THE STUDY CENTER
A Foretaste of Heaven
DEAR FRIENDS,
Since the Study Center’s Grand Celebration in early April, we’ve heard from so many friends that it was “a foretaste of heaven.” I think they meant more (though not less) than “we had a great time!” If we understand heaven as the greatest of all reunions, then it is a place in the deep sense that Andy Crouch articulated: as a space that becomes a place because we dwell with each other and God dwells with us. I think that time together in our new place offered us all just a little glimpse of our new creational hope in the resurrected Christ.
Of course, Christians look back in gratitude even as they look forward in hope. With that in mind, let me pause to say thank you once again to the founders and their spouses who established the Study Center in the early days: Daryl Richman, Ken Elzinga, Bob Cochran, David Turner, and Drew Trotter. And, of course, we thank Beat and Barb Steiner, who rented that house on Elliewood Avenue back in 1975. Beyond that, we praise God for the countless others, many of whom attended the Grand Celebration, who have given sacrificially of themselves and their gifts over the past 50 years.
Turning to the future, we are looking with eager anticipation to what the Lord might do in and through the Study Center. Some of our hopes are indicated in the pages that follow: the prospect of two more ministry interns next year (even as we bid a bittersweet farewell to Chloe Carter) as well as another undergraduate minister to help us expand Foundations Week and launch a new Emmaus Fellows initiative. I’ll look forward to sharing some of our other hopes and dreams with you all in the months to come.
One final note of gratitude and hope: we thank God for each of you and your part in this ministry, however long or brief it has been. As I often say, we couldn’t do it without you; that is now truer than ever. And may I express the hope, especially with the end of our fiscal year (June 30) coming up, that we may count on your continued partnership in this ministry that has meant so much to so many for so long.
YOURS IN OUR LORD,
Bill Wilder Executive Director
STAFF
BILL WILDER Executive Director
FITZ GREEN Senior Director for Education and Programming
KATIE BLACK Director of Undergraduate Ministries
RICK CAMPANELLI Director of Graduate Ministries
CHLOE CARTER Ministry Intern
HANNAH FRITZEEN Director of Hospitality
STUART HORNSBY Director of Development and Parent & Alumni Relations
LYDIA MARLIN Communications and Project Manager
DREW MASTERSON Director of Undergraduate Ministries
JAN MATHEWS Administrative Assistant
TRISH OWEN Librarian
DEBBIE RODRIGUEZ Director of Finance
DANIELLE WILCOX Advisor for Strategy and Advancement
Phone: (434) 817-1050 Email: info@studycenter.net Website: www.studycenter.net
EIN: 51-0192618 Find us on social media: @studycenterUVA
photography
Lunch Club
Denominations in Dialogue
BY CHLOE CARTER
This semester, we continued one of the Study Center’s most beloved rhythms: Lunch Club. Over five weeks, students, staff, and community members gathered to share a meal and engage in conversations at the intersection of theology and lived experience.
Our theme this year was “Denominational Distinctives.” Each week we welcomed a pastor or priest representing a unique ecclesial tradition, ranging from nondenominational evangelical to Eastern Orthodox. Each speaker reflected on two guiding questions: What is unique about your denomination? What are its strengths, blind spots, and weaknesses?
These questions inspired thoughtful presentations, followed by open Q&A sessions where students asked about everything from controversial theological paradoxes to each speaker’s personal journey of faith.
Lunch Club remains a space where differences are explored—not to divide but to deepen understanding. This year, it offered students a unique opportunity to learn from across the Christian tradition, over good food and even better questions.
We asked...
How has your time at the Study Center encouraged your faith to grow?
What We’re Reading
THE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM
The Drama of Scripture by Craig G. Bartholomew, Michael
W. Goheen
This fall our Residential Program gathered weekly over dinner to discuss The Drama of Scripture and other texts. Its themes shaped many of our conversations throughout the year.
THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Agents of Flourishing by Amy Sherman
As our 18 incoming interns begin their year of service, Hannah Fritzeen has gifted each with a copy of Sherman’s book, encouraging them to see their work as part of God’s redemptive mission.
FRIDAY
SMALL GROUPS
The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD This fall Drew Masterson led a small group through The Soul of Desire. In his book Thompson connects the Christian story with neuroscience and psychology to offer a vision of “the good life” amid today’s cultural challenges.
“I love how the Study Center brings students together from different ministries and offers an intellectual understanding of our faith. I have loved my C.S. Lewis small group, because we go deep wrestling with the big questions about God, but we also laugh and form relationships”
–DANIELLE KENNY, ‘28
Students enjoy conversation at Lunch Club ALEX SHENG
THIS PAST APRIL, friends of the Study Center— ranging from current students to those who helped paint the walls of our building 50 years ago—reunited to celebrate God’s faithfulness, catch up with old friends, share stories from decades past, and dream together about what the Lord may do in the next 50 years.
RON LONDEN & EMILY FAITH MORGAN
Bill Wilder (front) and David Turner (back) welcome guests to the Study Center
Guests arrive at the Study Center on Friday evening to kick off the weekend
PHOTOS BY
Listen to recordings and see more photos from the weekend
Andy Crouch shares with the Study Center community on the importance of “place” vs “space”
Current board chair Marta McKinnon speaks to guests gathered at Alumni Hall on Saturday
A Farewell and Welcome
Expanding Our Ministry Intern Program
BY KATIE BLACK
More than 10 years ago, Study Center staff, board members, partners, and friends began casting a vision for what an expanded Study Center might look like. This past August, we opened the doors to our newly completed building. While eager to invite more students into our conversations and rhythms, we wondered how best to continue helping students feel seen and known. We prayed about hiring a staff person whose primary role was to help cultivate an overall environment of welcome while building relationships with students.
The Consortium of Christian Study Centers’ Internship Program has been an answer to this prayer. Chloe Carter, a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, joined our team as our first-ever Ministry Intern after her own powerful experience with the Study Center at VCU. From her office space near the front door, Chloe’s warm and inviting presence has made visitors feel seen from their very first moments here. Not only does she give tours and answer questions,
but she also helps newcomers find ways to plug in. As a natural next step, Chloe then mentors students— offering guidance to those seeking to follow Jesus faithfully as well as to those curious about knowing him for the first time. In addition, Chloe leads and organizes many of our weekly rhythms, especially Coffee Chats, the Public Reading of Scripture, and Lunch Club.
We are grateful for the conversations Chloe has started, for the laughter that frequently echoes from her office, and for the way she has welcomed students to become deeply known here. We will miss her next year but are excited to cheer her on in her next season. We know that the Lord is going to use her work to impact the lives of many.
Next year, we’ll grow our ministry further by adding two ministry interns. We are so excited about the future students who will be mentored, the deep conversations that will take place, and the many who will find a home away from home at the Study Center.
The Risk of Growth, the Hope of Healing
BY MARTA MCKINNON
“If I don’t allow Jesus to transform my pain, I’m afraid I’ll transfer it to others” is how one student bravely explained her reasons for seeking counseling. Her words revealed both wisdom and honesty.
First, she is aware of and willing to name the pain in her story. Many of us have the tendency to gloss over or try to outrun the hard parts of our stories. But this student wants to lean in.
Next, she is allowing herself to embark on a vulnerable journey of exploration with a counselor. It can feel risky to tell it like it is. Unaddressed hurts from the past can lead to unhealthy patterns of relating to others. Motivated by this truth, this student is seeking growth for her own good and for the good of others in her life. Finally, at the heart of her statement is a hope that Jesus can transform and redeem pain. The Lord encourages honest engagement over and over in the scriptures. He invites us to see our stories within a larger narrative that is truer and more abundant, leading to healing and transformation.
The Study Center offers students free and confidential sessions with Marta McKinnon, a licensed counselor, to support their mental health. Through this space, we hope they will feel the freedom to talk through challenges and explore opportunities that encourage growth and flourishing within a Christcentered context.
SCAN TO LEARN MORE
VIRGINIA WARREN
Chloe Carter (at right) invites Study Center guests to feel at home
Building on Strong Foundations
Growing Deeper with Emmaus Fellows
BY FITZ GREEN
WITH OUR BEAUTIFUL expanded building, we’re poised to grow our ministry in new directions. We’re also in the process of hiring for a new staff role dedicated to Foundations Week and our brand-new Emmaus Fellows program, and I’d love to share with you what we’ve got planned.
Foundations Week is our retreat for incoming first-year students. We named it based on our central hope: that we might help students start college with a firm foundation in their faith and provide relational “foundations” in the robust Christian community at UVA. Started in 2019 with a cohort of 12 students, the retreat has had a huge impact on students as they begin their time at UVA. Word has started to get out, and last fall, with a record number of applicants, we decided to expand to two houses and were able to welcome 23 students.
I’ve watched friendships planted during Foundations Week begin growing into lifelong relationships. (No weddings yet, but I have my eye on a few!)
The retreat is also a great introduction
to the Study Center for those students, who each year become some of our most involved. This year they have taken to our Coffee Chats on Thursday afternoons, when we offer a study break in the living room over fresh baked bread and other snacks. The students are eager, inquisitive, and love getting into deep theological conversations. As you can imagine, we love that too! To grow Foundations Week we’ll need the staff support for planning and recruiting.
Foundations Week isn’t the only program we hope to grow. As I talk to other study centers, I ask, “What is the most formative thing you do with students?” The answer is nearly always “our fellows program.” This makes sense. For years I’ve seen that our Residential Scholars Program, a group of 19 male and female students who live at the Study Center, provides some of the deepest formation in our ministry. We start with a great curriculum, centered on scripture, and move outward to consider our calling and engagement with culture. All of this revolves around weekly meals with students who are committed to
living in community with another and led by staff who mentor the students and walk with them, often over three years as they live at the Study Center or in the Yellow House.
We’d like to welcome even more students into this crucial formation experience—building community with one another and learning over meals together. Yet we can’t add more residential space just yet! So that’s why we’re creating a new nonresidential fellows program. We’re calling it the Emmaus Fellows, inspired by how Jesus, walking with his disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection, interpreted for them “in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). As always, we want scripture to be the center.
We have just the right students to invite: those already committed to Foundations Week. We’re excited to bring on a new manager for Foundations Week and Emmaus Fellows—to help us increase the breadth of our ministry and go deep in relational learning communities with this next generation of students.
ALEX SHENG
Residential Scholars gather for a weekly dinner
Center for Christian Study
128 Chancellor Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903
www.studycenter.net
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Mark Your Calendar Get Connected
FOUNDATIONS WEEK
August 18-21
MOVE-IN DAY LUNCH
August 22
FDOC SNACKS
August 26
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"The Study Center gave me a family that I didn’t know I needed to support me as I seek the Lord.”
–SYDNEY REPAK, ’26
Ways to Give
• GIVE ONLINE — visit www.studycenter.net/give
The first year of ministry with our expanded home for students has been wonderful in so many ways. It has been a joy to serve thousands of students and host numerous events and small groups. We are thankful to God for his generous provision for a growing ministry through hundreds of alumni, parents, community members, and friends.
As expected, our expanding ministry has come with increased costs. With our fiscal year ending on June 30, would you help us fully fund our growing Annual Fund budget? We are excited about reaching more and more students with the gospel at UVA.
• SEND A CHECK — Center for Christian Study, 128 Chancellor Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903
• THROUGH THE UVA FUND — give online, by check, through a donor advised fund, gifts of stock, and more.
For more information on any of these options, scan the QR code or email Stuart Hornsby at stuart@studycenter.net. EIN: 51-0192618