The CENTER for CHRISTIAN STUDY
Annual Fund Creating a home for the gospel at UVA
Annual Fund | 2021-2022
Supporting students through Christian hospitality, community, and education
Forming students to Christ A university education allows students to pursue their interests, develop their talents, deepen their knowledge, and refine their skills— all essential to shaping their future lives. However, a university education alone is incomplete and leaves many questions unanswered. The Center for Christian Study addresses these questions— questions about God’s calling in students’ lives, his purpose for their education, and how to integrate faith and knowledge. Moreover, the Study Center, just steps from the Rotunda, is a home, where students experience Christian hospitality and care. They are welcomed, challenged, affirmed, and prayed over. They form close friendships, meet the gospel in our small groups and in the relationships they form here, and they grow as leaders, capable of balancing the pursuit of faith and knowledge in their lives. We serve students—and faculty, parents, alumni, and community members—through our education programs, hospitality events, and our residential and intern programs. In these pages, you’ll get a taste of what our ministry is like today and see how it will be growing in the near future. Our Annual Fund supports these ministry needs. We are also in the last stage of our capital campaign, raising the final $500,000 needed to meet our goal. In nearly doubling our space, we will be able to greatly expand our ministry to the community. We hope you will be encouraged by what you read! Between the capital campaign and Annual Fund requests, we know we are asking a lot of you. We appreciate your support to either or both. We’re grateful for your partnership in our ministry! Grace & Peace, Danielle Wilcox Director of Development & Parent and Alumni Relations
MOVE-IN DAY LUNCH Page 2 | Annual Fund 2021-2022
FAMILY WEEKEND PARENTS’ RECEPTION
HOMECOMINGS TAILGATE
GROUNDS MINISTRY PARTNERSHIPS For over 40 years, leaders from 17+ UVA Grounds ministries have met together monthly for a time of fellowship, prayer, and scripture reflection. In addition, ministers lease affordable office space at the Study Center. With our new renovation, we will have more room for Grounds ministries to host events and meetings at the Study Center.
around grounds ELZINGA RESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM The residential scholars program invites 20 students to live in community at the Study Center with weekly mentorship, prayer, and fellowship. Residents also participate in Casket Empty, an eight-week course that takes them on a journey through the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing Christ’s presence in both. The course grounds students in the redemptive story of Christ, helping to strengthen them to be his ambassadors to others.
Partnering with Grounds ministries and fellow students to show the love of Christ on Grounds
When I think about what life in the Holy Spirit looks like at UVA, my first thought is this building. Move-In Day Lunches are so fun as an upperclassman. As a first-year, I remember coming here and feeling nervous around all these new people. A year later, I volunteered for Move-In Day Lunch and it was a chance to bring a sense of peace to students who are just now entering UVA life. Philip Rubio, Class of 2022
PHOTO BY BRITTANY FAN
Exa m Sna cks
Dec e
hospitality
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Move-In Day Lunch Exam Snacks Rush Hospitality Family Weekend Reception Class Dinners Graduation Day Lunch Alumni Reunions
Exam Snacks have long been a Study Center staple. Not only do Exam Snacks bring hundreds of students through our doors daily during Exam Week each semester, they serve as an opportunity for staff, parents, alumni, and community volunteers to care for students in an incredibly tangible way during the most stressful time of their academic year. As Exam Snacks have grown in popularity, our space has yet to grow with it. Students struggle to find a space on the curb outside on Chancellor Street much less inside the building. After the new building expansion, our capacity for hospitality events, such as Exam Snacks, will increase by 126% thanks to a prep kitchen, expanded commons area, and larger event space.
EXPANSION UPDATE Following our building expansion, slated to start this June, a paved patio at the front of the building will provide additional space for hospitality and one-on-one meetings. Page 5 | Annual Fund 2021-2022
community Graduate Christian Fellowship Law Christian Fellowship Darden Christian Fellowship Elzinga Residential Scholars Program Internship Program Foundations Week
Foundations Week Before first-year students step foot in a UVA classroom, they are welcomed through the doors of the Center for Christian Study. Foundations Week is a four-day program, strategically scheduled the week prior to the start of classes and designed specially for incoming first-year students. Foundations Week eases students’ transition into college life by providing Christian community at UVA hours after they’ve moved into their first dorm room. The 12 students who participate in Foundations Week share meals together, participate in Bible studies, and get acclimated to Charlottesville through an around-town scavenger hunt. Many who participate in Foundations Week become regular small group attendees and later participate in the Elzinga Residential Scholars Program. Page 6 | Annual Fund 2021-2022
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Rick Campanelli (UVA JD ‘83) Director of Graduate Ministries
EXPANSION UPDATE
UVA Law Professor, Barbara Armacost, speaks at a recent LCF gathering.
Our library is one of the most robust formational resources we provide, allowing students and community members alike to check out books. In our new building, we will double the size of our library—for students and books!
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FOUNDATIONS WEEK 2021 | PHOTO BY BRITTANY FAN
At Darden and Law Christian Fellowships, we seek to go deeper in knowing, sharing, and glorifying the Lord in all of our lives, especially in our vocations—you might call it ‘applied spiritual formation’. We pray that relationships will be formed here that encourage students in that calling for years to come.
education Lectures Small Groups Seminary Courses Faculty Christian Forum Library
“Christian study is at the heart of all that we do.” Bill Wilder Executive Director
Lunch Club returns! This spring, we will be answering students’ most asked questions about the Christian faith. Page 8 | Annual Fund 2021-2022
Spring 2022 Highlights Tuesday, February
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Lecture by Amy Sherman, founder and former Executive Director of Abundant Life Ministries
Tuesday, March
22
Lecture by Chuck DeGroat, author of When Narcissism Comes to Church and Professor of Counseling at Western Theological Seminary
Along with lectures that are open to the public, the Center for Christian Study offers education opportunities throughout the week in the form of our small groups. Most of our small groups are open to community members and some are available online. Check our calendar for more information on small groups and upcoming events at www.studycenter.net/calendar.
Soul Sabbath Rest for the weary soul. Soul Sabbath is a one-day retreat for undergraduate students. We pray for the Holy Spirit to meet students during this time of silence and solitude, away from the stress of school work, electronic devices, and life on Grounds. The Study Center provides a meal, a peaceful location, and transportation.
“In the upside-down economy of Jesus, those closest to the bottom are nearest to grace. Polished and put together, many of us live our lives without a real, palpable need for God. We preach grace. But we’re working really, really hard to avoid hitting bottom ourselves.”
Directors of Undergraduate Ministry, Katie and Ethan Hightower, are available for prayer and spiritual guidance. Our librarians also provide reading materials on the topics of prayer, meditation, and communing with God. This spring, our students are looking forward to participating in Soul Sabbath on EXPANSION UPDATE April 2, during one of the busiest times of Our expanded lecture hall will allow for 34% the academic year. greater capacity for lectures and ministry
meetings. This space will also be used for small groups and studying, with clear views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Chuck DeGroat Spring 2022 Speaker
Become a monthly donor! Monthly donors help the Study Center with long-term budget planning and ensure we are able to meet the ministry needs of our community!
“We view giving to the Study Center as an investment in building Christian community at the University we deeply love. By giving, we stay connected with current students and get to partner with the Study Center’s ministry, reaching students in all of UVA’s schools.” John and Trina Jones Rogers (Col ’95; Darden ‘01; current Study Center Board member)
$50
Provides snacks for monthly Grounds ministry meetings
$100 $250
Provides a weekly meal for undergraduate interns and residents
Enables our building to be open and hospitable for 24/7 studying
As our ministry grows, so will our financial need. Sustaining donors are essential to meeting this need.
“Participating in Law Christian Fellowship, bible studies, and courses at the Study Center made my time at UVA Law one of the richest of my life—intellectually, spiritually, and relationally. I started giving to the Study Center as a monthly donor after graduating in ‘03 because I wanted to help provide those same opportunities to future students. It has been a true joy to support the Study Center and, in a small way, to be a part of that great work ever since.” Carli N. Conklin (UVA JD/MA ‘03; PhD ‘12) Associate Professor of Law, University of Missouri School of Law Associate Professor of Constitutional Democracy, Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy
Annual Fund Goal $723,269 Where our ministry support comes from
70%
Annual Fund Contributions
14%
Service Revenue
11%
Restricted Gifts
5%
Endowment Interest
70%
How this money is allocated
Fundraising*
15%
Educational Programs
15% 8%
WAYS TO GIVE
Undergraduate Outreach
18%
General and Administrative Graduate Outreach
7%
Alumni and Parent Relations
5%
Educational Resources *The fundraising allocation reflects the additional expenses related to our building campaign.
Donations to the Annual Fund and the Making Room Capital Campaign are both appreciated at this time. We know you may have to choose to support one or the other, but know that whatever gift you are able to make will help support our ministry at the University of Virginia! 1. Give online - studycenter.net/give 2. Send a check - Note “Annual Fund” or “Building Campaign” in the memo line Center for Christian Study 128 Chancellor Street Charlottesville, VA 22903 3. Through the UVA Fund - Give online, by check, via donor-advised fund, gifts of stock, and more 4. Through the National Christian Foundation 5. Give cryptocurrency For more information on any of these options, visit us online at studycenter.net/other-ways-to-give. Page 11 | Annual Fund 2021-2022
Center for Christian Study 128 Chancellor Street Charlottesville, VA 22903 www.studycenter.net
U.S. Postage PAID Waynesboro, Virginia No. 129
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Thank you to all of our donors who have supported our Making Room Building Campaign. We are slated to break ground on our building expansion in June. If you would like to support the Making Room Building Campaign, please visit us online at www.studycenter.net/campaign.