Last Large Group

Similar in format to the last large group of the year we had at William and Mary, last night's large group was a "sharing" large group.

Anyone was allowed to speak about how God had been working in their life during the year.

What an amazing time!
I heard stories of students moving from skepticism and criticism of Christians to people of faith, students realizing the call to "make disciples" and serve other students in ministry, students challenging other students to be deeply involved in other's struggles.....

One student spoke about how he'd given up underage drinking and partying because when he got involved in Christian community he actually found time serving God to be better! He said "what I thought was making me happy wasn't doing it...it was like I was living 2 lives. Now I can live one life, and I've realized I'm the happiest when I'm serving!"

Several shared verses about seeing how God's grace or goodness is sufficient for them in times of weakness, coming to Georgetown and realizing they don't really have everything together...and that's ok!

I was excited to see how many people spoke about the impact of others in the group on them--either being served by others or doing Bible study together, how people had broken down Christian stereotypes or loved them in times of need.....what a cool manifestation of Christian community on campus here! Praise God.

Love Living in the district

It has gotten to that point of spring and good weather where I can bike from Anacostia to Georgetown....the hour-hour & 15 minute trip is quite enjoyable.

I first pass over the river, past capitol hill area, my favorite hang outs and restaurants.....and then come all the cool dc stuff (pass it each day!):
--the capitol building
--the library of congress
--smithsonian (I can glance at some gardens from the road)
--the washington monument
--the lincoln memorial
--the potomac
--watergate hotel
--national cathedral in the distance
--georgetown!

Besides the huge hills.....hill to Gtown easily 5-7 blocks in length....and on the way home capitol hill......it's a beautiful experience!

What a blessing to live actually IN a city rather than just be able to visit!

Every day I curve around tourists....who sometimes seem annoyed that I'm on a bike there...but how lucky I feel to actually live here! What a life!

When Christ is King

I will blog soon on "Jesus for President". Claiborne's new book. But in the meantime, I found this among Maurin's writing and found it challenging:

WHEN CHRIST IS KING

Not a Liberal

They say that I am a radical.
If I am a radical
then I am not a liberal.
The future will be different
if we make the present different.
But to make the present different
one must give up old tricks
and start to play new tricks.
But to give up old tricks
and start to play new tricks
one must be a fanatic.
Liberals are so liberal about everything
that they refuse to be fanatical
about anything.
And not being able to be fanatical
about anything,
liberals cannot be liberators.
They can only be liberals.
Liberals refuse to be
religious, philosophical or economic fanatics
and consent to be
the worst kind of fanatics,
liberal fanatics.

Not a Conservative

If I am a radical,
then I am not a conservative.
Conservatives try to believe
that things are good enough
to be let alone.
But things are not good enough
to be let alone.
Conservatives try to believe
that the world is getting better
every day in every way.
But the world is not getting better
every day in every way.
The world is getting worse
every day in every way
and the world is getting worse
every day in every way
because the world is upside down.
And conservatives do not know
how to take the upside down
and to put it right side up.
When conservatives and radicals
will come to an understanding
they will take the upside down
and they will put it right side up.

A Radical Change

The order of the day
is to talk about the social order.
Conservatives would like
to keep it from changing
but they don’t know how.
Liberals try to patch it
and call it a New Deal.
Socialists want a change,
but a gradual change.
Communists want a change,
an immediate change,
but a Socialist change.
Communists in Russia
do not build Communism,
they build Socialism.
Communists want to pass
from capitalism to Socialism
and from Socialism to Communism.
I want a change,
and a radical change.
I want a change
from an acquisitive society
to a functional society,
from a society of go-getters
to a society of go-givers.

When Bankers Rule

Modern society has made the bank account
the standard of values.
When the bank account
becomes the standard of values
the banker has the power.
When the banker has the power
the technician has to supervise
the making of profits.
When the banker has the power
the politician
has to assure law and order
in the profit-making system.
When the banker has the power
the educator trains students
in the technique of profit making.
When the banker has the power
the clergyman is expected
to bless the profit-making system
or to join the unemployed.
When the banker has the power
the Sermon on the Mount
is declared unpractical.
When the banker has the power
we have an acquisitive,
not a functional society.

When Christ Is King

When the Sermon on the Mount
is the standard of values
then Christ is the Leader.
When Christ is the Leader
the priest is the mediator.
When Christ is the Leader
the educator
trains the minds of the pupils
so that they may understand
the message of the priest.
When Christ is the Leader
the politician
assures law and order
according to the priest’s teachings.
When Christ is the Leader
the technician
devises ways and means
for the economical production
and distribution of goods.
When Christ is the Leader
the administrator administrates
according to the directions
from the technicians.
When Christ is the Leader
we have a functional,
not an acquisitive society.

Rebellion Is Rebellion

Boloney is boloney,
no matter how you slice it,
and rebellion is rebellion
no matter when it happens,
whether it is
the religious rebellion
of the 16th century
or the political rebellion
of the 18th century,
or the economic rebellion
of the 20th century.
Someone said
that the Catholic Church
stands for rum, Romanism and rebellion.
But the Catholic Church
does not stand for rum, Romanism and
rebellion.
The Catholic Church stands
for Rome, Reunion, and Reconstruction.
The Catholic Church stands,
as Rome used to stand,
for law and order.
The Catholic Church stands
for the reunion
of our separated brothers.
The Catholic Church stands
for the reconstruction,
not the patching up,
of the social order.

Constructing the Social Order

The Holy Father asks us
to reconstruct the social order.
The social order was constructed
by the first Christians
through the daily practice
of the Seven Corporal
and Seven Spiritual
Works of Mercy.
To feed the hungry
at a personal sacrifice,
to clothe the naked
at a personal sacrifice,
to shelter the homeless
at a personal sacrifice,
to instruct the ignorant
at a personal sacrifice;
such were the works
of the first Christians
in times of persecution.

Catholic book club

For a few months now I've been attending monthly book clubs with a catholic non-profit group.
This past Monday we read Peter Maurin, Easy Essays. Peter Maurin was one of the founders of the Catholic Worker movement--it was great to read some of his essays first hand and be challenged again by many of the critiques of the modern charity, church that lead me to where I am today.

Check out some of these:

Passing The Buck--An Easy Essay by Peter Maurin

1. In the first centuries of Christianity
the poor were fed, clothed, and sheltered
at a personal sacrifice
and the Pagans
said about the Christians:

     "See how they love each other."

2. Today the poor are fed, clothed, and sheltered
     by the politicians
     at the expense
     of the taxpayers.

3. And because the poor
     are no longer
     fed, clothed, and sheltered
     at a personal sacrifice
     but at the expense
     of taxpayers
     Pagans say about Christians:
     "See how they pass the buck."

Article of intrigue

One friend remarked this article made him realize he wasn't that different from his generation....trying to complete 5 tasks at once....while still wanting to remain open to many more....we are all so guilty.

Paul said "this one thing I do"

Mary choose the better thing....not distracted by the many.....will we?

http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i27/27b00701.htm

How to Save a Life.....

So back in the fall when we went on a spring retreat, I created a prayer room for students to use art supplies and other forms of medium to communicate with God.

I created one piece of "prayer art" myself based on a lot of what I was feeling at that time. The picture was of a stick figure who had just let go of a bundle of balloons--but realizing that the balloons were now out of reach began to grasp for them. Underneath the picture I wrote "I keep trying to save my life but you won't let me."

This reminds me of much of what I see both on campus here at Georgetown and in my generation.

We get a small taste of what it could be like to serve God, to let go of our hold on our own lives--and how exhilarating that can be! We've lost our lives! And now we find them in Christ.....in much better form that we truly could've ever imagined.

But then the fear sets in.....what if God messes with my schedule? What if I have to break up with my boyfriend? What if I have to change my major? This whole "losing my life" thing is actually kind of unpredictable and uncomfortable.......so we start reaching for the balloons again, trying to bring back the control to our surroundings.

Recently this has been very evident as we see students making decisions about becoming leaders in the fellowship next year. I sadly see student after student shirking from responsibility and leadership--willing to take from fellowship....but when it gets tough and may mean unpredictable commitment....they run in the other direction.
Is this to say that IV leadership is the only way to serve God? No! However, I would love to see every student in our fellowship experiencing the joy and fulfillment of serving God through ministry during their time here.....whether that's leading a small group, playing in the band, heading up a campus-wide event.

Although the situation appears different now a week after applications were due, seeing God provide new students I never expected--for awhile there it seemed that one by one students were saying they could come up with a better plan for their lives than God.

I saw myself do it a lot first semester here, wanting to protect my schedule and my heart from falling head-forward into relationships with a completely new group of students and life in a new city.....fearing what God would do if I really let go. I'm beginning to let my heart get involved with students here, releasing the balloons and watching them fly.

It begs the question of all of us (myself paramount):

what are we holding back from God?

What are we attempting to hold onto thinking it will bring us life other than God?