Acts 4:27–28). So, we say with Job, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

“ therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21–24) | cu Reprinted with permission. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org. john piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For more than thirty years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis. He is the author of more than fifty books, and his sermons, articles, books, and more are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. His latest book is entitled Coronavirus and Christ.

How has COVID-19 impacted your work at the hospitals?

I have been spending most of my time on the inpatient consult with patients that have coronavirus pneumonia. You want to have great medicines to help them; you want to have something akin to penicillin to treat bacterial pneumonia, and we do not. Medical care works, but it works slowly and it is a hard road for our patients.

They get better over seven or ten or four-

teen days—that is a long time to be sick.

That is a hard thing. So we need to walk with our patients and help them, give time for the miracle of the immune system to really kick in and be able to fight the virus successfully.

off clinical services because of concerns about not having enough personal protective equipment (PPE). But that is going to change, and students will, hopefully, be back working with the medical team. It is critically important that this happens.

Some students will be nervous and fearful and that is Are you hopeful for a understandable. It is someresurgence of faith thing they will need to grapamong people in ple with and they will have response to to make decisions. We saw COVID-19? this at the beginning of the That may very well be.

HIV epidemic. Folks were And the message of the cross very nervous and did not is that Jesus is right there in want to care for patients with our worst suffering. We are HIV because of uncertainty never asked to carry our related to transmission. own cross because Jesus is But the students improve going to carry our cross with the care on the ward. They us... When you are short of Dr. Timothy Flanigan, provide important parts of breath with pneumonia professor of medicine at Brown University care to the patients. They from coronavirus, it is a spend time with their pascary thing, and it is a relatients, and provide some TLC. And that tively long illness, too… Knowing that our is a very important part of healing. So this Lord is with you means everything. is not just about educational opportunity, this is about patients receiving better care.

How long do you think it will Throughout the history of medicine, medtake to develop a vaccine? ical students played a strong role in proI think very highly of Tony Fauci, dividing care. rector of the National Institute of Allergy If you look at the influenza epidemic and Infectious Diseases. He has the best of 1918, medical students manned wards knowledge, the best mind for this. We are and did a superb job taking care of patients. lucky to have him. He has said twelve to This is the first time that clinical students eighteen months. I hope it is quicker, but have been pulled off the ward, and for good that is probably the best guess. reason. It’s also odd that they’ll be expected to care for patients as doctors on July How has this pandemic impacted 1, and on May 1, they were not allowed the medical students you work to work with the medical team providing with and mentor at the Alpert care to patients.

Medical School?

One of the sad things is how medical students have been pulled off the ward and

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This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

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r. Timothy Flanigan is a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals and Alpert Medical School of Brown University. At the Alpert Medical School, Flanigan mentors students who work side by side with staff in clinical medicine. For the last ten years, he has taught a popular course at Brown, Beyond Narnia: The Literature of C.S. Lewis.

Flanigan came to Brown Medical School in 1991 to help establish a network of primary care for HIV-infected individuals with a focus on women, substance abusers, and individuals leaving prison. He is the associate director of The Miriam/ Brown Fogarty Program, which trains and mentors overseas investigators in HIV/ AIDS. Flanigan (Dartmouth ’79, Cornell Medical School ’83) is also the founder of the Star Kids Scholarship Program, which provides educational opportunities to disadvantaged children.

In 2014, he spent two months in Liberia training health care workers to maintain safety in the face of the Ebola epidemic and to reopen St. Joseph’s Hospital. More recently, he has initiated research projects in the area of Lyme disease and tickborne illnesses.

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christian union

Therefore, God not only comprehends the coronavirus; He has purposes for it.

God does nothing, and permits nothing, without wise purposes. Nothing just happens. Everything flows from the eternal counsels of God (Ephesians 1:11). All of it is wisdom. All of it is purposeful. For those who trust Jesus Christ, all of it is kindness.

For others, it is a merciful wake-up call: “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17).

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secret is this: Knowing that the same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus and doesn’t, is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it. Indeed, more than sustains—sweetens with hope that, for those who trust him, his purposes are kind, even in death.

“Behold the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). His providence is

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t matters little what we think about the coronavirus. But it matters forever what God thinks. He is not silent about what He thinks. Scarcely a page in the Bible is irrelevant for this crisis.

Our voice is grass. His is granite. “The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever” (1 Peter 1:24–25). His words in Scripture “cannot be broken” (John 10:35). What he says is “true, and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:9). Listening to God, and believing him, is like building your house on a rock, not sand (Matthew 7:24).

His voice is not only true; it is perfectly wise for every situation. “He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom” (Isaiah 28:29). “His understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5).

When he gives counsel about the John Piper coronavirus, it is firm, unshakable, lasting. “The counsel of the Lord stands forever” (Psalm 33:11). “His way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:31).

God’s words in these times are not only true and wise; they are also precious and sweet. “More to be desired are they than gold . . sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10).

They are the sweetness of life: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). And with indestructible life come words of unshakable peace and joy: “Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

And the sweetness is not lost in this moment of bitter providence — not if we have learned the secret of “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). The

Infectious Disease Specialist Talks COVID-19, Students, and Spiritual Warfare

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feature section | responding to covid-19

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The community played a key role in stopping transmission of Ebola, and, in the United States, the community practicing social distancing has definitely flattened the curve [with Covid-19]. We are doing better than those terrible projections, the worst projections, and I think it is because of that social distancing.

One of the biggest lessons with Ebola was that you have to work together with the comHow does a medical munity and with healthcare, doctor end up teaching and we need to support each a class on C.S. Lewis at other and go out of our way to Brown University? do more than our fair share.

I absolutely love this course.

Unfortunately, in the middle of It has been a total blast. We have difficulty, the devil loves to three sections going with about cause division, hatred, and an65 students. I consider it a litger, [especially] in communities tle bit of a miracle, a little bit where there is suffering and of the work of the Holy Spirit, people are focusing on blame that we could have a course like and hate. There is a spiritual this at Brown. It is amazing. aspect. It is not just all political Credit: Encyclopedia Britannica I remember thinking, and social. Spiritual warfare is At Brown University, Dr. Flanigan teaches a popular seminar on the “Wouldn’t it be great if students real, and we have to look toworks of CS Lewis. at Brown could read The Space wards Christ, and not give in Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis?” That to [division]. Some people resuffering. As the curve is being flattened, series strikes me as quite the antidote for ally give in to it and all they want to do is we now need to walk our way backwards. our modern secular humanism. I wondered talk about recrimination and blame and if it was possible. I got some advice from anger, and stoke the fires of hate. a faculty member [about submitting an How has the pandemic impacted application for a course]. I did, and they students at Brown, especially Do you think we are doing a accepted it.

Christian students? good job in the United States, On my first day walking to the first We are social beings. We love to be with of containing the coronavirus? class, I thought to myself, “What am I each other, and we love to share our space I think we are. The curve has been flatdoing? I don’t know who’s going to want with each other, and we love to pray with tened in so many places. Look at New York, to take it, and I don’t know how this is each other.

We know that Jesus asked us by far and away, the epicenter. It was absogoing to go.” I walked into the class—and to pray with each other. It is hard to do lutely hammered, just terrible how the virus the typical seminar is maxed out at 18 to that by Zoom.

You can, and that is good, just swept in with massive community 20 students—and there were about 28 but our hearts are nurtured when we are transmission. And the projected death toll students, some sitting on the floor. I said, with each other and we share our friendship was so much lower than it could have been.

“This is shocking. If you think it is shockwith each other, and share that friendship They have flattened the curve and have ing that I want to teach a course on C.S. in our faith. turned the corner. It is a beautiful thing.

Lewis, it’s even much more shocking that This is a hard, challenging time. Now Flattening the curve does not mean we

battle for the soul of the subject.

Junior Devil is “delirious with joy” over the start of the war.

Screwtape tells him not to get carried away, that there are times when war may be a great thing because fear and anxiety can play into their roles. [But Screwtape says] it works the other way, too, in that the Enemy [the Enemy being God] can, all of a sudden, take somebody who has never During the pandemic, considered that the Enemy [God] there have been several Credit: Kenneth C. Zirkel might be real, available to him, social media posts and The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and calling him—he can realize articles that quoted C.S. that is the case—and they will Lewis in regards to his have lost their subject forever. writings about life during World little the war is featured. Screwtape is Screwtape tells Junior Devil, that War II and the threat of an tempting his subjects during World War although the world’s drama is real and atomic bomb. What do you think II. He is in London, the blitz is going on, present, not to lose sight of the fact that it Lewis would say to us today? there are all sorts of disaster and calamity, is not the real battle. | cu When you read The Screwtape Letters, and yet it is a very small part of The Screwone of the things that is interesting is how tape Letters. Of course, the real battle is the you all are here and interested in taking this course.”

The students really love talking about C.S. Lewis and faith, and their questions about faith. The students lead the discussions. That is what this is all about. It is not about C.S. Lewis; it’s about giving them the opportunity to talk about faith.

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where there are great challenges, there are also great opportunities. So the Holy Spirit will be present in ways that we do not know. There is terrible suffering with this, but God will take something like a great calamity and work in ways that we do not anticipate or know. We are a people of hope, and this, too, will pass. We need to support each other through it, and really be closer to our Lord in that way, [We need to] realize our Lord is present. Even in great suffering, our Lord is always present.

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are going to stop the virus from spreading.

Our social distancing, our mitigation, is to flatten the curve so that everybody does not get infected at once. Community transmission will still occur. So it is just to slow it down, not to stop it. This virus is here, it is going to come back, and it is going to come back according to its timing, not ours. It’s a new reality, so we need to adapt and we need to change…but there will still be significant difficulties and pain and

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What can we learn from the Ebola crisis about containing viruses?

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feature section | responding to covid-19

Shock, Awe, and Worship

Our Refuge and Strength

by garrett brown

by laurel copp

Responding to God’s Supremacy Editor’s note: This devotional is one of a series published by Christian Union Day and Night (www.dayandnight.org) during its recent forty-day fast, hosted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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ee that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he

The author of Hebrews calls this to the forefront as he wraps up his powerful treatise on the supremacy of Jesus. The earth was shaken at His command, and once again, things that have been made— including our structures, rhythms, and pursuits—will also be shaken. What we are experiencing now is just a small taste, a preview of the undoing the Lord will one day, in His holiness, extract. And the proper response to this, according to the author of this letter, is worship.

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the director of Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry to students at Stanford University. Garrett is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he explored faith from a young age.

After studying communications at Biola University, he earned a Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology, and, eventually, a Doctorate of Ministry in Theology and Culture from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.

In the midst of disaster, the psalmist reminds the people that they do not have to fear because God promises to be present. itation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. Be still, and know that I am God. The Lord of hosts is with us. - Psalm 46: 1-2, 4-5, 10-11 (ESV) It might seem like our whole world is falling apart around us. We are facing uncertain times; a pandemic, a volatile market, isolation from friends and family, a shortage of medical supplies, to name a few. These realities cause real fear.

It was in the middle of a similar upheaval that the psalmist wrote the words of Psalm 46. In the midst of disaster, the psalmist reminds the people that they do not have to fear because God promises to be present. When our world seems to be collapsing, we are offered the hope of turning our eyes to the God who promises “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The psalmist goes on to say that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. Interestingly, Jerusalem doesn’t have a river, only an underground stream.

river of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the city. What a beautiful picture of hope!

In the midst of pain, suffering, and death, God has promised to be with us and to eventually overcome these things.

We do not need to fear, because like the underground stream in Jerusalem that becomes a river flowing through the center of the city, faith in God gives us a deep reservoir of resources for these uncertain days we are facing.

The psalm closes with “Be still and know that I am God.” One day, Jesus went with His disciples on a boat to the other side of the sea of Galilee. After a long day of ministering to great crowds of people, He was sleeping when a storm, strong enough to terrify seasoned fishermen, began to batter the boat. The disciples woke Him in a panic, fearful that they would all drown.

Jesus turned to the storm and told it to “be still” and it obeyed. Then He turned to the disciples and asked, “Why were you

afraid?” The disciples wondered, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” The God who rules over nature is with you. The realities of life can be overwhelming, daunting, and scary, but nothing is outside of God’s control. He is with you. When you are scared and anxious, you can call on Him who has promised to be with you.

Eternal God, we thank You for always being with us. Guide our feet as our steps take us into an unknown future.

Give us confidence in Your presence and Your faithfulness. We rest in You, Jesus.

Amen. | cu laurel copp is a ministry fellow with Christian Union Libertas at Brown University. Laurel graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts degree in Theology as well as a Master of Arts in Old Testament.

Before joining Christian Union’s faculty, she taught Bible and theology at Portsmouth Christian Academy and at Gordon College.

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od is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy hab-

However, the Bible does tell of a time when Jerusalem will have a river flowing through the middle of the city.

John, in the book of Revelation, has a vision of the new Jerusalem in new heavens and the new earth. In his vision, a loud voice coming from the throne told him that God will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. Then an angel showed John the

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As we fast during this time of global crisis, we wake up each morning to a world that is changing rapidly. The structures, the rhythms, and the pursuits that we all take for granted have been in many ways taken away. We might safely assume these are temporary changes, and yet there may be a lingering wake left behind. We have been changed, shaken.

Two thousand years prior, Jacob was waking up to his own undoing. He lied to his father, swindled his brother, and was on the run for his life. Despite his sin, God meets him, giving him a vision of His presence and the assurance of His promise. Jacob, knowing that he wasn’t deserving of the rock under his head, let alone the blessing of God, responds in fearful worship, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God,” (Gen. 28:17). And he named that place Bethel.

I, too, am not deserving of the comforts and the freedoms I enjoy, and I have little right to complain when they are taken away. Far beyond that, who am I to call myself a child of God, save for the grace of Jesus? As he called Nathanael, Jesus Himself claimed to be Bethel, the place where God resides, and He will one day

Lord, I have concerned myself for too long with temporary things, things that do not endure or honor You. Have mercy on me, and be present to me. Let us find hope in crisis, knowing that You come to make all things new, to establish a kingdom that cannot be defiled or spoiled, an unshakable kingdom. And let us worship You for who You are, holy, fearful, and good. Amen. | cu

Editor’s note: This devotional is one in a series published by Christian Union Day and Night (www.dayandnight.org) during its recent forty-day fast, hosted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:25-29 (ESV)

undo all the shakable things in the heavens and the earth, ruling over a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Therefore, in the midst of undoing, we worship Him with reverence and awe.

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What we are experiencing now is just a small taste, a preview of the undoing the Lord will one day, in His holiness, extract. And the proper response to this, according to the author of this letter, is worship.

God’s Promise: I Am with You!

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feature section | responding to covid-19

Seeking Christ in Crisis A Freshman’s Perspective

Curated for You DRAW NEAR to the living God. DISCOVER encouraging content from Christian Union and other sites,

curated for you. BE INSPIRED by how God is working through Christian Union in the lives of young professionals in New York City, and in the lives of students at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth,

as those who are on a mission to bear Christ to others. Especially during a time of chaos, it is so clear to others when we have a God-given joy and peace. We “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” because we know that we do not belong to this world, but to a heavenly kingdom where there is no more suffering (1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV). We can ask God for a peace “which surpasses all understanding” and guards our “hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 ESV).

As a community, we should emanate our joy and peace to those around us “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4 ESV). There is no better opportunity than this pandemic to demonstrate God’s love to others and to give them a desire to seek more of it by being in a relationship with Him. Therefore, let each of us serve as a mouthpiece for God. Let each of us be a vessel that pours out His love on others. And let us pray that this tumultuous time will not only help our own faith to grow, but will also allow others to recognize who He is. | cu katherine hang is an emerging leader with Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard College.

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ic has exposed my sin of loving gifts, such as my college experience, more than the giver of gifts.

Praise God that He is willing to discipline me as His own child and to realign my desires so that I might set my heart on eternal, rather than temporary, treasures! In the words of Job, who experienced tragedies that I cannot even begin to comprehend, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21 ESV).

Third, the consequences of not believing in God are much more terrifying and worthy of our attention than the effects of this pandemic. The Gospel of Matthew frames it this way: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28 ESV).

Diseases can only harm our physical bodies, but God can destroy both our physical bodies and our souls. The life we have right now is fleeting, merely a shadow of the eternal life that is to come for those who believe in His son. But there are some who cannot imagine anything greater than this temporary life—and we have the privilege and duty to spread the good news to them.

Because of God’s holiness, our sinfulness, and the dreadfulness of being eternally separated from Him, we should live

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s one who has followed the growth of COVID-19 from its beginnings to its spread across the globe, I have been consumed with worry for relatives living in hot spots, disturbed by empty shelves in grocery stores and the impact on our economy, and grieved by people ridiculing the power of prayer on my social media feeds. This pandemic seems anything but light or momentary.

It is difficult to see past our afflictions when we are in the midst of them, but when I take a moment to consider this pandemic in light of eternity, I have realized three things.

First, our God is so much more powerful than a pandemic. Our God spoke galaxies into existence, separated light from darkness, and breathed His life into us— and “these are just the beginning of all that [H]e does, merely a whisper of [H]is power” (Job 26:14 NLT).

He can easily extinguish this virus, yet He has chosen not to. Why? Although we cannot discern the thoughts of God, whose ways are always higher than our own, we know that God has permitted pestilences and disasters in the past. Whether it be the plague on the livestock of Egypt, the pestilence that struck Israel after King David’s census, or the famine in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, God often uses calamities to bring us back to Him. This brings me to my second realization: we need to repent. It is so easy to equate ourselves with the righteous people that Abraham pleaded for when he asked God to spare the destruction of Sodom— believe me, I have often thought of myself in this way—but this pandemic has taught me that I am deeply sinful. This pandem-

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The Christian Union eNewsletter

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Harvard, Harvard Law, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. YOU ARE INVITED.

by katherine wang, harvard

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from the university to the city and beyond

Developing Bold Christian Leaders 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.

union

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

universities

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.

union cities

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

the magazine

union d ay & nigh t

at the heart of christian union’s work is a desire to see a spiritually vibrant nation. To this end, Christian Union Day & Night calls on believers to seek God wholeheartedly and to pray and fast for our nation.

Princeton students Isaac Bledsoe ’23 and Tyler Ashman ’21

photo credit: sara beth turner

Note: In this issue, Christian Union Day and Night's article appears in the feature section on page 6

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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

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in New York City and Washington, D.C. This model was used by the Lord to bring

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christian union universities

Commencement for Caritas Bae and Payne among Ministry’s First Graduating Class by rachel mari, contributing writer Though commencement plans for Stanford’s Class of 2020 have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry at Stanford, will celebrate its first graduating class since its inception four years ago.

Garrett Brown, Christian Union’s ministry director at Stanford, said it was “bittersweet” that those students could not finish the year on campus, but rejoiced at what this class had accomplished.

“God has moved in the lives of so many of them, and changed some hearts in a way only the Gospel

—Josh Payne, Stanford ’20 education as part of the MBA program through the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He also intends to remain a part of the Caritas community.

“My path seems to be moving in the direction of the intersection of technology and business. . .

Whatever path He’s chosen for me, my aspiration is to walk it in precisely the way He wants me to,” Payne said. | cu

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“Christian Union changed the direction of my life in a pretty profound, yet unexpected, way.”

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visionaries with whom I keep in contact to this day!” he said. “Christian Union and Praxis played such a crucial role in my development, both spiritually and professionally.”

After graduation, Payne plans to continue his

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can,” he said. “I am confident that this graduating class will take what they have learned, as well as the community they have formed, into far-reaching places as they go from here.”

Two members of that class are Jennifer Bae and Josh Payne. Both will pursue graduate degrees at Stanford in the fall.

Bae, who originates from La Habra, California, joined Caritas in her senior year after being invited by a friend. She said the ministry was “absolutely pivotal” in shaping her relationship with the Lord.

Before Caritas, “I fell easily into the trap of prioritizing my studies and social life over God.” Brown talked about how Bae thrived in a Bible

that I work with, celebrating their strengths as individuals, instead of dwelling on their weaknesses.”

Regarding her next steps, Bae will seek to finish a Coterm Program in Sustainability Science and Practice at Stanford next year. “After learning the hard way through my pursuit of such a myopic vision of ‘success’ during my first three years of Stanford, [my goal] is to be a faithful servant with whatever God has entrusted to me.”

Payne, from San Antonio, Texas, was one of the ministry’s core group of freshmen and has been a part of Justin Woyak’s Bible course for the past four years.

“Our Bible course was a place where guys could take off their masks and be real,” said Woyak. “Josh leaned into his questions and leaned into prayer and community. He’s grown significantly during his time at Stanford—in his faith, and many other areas.”

Payne credits his involvement with Caritas for giving him a sense of community on campus. “Being part of the founding group was a special experience. . . We were all figuring out the community and its role in our spiritual lives together, and it has been an exciting journey,” he said.

Payne also noted that Woyak and Brown have modeled “truly selfless mentorship” and that he will take that example forward with him.

In addition to being an active member of the Bible courses, Payne contributed his musical gifts to the worship team. He also was greatly impacted

by Christian Union’s Nexus Conference.

“Christian Union changed the direction of my life in a pretty profound, yet unexpected, way,” said Payne.

While attending Nexus during his freshman year, Payne met with Jon Hart and other members of Praxis Labs, a startup incubator program for redemptive entrepreneurship. He was offered the opportunity to become an Emerging Founder.

“In this program, I learned so much about building redemptive entrepreneurial ventures and connected with a community of like-minded

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Stanford seniors Josh Payne and Jennifer Bae

course during her senior year.

“Jennifer has been extremely enthusiastic about sharing with her Bible course how she has grown in her relationship with Christ,” he said. “My wife Susan is Jennifer’s Bible course leader, and talks about how she regularly integrated her experiences as a person rediscovering her faith into the discussions the women were having. This helped the others find a context for Scripture into their world.”

Bae describes how, prior to Caritas, her life had come crashing down. She completed a grueling Wall Street finance internship and hung her hopes on receiving an offer from the investment firm. However, once she received it, she was overwhelmed by a sense of purposelessness.

“For three years, I ran the race with no vision other than to ultimately secure a ‘successful’ future and glorify my name,” said Bae. “But it was through the love of my closest friends and the guidance of my amazing spiritual guardian, Susan Brown, that I was able slowly to embrace this season as one in which God was lovingly pruning me and relieving me of the unnecessary demons of comparison and self-loathing.”

“Being a part of a community so strongly rooted in Christ helped point me to put my entire trust in Him, instead of in my achievements.”

Furthermore, the training that she has received through Christian Union has helped her to become a better leader, in her role as the head of the Society of Women Engineers and with group projects in her management science and engineering classes.

“My biggest takeaway, having reconnected with my faith through Caritas, is being able to love those around me, unconditionally,” said Bae. “I have developed deeper patience and respect for the people

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christian union universities

The Voice in the Water Miss America Contestant’s Faith Journey Includes God-Inspired Dream by francine barchett, cornell ’20

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“By observing my Christian Union peers and leaders, I learned what the Gospel in action looks like. I attended a Bible course for the first time, and [was] taught what the Bible said and meant. I witnessed what it was really like to love others because God loved us first.”

—Synclair Gonzalez, Cornell ’20 speaks to the power and strength Christ gives His children to accomplish His will.

During the talent portion of pageants, Gonzalez used to sing, but now she sings for a different purpose. “I’ve really felt Philippians 3:8 come true,” she exclaimed. “Yes, everything is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I thought wow, I’ve always just sung for people…. But now I can sing for God?!”

Gonzalez has been a regular performer at WORTHY, a large song, dance, art, and Spoken Word initiative to remember the life, death, and resurrection of Christ held annually in Ithaca. She worked her way up from director of promotion as a freshman to what would have been a lead singing role this year had it not been canceled due to COVID-19.

The senior also grew within Christian Union, from being an attendee of Bible courses to now co-teaching one as a senior. Liz Thomforde, a women’s ministry fellow who has known her since she began at Cornell, said Gonzalez’s value is her authenticity and relatability. “Synclair is a great encouragement to the girls, especially by sharing how God has been so faithful to her through her many

I was dumb because I believed in Christ’s deity or if they would feel I was preaching. But I have received great feedback. They thoroughly enjoy my perspective.”

After graduating this spring, Gonzalez heads to IBM’s San Francisco office, where she’ll help develop social impact initiatives for their marketing department. One day she hopes to get an MBA or a Master in Theology since she loves both tech and apologetics.

Wherever the waves take her, Gonzalez will never forget her crazy baptismal dream. There she met that sweet voice—like a whisper—that told her to obey. And she did. | cu

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trials,” she said. “Synclair has really grown and matured in her faith.”

Gonzalez’s impact spans beyond the Cornell Christian community. Time and time again, she writes and makes videos about her faith for class assignments, from her baptism essay to a YouTube clip showcasing Cornell’s fervent Christian community. “I was nervous to craft those assignments,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure if my professors would think

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Communications major Synclair Gonzalez ’20

navigate her new faith, the road was not without hurdles. One was medical issues, which took a heavy toll on her two years ago. Another was her life as a veteran pageant queen for the Miss America Organization – since becoming a believer, she didn’t win a title for the first time.

Through these roadblocks, along with the business of classes and extracurriculars, Gonzalez chose to take heart in the message of Philippians 3, which

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Then she woke up.

As Gonzalez would later write in an essay for her communications class, this was not just a dream. It was a powerful symbol of her relationship with God, which had shaken the core of her existence, compelling her to do things—like breathe in water—she never would have considered before.

“I’ve seen such a drastic change in my heart, mind, and life before Christ and after Christ,” said Gonzalez, who had the dream in high school. “I’m now super eager to talk about what God has done and to use everything, including my assignments, to do that.”

That is a seismic shift for someone who was once a hard-core atheist and only viewed church as a way to stay on her Bible-toting boyfriend’s good side.

Yet when her now-former boyfriend asked her about her beliefs, she started to seek out the truth for herself, from testing out a youth group to getting her first Bible at high school graduation. Months later, she flew from her home state of California to Ithaca, New York to start her freshman year as a Cornell communications major.

Eager to choose a ministry to support her newfound faith, Gonzalez wandered from table to table at the Balch Lawn Christian Fellowship Barbecue until she chanced upon Anna Shea, the Christian Union women’s ministry fellow at the time. “I wasn’t used to the Christian ‘let me get to know you over a cup of coffee’ thing, so when she [Anna] asked me to coffee I felt especially warm and special,” Gonzalez recalled. Her friendship with Shea deepened from there, leading her to a ministry that would shape not only her Cornell experience, but also her core beliefs.

“By observing my Christian Union peers and leaders, I learned what the Gospel in action looks like,” Gonzalez stated. “I attended a Bible course for the first time, and [was] taught what the Bible said and meant. I witnessed what it was really like to love others because God loved us first.”

While Christian Union Vita helped Gonzalez

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“Hey babe, you should get baptized.”

Synclair Gonzalez was ready to make her faith public. Her boyfriend’s voice, calm and reassuring, told her that now—the end of this church service—she should do it.

So she went to the pool of shimmering water, letting the pastor guide her head under the rolling waves. But he kept her there…far too long. She felt herself flail, drowning.

Then a sweet voice told her to breathe. Just breathe in the water. The words defied logic, but their owner’s gentle voice tugged at her heart. She obeyed, and as water crept into the crevices of her lungs, she breathed more complete breaths than she ever had before. She was inhaling life.

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A New Identity Seniors Help Launch Program for Homeless

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“By engaging the teachings of Jesus Christ, Christian Union has upended many of our preconceived notions about leadership. Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Leadership to us has become the service of others.”

— Jackson Foltz, Penn ’20 levels, while simultaneously honoring the idea with which Mike Dahl (executive director of Broad Street Ministry) initially presented us. Faith without works is dead, faith that works is the imperative that we can take delight in as the adopted of the Most High.”

Cornwell notes that he has been blessed by such leadership during his time in Christian Union Martas, observing how the Christian Union faculty he has spent time with have consistently modelled this Christ-like leadership.

Though graduation is coming soon, Cornwell and Foltz hope that Keep.ID will not only be used in the Philadelphia area and at Broad Street Ministry, but can become a tool to serve the homeless nationwide. | cu

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Foltz adds that their Bible course has totally reshaped his views on work and leadership, saying, “By engaging the teachings of Jesus Christ, Christian Union has upended many of our preconceived notions about leadership. Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Leadership to us has become the service of others.”

When it comes to leading the Keep.ID team, Foltz explains how these ideas are taking root in real life. “The humility inherent in considering leadership to be public service is a key tenet of the workplace culture that we hope to establish,” he said. “We want to honor teammates’ time, ideas, and commitment

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are often stolen or lost. A lack of identification documents can be crippling when applying for jobs, housing, or benefits.

“The goal of Keep.ID is to break barriers to homelessness services by providing an online platform for the homeless population to get available aid in an easier manner. Those experiencing homelessness can keep scanned documents on Keep.ID and will be able to file aid applications while navigating homelessness resources online. Our long term goal is to help those experiencing homelessness reintegrate into employed society, and we desire to show them the love of Jesus by using our skills to create a product designed specifically for their needs,” says Cornwell.

Foltz adds, “We want to see those experiencing homelessness to feel empowered in their pursuit of work, hope, and a future.”

But this kind of social entrepreneurialism has not always been on Cornwell and Foltz’s minds.

Currently enrolled in a senior Bible course that focuses on vocation, Cornwell admits he used to think that certain jobs were perhaps less godly than others and struggled to conceive how his future in computer science and business might be a God-glorifying endeavor.

“Coming to faith in Christ has changed how I think about vocation because I have come to realize that if all Christians are to have a job title, it is to be ‘kingdom workers.’ Our life here is temporal, but God has everyone here to serve Him and others through our life,” reflects Cornwell.

This shift in thinking has also shaped how Foltz and Cornwell desire to lead in the future.

“Through Christian Union, Christ and His presence has helped me to put off many of the cares that the world glorifies, including desire for money, selfish pleasures, and prestige (although I still struggle) in a career,” said Cornwell. “This freedom has allowed me to pursue options which I would not have considered by myself alone, and I have been led to trust God and take a leap of faith in Him where He has brought me to a certain service.”

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pushed him to consider how he might use his inBecoming a follower of Christ during terests and skills in a Christ-like way, and, as he college was not part of the plan. But for began his senior year, a project came his way that Penn senior Steffen Cornwell, finding intrigued him. community in Christian Union Martas reoriented Keep.ID was first pitched to him by a professor his vision for his future. Part of the prestigious Jerome who worked closely with Mike Dahl at Broad Street Fisher Program in Management and Technology, Ministry, a local church with a passion for the marCornwell has taken a newfound interest in social ginalized. Cornwell’s interest was piqued and he entrepreneurship and spearheaded a program that quickly took the lead. As he assembled a team of allows individuals experiencing homelessness to store students to help develop the idea, Cornwell recruited important personal identification documents in a fellow Bible course member secure website.

Jackson Foltz ’20, who now Challenged by Martas’ runs the communications Leadership Lecture Series, side of Keep.ID and is one Philia, and through disciof the founding members. pleship with Ministry FelTucker Else, Christian low Fuji Kim, Cornwell Union’s ministry director was captivated by the Gosat Penn, reflects: “[Stefpel of grace and the serfen’s] leadership through vant-leader Jesus. Before he this homelessness initiative became a Christian, he has been wonderful. He read the Bible on his own has enlisted the assistance and “was fascinated by the of his fellow Penn students teachings on righteousness and has done a remarkable and morality.” But it was job bringing everyone tothrough conversations with gether and providing diChristian Union faculty rection that others want to and peers that the idea of follow.” justification through faith, While living in Philarather than works, really While at Penn, Steffen Cornwell ’20 discovered a delphia, both Foltz and took hold. It also spurred Christ-centered calling to develop technology to Cornwell developed a him on to consider how he help those experiencing homelessness. heart for the homeless might live differently, population, wondering knowing that any good how they might best help the people they meet. A work he does is in response to the grace and goodconversation here, buying a sandwich there; Cornness of God. well found himself wanting to create something that Kim has been impressed by the change in Cornwould help individuals experiencing homelessness well since his freshman year. “Steffen has grown and in a long-term and practical way. is standing more firmly on the Gospel,” he said.

Keep.ID aims to care for those who are in need “The atmosphere [on campus] was [centered on] by providing a practical service. Cornwell detailed parties and people going for fancy jobs. People didn’t how when most individuals become homeless, they seem to care about things beyond themselves,” rehave personal documents with them, but belongings called Cornwell. A disillusionment with this culture

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by anne kerhoulas, staff writer

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Center Stage Faith Wyatt ’20 Pursuing a Career in Media Arts by catherine elvy, staff writer

the magazine

—Nathaniel Wyatt, Columbia ’20 issues with racial and ethnic injustices. “After growing up as a white kid in the South and seeing certain realities, I want to understand and solve issues of racial inequality and understand the many experiences of American people,” he said.

He hopes the background will come into play as he pursues opportunities to be involved with narrative films and documentary productions. “I want to make more sophisticated comments through film,” said Wyatt.

Regardless of his career trajectory as he exits Columbia’s stage, Wyatt desires to use his passions for thought-provoking storytelling and comedy. “I want to be an instrument of God in the ways that beauty and the arts are expressed,” he said. | cu

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“At a school like Columbia, you have to allow your faith to be challenged. You have to take ownership of your faith. My faith has grown.

It’s grown because of Christian Union.”

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and the Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging at Columbia, efforts rooted in his burgeoning interest in filmmaking.

Though Wyatt originally entered Columbia to major in film and media studies, he switched his major to American Studies. “That’s the story of America,” he said. “I wanted a college education that would strengthen my critical thinking and writing skills.” Wyatt hopes to reflect his interest in American history and society through future film endeavors.

As part of his major, the Mobile, Alabama, native took a deep dive into the country’s long standing

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“I was extremely happy when we got the building,” said Wyatt. “That changed everything.”

Meeting space on campus is at a premium, and properties near campus are difficult to secure given Manhattan’s hyper-competitive real estate market.

“The ministry center has greatly improved social life,” said Wyatt. “It’s been great to have a place to meet and where the Spirit of God is dominant.”

Like other seniors, Wyatt also mourned the disruption that the COVID-19 pandemic inflicted upon Columbia’s 2019-20 academic year.

“I was expecting a send-off, not a funeral,” Wyatt said. “You try to see the end as a new beginning.

You try to embrace and look for the fruits that might be coming, even though it all was kind of tumultuous.”

As for post-college pursuits, Wyatt is keen to launch a career based around his passion for artistic collaboration and his growing communications talents that date back to his participation in high school newscasts. “I can translate ideas really well,” said Wyatt. In the fall, he plans to commence the intimidating task of lining up auditions and gig jobs in Hollywood’s entertainment industry.

While in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, Wyatt took advantage of acting and writing opportunities, especially involving comedy, through Chowdah and other outlets. A highlight of his collegiate performing career was his participation in the Cornell Comedy Festival in October.

Wyatt’s acceptance into Chowdah provided opportunities to share his spiritual core with secular peers. “Through that club, there were a number of people I ended up talking to about faith,” he said.

Wyatt especially appreciates the ways laughter can relieve stress and lift spirits. Scripture readily attest to the healing and renewal power of unbridled laughter, he said. “Most aspects of life offer comedy,” said Wyatt, who enjoys connecting with audiences via standup comedy.

During his undergraduate studies, Wyatt handled video work on behalf of Christian Union Lumine

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vibrant faith and performing arts communities.

While the Alabama native experienced culture shock and a case of homesickness after arriving on campus, he also encountered seasons of spiritual growth.

In the midst of that adjustment, Lumine, Christian Union’s ministry to Columbia undergraduates, provided a “community that I could trust. I’ve loved the diversity of Christian Union,” said Wyatt. “It’s important to have a flowerbed for my spiritual life.”

Christian Union ministry fellows helped the American Studies major to probe life’s deep questions from a biblical worldview. “I have learned a lot about the Bible,” said Wyatt. The aspiring actor traveled to Israel with a Christian Union team for a memorable tour during summer 2018.

At Columbia, Wyatt found himself surrounded by intelligent peers, including ones who pressed him to articulate his beliefs. “At a school like Columbia, you have to allow your faith to be challenged,” he said. “You have to take ownership of your faith. My faith has grown. It’s grown because of Christian Union.”

Stan Thomas, Christian Union’s ministry director at Columbia, recalled the ways Wyatt allowed his faith to take center stage. “Nathaniel is a thoughtful, humble servant leader that puts others before his own needs,” he said.

Nathaniel Wyatt ’20 plans to relocate to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting “Nathaniel has served as a steady voice proas part of his passion for Christian artistic endeavors. viding leadership and spiritual counsel to the ministry in the midst of transition.”

Thomas also expressed appreciation to Wyatt for his service as an assistant Bible course leader.

At Columbia, Wyatt served on the executive team “He invests in others,” Thomas said. “He has been for Christian Union’s ministry and as editor-in-chief a vital part of the ministry.” for The Columbia Witness: A Journal of Christian Wyatt said his spiritual growth was enhanced by Perspectives (columbiawitness.org). Wyatt also was the opening of Christian Union’s much-anticipated active in Chowdah, Columbia’s sketch comedy ministry center near Columbia’s educational and troupe that performs original material from student research hub on Manhattan’s Upper Westside. The members. organization dedicated the multistory building at After matriculating into Columbia, Wyatt, a 529 W. 113th Street in October 2018. preacher’s kid, was pleasantly surprised to discover A Columbia University senior dreams of reflecting his faith while unleashing his passion for acting, storytelling, and triggering laughter.

In the fall, Nathaniel Wyatt ’20 plans to relocate to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment.

“I want to communicate the beauty of God through art,” he said. “It’s part of being salt and light.”

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The Collegiate Day of Prayer Christian Union Lux Helps Produce National Event

Over two hundred years ago, Yale, along with Williams College, Brown University, and Middlebury College, established the Collegiate Day of Prayer as a regular event on their campuses. By 1823, almost every major denomination and university in America embraced the practice of a concerted day of prayer for colleges. The event lasted for about a hundred years and helped fan the flame of various revivals and awakenings on campus.

At the Collegiate Day of Prayer in Dwight Hall, Chabeda, Li, and Luke Bell ’23 also had the opportunity to lead in prayer for a few minutes, their intercessions filling the cathedral while being broadcast across the nation. With a theme of “One,” based on John 17, participants called upon the name of the Lord with one voice, seeking another historic revival.

In between worship sets, groups of three to six would earnestly cry out to God. The Collegiate Day of Prayer organization reported that 4,323 campuses nationwide were adopted for prayer and 2,817 campus ministries, churches, and individuals had signed up to pray.

“The CDOP program certainly blessed all who attended,” Cromer said. “The Holy Spirit met us in worship and helped us to pray vigorously. It was a time to focus on Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit. It was a genuine taste of revival atmosphere during the chronically low-energy time of late February on campus.”

Cromer led a session focused on praise by reading Psalm 96. “This psalm primes our minds and hearts and souls to worship the living and everlasting God. Let us take time out, like the psalmist, to lift up praise, honor, and adoration to the King of Kings,” he said.

Christian Union Founder and CEO Matt Ben-

“We need to be a culture of men and women who seek the Lord with energy and faith, so that He will come and minister among us. Let revival start with us,” Bennett said. “Let’s ask the Lord to bring revival and a spirit of prayer and a spirit of unity.”

Dr. Jo Vitale, dean of students at the Zacharias Institute, read from Isaiah 62 and likened today’s college campuses to Jerusalem in the sixth century, B.C., which was reduced to “rubble and ruin.”

“These colleges were once sacred places dedicated to the glory of God. Now they are places where faith is deconstructed and the faithful are tempted to withdraw into self-imposed exile,” she said.

“My heart is that one day soon God will declare over the college campuses, ‘Behold, your salvation comes.’ Let us ask the Lord for that spiritual awakening now.”

Thai Lam, executive director of the Luke 18 Project at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, led some of the prayer sessions.

“We want every university in America restored to God’s design,” he prayed. “We want to take the promises of the Word and believe Him for his promises in our generation, and pray until we see a breakthrough.” | cu

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nett was one of the speakers. Referencing Acts 2:4247, Bennett talked about what revival culture looked like among the early church and exhorted the students to seek God fervently in the same manner.

“The believers (in Acts) were so radically changed that they stepped into a new way of living,” he said.

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da ’22 and Jin Li ’21, co-presidents of Lux, launched a prayer initiative called “Great to the Heavens” (based on Psalm 57:10). They reached out to leaders of other ministries and held morning and evening prayer sessions for eight days leading up to CDOP, including a day of fasting.

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“We had a shared sense of the challenges that Christian Union Lux was honored to host would come with hosting at Yale, but also the overthe Collegiate Day of Prayer at Yale Uniwhelming opportunity for seeking God together versity on the evening of February 27 in and interceding for our campus,” Cromer said.

Dwight Chapel. The two-hour event assembled Yale Additionally, “none of us knew that CDOP ministries in united prayer, worship, and exhortation would be just one week away from the end of the from Scripture, and also served as the national broad‘on-campus semester’ (due to the COVID-19 pancast for over forty thousand online viewers. demic). In hindsight, I thank God that we could Over two hundred years ago, Yale, along with mark the impending milestone of being scattered Williams College, Brown University, and Middlewith this spiritual milestone of being gathered.” bury College, established the Collegiate Day of While a multi-organizational working group Prayer as a regular event on their campuses. By 1823, handled the technicalities of the national broadcast almost every major denomination and university in and the program content, Christian Union Lux America “embraced the practice of a concerted day students led a pre-event prayer effort that was “truof prayer for colleges,” according to the Collegiate ly inspiring,” according to Cromer. Daniel ChabeDay of Prayer Web site. The event lasted for about a hundred years and helped fan the flame of various revivals and awakenings on campus.

Clay Cromer, Christian Union’s ministry director at Yale, appreciated the historical significance of the evening and the “continuity and solidarity with our Christian history at Yale.”

“All through the planning process, I kept thinking, ‘This started right here 205 years ago.’ Knowing that the same God who inspired and heard prayers at the inaugural event would be present with us again helped us take the responsibility of logistical and spiritual preparation seriously. Yet, while we were thrilled to lead the evening as the national host site, we kept our eyes on God as the real host and object of our focus.”

Cromer said hosting the Collegiate Day of Prayer (CDOP), with fellow leaders, including Sang Yun from Cru and Rob Malcolm from Chi Alpha, Credit: Collegiate Day of Prayer enhanced unity among ministries at The national broadcast for the Collegiate Day of Prayer was held at Yale like no other event in recent mem- Yale University. ory.

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by tom campisi, managing editor

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A Mountaintop Experience Student-led Prayer Enhances Ski Safari by eileen scott, contributing writer

evolved into two hours of deep prayer and repentance. “It absolutely wrecked us,” said Williams, describing how the students prayed through tears of sorrow over failing to live out the Great Commission.

“I had a vision where Jesus was on the cross and I was literally the one piercing His side,” said Williams. “In that moment, I became so aware that it was my sin, my rejection of Him that put Him on the cross. I became so aware of my brokenness.”

Brian Foster ’21 attended the ski trip to relax, spend time with friends, and meet new people. But he, too, could sense something deeper happening.

“There seemed to be a sense of revival brewing and a lot of people felt it,” he said.

Christopher Heslep, Christian Union’s Nicole Willaims ’22 experienced the power of prayer during ministry director at Princeton, said the faculNova's winter Ski Safari. ty’s decision to encourage students to take leadership of the prayer initiatives produced much fruit and a greater sense of unity.

“The students have found an identity in leaderfaculty attended the five-day event at Camp of the ship, and I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said. “There Woods in Speculator, New York. was also a sense that students were spending much Nicole Williams ’22 discerned the palpable presmore time together than normal. Not isolating ence of God at Ski Safari. themselves, but building relationships.”

“Many of us, in our devotion time, felt God

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The momentum of the Ski Safari continued into the spring semester when the students returned to campus. Heslep said attendance kept increasing at the daily 12-1 (noon to 1 p.m.) prayer hour, right up until the campus closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Freshman Lance Yoder did not attend the Ski

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highlighting the importance of prayer,” said Williams. “As friends shared with one another, it seemed to affirm what God was speaking to us individually.

Many of my peers had a hunger for prayer that they previously did not have.”

For example, a short devotional about the importance of intercession and praying for the lost

among the students, even after they went home to continue classes online.

Meeting over Google Hangouts, students continue their daily noontime prayer meetings. Together, they intercede for each other, for nonbelievers to come to Christ, and to stay focused and disciplined while they finish classes at home.

“My prayers are for us as a ministry, and for Christians as a whole, to take this time to reflect on our relationship with God and mend the areas that seem to be broken,” said Foster, whose prayer times are even having an impact within his own home.

“My dad has been eavesdropping off-camera on some of the sessions, and I’ve been able to talk to him afterward about the devotionals,” he said.

Other initiatives include a Princeton prayer chain created

by Yoder, where students pray for one another when they are not meeting online. The freshman also started a Bible study with some of his high school friends.

Despite the disruption and grief caused by COVID-19, Yoder and members of Nova continue to pray and study the Word from home and are looking forward to seeking and serving the Lord on campus once again. | cu

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The momentum of the Ski Safari continued into the spring semester when the students returned to campus. Ministry Director Christopher Heslep said attendance kept increasing at the daily 12-1 (noon to 1 p.m.) prayer hour, right up until the campus closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safari, but was inspired to pray and worship with others on campus at the start of the second semester.

Yoder and other students gathered regularly to pray for Princeton University and for God to move on campus. He also participated in a weekly prayer group at Forbes Residential College.

According to Heslep, ministry staff and student leaders felt that God was preparing the students for something.

“Little did we know that He was preparing us for this,” said Heslep referring to the spread of the coronavirus and the subsequent closing of campus.

The Ski Safari experience and prayer gatherings on campus set the stage for a deep unity of prayer

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the magazine

Christian Union Nova’s annual Ski Safari in Upstate New York offered Princeton students a holy space where the Spirit moved and attendees bonded through fellowship and fervent prayer. In late January, approximately seventy students and Christian Union

Photo Credit: Sarah Beth Turner

When Princeton students returned from their prayer-filled Ski Safari, they continued meeting daily for prayer on campus.

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Seeking God with Passion Jeon ’21 Led Daily Prayer Initiative in Winter

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comes up and my heart isn’t at peace about it, I tend to turn to prayer, even if it’s a quick word with God, something that I’ve started noticing more as the term progressed.”

“I think God’s definitely using this (daily prayer) as part of a bigger plan for our campus,” said Tan. “Stay tuned!” | cu

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cusing on God’s eternal truths more, and being more willing simply to pray ‘your will be done.’”

Likewise, Kimberly Tan ‘22 has grown through her participation in the prayer group.

“I think the morning prayer time is also an exercise in trust—I definitely was afraid of how busy I’d be this term and hesitated to commit my mornings to this, but God’s been faithful and provided for all of us in our other commitments and classes,” she said.

Tan has developed a longing for prayer that goes well outside the corporate prayer sessions: “It has helped me prioritize and develop a more instinctual relationship to prayer. Now, whenever something

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Early morning on Dartmouth's campus. Photo taken by Kimberly Tan on a morning walk to the prayer group.

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prayer group to all the Christian ministries on camStudents who steadfastly committed to pus. daily corporate prayer experienced an “It’s been overwhelming how good God has been abundance of spiritual growth during the to provide people who are committed to prayer,” winter quarter at Dartmouth. said Jeon.

Meeting every morning, this student-led gathA core group of five participants often swelled ering was wholeheartedly devoted to each other, to to ten for any of the daily sessions, which were held prayer, and to God before the COVID-19 outbreak at Dartmouth’s Prayer Room. The structure of prayer shut down the Dartmouth campus. They prayed varied from day to day, as each session was led by a fervently, shared news of answered prayer, and were different student. Jeon gave some examples, saying, committed to flourishing Christ-centered relation“We’ve practiced praying through the Lord’s prayer, ships. praying extensively for one speThe daily prayer initiative cific request, praying during was started by Paul Jeon ’21, worship, praying through difwho serves on Christian Union ferent prayers in the Bible, pracVox’s Student Executive Team. ticing listening, etc.”

Christian Union Vox is the “Through this, students are Christian Union ministry at drawing closer to each other as Dartmouth. they draw near to God in Jeon recalled experiencing prayer,” Crane said. the power of united prayer while On Saturdays, the group attending the Summer Christian met to share how they have seen Fellowship in 2019. The minthe Lord answer their prayers istry is for students from various throughout the week. This has campus organizations during been one of the more meaningthe college’s Sophomore Sumful aspects of the practice for mer term. Jeon was impressed Jeon. “It’s crazy to see how many by the intimate nature of the little and big prayers have been gatherings.

Christian Union Vox student leader Paul answered and how each testiNoah Crane, a Christian Jeon ’21 founded a daily prayer initiative. mony of answered prayer is a Union ministry fellow at Dartreminder of God’s faithfulness mouth, said, “Paul’s desire to and goodness to us,” he said. grow in his faith and in his relationship with God On Sundays, they met to pray before a pre-church is evident to all. His initiative and leadership over breakfast. this prayer group is a great encouragement to the Peter Surin, a freshman, is one of the core memstaff and a blessing to his fellow students. Paul is bers. modeling service, sacrifice, and discipline, all the “My passion for Christ has grown immensely,” while pointing people to a closer relationship with he said. “Being with a consistent group of believers God through these prayer times.” dedicated to taking time out of each day to focus In fall 2019, Jeon took an off-term from school on God has been huge.” to intern in a church community in Washington “My prayer habits have really developed in a D.C. Before returning to Dartmouth for the winter, positive way: praising God in my prayers more, foJeon and other students offered the idea of a daily

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by luke brown, dartmouth ’18

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A Medical Missions Mindset Yee ’21 Is a Key Leader in Christian Union’s Ministry by catherine elvy, staff writer

Harvard College junior Ana Yee is pursuing a career centered around medical missionary service, hopefully in underserved communities in the Horn of Africa.

“We only get one chance on the earth,” said Yee ’21. “I want to do what I can to live a life that is faithful.”

Following graduation in 2021, Yee is hoping to intern with Ethiopian hospitals to bolster an expanding resume that includes a series of short-term missions throughout her secondary and collegiate

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Presently, Yee is grateful and excited as she watches her dream of an overseas career take shape. The undergrad appreciates the wealth of training she has gleaned both on far-flung mission fields and inside Harvard’s iconic gates.

Yee described her years at Harvard as wonderfully fruitful. “It’s an intense place,” said Yee. “Harvard has forced me to depend on God.” | cu

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which serves orphans, pregnant women, and families living with AIDS. She also served children of refugees and taught English.

But it was during her 2019 trek to East Africa when Yee developed a palpable affection for Ethiopia and began to form long-term career goals. “It’s a beautiful country,” she said. The Ethiopian emphasis upon hospitality left a profound imprint upon

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“I have people who have walked with me and modeled what it means to be a disciple. Christian Union has been a pillar of my community experience at Harvard.”

—Ana Yee

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years. Long-term, the history of science major envisions herself stationed abroad as a missionary, possibly specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.

“It’s really a privilege to bring life into the world,” said Yee. Since her early teens, Yee has been fascinated by accounts of missionary life. “I was deeply captivated by the notion,” said Yee, who grew up in a Christian household in Massachusetts. “It is something that has stuck with me since middle school.”

However, Yee also credits the team behind Chris-

Yee. “The people there are expressive of God’s love,” she said.

At a practical level, Ethiopia is a “country with a great promise” for an aspiring physician. “There are a lot of people who want to see their country’s health system improve,” Yee said.

“Medical missions could be effective.”

After completing undergraduate studies at Harvard, Yee plans to take two years off before entering medical school, including one year for overseas service.

Yee’s family and upbringing have certainly shaped her vision, and she credited her parents for her deep-rooted interest in medical missionary endeavors. Yee’s father is a pediatric rheumatologist by training, and her mother, a concert pianist, has long Credit: Sarah Beth Turner. insisted she wants one of her four children Harvard’s Lamont Library to venture into missionary service.

“I was blessed to grow up with extraordinary parents who parented us so faithfully,” said Yee. traveled with a group of seventeen college staff memYee’s parents have modelled a life of service, and bers and faculty to seven camps in the Great Lakes the family regularly volunteers with Joni and Friends, and Northeast. Yee’s duties involved mentoring high a California-based disabilities ministry. Yee has volschool girls through leadership practicums. unteered during four summers for the organization’s As a high school student in 2016, Yee ventured family retreats for disabled individuals in North to Cambodia on a church missions trip. She helped Rockaway Beach, Oregon. lead a Bible camp at Place of Rescue orphanage, and surgeries. Yee also taught Bible lessons, songs, and games to the children of missionary staff.

In 2018, Yee volunteered with Worldview Academy Leadership Camps. The multi-talented student

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Ana Yee ’21 has a heart to serve as a medical missionary.

tian Union’s ministry at Harvard College for encouraging her dream of missionary service.

“I have people who have walked with me and modeled what it means to be a disciple,” said Yee, a co-vice president of the ministry. “It’s been a pillar of my community experience at Harvard.”

Yee, who also served as an assistant Bible course leader for the past two years, expressed appreciation for Christian Union’s leadership development training, Bible courses, and apologetics teaching. Likewise, the campus ministry’s tight-knit, diverse community has provided a “small taste of the kingdom of God,” said Yee. In addition to her involvement with Christian Union, Yee juggles double duties as a writer and social media director for The Harvard Ichthus, a student-run Christian journal. She also serves as a youth leader for Alethia Church, participates in Harvard Undergraduate Fellowship, and is a forward on Harvard’s women’s ice hockey club team.

Given her heart for service, Yee was described by Ministry Fellow Renee Ghobrial as a “passionate follower of Jesus.”

Ghobrial highlighted the ways Yee often welcomes students on the outskirts of the ministry. “She is constantly encouraging other students and staff,” Ghobrial said.

For such efforts, the native of suburban Boston can draw from the reservoirs of experience she gained while practicing hospitality and compassion during myriad missions projects.

Among the highlights, Yee devoted summer 2019 to service at Soddo Christian Hospital in Ethiopia, where she shadowed an American physician on his obstetrical duties involving ultrasounds, deliveries,

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Remaining Steadfast under Trial Semester Brings Joy, Challenges to Christian Union Gloria Law by catherine elvy, staff writer

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ic campus and in the lives of classmates. For some via video conferencing options after the COVID-19 students, the abrupt departure from campus brought flare-up. sadness and loss.

Previously, Christian Union’s ministry to law “A lot of them are reaching out and making sure students hosted a Bible course on 1 Corinthians in they are connected to one another,” said Yim. Hauser Hall on Wednesday evenings. The gatherings On March 26, law students joined with students also featured dinners and prayer sessions focused involved with Christian Union’s ministry to Harvard upon revival for the campus. After students departed campus in mid-March, the ministry shifted the study to virtual gatherings.

Yim led a discussion on the foundational insights of 1 Corinthians with the aim of teaching students to conduct lives consistent with Christ’s Gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth addresses topics including the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observance of the Lord’s Supper, and issues related to immorality and division, was a rich time of study for students as they grappled with everything from In a Bible study for married couples, Harvard Law students examined Richard Foster’s foundational theology to addressing Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. conflict in the church.

Among other activities, a law College undergraduates and Columbia University student and his wife continued with their Bible graduate students to participate in a virtual leadercourse for married couples affiliated with Harvard ship lecture. Christian Union Teaching Fellow Nick Law School. Julian and Kianna Nunally led a study Nowalk delivered a talk centered around the theme focused on Colossians during the autumn semester, of waiting on God when things fall apart. and they dove into theologian Richard Foster’s CelDuring the trying days of the pandemic associebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth ated with the disease known for its crown-like spikes, during the spring semester.

Yim pointed to James 1:12 to encourage students Julian Nunally, Harvard ’17, Law ’20, and Kito remain steadfast in their faith. anna Goldsberry Nunally, Harvard ’18, wanted to After all, “Blessed is the man who remains steadminister together and connect with other couples. fast under trial, for when he has stood the test he Kianna Nunally, an aspiring orthopedic surgeon, will receive the crown of life, which God has promalso spent part of the academic year ministering to ised to those who love him.” | cu female law students.

After the transition to online courses, Yim created virtual prayer sessions for scattered students, who met on Monday mornings and Thursday nights to seek God for spiritual awakening at their histor-

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“We are growing in community, reach, and impact,” said Justin Yim, Christian Union’s ministry director at Harvard Law School (HLS).

Yim noted how the thirty-five participating students were thankful for the long-awaited recognition.

But Yim knows the work at HLS has just begun.

He is excited about helping to transform the lives of some of the nation’s brightest young legal minds via Bible courses, lectures, and mentoring.

The longtime pastor is helping students to establish relationships that will endure beyond commencement and form the backbone of spiritual and professional networks. “I want to lay down the foundation of prayer, personal discipleship, and rigorous Bible study,” he said. “A core aspect of this year is making sure the relationships remain strong.”

Likewise, Yim encouraged students to remain firm in their faith in the midst of the tumultuous COVID-19 outbreak. The father of four pointed them to the powerful words of James 1:2, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Yim exhorted students to sustain their spiritual composure even as Harvard University abruptly halted on-campus activity and sent students home in March to complete coursework via online instruction. Yim exhorted the students to trust in an extraordinary God during unprecedented times, a practice that is applicable for both a pandemic and life’s trials.

Yim encouraged law school students to serve as carriers of contagious faith, hope, and love among their peers during this season of uncertainty. Indeed, the spring semester was memThe spring semester was memorable for the team behind Christian orable for Christians for both its challenges, Union’s ministry to law students, both for its challenges and opportunities. as well as its opportunities.

Among the highlights, Julian Nunally, Harvard ’17, Law ’20, his wife, Kianna During the early part of the semester, Yim Goldsberry Nunally, Harvard ’18, and Preston Moore, HLS ’20, celebrated the established regular mentoring sessions with baptism of Yemi Adewuyi, HLS ’20. individual students, a practice he continued Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard Law School celebrated a major milestone in December, just before a spring semester that would require students to maintain their faith and fellowship under difficult circumstances.

After concentrated work from a group of student leaders, Harvard Law School recognized Christian Union Gloria Law as an official organization, six years after it was launched. With recognition status, the ministry can reserve space on campus and gain better access to students while providing strategic leadership training.

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Initiating a Climate Change Conversation Students Play Key Role in Production of Veritas Forum by tom campisi, managing editor

the magazine

have to necessarily be in conflict with each other and we can actually engage in a fruitful conversation that allows all of us to learn when thinking about potential solutions.”

Ohrt and Hinh were also appreciative of leadership development opportunities within Christian Union during the past academic year.

“Through my position with Christian Union, I have learned how to lead humbly, asking for help and guidance when necessary, and keeping the wellbeing of our community in mind when making

ministry fellows for gently pushing me to take on more leadership roles, ranging from event organizing to even praying aloud for a group, which can, at times, be intimidating and overwhelming. Their support has allowed me to grow more in these capacities and learn from my peers in the community.” | cu

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—Catherine Ohrt, Brown ’21

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“At Brown, there is a tendency to separate personal interests and passions from religion. The Veritas Forum was impactful for non-Christian students because it allowed them to explore their interest through the lens of a [Christian worldview].”

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’21, Catherine Ohrt ’20, and Olivia Carter (a student at Rhode Island School of Design).

Ohrt, a Public Health major from Accra, Ghana, said the Veritas Forum helped foster conversations that normally do not happen on campus.

“At Brown, there is a tendency to separate personal interests and passions from religion,” she said. “The Veritas Forum was impactful for non-Christian students because it allowed them to explore their inEnvironmental Science major Amanda Hinh ’21 helped terest through the lens of a [Christian organize the Veritas Forum event in March titled “Have we worldview].”

Sold Our Future?: Climate Change, Commodification, and Our Hinh, an Environmental Science major Responsibility.” from San Diego, California, said the focus on ethics “was a good starting point for decisions,” said Ohrt, a member of the student exstudents to recognize that there is a larger converecutive team for Libertas. sation to be had about anthropocentric climate “Christian Union has largely shaped my develchange.” opment in becoming a more confident leader,” Hinh “More importantly, the takeaway from our event said. “I appreciate my Christian Union peers and was that this myriad of differing viewpoints don’t

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University, and Dr. Alex Poterack, a lecturer in the Economics Department at Brown. Elizabeth Lord, a visiting lecturer in Environment and Society at Brown, was the moderator.

Following the main event, Christian Union Libertas hosted a dinner and discussion with Professor Wirzba at its Judson Ministry Center. The dinner featured students and staff from a variety of faith backgrounds and fields.

“At the dinner, it was exciting to see small conversations of consequence that were engaging with the Christian worldview on the issue of environmental ethics,” said Laurel Copp, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Brown.

Earlier, the Veritas Forum conversation by the professors brought together economics, ethics, and environmental issues.

“Professor Wirzba presented a uniquely Christian worldview to his position that was beautiful and challenging because of its concern for creation,” said Copp. “Attendees were reminded that the value and ethical responsibility of and to God’s world is something that should be upheld and defended with creative imagination and hope.”

Copp was impressed with the student leadership team, which consisted of repCredit: Sarah Beth Turner resentatives from various campus minisCatherine Ohrt '21 is a member of the student executive team for Libertas. tries. Students were involved in every level of hosting the Veritas Forum. They came up with the topic, title, and content, invited the moderator and the Brown professor, On March 6, approximately a hundred students coordinated the conference with the student activand staff from the campus community gathered at ities office, and promoted the event.

MacMillan Hall for an event entitled “Have We “It was a strong team with a lot of talent, insight, Sold Our Future?: Climate Change, Commodifiand ability! They worked hard, were creative, and cation, and Our Responsibility.” did a great job,” Copp said.

The Veritas Forum featured a conversation beStudents from Christian Union Libertas on the tween Norman Wirzba, the Gilbert T. Rowe Disteam included: Kristen Marchetti ’21, Amanda Hinh tinguished Professor of Christian Theology at Duke Students from Christian Union Libertas were part of a team that organized a thought-provoking Veritas Forum on climate change at Brown University in the spring semester.

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christian union cities

‘Carpe Diem Redeemed’ Os Guinness Speaks at NYC Event by catherine elvy, staff writer

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—Os Guinness Given the brevity of life, Guinness encouraged forum attendees to lead examined lives. Such a practice can be challenging for modern believers who are bombarded by endless electronic temptations.

While contemporary societies abound with arrays of entertainment options, communication devices, and conveyances, humans remain confined by the fundamental nature of time.

“We are the most ‘diverted’ generation in history,” he said. “We surround ourselves with busy, entertaining distractions.”

During his appearance, Guinness also spotlighted the enduring importance of relationships, especially when it comes to personal and corporate scheduling. “The real value of something is the time you spend upon it,” he said. “That shows its true worth. What we spend in terms of time is what we know we really value.”

Guinness warned listeners to be aware of cultural differences that govern regional concepts of time management. Western Christians are immersed in cultures that value punctuality intertwined with optimum productivity and profits. “We are the product, uniquely, of clock time,” he said.

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“We are the most ‘diverted’ generation in history. We surround ourselves with busy, entertaining distractions.”

Other cultures, especially in Africa, prize interpersonal interactions and are renowned for their hospitality. “Time is invested in relationships,” said Guinness. Some even quip that Westerners have watches, but Africans have time.

Likewise, Guinness asked listeners to think ahead to how they might be remembered in eulogies, rather than how accomplishments appear on résumés.

“Have you all faced your mortality? At some point all of us have to,” said Guinness, who wrestled with death early in his childhood when he lost two brothers.

Ultimately, Christianity is future oriented and points to the promises of God, Guinness told his audience.

“We have the immense privilege of being partners with God throughout our callings,” he said. “We become partners with Him to do the restoration and repair of this broken world.”

Guinness concluded by pointing listeners to their extraordinary moment in history. “Humanity is facing unprecedented challenges,” he said. “The Gospel is truly the best news for humanity.” | cu

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tions that provided tangible ways for listeners to apply the material after the event. Some attendees also took advantage of a breakfast meeting with him that allowed young adults to discuss issues of calling and vocation.

Guinness had a special exhortation for young believers, challenging them to “read the signs of the time and serve God’s purposes. Each generation is a pulse beat in the story of humanity.”

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Life; Last Call for Liberty: How America’s Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat; and Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times.

In Carpe Diem Redeemed, Guinness provides thought-provoking insights into the concept of time from the perspective of God, who operates outside the confines of time and space.

“Our challenge is to recognize the nature of time and to live wisely and well,” he said.

Such pragmatic instruction on the stewardship of time dovetails with the mission of Christian Union Cities, which offers an enriching variety of leadership development opportunities and other resources to professionals in New York City.

At the core of such efforts, the ministry provides emerging leaders and professionals with an offering of forums, lectures, and conferences on key Christian topics.

“It was an evening of ideas and their consequences – both intellectual and practical,” said Scott Crosby, ministry director of Christian Union New York.

Likewise, some of the key points prompted listeners to wrestle with questions involving their own mortality and journey to fulfill callings for God’s purposes. “These are more philoCredit: Veritas Forum sophical topics and questions Earlier this year, Christian Union New York hosted an appearance by noted author Os that the Christian community Guinness, who discussed insights from his newest book. isn’t often drawn into, and we heard from many that it was a compelling evening of ideas and their implications,” prominent social critic. A senior fellow at the Oxford Crosby said.

Centre for Christian Apologetics, he is also the Audience members were challenged to act in co-founder of The Trinity Forum in Washington, faith and trust in God’s sovereignty over time and D.C. He has authored several books, including The space. Guinness provided a series of reflective quesCall: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your

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n the midst of a fast-paced, often superficial world, believers are called to pause to reflect on the redemptive, purposeful nature of God. “Life is very short, fragile, and vulnerable,” said Os Guinness, prolific author and noted social scientist. “How do we live wisely and well and make the most of it?”

This winter, Christian Union New York hosted an appearance by Guinness, who shared insights from his new book, Carpe Diem Redeemed: Seizing the Day, Discerning the Times. About 110 people attended the event at the Union League Club.

Guinness, who holds a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University, is a frequent speaker, and

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stewardship news

Let Us Hold Fast

Remembering Ken Melrose

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Family is Thankful for Christian Union's Ministry at Columbia

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endrick “Ken” B. Melrose once said, “The purafter his brother, an alumnus of Princeton’s class of pose of life is to serve God by serving others.”

1954 who died tragically at a young age. Inspired But Melrose did not only believe these words, he

by Robert’s faith and love for Jesus, Melrose saw an put them into action and lived a life of integrity as opportunity to invest in the lives of Princeton stua servant leader. dents by establishing a center for Christian leadership Melrose passed away on May 3, 2020. The fordevelopment. Melrose later endowed the building mer chairman and CEO of The Toro Company, with a gift of $1 million. founder of Leading by Serving, LLC, and primary Christian Union founder and CEO Matt Bennett donor for Christian Union’s Melrose Center for reflected, “Ken Melrose was an extraordinary, wonChristian Leadership at Princeton, derful person who loved his family will be remembered for his deep love and the cause of Christ at his alma for Christ, his passion for leadership, mater, Princeton. I praise God for and his profound generosity. him and all of us at Christian Union Melrose, a native of Orlando, will miss him.” graduated with honors from PrincMelrose’s impact will be felt far eton University in 1962, where he beyond the reaches of Christian majored in mathematics and electriUnion and Princeton University. cal engineering and was a varsity track While the chairman and CEO of letterman for three years. He received The Toro Company, Melrose gara Master of Science degree from the nered respect for his personal care Sloan School of Management at MIT, Ken Melrose, Princeton ’62 for his staff and his commitment to and went on to receive his MBA from Christian values. He started a prayer the University of Chicago. group for employees that attracted 60-70 participants Melrose joined The Toro Company in 1970, each week and collected prayer requests via e-mail where he rose from being a director of marketing from staff members. He prayed for them regularly, to CEO and chairman of the board. In 2006, he saying that knowing the needs and personal details retired from Toro and set his gaze on something that of his employees kept him humble. had always been deeply important to him—servant Though Melrose brought the once-struggling leadership. During his years as a CEO, Melrose deToro company into a place of great financial success, veloped the deep conviction that the best business he always had an eye towards giving back. A philanpractices should be Christ-like and service-oriented. thropist at heart, Melrose has created several scholThis passion led him to found Leading by Serving, arship programs including the Kendrick B. Melrose LLC, an organization focused on advancing the Scholarship Program for dependents of company principles of servant leadership. He also wrote the employees. book, Making the Grass Greener on Your Side: A CEO’s When Melrose retired from Toro, he was preJourney to Leading by Serving. sented with a framed tribute which stated, “Jesus Melrose’s devotion to bringing Christ into the was his greatest model and became the filter for his business sector and his love for his alma mater, Princleadership decisions,” followed by several quotes from eton, made Christian Union a natural interest. He Melrose about Christ-like leadership. This plaque first supported Christian Union by sponsoring a now hangs in the Melrose Center at Princeton Unimen’s track team Bible course in 2010. In 2017, he versity, an ebenezer to God’s faithfulness and the donated $1.1 million for the purchase of the Robert beauty of a life lived in pursuit of Him. | cu L. Melrose Center for Christian Leadership, named

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faith that I see in my peers; it pushes me to dive deeper into my own faith and lean in more to God’s Word.”

Michael’s parents, Chris and Priya, attest to the home away from home and “the camaraderie” that their son has found at a university where vastness can so easily breed loneliness. Both were delighted to learn “that a solid, non-compromising, yet non-judgmental Christian fellowship is thriving at such a secular and prominent institution.”

By God’s design, the ministry of Christian Union is made possible because faithful givers with like-minded hearts invest sacrificially to help bring about revival at institutions like Columbia, places that exert disproportionate influence on American culture. Parents of Christian Union students have played a pivotal role in deepening and expanding this kingdom work, and the ministry is so grateful to Chris and Priya for their generous giving. They added, “We thank God for leading Michael to Christian Credit: Sam Manohar Photography Union and pray that God uses him to bless (Left to right) Joel, Rachael, Nathan, Chris, Gabe, Priya, and Michael the ministry for years to come.”

The hope and prayer of the ministry team at Columbia is that Michael will continue to hone that point on, I’ve been involved in the ministry, and exercise his God-given skills that will equip him helping out and volunteering in any capacity necto have a profound impact for Christ now and far essary,” Michael shared. into the future. “Christian Union is working to reviMonths before new freshmen step onto campus, talize college campuses. I’ve already seen the impact ministry faculty pray diligently for each one of them. it can have, and I’ve only been here for one semester,” During the Freshman Welcoming Campaign, Chrissaid Michael. “Universities need Christ and the Gostian Union faculty and student leaders earnestly pel, and Christian Union is working to bring that to welcome students into an authentic Christian comfruition.” | cu munity. The impact can be significant: “All of my closest friends are involved with the ministry, and as a result, there’s a real sense of belonging. The Let us hold fast the confession of our hope withfriendships are built to last with deep roots and are out wavering, for he who promised is faithful. truly genuine,” explained Michael. He went on to —Hebrews 10:23 share, “Christian Union has greatly impacted and improved my faith. The community that I have keeps To learn more about the many ways to support Chrisme accountable, and through my Bible course I have tian Union, please visit www.christianunion.org/ grown in my ability to study scripture and understand get-involved/donors/ways-to-give. how it applies to my life. I’m also inspired by the t Columbia University, in the heart of one of the world’s most influential cities, academic rigor and the vibrant, rapid pace of life merge to form an exhilarating and often intimidating atmosphere for incoming freshmen. Establishing relationships and a sense of belonging are critical in the first weeks of college life. Michael was first introduced to Christian Union during freshman orientation when he was invited to a Christian Union jazz night. “From

Former Toro CEO Was a Prominent Supporter of Christian Union

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the spiritual climate on campus

reports from some of america’s most influential universities

The Spiritual Climate on Campus

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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.

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Cornell students Iyaniwura Olarewaju ’20 (right) and Brooke Lindsey ’20 (left)

photo: david navadeh

behind this,” said Father Albert Duggan, Brown ’03, an associate university chaplain.

In January, the ministry purchased the multi-story residence at 51 Prospect Street, a short walk from the iconic wrought-iron gates of Brown’s campus and near the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to providing a home-away-from-home for students to congregate and host peers, Brown-RISD Catholic Community

wants to support spiritual leaders in training.

As an alumnus, the building project especially is sweet to Duggan. “The Catholic community on campus was where I made friendships and encountered the faith in a new way,” he said.

“In a sense, the seeds of my vocation were planted here.”

In spring 2019, Brown’s Catholic community began a feasibility study on options to establish a private center.

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rown University’s Catholic community is looking forward to welcoming students to its new ministry home during the fall semester.

After decades of meeting on university property, Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Catholic Community (brownrisdcatholic.org) is renovating a 3,925-square-foot home in historic College Hill to serve as a beautiful, functional ministry hub.

“The students were the main drivers

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LEADERS, STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT NEW MINISTRY CENTER

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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For over six decades, the ministry has utilized the historic Manning Chapel and other campus spaces. Part of the inspiration for the purchase stemmed from activities co-hosted with Christian Union at the Adoniram Judson Ministry Center on Lloyd Avenue.

“The one thing we have been lacking is a space on College Hill to call our own,” said Duggan.

Fellow campus minister Megan O’Brien Crayne called the center an “absolute game-changer” for Brown-

built in 1979 but underwent a substantial renovation in 2014. Real estate listings highlighted the home’s stylish, open floor plan, beamed ceilings, and light oak flooring, along with its pair of black, stone fireplaces, and sleek, European-style kitchen.

The listings also noted the contemporary building’s sun-filled rooms and vistas of downtown Providence.

As such, Duggan envisions the center serving as the venue for weekly dinners, Sunday brunches, regular

The first floor of the renovated ministry center will feature a dining area and a combination social hall and study space. Brown-RISD Catholic Community (BRCC) also is converting the property’s adjoining two-car garage into a 500-square-foot chapel.

As needed, BRCC will still use Manning Chapel, especially for large gatherings, including Sunday morning mass. The chaplains will continue to maintain space in the Office of Chaplains & Religious Life.

fundraising. The ministry also plans to decorate the facility with Christian artwork, with an emphasis on thought-provoking pieces.

“We are pushing forward and expect to be operational by the time our students come back in the fall,” said Duggan, who joined Brown as a chaplain in fall 2015.

BRCC continues to fundraise for $500,000 to complete renovations and help establish an endowment to cover some operating and maintenance expenses. The ministry also is offering a variety of naming opportunities for gifts.

In October, BRCC wants to celebrate a grand opening in coordination with homecoming and reunion activities (if students are permitted to return to campus in the wake of the current Coronavirus Pandemic).

BRCC, a ministry of the Diocese of Providence, also aims to strengthen

Catholic identity on its neighboring campuses via its new home base.

The house will also literally put the Catholic community on the map, making this beautiful community more visible and more easily found,

new domicile serve as a thriving base for Bible studies that challenge students to live out the Gospel and launch missionary efforts. Likewise, some students need a safe haven to explore their faith.

“Having our own building will take our ministry to the next level and create unprecedented opportunities for hospitality and connection among students.”

—Megan O’Brien Crayne and giving it more of a sense of legitimacy in the eyes of those not familiar with our community,” said Crayne.

As for Duggan, the friar remains grateful for the deep imprint of Brown’s Catholic community upon his spiritual life, especially for “what it did for me as a student and in nurturing my faith.”

Duggan wants to see the ministry's

“The challenges facing students seem to be far greater than they were 20, 30, or 50 years ago. We know that many students struggle with questions about faith and religion in college,” Duggan said.

“We want to welcome them into the faith and introduce them to Christ.” | cu

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Credit: Photos by Christopher Whirlow, courtesy of Jim Derentus.

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In February, ministries at Brown University teamed up to host a night of combined worship centered on the theme of God’s love. The event, held February 14, featured music, student testimonies, and an exploration of the nature of the love of God. Participating ministries included: Christian Union, The Branch at Brown, Cornerstone Magazine, Brown Christian Fellowship, Black Christian Ministries, and other organizations.

Holy Week Reflections During Holy Week, students involved with Cornerstone: Brown & Rhode Island School of Design’s Christian Literary Magazine reflected upon Jesus Christ and His great love for His people.

About two dozen students and

advisers with Cornerstone shared blog posts about the meaning of the Savior’s death upon the cross and His resurrection. Chaelin Jung ’23 highlighted how the cross reflects Christ’s commitment to rescuing His followers. “The battle has been won; death has been defeated,” Jung wrote. “So, we rejoice.” Claire Lin ’23 noted how God remains faithful, even in the midst of calamities. “In light of everything that is happening in this world, I think there is a certain comfort knowing that we are holding onto a faithful and loving God who can use all of it for redemption,” she wrote.

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The plans for the second floor of the center call for a library, two meeting rooms, and additional study space.

BRCC plans to name the property’s landscaped garden after the late Father Howard O’Shea, a Franciscan priest and beloved chaplain who served the campus from 1967 to 1994.

The Harvard alumnus of 1949 became the first full-time Catholic chaplain at Brown, where he relished serving as a source of inspiration and wisdom for students.

During the spring and early summer, BRCC is pursuing renovations, satisfying building, safety, and handicap codes, and handling additional

After the event, participants from The Branch at Brown expressed appreciation for the large turnout and rich discussion. In response to student inquiries, the organization also provided a list of campus Christian organizations and nearby churches.

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coffee gatherings, and the like. Eventually, the Dominican priest would like to see the edifice equipped with an espresso machine, grill, and even a deep fryer to accommodate fish dinners.

“We want to forge relationships among students and connect them to one another,” said Duggan.

Likewise, the Michigan native hopes students will feel comfortable inviting their collegiate peers to a variety of activities. “As a priest, it’s such a joy to be back here and show the students what was revealed to me,” said Duggan. “In the church, we are part of something greater than ourselves.”

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RISD Catholic Community. “Having our own building will take our ministry to the next level and create unprecedented opportunities for hospitality and connection among students,” said Crayne, Stanford ’14.

In August 2019, the Thomas Becket Foundation approved the building project along with a $3.5 million capital campaign. Since 1969, the nonprofit organization of Catholic alumni, parents, and other backers have provided support for Catholic ministry at Brown, a cutting-edge research and educational institution.

The Prospect Street property was

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Brown University’s Catholic community is renovating a property in College Hill to serve as a beautiful, functional ministry hub.

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C O L U M B I A | On Campus

Marching for Life Together COLUMBIA RIGHT TO LIFE UNITES IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITIES IN WASHINGTON

By Nathan Barlow, Columbia ’20

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n past years, pro-life students from individual Ivy League universities have traveled to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life, sometimes as part of their campus organization

when students at Columbia University Right to Life contacted representatives from all the Ivy League schools.

The students united in Washington, D.C. for an unprecedented venture.

Credit: Sean Legg Photography

Students from Columbia Right to Life helped organize the Inaugural Ivy League Pro-Life Symposium.

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Supreme Court, and two, to coordinate the inaugural Ivy League Pro-Life Symposium.

In January, 140 students from

the weary participants met at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center for an all-Ivy pizza party.

The next day, students gathered for

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Muzikowski Video Is a Viral Sensation

In March, a Chicago principal became a media sensation after he created a heartwarming video on behalf of his students during the early days of campus closure.

Principal Ike Muzikowski ’15 created the comical, energetic video to encourage students at Chicago Hope Academy as they adjusted to distance-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC’s Good Morning America spotlighted the clip of Muzikowski showing off some fancy soccer and athletic maneuvers and greeting students by name outside the school’s entrance, even though they were taking classes at home. Muzikowski, a leader

‘Carry the Love’ with Christian Union during his time at Columbia, told the news media he simply wanted to remind his students of his love for them during the unprecedented shuttering of their school.

Chicago Hope Academy is a co-ed, non-denominational college and life preparatory school dedicated to nurturing and challenging students in body, mind, and spirit to the glory of God. After the video went viral, Columbia University’s Rugby Football Club praised its alumnus for modeling a positive disposition and humor as he shared some cheer and camaraderie with teens in the midst of the pandemic.

In February, Circuit Riders, a ministry of Youth with a Mission (ywam.org) that inspires college and high school students to serve as Christian messengers, exhorted students at Columbia University to reflect Christ’s love across their campus. As part of their “Carry the Love” project, the team hosted an event at Earl Hall on February 13 that included worship, prayer for revival, and a call to unity. The following day, the ministry held campus outreach activities, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, and a commissioning of students. On February 29, Circuit Riders hosted a night of worship to energize Christian students across New York City.

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tutions had virtually no coordinated involvement at the most important pro-life gathering of the year.

That changed in the fall of 2019

movement, ending by citing Psalms relevant to the pro-life cause. Finally, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson drew raucous applause as he discussed the in utero neurosurgeries he completed that confirmed for him over and over that life in the womb is precious and must be defended.

When the events were over, the united Ivy League participants boarded their buses back home heartened to begin another season of pro-life leadership on campus. | cu

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In January, 140 students from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale met in D.C. to attend President Trump’s speech on the National Mall at the March for Life... The students then joined the march, proudly holding up the banners of their colleges’ pro-life clubs.

discussed her faith and how it related to her years-long struggle to pass a state heartbeat bill, which banned abortions after a detectable fetal heartbeat. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia talked about his life and experience in private practice and then in government agencies. Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, roused the crowd with his achievements defending life in international bodies like the United Nations. Congressman Chris Smith (New Jersey) covered the moral stakes of the pro-life

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The organizers had two primary ambitions: one, to get Ivy Leaguers together for the annual march on the

the inaugural Ivy League Pro-Life Symposium, known as The David Project (in a nod to the underdog atmosphere they face on their campuses). In the morning, they heard from leading prolife voices, such as R.R. Reno, Mary Eberstadt, and Hadley Arkes. Speakers fielded questions from small groups of students, equipping them with the rhetoric and knowledge needed to carry winsome pro-life activism back to their campuses.

Later in the day, Kristina Roegner, a state congresswoman from Ohio,

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and sometimes as unaffiliated students passionate about life. Historically, groups from these influential insti-

Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale met in D.C. to attend President Trump’s speech on the National Mall. Marchers heard an encouraging message from the president, along with reminders of what they were marching for: the sanctity of every image-bearer. Not all students considered themselves supporters of the president, but many noted that his message resonated with their convictions. The students then joined the march, proudly holding up the banners of their colleges’ pro-life clubs.

Organizers had two goals for the team effort. One was to show the world that many students from leading universities believe fervently in the pro-life position, even if it means going up against the overwhelming pro-choice opinion on their campuses. The second was to build camaraderie and strengthen the relationships between faithful students across the Ivy League. To that end, after standing for hours and walking for miles,

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C O R N E L L | On Campus

Pledging to Give It Away AHL ’60 SEEK S TO INSPIRE OTHER S TO BE GENERO US

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer builds homes in Guatemala. The New Jersey-based organization also distributes food, renovates community centers, and hosts medical clinics, youth sports clinics, and day camps.

Likewise, the Ahls have sponsored schooling for ten-plus children in South America, and they had the pleasure of seeing three recently graduate from high school in Guatemala.

“It was heartwarming to have followed them from first grade to high school,” said Ahl. With that, the computer visionary strongly encourages believers to cast their gazes upon kingdom projects.

“I waited too long. Don’t wait until you have some extra in the bank or until the time is right. Now is the right time,” he said. “God will take care of you.” | cu

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Chesterton House Offers Praxis Forums As many students are using newfound free time to binge watch their favorite T.V. shows, The Chesterton House is ensuring that they have a platform to engage critically through its online Praxis Forums. Prior to the pandemic, the forums were part of the ministry’s Sunday night dinners, where small groups focused on discussing “a particular prompt to think through how to practice the

presence of God daily.” Now, every Tuesday, students have the ability to continue the practice by tuning in for a discussion on a different movie, article, T.V. show, podcast, or excerpt.

Massilon ’20 Makes Music For Daniel Massilon ’20, sheltering in place has meant time to invest in his music.

Transforming his now vacant suite into a studio, Massilon has been

working on songs as a way to deal with uncertainty and adversity.

Primarily remixing classics like “Open the Eyes of My Heart” and “Still,” these soulful interpretations have taken on new life in these trying times. Across campus, various students have expressed their feelings and thoughts of this unprecedented time through song, from comedic covers like “Hey There Corona” (from “Hey There Delilah”) to more somber tracks inspired by the book of Ecclesiastes.

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ships among industry forefathers during the birth of the personal computer era, Ahl insists he is far more awed by faithful Christian servants.

“It’s not the big names,” he said. “It’s the people with the boots on the ground who are really accomplishing something.”

Since his retirement in 2001 from the publishing industry, Ahl also has developed a passion for missionary service. Since 2003, he has taken about twenty missionary trips, including regular ones to Guatemala and others to Haiti, Ecuador, Peru, and Honduras.

“I prefer to go on a working trip,” he said. “I can see things actually happening as a result of philanthropy.”

Many of Ahl’s trips to South America are tied to wife Betsy Ahl’s Beyond the Walls initiative, which

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England in search of antique Bibles and historic church and study materials.

Ahl’s initial exposure to charitable giving came as a child growing up on Long Island in the shadow of World War II. Young David would drop five or so cents of his lawn-cutting money into his Lutheran church’s weekly collection plate.

After selling Creative Computing, Ahl was struck by the nature of his financial security and tangible position to help others in need. He contemplated how God might use him to make a difference in kingdom endeavors. Since then, the multi-talented entrepreneur has supported a variety of organizations, including domestic and foreign missionary organizations.

Although he established friend-

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al computer magazines. In 1974, Ahl founded Creative Computing, the first personal computer magazine.

Creative Computing provided a growing audience of microcomputer users, including educators and hobbyists, with tutorials and applications programs. In 1985, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company acquired Creative Computing and its sister publications, including a book division, and Ahl continued in his capacity as editor-in-chief.

Ahl has written 21 books and 1,200-plus articles on topics as varied as technology, automotive restoration, marketing, communication, logic puzzles, travel, market research, financial planning, investment analysis, and spiritual inspiration. He also has penned 300-plus Bible studies. His first book, BASIC Computer Games, sold one million copies by 1979. Some of the games compiled in the book served as the basis for more elaborate, modern versions including Lunar Lander. Other titles included Hamurabi and Super Star Trek.

In addition, the former U.S. Army intelligence staff officer previously published Military Vehicles Magazine, a nod to his hobby of restoring historic military trucks. Ahl also is an avid collector whose growing assortments include: coins, stamps, and patriotic paraphernalia. Likewise, he enjoys visiting ancient churches in

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Ahl notes he may not be able to pioneer of the computer publishing industry is challenging vaccinate 22 million kids, for example, fellow Christians to be bold when it but he is the benefactor behind five schools in Central and South Amercomes to practicing generosity.

David Ahl, Cornell BS ’60, MS ica and the Caribbean. “You don’t ’61, is setting an example by strategi- have to be wealthy to make an imcally donating much of his wealth over pact,” he said. the next decade, in part, to encourage believers to step up their benevolence. “I’m so thankful that God has blessed me and enabled me and encouraged me to be generous,” Ahl said.

The New Jersey resident pointed to the efforts of Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., and Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, for accelerating some of his all-in mentality when it comes to charity. In 2010, Gates (Harvard ’77) and Buffett (Penn ’49, Columbia MS ’51) started The Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals to give away half of their David Ahl, a Cornell University alumnus, is fortune before or upon their challenging believers to be generous with their deaths. The men primarily focus finances. upon causes such as poverty alleviation, refugee aid, disaster The retired magazine and guiderelief, global health, education, medical research, the arts, and environ- book publisher wants to encourage believers of all financial levels to harmental sustainability.

Signatories of the pledge must be ness the remarkable power of charibillionaires, and must make their table giving. “You don’t have to do commitment public to encourage some global, huge project,” said Ahl, philanthropy. While not a billionaire, a father of three and grandfather of Ahl is following the example set by two. “Do something. Get involved.”

Ahl is best known for his role as Gates, a longtime associate from the early days of the personal computer an early promoter of computer literacy, especially via his popular personindustry.

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D A R T M O U T H | On Campus

Psychological Resilience for Life

INTEGRARE HOSTS WINTER ROUNDTABLE DINNER

By Luke Brown, Dartmouth ’18

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n early February, student-athletes, professors, and other members of the Dartmouth community gathered at the Hanover Inn for Integrare’s Winter Roundtable Dinner. The event, themed “Psychological Resilience for Life,” featured guest speaker Dr. Stephen Gonzalez, Director of Mental Performance and Leadership Development in Dartmouth’s Athletic Department.

Integrare’s dinners are “dedicated to fostering dialogue that explores the

their leadership skills and athletic capabilities.

One intriguing idea brought up throughout the evening was how the character trait of resilience acts like a muscle. For a person's ability to be resilient to grow, it needs to be strained. Simply put, for a person to become stronger, they need to face a challenge. Or as James 1:3 puts it, “the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

Kent Dahlberg, who leads Inte-

difficult things and succeeding.”

After the presentation by Dr. Gonzalez, dinner was served. The table groups, filled with varsity captains, professors, collegiate coaches, doctors, and other professionals, launched into discussions. This kind of dialogue is the heart of the Roundtable because of the “big questions” raised, according to Dahlberg.

Attendees considered prompts: “In what way (if any) has a faith life strengthened your capacity to adapt

cussion back to the larger group. Dr. Gonzalez synthesized these comments and responded with his own observations about what the larger group had learned about resilience. He then answered questions from the audience.

“The evening was a huge success,” Dahlberg said. “Conversing about how we can cultivate more resilience led naturally into observing ways a faith perspective and faith experiences strengthen some people’s capacity to

deal well with life.”

“Understanding, valuing, and cultivating resilience changes the way a person views life’s inevitable challenges, setbacks, and disappointments — in ourselves, in our teams and organizations, and in people we are helping train or lead.”

This change in perspective – in mind and heart – is one goal Dahlberg hopes to achieve through his organization’s thought-provoking dinners.

Stephen Gonzalez closed his remarks [at the Roundtable] with a quote from The Little Prince that Fred Rogers often noted in his PBS children’s program Mr. Rogers Neighborhood: “What is essential is invisible to the eye. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.”

Dahlberg noted: “Resilience is a resource ‘invisible to the eye.’ So is our faith.” | cu

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Student Questions the Former Astronaut Image of Jesus in Art Offers Insight for In an article for The Dartmouth, COVID-19 Isolation

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to stressful circumstances and bounce back from adverse events [using a phrase from the definition of resilience]?” “How have you taken a difficult situation and asked, ‘What can I learn from this?’ — shaping that hardship to your advantage?” and “How did reframing it as a ‘learning opportunity’ help you step back, cultivate resilience, push forward, and as a result, grow?”

After dinner, each table reported the most poignant parts of their dis-

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grare along with his wife Denise, reflected on this concept from Dr. Gonzalez’s talk. “The analogy of a muscle is apt,” he said. “You build resilience by encountering and learning to deal with hardships, setbacks, disappointments, failures — adversity of various kinds. If life is too simple, easy, and straightforward, we never need to develop resilience to cope with and overcome various struggles. A lot of the satisfaction we gain in life is precisely from overcoming

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intersection of contemporary academic thought, cultural thought, and Judeo-Christian thought on issues related to science, the arts, life, and religion.”

Dr. Gonzalez opened the evening with a brief message about resilience, a topic he knows well. Before coming to Dartmouth, he worked as a performance psychologist with both collegiate athletes and infantrymen.

Today, Dr. Gonzalez works with Dartmouth’s student athletes to develop

Dr. Jay Buckey, a former astronaut, knows something about staying mentally healthy while working in confinement.

Buckey (Cornell ’77, Cornell School of Medicine ’81) is the director of the Space Medicine Innovations Lab at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, where he studies strategies to help people work effectively in small spaces for extended periods. A self-help research program is available online (geiselmed.dartmouth.edu) to anyone interested in learning more about the approaches that are used to deal with the psychological challenges of confinement.

While the program is not

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In February, student leaders and community members gathered for Integrare’s Winter Roundtable Dinner at the Hanover Inn.

student Caris White discussed the origins of inaccurate depictions of Jesus in art and iconography.

In “Recolored History: Art, Iconography, and the Myth of White Jesus,” White references a conversation with Guy Collins, a local Episcopalian Reverend.

Collins stated, “There is this imaginary [image], and it forms and shapes our reality… If our imaginary [version] is only shaped by representations that are factually incorrect and only present one side of the pluralistic reality of the human race; if we only see one type of face in the imaginary, then we’re actually—in theological terms—denigrating the image of God in humanity.”

designed specifically for social distancing and shelter at home measures associated with COVID-19, Buckey believes that it has relevance in the context of the pandemic. “These resources are meant to make anyone better at stress management, depression treatment, and conflict resolution,” he says.

The videos and information sheets in the research program were created for individuals who cannot get access to the outside world, such as those working in places like outer space and research stations in Antarctica. “There is no reason why people who suddenly find themselves stuck at home for long periods of time, alone or with others, shouldn’t also access these resources,” Buckey said.

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H A R V A R D | On Campus

A Pioneer in Healing Ministry M A C N U T T ’4 8 L E A V E S A R E M A R K A B L E L E G A C Y

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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in 1981 and son David in 1983.

The couple initially founded Christian Healing Ministries in Clearwater, but moved the ministry to Jacksonville, Florida in 1987 at the invitation of Bishop Frank Cerveny of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida.

In the mid-2000s, about 500 Catholic charismatic priests and lay leaders from the worldwide Catholic Charismatic Renewal journeyed to Jacksonville to learn from the MacNutts at the School of Healing Prayer. In 2008, MacNutt appointed his wife to serve as president and director of ministry for Christian Healing Ministries. Judith MacNutt, an author and teacher in her own right, remains in demand as a conference

speaker, especially for her expertise in inner healing.

In a 2004 article, Charisma magazine highlighted Francis MacNutt’s work on the supernatural healing frontier. MacNutt described experiences involving individuals cured of asthma, allergies, heart disease, cancer, and more. He noted he once prayed for a woman and watched her foot grow into a normal size.

“There’s something calm and comforting about the way Francis MacNutt heals the sick,” Charisma wrote. “He rarely raises his voice except when confronting evil spirits. Yet when the 79-year-old priest gently lays his hands on a sick person’s head or shoulders, they often say God

touches them at the same moment he whispers the name ‘Jesus.’”

MacNutt preferred a personal, hands-on approach to healing. He would often “listen, love, and pray,” according to Charisma. He sought to teach modern believers that simple but therapeutic formula.

Indeed, MacNutt succeeded in his mission to train an army of healers to minister and lay hands upon the sick and needy, associates said. “His work and his legacy live on through those who continue to practice healing as he taught it,” Fish said. “Francis was a kind and gentle man, with a quick wit and a twinkle in his eye. He will be missed by many, including me.” | cu

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The March for Life In January, twenty-four Harvard Right to Life students stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., giving a voice to the voiceless. The students participated in the March for Life on January 24 “to express to the United States government and the American culture at large, the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.”

This year, President Donald Trump addressed the rally, the first time a sitting president has spoken at the March for Life. “Hearing the president’s words echo across

the National Mall was certainly something I had never expected to witness,” said Olivia Phillips, Harvard ’20.

The day after the march, Harvard students joined representatives from seven other colleges in attending the first ever Ivy League Pro-Life Symposium, where they learned from leading pro-life figures how to share the pro-life position on campus. “So many people make it seem like humanity is too enlightened to care about the unborn, and that students at Ivy League universities would be crazy to oppose a woman’s right to abortion,” said

Phillips. “It was amazing to rally together with students from these very institutions, disproving that stereotype and voicing a brave opposition to the norm on our campuses.”

The Harvard students then joined three thousand others in attendance of the National ProLife Summit, which was themed “History Maker: Casting a Vision for a Post-Roe America.”

“This year’s rally was the first time I was encouraged to feel like the tide might begin to turn in the pro-life, pro-woman direction,” said Phillips.

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ever, MacNutt’s plans for college were interrupted by World War II and service as a surgical technician for the U.S. Army.

After military duties, MacNutt completed a degree in English at Harvard, followed by a master of fine arts at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. During his time at Catholic University, MacNutt found inspiration in Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain, and he felt a call from God to the priesthood.

Following his pivotal embrace of the role of healing in the modern church, MacNutt traveled worldwide with a team of teachers to share lessons about God’s love, healing, and Credit: Jeff Rogers Photography the role of the Holy Spirit.

In January, Francis MacNutt, a global pioneer MacNutt noted how Christ’s of the modern healing prayer ministry and ministry of healing and delivHarvard alumnus, died at 94. erance were common in the early church, but largely overMacNutt went on to write a series of looked by the modern church. In books dealing with the history, the- 1977, MacNutt served as one of the ology, and scriptural foundations of speakers at the famous Conference healing, including emotional resto- on Charismatic Renewal at Kansas ration.

City’s Arrowhead Stadium.

Among those works, Fish deIn 1975, while speaking at the scribed Healing and The Healing Re- World Conference on the Holy Spirawakening: Reclaiming Our Lost it in Jerusalem, MacNutt met Judith Inheritance as classic texts for contem- Sewell, a psychotherapist and missionporary ministries. “They are must-read ary who was leading a local house of titles for anyone serious about the prayer ministry. After leaving the healing ministry,” said Fish.

Dominican order, MacNutt married Born in 1925, MacNutt grew up the Kentucky native in February 1980 in St. Louis, where he entertained in a Clearwater, Florida, church. The hopes of becoming a physician. How- MacNutts welcomed daughter Rachel

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overstate,” said Fish, head of Kingdom Fire Ministries.

In 1974, MacNutt penned Healing, a book used worldwide by churches, seminaries, and lay people to explain the core aspects of the ministry of healing prayer. Notably,

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rancis MacNutt, a Harvard University alumnus of 1948 who became a global leader in healing prayer ministry, died in January at 94.

In 1980, MacNutt and his wife Judith founded Christian Healing Ministries, an international center that has trained thousands of believers to serve as prayer ministers via its Florida-based School of Healing Prayer.

Colleagues hailed Francis MacNutt for his dedication to restoring the legacy of healing and for serving as a leader in the worldwide Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

MacNutt had become a Dominican priest in 1956, and completed a doctorate in theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology in 1958. Then in 1967, MacNutt’s life took a significant turn when he experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit at a conference in Tennessee and met other pioneers in healing prayer and the charismatic movement. Later, MacNutt spent much of his life crisscrossing the globe, as he shared the love of God via healing prayers and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Longtime friend and minister Ken Fish, Princeton ’82, described MacNutt as a pioneer in his efforts to help “restore the healing ministry in the wider body of Christ.”

Fish also hailed MacNutt as a mentor. “Not many Harvard graduates have trod the paths which he trod, but his influence on the charismatic renewal, and on the healing ministry in particular, would be difficult to

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P E N N | On Campus

Igniting Fun and Fellowship

PENN FOR JESUS HOSTS GAME NIGHT

By Avery Johnston, Penn ’23

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never before.”

Whether it is through a fun event like Ignite!, a prayer meeting, or the catalytic Carry the Love, Penn For Jesus is seeking to unite and inspire believers. The ministry is based on Acts 2:42-47, John 17:23, and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, and “seeks to implement these biblical concepts for the sake of representing our Lord Jesus Christ and functioning as one body, that the Gospel may reach our campus effectively.” | cu

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Campus Ministries Shift to Online Platforms

addition, they are offering a daily “word of encouragement” via text and social media.

To continue their ministries to students and residents of Philadelphia during the pandemic quarantine, leaders of Penn campus ministries are using virtual platforms to stay connected.

“I’ve been so moved and inspired by how our campus ministers, really the whole community, have stepped up to take care of and stay engaged with constituents and community,” says University Chaplain Charles “Chaz” Howard, the head of the Spiritual and Religious Life Center at Penn.

Howard and his team, including Associate Chaplain Steve Kocher and Assistant Chaplain Sana Saeed, are offering weekly office hours for students by Zoom or by phone. In

Cardinal Speaks on The Church in China In February, Penn Catholic Newman Community (newman. upenn.edu) and the Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture (collegiuminstitute.org) hosted Cardinal Joseph Zen for a discussion on the church in China.

For decades, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong has been a witness to the suffering yet growing church there, and has been outspoken on human rights and democracy. On February 18 at the Penn Newman Center, Zen also highlighted the historic persecution of missionaries in China. He previously made headlines when he called on

Catholic cardinals to defend the church in Communist China and reiterated concerns about the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with the Chinese government.

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es, ministries, and more as one unified body that rejoiced with laughter, love, and, certainly, energetic dancing. It is safe to say that the organization accomplished its goal of refreshingly bringing the Christian community together on Penn’s campus.

Also in February, Penn For Jesus helped promote Carry the Love: Philadelphia City Wide. The event united college students from across the city to “worship, encounter God, and activate our calling and purpose like

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Penn For Jesus was able to draw more than thirty Christ followers from different denominations, social circles, churches, ministries, and more as one unified body that rejoiced with laughter, love, and, certainly, energetic dancing.

in concentration. The games culminated in the announcement of the team with the most points, which was met with glee from the winning group.

Of course, there was never a dull moment. After this, pizza was served and dancing began. Students continued to chat with one another and simply spend time in fellowship. Penn For Jesus was able to draw more than thirty Christ followers from different denominations, social circles, church-

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enn For Jesus has worked to foster Ignite served as a chance for students bers cheered on their teammates and connection and fellowship across to form friendships outside of their laughter filled the lounge. The enterChristian ministries on campus for social circle and further connect taining comments of the emcee only several years. Its central mission states, “Penn For Jesus is a gathering place for Christians on campus who desire Christian unity and revival through intercessory prayer, united events, and communication within the body of Christ.” The umbrella organization works to accomplish this goal through hosting weekly prayer meetings and various events during the academic year.

In February, before the Coronavirus Pandemic sent the students home for online classes, Penn For Jesus hosted “Ignite!” Promotional materials Penn For Jesus hosted an inter-ministry fellowship and community-building event were clear that the event wel- called “Ignite!” comed all Christians for a night of carefree fun and unity.

Upon entering the rooftop lounge Christians at Penn—an edifying op- added to the palpable excitement.

Students clapped, yelled with glee, of a dorm building, students were portunity. assigned to one of four colors that The night began with a game of and chanted, “Come on blue!” “Let’s represented a team. Since the teams charades, followed by an amusing go red!” and the like. Points were distributed according to how the teams placed in each game (accompanied by good–natured team shouts from all parties).

Penn For Jesus also led students in “human tic-tac-toe”—a thrilling race to win standard tic-tac-toe by stacking cups quickly enough to place players three in a row—and musical were randomly assigned, students round of participants attempting to chairs, arguably the most lively mofrom a variety of organizations, class move an Oreo from their foreheads ment of the event. Students playfully years, and on-campus ministries met into their mouths using only facial fought over chairs, throwing their and bonded throughout the evening. contortions. Observing team mem- heads back in laughter and squinting

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Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong

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P R I N C E T O N | On Campus

Campus Ministry Moves Online

S T U D E N T S A D A P T F O L L O W I N G C O V I D -1 9 P A N D E M I C

By Jon Garaffa, Princeton ’20

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ter and during Holy Week was a testament to the importance of Christian unity, especially in the face of a global pandemic. With a united Christian vision and persistent efforts, students will continue to be a testament to the Gospel under any circumstances. | cu

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Ministries Unite for Virtual Good Friday Service

Anscombe Society Holds Campaign to End ‘Ghosting’

The COVID-19 pandemic did not deter Princeton University students from worshipping together on Good Friday.

On the evening of April 10, students involved with Christian Union Nova, Manna Christian Fellowship (manna.princeton.edu), and Princeton Christian Fellowship (pcfprinceton.org) came together for a “virtual” service via Zoom to remember Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross.

On the heels of Princeton’s decision to send students home for precautionary social-distancing measures, the ministries turned to electronic formats to keep undergraduates connected during the latter portion of the spring semester. Among the ministries, Manna utilized video conferencing platforms to host large-group gatherings, fellowship activities, and prayer.

For Valentine’s Day, the Anscombe Society (anscombe. princeton.edu) spread the message that face-to-face conversations in relationships—whether budding, flourishing, or fading— are important and part of the collective social fabric. Students hung posters for the End Ghosting

2020 campaign to highlight the importance of relationships.

Anscombe students encouraged their Princeton peers to avoid “ghosting” and instead “strive for honesty, communication, and care in all relationships.”

Ghosting is defined as "the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication” (Dictionary.com).

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or struggles with mental health.

Prayers are lifted up at each session for all students and the challenges they must brave in light of this unprecedented situation.

The efforts of these students to unite as best as they could this semes-

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cessive amount of screen time and eye strain. Unique situations come with factors that can impact whether a student can take part in online extracurriculars. These factors include difficult home situations, limited Internet access, familial obligations,

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Manna Christian Fellowship have been proactive in ensuring they all can remain connected by hosting weekly large group meetings virtually.

“We were worried that things might be awkward or strange to do

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gather in person to pray a weekly rosary, but now gather over video call.

“Weekly Rosary Night has been an Aquinas tradition for years,” said Ceci Rojas ’20, who hosts the calls.

“It’s always been joyful to join Rosary Night in the middle of a hectic week and to be reminded of Jesus’ words of infinite love for us: ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20). Words that remind us that we are never alone.”

During Holy Week, the Aquinas Institute also hosted Eucharistic Adoration over livestream.

Christian Union NOVA continues to hold its weekly Bible courses, daily prayer sessions from noon to 1 p.m., and Leadership Lecture Series over video conference.

Credit: Philip Anema Princeton Christian FellowAs students vacated Princeton’s campus this spring, communal worship did not stop, but moved to ship (PCF) hosts its Friday online platforms.

Night Fellowship virtually, and daily prayer starting at Virtual “Netflix parties,” online chess online, but so far, I think all the Zoom noon on weekdays. In addition, matches, and extended Zoom video events we have had have been a very Christian Union NOVA, Princeton chats are just some ways students are blessed time,” said Jessica Fan ’20, Christian Fellowship, Manna, and staying connected over the Internet. president of Manna. “We’re also work- Athletes in Action were able to conAnd while campus clubs and extra- ing on developing a prayer network tinue their tradition of an Inter-felcurriculars are unable to be held in to encourage people to continue pray- lowship Good Friday service, this time person, many are still meeting in the ing in unity, although we are physi- over Zoom.

There certainly are limitations to digital realm–especially the college’s cally apart.”

Students from the Aquinas Insti- the practice of virtual worship. For Christian ministries.

Each ministry has worked hard to tute, Princeton’s Catholic ministry, example, students still have to spend stay faithful to its typical schedule of have also continued a weekly habit of many hours on video calls keeping events, if possible. The students of prayer. Normally, students would up with their classes, risking an exue to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Princeton students were forced to leave campus and finish spring semester classes online.

Sad to go and eager to keep contact with their friends, many have come up with creative ways to stay in touch.

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S TA N F O R D | On Campus

Social Science and Social Justice For the Unborn SCHOL AR IS A LE ADING VOICE IN THE PRO -LIFE MOVEMENT

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

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Stanford University-educated scholar is using his skills as a social scientist to champion pro-life causes from inside the nation’s epicenter of power and politics.

out there.”

Recently, New also oversaw the 40 Days for Life campaign in Washington. This year’s campaign involved 507 cities, where participants aimed to counter abortion via prayer and fasting, community outreach, and peaceful vigils outside clinics.

For the D.C. effort, participants gathered on the public right-of-way outside the Planned Parenthood offices on Northeast Fourth Street. On February 27, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Coffey of the U.S. Archdiocese for Military Services, a noted anti-abortion activist, served as the keynote speaker for the campaign.

Not surprisingly, New has interfaced with most of the pro-life movement’s big names, dating back to his years at Dartmouth. “The pro-life issue is more than me sitting at a desk researching,” New said. “You should be doing some work directly interacting with people impacted by this issue.”

Of his life’s work on the front lines of the pro-life movemeent, “I try to do what God calls me to do,” said New. | cu

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Chi Alpha Continues Ministry Online As part of its plan to continue its ministry to Stanford students while they are off campus due to COVID-19, Chi Alpha

(xastanford.org) is digitally streaming three worship services per week. Service times are Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. PST, Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. PST, and Thursdays at 6:30 a.m. PST.

Ministry leader Pastor Glen Davis is also offering prayer for individual requests by text or phone. Davis’s devotional videos may be found at xastanford.org/ devotional-videos.

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appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, National Review, The Weekly Standard, The Federalist, and the New York Post, plus a plethora of scholarly and policy publications. In addition, New has spoken at universities including Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

New’s extensive credentials also include service as an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, a faculty member for Notre Dame University’s Vita Institute, and a fellow with the Witherspoon Institute.

However, New’s efforts are far from limited to the theoretical. Most Saturday mornings, the lifelong Catholic heads to the Planned Parenthood office in Washington, D.C., where he joins with other pro-life activists to offer sidewalk counseling, resources, and prayer to potential patients. Area college students often join him to offer prayer support for the effort and the group later breaks for a time of reflection over coffee.

“It’s good to be a prayerful presence,” said New. “God uses everybody

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LifeCon 2020 at the organization’s headquarters on Northwest G Street.

Such efforts dovetail with the Washington-area resident’s growing work as an expert witness. New has testified during federal lawsuits involving anti-abortion laws in Alabama, California, Illinois, Texas, and Wisconsin courtrooms.

Before settling near the nation’s capital, New held faculty positions with the University of Alabama, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Ave Maria University. From 2002 to 2004, he also served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard-MIT Data Center.

As New was wrapping up doctoral studies at Stanford, political scientists were uninterested in probing developments in the abortion arena, including the impact of fresh legislation. “The pro-life movement did not have its own social scientist,” said New, now of Hyattsville, Maryland.

“I realized I could do this for them.”

Since then, New has appeared on EWTN News Nightly, CBN News and CNN International. His writings have

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Michael New’s deep-rooted faith calls him to “be an activist on this issue. I can engage these debates in thoughtful, life-affirming ways.”

The Stanford doctoral graduate of 2002 serves as an associate scholar for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the Northern Virginia-based research and education arm of the Susan B. Anthony List. The Lozier Institute seeks to end abortion via the legal and legislative arenas and to promote opportunities for female leaders dedicated to

concrete sidewalks during campaigns on behalf of 40 Days for Life.

In addition, New challenged students to use their emerging professional skills to promote a culture of life on their campuses and in their future careers. “Be creative, and do not be afraid to be unconventional,” he said.

Likewise, New lamented how the pool of pro-life and Christian voices within higher education is limited, especially at leading universities.

“Consider a career in the academy,” he said. “The bench is thin.”

New, a visiting assistant professor in political science and social research at The Catholic University of America, has carved out a niche career by researching, writing, and speaking about the social science of pro-life issues. He regularly gives presentations on the impact of anti-abortion laws plus shifts in public support for pro-life positions.

Also coinciding with the March for Life rally, New served as a speaker during the Law of Life Summit. During the event on January 23 at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel, New gave a presentation on significant declines in abortion rates. “This nicely shows that pro-life educational, service, and legislative efforts have been effective,” he said.

At a March for Life gathering, New gave a talk entitled Using Digital Media to Correct Mainstream Media Disinformation during the Family Research Council’s Pro-

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Michael New (Stanford Ph.D. ’02) is using his skills as a social scientist to promote pro-life causes from the nation’s capital.

life-affirming causes. When the institute formed in 2011, New became the think tank’s first associate scholar.

Much of New’s passion for pro-life causes dates back to his undergraduate days at Dartmouth College, where the 1997 alumnus helped launch Dartmouth Coalition for Life. The student organization even staged an Ivy League Coalition for Life conference in spring 1997. During graduate studies, New was actively involved with Stanford Students for Life.

The pro-life movement deeply clicked within New’s core as a college student, and the Pittsburgh native “never looked back.”

Fast forward to January, 2020, New was in high demand for his professional expertise during a series of activities surrounding the 47th annual March for Life on the National Mall. New, who has attended every rally since 2003, researches statistics, trends, and legal and legislative developments involving abortion.

Among his engagements, New served as a speaker for a breakout lunch for Ivy League students on behalf of Students for Life of America.

During the gathering on January 25 at the Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C., New urged Ivy League students to “be keyboard activists and promote pro-life ideas on their campuses.”

Still, students should not limit their efforts to hitting keyboards, New said. Rather, they should volunteer at pregnancy help centers or take to

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YA L E | On Campus

Theology on Tap L E C T U R E F E AT U R E S H O N O R A B L E J U D G E G U I D O C A L A B R E S I

By Kayla Bartsch, Yale ’20

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He believes a judge, first and foremost, ought to uphold the law as it stands, but should always be searching for ways to incorporate mercy and grace

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Metaxas ’84 Releases New Book Eric Metaxas, Yale ’84, the author of multiple New York Times’ best-sellers, recently released Seven More Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness, the sequel to his book, Seven Men. His latest book highlights Martin Luther, George Washington Carver, and Billy Graham, among others.

Some of Metaxas’ previous works include: Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World (2017), Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (2011), and William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery

(2007). He also has written over thirty children’s books.

Metaxas hosts the nationally syndicated radio program, The Eric Metaxas Show, and has been featured as a cultural commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News.

Black History Month Lecture Features Patricia Chappell St. Thomas More, the Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University, hosted Sister Patricia Chappell of Notre Dame de Namur in February as a guest speaker for Black History Month.

Chappell is a licensed social worker and the first African American to serve as the executive director of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic nonviolent peace and justice movement. She spoke on the topic, “Is Building the Beloved Community an Impossible Dream?” She challenged attendees to do their part in reforming the Roman Catholic Church in order to make it more inclusive and encouraged individuals to use their privilege for the good of others.

“While there’s nothing inherently wrong with privilege, it is the use of that power that will make you either a person of integrity or ruthless,” Chappell said.

christianunion.org

wavering faith has served as the foundation for all of his endeavors.

Every Sunday at the 10 a.m. mass at St. Thomas More Chapel, one can

after their next achievement. Calabresi sees this mindset as one in need of considerable tweaking. He reminds his students that “some of the worst people who did the worst things were excellent, extraordinarily able. Hitler was extraordinarily able.”

This is not to say that excellence is without its worth. For those called to serve in prominent public positions, a high level of competence in certain affairs is necessary. For Calabresi, “Goodness without excellence is wonderful, but is not likely to be effective in a variety of situations.”

Thereby, his mantra remains sound.

Excellence always—but only with decency and humanity. | cu

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Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, graduated first in his class at Yale Law School (’58), clerked for a Supreme Court justice,

no shortage of bright, hungry minds to shepherd. Over the years, Calabresi has witnessed countless students succumb to the pull of an ambition that knows no bounds––a drive to succeed divorced from the drive to do good. He noted that he has often been the first in his student’s life to tell them that “excellence by itself is a disaster.”

In some ways, this is unsurprising.

As Calabresi observed, “in school we tend to, inevitably, award people according to their excellence, and not look beyond it.” Especially at a place like Yale Law, students are used to being rewarded for their pursuit of greatness, and are constantly striving

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When required to preside over weighty cases, Calabresi has found strength and guidance through Catholic teachings on justice and mercy. He believes a judge, first and foremost, ought to uphold the law as it stands, but should always be searching for ways to incorporate mercy and grace into his or her decisions.

into his or her decisions.

It is important, as a judge, to be affected by troubling cases and sometimes troubling laws, Calabresi said.

He noted that, when interviewing potential clerks, he will always ask them if there is any point of the law that concerns them morally. If they answer “no,” it is not a promising sign of their future employment—there are absolutely moral stakes in the law, and anyone interpreting the law should feel the weight of those stakes deeply.

Aside from his time on the bench, Calabresi has also served as an academic and often spiritual mentor to his students. As a professor at Yale Law for several decades, he has had

spring

the magazine

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xcellence––but only with decency became one of the youngest scholars find Calabresi perched in his customever to be granted a full professorship ary pew, second from the front on the and humanity.”

These are the words of the Hon- at Yale Law, and contributed ground- right. Calabresi has been a pillar of orable Guido Calabresi, delivered at breaking research to the field of law the St. Thomas More community for a public conversation at St. Thomas and economics. He was appointed as decades, having stayed connected to Yale after graduating. In More Catholic Chapel and fact, most of Calabresi’s life Center at Yale. has been spent in the Elm On February 13, CalCity. Born in Milan, Italy, abresi, a senior judge of the Calabresi was a young boy United States Court of Apwhen his parents, who repeals for the Second Circuit, sisted Italian fascism in the was the guest speaker at 1930s, fled to the United Theology on Tap, a delightStates and settled in New ful series of monthly conHaven. Calabresi’s Italversations hosted by St. ian-Catholic roots have Thomas More that are deeply influenced his faith geared towards community Credit: Duke Law School members over the age of 21. As a senior United States circuit judge, the honorable Guido and his judicial vision alike.

When faced with moral Attended mainly by upper- Calabresi finds moral direction from his deep faith in Christ. quandaries as a presider over classmen and graduate stuthe court, Calabresi has dents, the series allows for rich conversations on faith, life, and a Sterling Professor, Yale’s highest turned to the moral formation of his exegesis, with the relaxed feel of an honor, and became the Dean of Yale faith. To interpret and execute manintimate, after-dinner gathering, Law School before he was appointed made laws, there must be a higher,

by President Bill Clinton to serve on divine law towards which one can thanks to the “tap.”

True to his motto, Calabresi has the United States Court of Appeals. turn. When required to preside over But, as Calabresi said, excellence weighty cases, Calabresi has found certainly led a life marked by excellence. Calabresi graduated summa cum is empty when it stands on its own. strength and guidance through Cathlaude from Yale College (’53), won a Throughout his life, Calabresi’s un- olic teachings on justice and mercy.

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Through your generous giving, Christian leaders like Mattia are being developed for God’s glory.

Mattia A. Mahmoud harvard college, class of 2020 hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina major: Intergrative Biology campus activities: Clinical Research, Harvard Global Health Institute, Harvard College Wind Ensemble, Harvard College Faith and Action I have been involved in many organizations at Harvard, however, HCFA has had the biggest impact on my college experience. I am eternally grateful for the mentorship I have received from Christian Union ministry fellows and alumni and the friendships I have made with fellow brothers and sisters in the community. God is at work at Harvard and I am thankful to have spent my time rooted in this fellowship.

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A special memory I have from HCFA is from the fall retreat of my senior year.

Each respective class gathered separately to pray for each other and our campus. That time was extra special for me because my class was reminiscing on all our retreats and Bible courses at Harvard, remembering the struggles of our academics, and celebrating the spiritual breakthroughs each of us had experienced. Gratitude and joy filled my heart as I thought about the impact that Christian Union has had on my life trajectory. As I graduate from Harvard this spring, I am excited to see how the Lord will use the foundation He has laid in me as I go on to Cambridge, England to pursue an MPhil in Epidemiology.

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